Team Georgia Connection

Workforce News Briefs

Going Green

Some executives see that not only just the environment benefits from their companies’ environmental efforts, but so does the companies.

According to a survey by Buck Consultants, 47% of executives believe that going green helped them to attract and retain employees.  The  survey also showed that 60% of the companies have a goal of reducing environmental impact.   The following are the most popular changes companies have made to reach this goal:

•         78% use teleconferencing to reduce travel

•         77% add HR and benefits documents to their web site to reduce large printing costs

•         76% promote using less paper

•         68% has wellness programs

•         57% provide telecommuting to their employees, and

•         52% assist employees in finding carpool partners

Source:  HR Tech News, Should HR care about ‘going green’? by Sam Narisi

Department of Labor publishes opinion letter about employees taking online training

The Department of Labor published an opinion letter about whether employees taking online training courses at home should be paid for their time.

An employer posed the following situation to the Department of Labor:

“Employees are offered an optional training course on a computer application they use to do their work.  Everyone is already trained on the basics and has enough skills to perform their duties.  But the optional course provided advanced knowledge, which lets them work more efficiently.  The training includes online courses employees are expected to take at home on their own time.  Most of the employees taking the course are nonexempt – do they need to be paid for what they do at home?”

The Department of Labor responded with a “yes.”  Since the training is directly related to how the employees did their jobs, their time had to be paid.  On the other hand, time spent in training does not have to be paid under the following conditions:

• the training happens after the employee’s normal working hours
• attendance is not required
• the information learned is not directly related to the employee’s job, and
• the employee does not do any work during the session.

Source:  HR Tech, DOL:  Workers taking online training course at home must be paid, by Sam Narisi

What’s important to employees going into 2010?

Employees aren’t just thinking about saving for retirement and managing their debt.  Currently they are more concerned about health insurance for themselves and their families.

Take a look at the findings from the 2009 National Consumer Survey on Personal Finance that was released by the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards:

• Generating current income (59%)
• Providing health insurance coverage (55%)
• Managing or reducing debt (53%)
• Building a retirement fund (51%)
• Creating an emergency fund (47%)

Source:  HR Morning, Top employee concerns heading into 2010 by Christian Schappel

Helping employees who are layed off

Laying off employees can be challenging, such as dealing with angry ex-worker and maintaining morale for the remaining staff.  Human Resources experts suggest that companies should offer a “transition plan” to employees who are terminated.

Along with severance packages and other benefits, companies can also assist the employee with re-entering the job market.  For example, HR can direct employees to any resources that aid people in resume writing and interviewing.   Also, you can give the names and numbers of any staffing firms that your company has worked with.

These simple acts will help soften the blow of unemployment and will be a morale boost for your remaining employees.
 

Source:  HR Tech, How HR can reduce the stress of staff cuts, by Sam Narisi