USERRA
Posting Update: Mandatory Employer Compliance
As of January 2006 the USERRA law has been updated and
all employers are
required to comply. If
you haven't updated your postings and communications since December 2005, you
need to do so.
More Info!
Please see the
link provided to
Get
Poster.
Good News for
Business! Economy Strengthens Again!
January's nationwide unemployment rate fell
for the second straight month to
4.7 percent -
the lowest monthly unemployment rate since July 2001
and lower than the average of the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. The
economy has created more than 2 million jobs over the past
12 months, and more than 4.7 million since August 2003.
Wisconsin's unemployment rate remains less than the national average at 4.5% as
reported March 8, 2006. As the labor market continues to tighten, however,
competition for employees keeps heating up. We have
powerful solutions!
2006
Unemployment Insurance Law Changes
Weekly maximum
benefit is raised. Important changes to rulings in excessive
tardiness/absence cases; new employer protection, and more.
Please see
www.dwd.state.wi.us for a complete outline of the law changes.
Mergers
& Acquisitions: HRS Addresses 115 Employers at University Club
Our CEO, Jessica Ollenburg, delivered an opening
address to the MMAC/COSBE Executive
Roundtable Forum last month. The forum's topic was "Business Growth through Acquisitions" featuring
esteemed panelists George Dalton, Founder of NOVO 1 and Fiserv, Inc.;
Scott Bushkie, President and Founder of Cornerstone Business Services;
and Linda Mertz, President of Mertz Associates Inc. Ollenburg
discussed the role of external HR experts and auxiliary HR outsource
teams
in dressing a company for sale, as well as, blending companies after the M&A
event.
Details and photos. Planning an M&A event? Please talk with us
regarding our strong successes and powerful references in this area! Corporate
mergers and acquisitions have been so strong during the first two months of 2006
that investment bankers are predicting a record year for deals.
MSNBC Article
"In business, the
competition will bite you if you keep running;
If you stand
still, they will swallow you."
- William S. Knudsen (former GM Chairman)
Business Leaders Show Strong Support to Upcoming Expo!
Designed to
provide unique take-aways for management level attendees, including a strong CEO
turnout, The Wisconsin Business & Technology Expo boasts strong participation
from our business community. Hosting Blue Ocean Strategy (among multiple
leadership and business development seminars), Manufacturing Summit plus the Bravo and IQ Awards, this
expo is shaping up to be "the place to be" in May. Please stop by to see
us there, as HRS will be exhibiting in Booth #236, near the Green Pavilion.
For more information and complimentary advance registration ($15 value), visit
www.biztimes.com/expo.
Blogging: An Employer's Best Ally or Worst Nightmare
Employee
weblogs provide improved media for employee communications, feedback and
suggestions. Gaining in popularity, employers learn how to best use this
updated technology. While blogging can be good, there are a few precautions –
make sure to set some rules. “All a blogger really needs to devastate a company
is a bit of information and plausibility, a complaint that catches the
imagination and a knack for making others care about his gripe”, according to
the Economist, Feb. 11, 2006. “Companies should have a ready-made plan for
influencing bloggers if a crisis does occur”. Some recommend “setting up a
‘lockbox blog’ that is hidden behind an internet firewall, but can be made
visible to the public at short notice”. Please create and distribute to your
employees a controlling policy. Ask HRS if you'd like assistance!
Should
Employers Help Employees Get "Fit"? Wellness Cost-Benefit Analysis Update
Does your
company offer any sort of wellness program? According to the Wellness Councils
of America, more than 81% of businesses with 50 or more employees have some form
of health program – ranging from exercise, to stress management, stop-smoking
classes, etc.
Article
“Researchers estimate that preventable illness makes up approx 70% of the total
cost of health care,” according to the Journal of Deferred Compensation,
Winter 2006. Reports show that healthier employees spend fewer days away
from work due to illness, and that the wellness programs can also help employees
manage their time & stress levels better!
Healthcare Cost Rise Continues?
Within a decade $1 out of every $5 spent in the U.S. economy will go for health
care, with annual spending consistently growing faster than the overall economy,
the federal government claimed last month. Increased spending on hospital care,
home health services, drugs and public health programs will help push total
health care spending from its current 16.2% of the economy to 20% in 2015, the
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services predicts.
USAtoday.com
HRS
Welcomes New Team Member!
Nicole Winkler has joined our team in 2006, and she's off to a great start!
Nikki earned her BSBA from UW-Platteville and spent four years with Lands End.
Spending time at both Waukesha and Milwaukee HRS offices, Nikki joins us as a
Team Development Coordinator and serves on our Multi-Rater panel for candidate
behavioral assessment.
Pension
Tension
“Nervousness
over America’s corporate pension woes has sparked demand for seminars aimed at
educating employees on retirement financing options.” According to statistics
from the federal Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp., “the number of private sector
defined benefit plans in the U.S. has plunged to 30,000 from 112,000 since 1985.
Studies show that only 38% of U.S. employers intend to offer a defined benefit
plan by the end of 2006, compared to as many as 83% in 1990” (Forbes.com,
Feb. 17, 2006). This trend is becoming increasingly evident as General Motors
Corp. recently joined the growing number of U.S. companies (Hewlett-Packard,
Alcoa Inc., International Business Machines Corp., Verizon Communications Inc.
and Sprint Nextel Corp.) which have reduced pension liabilities within the last
year by freezing defined-benefit plans (Bloomberg News, March 8, 2006).
HRS
Around Town
We're pleased to announce our 2006
sponsorship for Lakefront Festival of Arts, and we hope to see
you there! We are also pleased to announce our 2nd year as
Platinum Sponsors to COSBE's CEO Roundtable program, plus our
recent support and participation with USBC's Bowl for the Cure, The
Heart Ball, Waukesha Chamber Ball and another year of proud alliance
with the Arthritis Foundation! We're currently planning a summer
fundraiser for the kids of Camp MASH (Make Arthritis Stop Hurting!),
and we'll keep you posted on the details.
