Thursday, September 28, 2006

Australia - IR laws hitting take-home pay, say ACTU

Analysis of Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data by the ACTU appears to show that employees' that average earnings have failed to keep pace with inflation for the first time in 5 years.

New IR Laws Reducing Take-Home Pay, say ACTU

USA - Powerful CEOs pay employees more

New research has analyzed perceptions of fairness in executive pay and how CEO over- or underpayment cascades down to lower organizational levels.

Powerful CEOs pay employees more

USA - Citygroup attracts law graduates

Citigroup Global Wealth Management has recently has teamed up with a number of top law firms and law schools to introduce CitiSelect, described as an innovative recruitment programme aimed at providing graduating law students with a new way to fast track their careers.

Citigroup attracts law graduates

USA - Six Sigma and Lean

As courtships go, none has been more contested and anticipated than the evolving
relationship between Six Sigma and Lean. According to a recent study by The Avery Point Group, a leading national executive search firm specializing in Lean and Six Sigma,
there are increasing signs that these two corporate initiatives are headed down the aisle of eternal matrimony.

Six Sigma and Lean: A Marriage in the Making

USA - Peak Performances in Hospitality Industry

Coyle Hospitality Group (CHG) has announced the successful launch and implementation of Peak Performances, an interactive online tool that allows hoteliers, spa directors and restaurateurs to identify, cull, and share Best Practices with their entire team; all with just a few mouse clicks.

Coyle Hospitality Group Launches 'Peak Performances Module' Interactive Online Tool Helps Hype Hospitality Heroes

USA - Directors' Pay

Median annual compensation for Directors of major U.S. companies surged 12% to $204,000, marking the third year of double-digit growth in Board pay, according to a new report from compensation consultancy Pearl Meyer & Partners. The findings are based on 2006 public filings by the 200 largest U.S. industrial and services companies and were announced at the Conference Board’s 12th annual Pay at the Top conference on executive and Board compensation.

Director Pay Up 12%, Topping $200,000 at Largest U.S. Companies

UK - Communication Handbook

Two of the UK's most experienced internal communicators have teamed up to write a practical communication and engagement handbook for managers.

New handbook aims to make managers better communicators

Wednesday, September 27, 2006

UK - Coaching Supervision

New research by the CIPD finds that despite a dramatic growth in the use of coaching in organizations in recent years, very few are using supervision to support their coaches and to get the best value from their coaching services.

Coaching Supervision

Saturday, September 23, 2006

USA - Employee Survey Case Study

A case study of Best Practices on using employee opinion survey results to affect change and increase employee retention.

Turning Data Into Action: How The Breakers Palm Beach Resort Maximized Employee Survey Results

UK - Ramadan

The Muslim holy month of Ramadan begins in the next few days. Millions of people from London to Lahore will fast everyday from sunrise to sunset for 30 days. Among these will be significant numbers of Muslims working in offices in Europe and North America where Ramadan slips past unnoticed. A lack of awareness about the holy month can and does cause inconvenience, stress and unhappiness to practicing Muslims in the workplace. Kwintessential, a leading intercultural communication and diversity training provider, is now offering free consultation plus a guide for employers with Muslim staff to help them better understand the month and what it means to Islam’s adherents.

Intercultural Training and Diversity Company Offer Free Consultation to HR During Ramadan

USA - Identity Theft Tips

The common notion is that identity theft is a crime committed by computer hackers who
steal information via the Internet. The reality is that a lot of information is stolen from unsecured files and paperwork. The source of the crime is often corporations, small businesses, and other organizations that hold sensitive data on file. The perpetrators are often company employees.

Security Expert's Top 5 Tips to Combat Identity Theft

USA - Higher Compensation Levels for Senior Living Positions in Massachusetts

WageWatch, Inc., (http://www.WageWatch.com), the leading online compensation and benefits survey company, announced today that jobs in the senior living industry in Massachusetts pay from 15% to 30% higher than the national average. WageWatch’s Senior Living Industry report for Massachusetts contains data on 10,500 employees from over 111 facilities in the area.

New Survey Reveals Higher Compensation Levels for Senior Living Positions in Massachusetts

USA - Are Big Companies Better at Producing Talent? Not in Sales

Survey reveals major disconnect in hiring philosophy between corporate recruiters and line managers.

Are Big Companies Better at Producing Talent? Not in Sales

Friday, September 22, 2006

USA - Nurses suffer work-life conflict

A recent national survey of American registered nurses found that half reported that work chronically interfered with their home lives.


Nurses suffer work-life conflict

UK - TUC on minimum wage

The TUC argues that it is wrong to blame recent problems in the retail sector on the minimum wage.

TUC comments on minimum wage survey

UK - CIPD on pensions policy

In its response to the Government's white paper on pensions, the CIPD has called upon the Government to be more holistic in its approach to pensions policy.

CIPD responds to government pensions white paper

Australia - Telstra cuts contract technicians pay

More than 100 independent contractors working for Telstra as telephone technicians in regional New South Wales are facing cuts of between 25 per cent and 50 per cent to their contract pay rates.


Telstra cuts technicians contract pay rates

Thursday, September 21, 2006

USA - Career Exits

According to the first survey on employee exits by career publisher Vault Inc., 61 per cent of respondents have exited a job on bad terms with their employer.

Career exits

Europe - Wide variation in maternity benefits

A recent study has found that the UK and Ireland have the lowest levels of statutory maternity pay in Western Europe. British and Irish women receive lower pay entitlements than those in some Eastern European countries. In contrast, Denmark and Norway have the highest level of maternity benefits, more than twice those in the UK.

Wide variation in European maternity benefits

UK - Web use at work

A report by ScanSafe, a global specialist in managed web security, reveals significant differences in workplace web searching in the UK and US.

Web use at work

USA - Employment sites do the job

Recruiters and HR leaders find online job sites effective in filling openings, despite complaints that they generate too many unqualified applicants.

Employment sites do the job

Thursday, September 14, 2006

North America - Telecommuting

Rising gas prices have resulted in many professionals considering telecommuting as an economical work option, but spending too much time working from home can mean saying goodbye to the corner office.


Who Telecommutes?

USA - Rising demand for top executives

A new report by Rick Slayton from Chicago-based Slayton Search Partners examines factors that have created a sellers' market in the executive search game.

Rising demand for top executives

Australia - Almost a third of nurses experience abuse

Almost one-third of nurses who took part in a large-scale Tasmanian study reported that they had been subjected to both physical and verbal abuse in the previous four working weeks and a quarter had considered resigning as a result.

Almost a third of nurses experience abuse

UK - Women Directors 'Own Worst Enemy'

A survey of over 100 female directors in the UK has found that many believe that women may be their own worst enemies when it comes to success in the boardroom.

Women Directors 'Own Worst Enemy'

USA - Pink Collar CEOs

Twice as many women hold the top executive position in the Fortune 500 compared to five years ago. The number has increased from five in August 2001 and will be 11 in October 2006 whenPepsiCo chief finance officer Indra Nooyi is scheduled to take over as CEO.


Pink Collar CEOs

USA - Diversity Training Doesn't Work

A new study shows that diversity training programs have failed to eliminate bias and increase the number of minorities in management, despite the fact that many corporations have spent increasing amounts of money on this area.

Diversity Training Doesn't Work

UK - Childhood Aspirations May Be Key

Children in the UK dream of becoming a teacher, footballer or police officer, according to new research for Jobcentre Plus, part of the Department for Work and Pensions. The poll of 397 children aged 5-11, conducted by LVQ Research revealed that boys are most likely to aspire to sporting careers or working for emergency services and girls to caring or nurturing professions. One in ten boys (10 per cent) dream of being a footballer and 7 per cent a police officer or fireman; while 13 per cent of girls would like to become a teacher and 9 per cent a nurse.

Childhood Aspirations May Be Key

Canada - Pay Cheques Boosted

Canadian employees can expect pay raises of 3.5 per cent in 2007, according to findings from the 2006 Annual Canadian Salary Survey by Watson Wyatt Worldwide.

Pay Cheques Boosted

Canada - Interview Mistakes

A recent Canadian survey finds that how much applicants know about prospective employers plays a crucial role in successful job seeking. Thirty-four per cent of executives polled said that having little or no knowledge of the company is the most common mistake made during interviews.


Interview Mistakes

USA - Aging Workforces

More than one-third (34 per cent) of all American employers - and nearly half (46 per cent) with 25 000 or more workers - agree that the aging workforce will have a significant impact on their company. However, more than three-quarters (79 per cent) have not taken any steps to accommodate older workers, according to the 2005/2006 MetLife Employee Benefits Trend Study.


Aging Workforces

Ireland - Controlling Absence Levels

Controlling Absence Levels

A survey of top Irish organizations has found that almost 65 per cent of companies do not calculate the annual cost of absence to their business and have no idea what impact it has on their direct or indirect costs.

Wednesday, September 06, 2006

UK - Directors' Bumper Pensions

Directors of the UK's top 100 companies have amassed pensions worth nearly £1 billion, according to the latest annual TUC PensionsWatch survey.

Directors' Bumper Pensions

USA - Whites' racial identity

What whites think about their own race is the focus of an innovative national survey.

Whites' racial identity

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. Names Del Busto Chief Human Resources Officer

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has named long-time Human Resources (HR) executive Maria Del Busto its vice president of Human Resources.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. Names Del Busto Chief Human Resources Officer

Worker Protection - World Bank Accused

The International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) has strongly criticized the 2007 edition of the World Bank publication, Doing Business, prepared by the private sector development department.

Worker Protection - World Bank Accused

UK - Accidents at work

New research from AXA Insurance has revealed that as many as one in ten people have sustained an injury in the workplace in the past five years.

One in ten injured at work

UK - Soldiers' Wives Tough It Out

September 2006 sees the deployment of more British troops to Afghanistan, but what is the impact on the wives and families left behind?

Soldiers' Wives Tough It Out

Tuesday, September 05, 2006

USA - Black-White Achievement Gap

An in-class writing assignment designed to boost students' sense of identity and personal integrity reduced the achievement gap between African-American and non-minority students by 40 per cent, according to a new study by associate professor Geoffrey Cohen of Colorado and Julio Garcia of Yale universities and their colleagues.

Black-White Achievement Gap

Staff Retention Problems in China

Companies in China are struggling to retain their professional and support staff, and face having to pay higher salaries or excessive recruitment costs, according to research by Mercer Human Resource Consulting.

Staff Retention Problems in China

UK - Skills Crisis

The report entitled '2020 vision for skills' is a response to the review of skills needs for 2020, called for by Chancellor of Exchequer Gordon Brown in his 2004 budget.

UK Facing Skills Crisis

Sunday, September 03, 2006

Job Seekers Want Traditional Employer Characteristics

Interesting work, recognition and reward of good performance and opportunities for promotion attract job seekers the most, according to an Accenture global recruitment survey.


Job Seekers Want Traditional Employer Characteristics

Saturday, September 02, 2006

UK - Pension Scheme Websites

Awareness of pension scheme websites is considerably higher among employees than the self-employed.

Pension Scheme Websites

USA - Bipolar Disorder and Lost Productivity

Bipolar disorder costs twice as much in lost productivity as major depressive disorder.

Bipolar Disorder Costs More Than Depression

Friday, September 01, 2006

USA - Employment Situation

Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that nonfarm payroll employment rose by 128,000 in August.

US unemployment falls marginally to 4.7%