News & Articles

Human Resource Management
Published in the Rochester Business Journal
January 2, 2005
© 2005 HR Works, Inc.

HR managers faced with clear and urgent priorities for 2005

By Candace Walters

In this season of New Year’s resolutions, human resource managers at local organizations are focusing on initiatives they plan to address in 2005.

For most, HR priorities will fall into one or more of the following categories: compliance, benefits, training, technology, performance management and rewards, and leveraging outsourcing expertise.

Some initiatives, such as ensuring compliance with the new Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) rules regarding employee classifications, are essential to address immediately. Others, such as adding wellness programs to encourage employees to stop smoking or lose weight, are nice-to-haves.

Compliance: a solid foundation

Organizations of all sizes must place a priority on ensuring compliance with ever-changing employment laws and regulations. The focus for 2005 should include:

• Scheduling non-discrimination and sexual harassment training for supervisors.



• Updating employee handbooks to reflect changes in legislation and company policies. For example, military policies need to be updated to reflect an amendment to the federal Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA). The change increases from 18 months to two years the period during which employers must extend an employee in military service the option of maintaining employer-sponsored health insurance coverage



• Ensuring job descriptions are accurate, up-to-date and in compliance with the new FLSA regulations governing exempt and non-exempt classifications.



• Posting updated federal- and state-mandated posters.



• Ensuring that compensation reflects the new state minimum wage of $6 an hour, effective Jan. 1, 2005, up from $5.15.



• Reviewing current COBRA notification requirements and updating existing COBRA notice forms to reflect an amendment effective July 25, 2004. Under the new requirements, the Department of Labor clarified current notification requirements and provided new model notices for use by employers.

Benefits (or should we say health insurance)

Among the most urgent initiatives for 2005 will be finding ways to manage escalating health insurance costs, given that premium increases have become as inevitable as death and taxes.

With community-rated plans, options for controlling costs can seem minimal. However, senior managers can take a proactive stance by better defining and communicating compensation and benefits strategies.

The first step is for employers to decide what portion of total compensation will be allocated to benefits. Then, within that portion, management must decide how health premiums will be balanced against other benefits.

Because insurance companies’ increases are typically finalized late in the calendar year, employers who fail to anticipate are left with little time to juggle these considerations. But those who establish and communicate their benefits strategies earlier in the year are better able to gauge what portion of the hikes can be absorbed by employees.

Training: a focus on executives and supervisors

Professional development will be a high priority for many organizations in 2005.

At WXXI Public Broadcasting, HR Director Fran Lipani says, the management team will receive training that incorporates principles outlined in the best-selling Jim Collins book, “Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap ... and Others Don't.”

Other HR executives are planning to boost organizational effectiveness by providing more supervisory skills training and introducing executive coaching for key employees.

Informal professional development can be valuable as well. At Microwave Data Systems Inc., HR Director Susan O’Brien urges everyone on her staff to devote one hour per week to catching up on reading professional journals. The staff then meets frequently to discuss ideas they have gleaned or seminars they have attended.

Performance management and rewards

As a strategic partner to the management team, today’s savvy HR director focuses on generating results by identifying the skills, knowledge and competencies necessary for the organization to achieve its goals. Accordingly, performance management – and compensation and rewards – must be linked to strategic imperatives.

In 2005, many organizations will be striving to better align performance management with corporate goals, ensuring that the rewards drive the type of behavior and values that are critical for the company’s success.

Technology

A just-completed survey by HR.com found that 62 percent of respondents expect technology will change nearly every aspect of the HR function, mostly for the better.

Many organizations are finding a return on investment in using technology to perform transactional functions, facilitate on-line open enrollment, enhance the exit interview process, conduct employee surveys, and deliver training. In 2005, more companies will devote more attention to using and enhancing technology for HR functions.

Leveraging outsourcing expertise

The complexity of human resource management has become daunting. It’s rare if not impossible for one person to stay current on all facets, including affirmative action, benefits, health and safety, wage and hour issues, and employee relations. With lawsuits running rampant, employers who make mistakes in any of these areas will suffer the consequences – in legal fees and perhaps damages as well as bad publicity.

It is for these reasons -- as well as opportunities to realize better value for money spent -- that more organizations are adopting outsourcing strategies and will continue to do so in 2005. Providers of outsourced HR services deliver the expertise of specialists who can keep the company current on compliance issues while offering best-practice advice. And because outsourcers work with many organizations, they can leverage their buying power and deliver best pricing for a variety of services including training, benefits and technology.

Candace Walters is president and CEO of HR Works, Inc., an HR management outsourcing and consulting firm serving more than 600 clients in the Rochester, Buffalo, Syracuse and Baltimore/Washington areas. HR Works provides HR Department outsourcing, part-time and interim HR managers, affirmative action plans, HR*Stars recruitment services, legally reviewed employee handbooks and supervisor manuals, compensation programs, training and more. To offer comments, write walters@hrworks-inc.com

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