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Retention

Mandatory sabbaticals help retain call center staff

10/01/2006

Employees who celebrate their sixth anniversary at ServiceNet, a Jeffersonville, Ind., warranty service company, don’t get lapel pins to commemorate the occasion. They receive alarm clocks. Each clock counts down the year until the company boots the employee out the door … for a mandatory paid sabbatical …

Favoring older applicants: Is it discrimination?

10/01/2006

The EEOC has provided more legal cover for employers that actively recruit older applicants and offer better perks to their older employees. New proposed EEOC regulations, which reflect a 2004 Supreme Court decision, say you won’t violate federal age-discrimination law if you favor older employees over younger ones …

Manager orientations: How to get new leaders up to speed quickly

10/01/2006

How would you rate your orientation process for new managers and executives? Not good, if you’re like most organizations. Poor orientations can cause high-dollar hires to leave or fail to become productive in the critical first months. Improve your orientations by taking the following steps …

Draw attention to your perks during ‘Work & Family’ month

10/01/2006

Supporting a balance between employees’ work lives and personal lives "is in the best interest of national worker productivity." At least that’s what Congress declared in 2003 when it decreed that October shall be deemed "National Work & Family Month" …

Part-Time Employees Earning Full-Time Benefits

09/01/2006

Starting this year, Kent, Wash.-based Recreational Equipment Inc. (REI) began offering some full-time benefits to their part-time employees. That’s no small change because the retailer employs nearly 4,000 employees who work fewer than 20 hours a week at 82 stores. But it gives the company a competitive advantage in recruitment and retention, says Jeff Johnson, director of compensation and benefits …

401(k) participation hints at employees’ longevity

09/01/2006

If you’re wondering whether a new employee will stick around, look at whether he or she signed up for your retirement plan. A new study confirms that employees who forgo employers’ retirement plans also tend to change jobs frequently …

Survey: Fertility coverage won’t spike employers’ costs

09/01/2006

Ninety-one percent of employers that provide coverage for fertility treatment haven’t experienced a related increase in their medical costs, according to a new survey of 900 employers by Mercer Health and Benefits …

Employees going to college? Help with tuition, career path

09/01/2006

It’s back-to-school time, and not just for children. Many of your employees—and would-be employees—will enroll in college classes this fall. And while those courses will make employees more competent and promotion-worthy, they’ll also wreak havoc on their schedules, both at work and at home …

Curb Turnover Using Job-Rotation Plan, Not Job Sharing

09/01/2006

You know that employees who feel stalled in their careers are more inclined to quit. But how can organizations keep their workers energized and constantly training for a step up? One solution that’s gaining steam: a new breed of job-rotation program …

Recruiting execs? Examine military experience

09/01/2006

Companies led by CEOs with military experience have outperformed the S&P 500 Index over the past three-, five- and 10-year periods by as much as 20 percentage points, according to a study by executive search firm Korn/Ferry International …