How financial wellness efforts can boost retirement readiness
Great article from our partner, United Benefit Advisors (UBA) by Joe DeSilva
The economy appears to be strengthening, yet American workers are increasingly worried about retirement. On the face of it, this seems counterintuitive.
But consider this: Unemployment hovers around 5%, the lowest it’s been since 2008, and wages have grown consistently since 2014. Yet, research by Brightwork Partners shows that over the past 12 months, 38% of workers have considered delaying retirement beyond the original age they intended. And 52% of respondents say they will delay retirement because they “need to save more.”
There are a few forces influencing this trend. One reason is simple demographics. People are living longer and, therefore, working longer. The average life expectancy currently is 78.8 years according to the CDC. The percentage of workers age 55 years and older is expected to be 24.8% in 2024, up from 11.3% in 1994, per the Bureau of Labor Statistics. And, according to Gallup, the average age at which U.S. workers predict they will retire is 66, up from 60 in 1995.
In addition, residual lessons from the recession are changing the state of retirement. Even if the United States is nearing full employment and wages are rising, post-recession lessons are having an effect on the way Americans are thinking about retirement, especially millennials. The Brightwork Partners study revealed that the number of employees between 18 and 34 who are considering delaying retirement has increased 15% from 2010. Employees between the ages of 35 and 49 concerned about their retirement increased 7%. Interestingly, this trend is spread across income levels as well. Forty percent of respondents earning $50,000 to $100,000 expect to delay retirement, while 37% earning less than $50,000 expect to delay, and 37% of those earning more than $100,000 expect to do so.
Even though financial worries are a main reason to push back retirement, according to the study, certain age groups have different specific financial concerns. Those under 50 say current financial obligations have them most concerned, while those over 50 are most concerned with retirement. The recession seems to have had an effect on each group, placing an undue burden on financial milestones they face in their respective life stages.
According to AICPA, 50% of U.S. adults say they delayed contributions to retirement accounts due to the burden of student loans, a 22% jump from 2013. Many younger workers were burdened with loans during the recovery and many others came to terms with reduced retirement savings. Those concerns will likely influence how people consider their savings moving forward.
So if employees are pushing off retirement, what effect does this have on benefits administrators and HR departments?
The current trends show an increased concern over financial preparedness, both for short- and long-term objectives. Employer-sponsored benefits, like 401(k) plans and financial wellness programs, can help ease financial stress for those preparing for their retirement years. Financial wellness programs that teach about budgeting, debt management and financial goal-setting are a good complement to 401(k) plans. These programs can show how saving for retirement can be possible even with other financial obligations taking priority. Employers also can use the current shift to re-assess which retirement savings plans make the most sense for their employees and their business. Whether the classic 401(k), Profit Sharing plan or SIMPLE IRA, there are different options that employers can utilize.
It’s a new age for benefits providers. Employees are increasingly concerned about retirement and they want to be proactive in saving for their futures. A recent ADP white paper notes that when employers put in place financial wellness programs, 73% of employers see increased retirement readiness. There’s an opportunity here to not only help employees save more for retirement, but to boost financial wellness and increase overall financial literacy. That win-win scenario certainly seems worth considering.
See the original article Here.
Source:
DeSilva J.(2016 December 1). How financial wellness efforts can boost retirement readiness[Web blog post]. Retrieved from address https://www.employeebenefitadviser.com/opinion/how-financial-wellness-efforts-can-boost-retirement-readiness?tag=00000151-16d0-def7-a1db-97f03c840000
New Law Allows Small Employers to Pay Premiums for Individual Policies
Check out this interesting article from ThinkHR, by Laura Kerekes
This week, the U.S. Senate passed the 21st Century Cures Act which includes a provision allowing small businesses to offer a new type of health reimbursement arrangement for their employees’ health care expenses, including individual insurance premiums. The act was previously passed by the House and President Obama is expected to sign it shortly. The provision for Qualified Small Employer Health Reimbursement Arrangements (QSEHRAs), a new type of tax-free benefit, takes effect January 1, 2017. Further, the act retroactively relieves small employers from the threat of excise taxes under prior rules for plan years beginning before 2017.
Background
Employers of all sizes currently are prohibited from making or offering any form of payment to employees for individual health insurance, whether through premium reimbursement or direct payment. Employers also are prohibited from providing cash or compensation to employees if the money is conditioned on the purchase of individual health insurance. (Some exceptions apply; e.g., retiree-only plans, dental/vision insurance.) Violations can result in excise taxes of $100 per day per affected employee.
The prohibition, implemented under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), was intended to discourage employers from canceling their group plans and pushing workers into the individual insurance market. The rules have been particularly disruptive for small businesses, however, since previously it had been common practice for many small employers to subsidize the cost of individual policies instead of offering group coverage. The new law, passed this week with broad bipartisan support, responds to the concerns of small businesses.
New Qualified Small Employer HRAs
The new law does not repeal the ACA’s general prohibition against employer payment of individual insurance premiums. Rather, it provides an exception for a new type of arrangement — a Qualified Small Employer HRA or QSEHRA — provided that specific conditions are met.
First, the employer must meet two conditions:
- Employs on average no more than 50 full-time and full-time-equivalent employees. In other words, the employer cannot be an applicable large employer as defined under the ACA; and
- Does not offer a group health plan to any of its employees.
Next, the QSEHRA must meet all of the following conditions:
- It is funded solely by the employer; employee contributions are not permitted;
- It is offered to all full-time employees, although the employer may choose to include seasonal or part-time employees and/or may exclude employees with less than 90 days of service;
- For tax-free QSEHRA benefits, the employee must have minimum essential coverage (e.g., medical insurance under an individual policy);
- It pays or reimburses healthcare expenses (e.g., § 213(d) expenses) and premiums for individual policies;
- It does not pay or reimburse contributions for any employer-sponsored group coverage;
- The same benefits and terms apply to all eligible employees, except the benefit amount may vary by:
- Single versus family coverage;
- Prorated amounts for partial-year coverage (e.g., new hires); and
- For premium reimbursements, variations consistent with the age- and family-size rating structure of a representative individual policy; and
- Benefits do not exceed $4,950 if single coverage (or $10,000 if family coverage) per 12-month plan year. Amounts are prorated if covered for less than 12 months. Limits will be indexed for inflation.
Coordination with Exchange Subsidies
Coverage under a QSEHRA will affect the employee’s eligibility for a subsidized individual policy from an insurance Exchange (Marketplace). Any subsidy for which the employee would otherwise qualify will be reduced dollar-for-dollar by the QSEHRA.
Benefit Laws
Group health plans are subject to numerous federal laws, including SPD and other notice requirements under ERISA, coverage continuation requirements under COBRA, and benefit mandates under the ACA. The new law specifies that QSEHRAs are not group health plans, so COBRA and other requirements will not apply.
QSEHRA Notices
Small employers offering QSEHRAs will be required to provide a notice to each eligible employee that:
- Informs the employee of the QSEHRA benefit amount;
- Instructs the employee that he or she must give the QSEHRA information to the Exchange if applying for a subsidy for individual insurance; and
- Explains the tax consequences of failing to maintain minimum essential coverage.
QSEHRA notices should be provided at least 90 days before the start of the plan year.
Employers also will be required to report the QSEHRA coverage on Form W-2, Box 12. The reporting is informational only and has no tax consequences. Although small employers usually are exempt from this type of W-2 informational reporting, apparently it will be required for QSEHRAs starting with the 2017 tax year.
More Information
To learn more about QSEHRAs starting in 2017, or for details about the relief from excise taxes for small employers before 2017, see the 21st Century Cures Act. The relevant provisions are found in Section 18001 beginning on page 306.
Employers that are considering QSEHRAs are encouraged to work with legal counsel and tax advisors that offer expertise in this area. Starting in 2017, employer-funded QSEHRAs can offer valuable tax-free benefits to employees as long as they are designed and administered to meet all legal requirements.
See the original article Here.
Source:
Kerekes L. (2016 December 9). New law allows small employers to pay premiums for individual policies[Web blog post]. Retrieved from address https://www.thinkhr.com/blog/hr/new-law-allows-small-employers-to-pay-premiums-for-individual-policies/
9 reasons why retirement may go extinct
Worried about your future retirement? Check out this great read by Marlene Satter
Retirement as we know it may be set to disappear, as younger people look for ways to finance surviving into old age.
But extinction? Surely not.
However, according to the Merrill Edge Report 2016, that might just be in the offing, as workers change how they plan and save for retirement and how they intend to pay for it.
Millennials in particular represent a shift in attitude that includes very unretirement-like plans, although GenXers too are struggling with ways to pay their way through their golden years.
That’s tough, considering that most Americans neither know nor correctly estimate how much money they might need to keep the wolf from the door during retirement—or even to retire at all.
Here’s a look at 9 reasons why retirement as we know it today might be a terminal case—unless things change drastically, and soon.
9. Ignorance.
Most Americans have no idea how much they might need to retire, which leaves them behind the eight ball when trying to figure out when or whether they can afford to do so.
Of course, it’s hardly surprising, considering how many are members of the “sandwich generation,” who find themselves caring for elderly parents while at the same time raising kids, or even trying to put those kids through college.
With soaring medical costs on one end and soaring student debt on the other, not to mention parents supporting adult children who have come home to roost, it’s hard to figure out how much they’ll need to meet all their obligations, much less try to save some of an already-stretched income to cover retirement savings as well.
8. Poor calculations.
We already know most workers don’t know how much they’ll need in retirement—but it’s not just a matter of ignorance. They don’t know how to figure it out, either.
More than half—56 percent—figure they’ll be able to get by during retirement on a million dollars or less, while 9 percent overall think up to $100,000 will see them through.
And 19 percent just flat-out say they don’t know how much they’ll need.
Considering that health care costs alone can cost them a quarter of a mil during retirement, the optimists who think they can get by on $100,000 or less and even those who figure $100,000–$500,000 will do the job are way too optimistic—particularly since saving for medical costs isn’t one of their top priorities.
7. Despair.
It’s pretty hard to get motivated about something if you think it’s not achievable—and that discourages a lot of people from saving for retirement.
Those who have a “magic number” that they think will see them through retirement aren’t all that optimistic about being able to achieve that level of savings, with 40 percent of nonretired workers saying that reaching their magic number by retirement will either be “difficult” or “virtually unattainable.”
6. Luck.
When you don’t believe you can do it on your own, what else is left? Sheer dumb luck, to quote Professor Minerva McGonagall at Hogwarts after Harry and Ron defeated the troll.
Only instead of magic wands, 17 percent of would-be retirees are sadly (and amazingly) counting on winning the lottery to get them to their goal.
5. The gig economy.
Retirement? What retirement? Millennials in particular think they’ll need side jobs in the gig economy to keep them from the cat food brigade.
In addition, exactly half of younger millennials aged 18–24 believe they need to take on a side job to reach their retirement goals, compared with only 25 percent of all respondents. They don’t believe that just one job will cut it any more.
4. Attitude adjustment.
While 83 percent of current retirees are not currently working or never have during their golden years, the majority (83 percent) of millennials plan to work in retirement—whether for income, to keep busy or to pursue a passion.
The rise of the “gig economy" has created an environment where temporary positions and short-term projects are more prevalent and employee benefits such as retirement plans are less certain. This may be why more millennials (15 percent) are likely to rank an employer’s retirement plan as the most important factor when taking a new job compared with GenXers (5 percent) and baby boomers (5 percent).
Older generations had unions to negotiate benefits for them. Millennials might realize they have to do it all themselves, but they aren’t negotiating for salaries high enough to allow them to save.
And union benefits or not, 64 percent of boomers, 79 percent of Gen Xers and even 17 percent of currently retired workers plan to work in retirement.
3. A failure to communicate.
Lack of communications is probably not surprising, since most people won’t talk about savings anyway.
Fifty-four percent of respondents say that the only person they feel comfortable discussing their current retirement savings with is their spouse or partner. Only 36 percent would discuss the subject with family, and only 22 percent would talk with friends about it.
And as for coworkers? Just 6 percent would talk about retirement savings with colleagues—although more communication on the topic no doubt could provide quite an education on both sides of the discussion.
2. Misplaced confidence.
They won’t talk about it, but they think they do better than others at saving for retirement. How might that be, when they don’t know what others are doing about retirement?
Forty-three percent of workers say they are better at saving than their friends, while 28 percent believe they’re doing better at it than coworkers; 27 percent think they’re doing better than their spouse or partner, 27 percent say they’re doing better than their parents and 24 percent say they’re beating out their siblings.
All without talking about it.
1. DIY.
They’re struggling to figure out how much they need, many won’t talk about retirement savings even with those closest to them and they’re anticipating working into retirement—but millennials in particular are taking a more hands-on approach to their investments.
Doing it oneself could actually be a good thing, since it could mean the 70 percent of millennials, 72 percent of GenXers and 57 percent of boomers who are taking the reins into their own hands better understand what they’re investing in and how they need to structure their portfolios.
However, doing it oneself without sufficient understanding—and millennials in particular are also most likely to describe their investment personality as “DIY,” with 32 percent making their own rules when it comes to investments, compared to 19 percent of all respondents—can be a problem.
After all, as the saying goes, “A little knowledge is a dangerous thing.”
See the original article Here.
Source:
Satter M. (2016 December 7). 9 reasons why retirement may go extinct[Web blog post]. Retrieved from address https://www.benefitspro.com/2016/12/07/9-reasons-why-retirement-may-go-extinct?ref=mostpopular&page_all=1
3 ways to help employees with retirement planning
by Marlene Satter
Lack of confidence, lack of knowledge and lack of money all plague workers trying to save for retirement, leaving them working longer than they planned and saving considerably less than they need.
But a series of surveys from TIAA has identified three ways that plan sponsors can help to improve retirement outcomes for their employees.
Employees want income for life, for instance, with 49 percent saying that their retirement plan’s top goal should be providing guaranteed monthly income in retirement.
And although it’s something they badly want, 41 percent are unsure if their current plan has that as an option.
1. Employees need help figuring how much retirement income they'll need and how to translate savings into income - Plan sponsors can help with this, said the data, by helping employees be realistic about how much income they’ll need in retirement—something few have figured out.
While 63 percent of Americans who are not retired estimate that they’ll need less than 75 percent of their current income to live comfortably, most experts recommend replacing 70–100 percent of current income in retirement.
Compounding the situation is the fact that 53 percent of employees haven’t even figured out how to translate their savings into income—while 41 percent of people who haven’t yet retired are saving less (many considerably less) than the 10–15 percent of income experts recommend.
Lifetime income options such as annuities are one way to guarantee income replacement during retirement, but most people are unaware of them or of how they work. Just 10 percent of Americans have annuities, so for the other 90 percent, they’re not an option.
2. Employees are interested in receiving financial advice - Sponsors can also offer financial advice as part of a benefits package.
While 61 percent of those who have received advice feel confident about their financial situation, just 37 percent of people who haven’t feel that way.
But the cost—or perceived cost—of seeking advice is putting them off, as is distrust of advisors in general.
Although 71 percent of Americans say they’re interested in receiving advice, more than half haven’t.
For instance, 35 percent of Americans who have not worked with a professional financial advisor say they don’t think they have enough money to justify a meeting; 51 percent say they don’t have enough money to invest (49 percent believe they need more than $50,000 in savings to get an advisor to talk with them), while 45 percent have concerns about cost and affordability.
And 34 percent don’t know whom they can trust.
3. Employees can use tools and resources early and in all stages of retirement planning - Last but not least, the study found that getting involved early in the planning process can make a difference.
Sponsors who introduce resources for all stages of the financial planning process, with customizable planning tools and tailored support based on employees’ life stages, can help employees consider what they need to do to prepare for retirement, even if that day is years away.
Such tools can make it easier for employees to evaluate their personal risk tolerance, asset allocation and the current status of Social Security and Medicare to help them better envision their future retirement and the steps they can take to make sure that their retirement is successful
See the original article Here.
Source:
Satter M.(2016 December 8). 3 ways to help employees with retirement planning[Web blog post]. Retrieved from address https://www.benefitspro.com/2016/12/08/3-ways-to-help-employees-with-retirement-planning?ref=hp-news
16 building blocks that bolster employee engagement
Need a strategy for improving engagement from your employees? Check out this great read by Lauren Stead
Do you know what sets your company apart from the rest for job seekers? Is it your recent accomplishments? How about your Fitness Fridays or Casual Mondays? Or is it the opportunities you provide for employees to grow throughout your firm and take their careers to the next level?
The chances are it’s all of these things, which collaboratively come together to build up your culture. Today, culture is what sells your company above, as innovation is no longer a reliable way to set yourself apart from your competition. What makes for a great culture is great people, engaged in their company.
So how can you get ahead and stay ahead in this current market? How, exactly, do you build up your culture so employees stay more engaged?
Rusty Lindquist, VP of human capital management strategy for BambooHR, recently spearheaded a panel at the virtual HR conference Elevate 2016. His presentation focused on 16 components that are key improving employee engagement efforts. He said when your current workforce is engaged, they’ll be the ones who help sell the company to others and help it grow.
Lindquist’s breakdown to getting your employees more engaged included these steps:
- Objective – knowing where you’re going and why you should care about it.
People need to know where they’re going. Otherwise, they’ll be aimless and lack motivation to keep going forward, simply spinning their wheels in place. Rusty explained that if you were just set at the top of a mountain and left to roam, you would accomplish far less than the person who’s put at the base and has the summit pointed out to them as the goal. Make sure managers are sharing what the company’s mission and objectives are with their teams, to keep everyone working toward that summit. - Alignment – capability to do work and succeed at it.
Managers need to find the sweet spot between the three factors that make up an employee’s alignment: competency, opportunity, and passion. In other words, an employee needs to actually be able to do what’s set before them, have the chance to move forward afterward, and enjoy what she’s doing. If something is off with these three factors, chances are the employee will be under-performing. - Plan – knowing what the next step is or how to move forward on your career path.
People need to know what to do next and have a clear visualization of a path they can follow. They can be sold on their objective and feel comfortable in the company, but managers need to make sure there’s no confusion on how to achieve that objective. Break down future goals into achievable steps. - Space – having what you need to move forward.
Get out of employees’ way so they can create and accomplish personal goals. Space can mean having autonomy, ownership, permission, trust, influence, or just the right tools. - Contribution – getting things done and feeling like you’re making a difference.
People need to feel that what they’re doing is making a difference. The moment someone feels that they don’t matter, they begin to under-perform. If someone isn’t contributing, it’s a good time to evaluate the other engagement elements to see if something is out of alignment. - Score – keeping score of your contributive value.
Progress and impact need to be measured in some way. If a sense of progress is removed, people tend to contribute less value overall. Rusty compared it to playing a game with yourself. There’s no sense of accomplishment or context if you’re just racking up points by yourself. - Momentum – having a sense of moving forward and inevitability.
Momentum may drop when a project is completed or canceled. Before a new project starts up to take the old’s place, there’s a window where there’s no momentum. While periodic breaks are good, make sure managers are keeping employees focused on the overall summit. - Investment – feeling like you have skin in the game.
This is a factor you can notice outside of the workplace. For example, consider a stamp incentive program at coffee shops. Each time you visit, you’re given a stamp and when you achieve a certain number you’re given a reward. These types of programs instill in you a sense of investment, that you’ve potentially lost out on if you quit now. This is the same sort of feeling employees need to feel from their managers. - Growth – feeling like you’re gaining mastery, progressing personally or professionally.
Everyone likes the idea that they’re getting better at what they do. When careers stagnate, people begin to stall and lose interest in moving forward. Have managers challenge employees so they feel like they’re growing by providing them opportunities to improve personally and professionally. - Meaning – finding fulfillment and purpose in what you do.
Connect people to the work they’re doing through a story. This isn’t necessarily done through the company’s objective or mission statement, and it should be more personal. Managers need to identify what matters to their team, and then connect that meaning to their work through a narrative or story. - Value – feeling appreciated and adequately rewarded for your efforts.
Value isn’t completely tied up in compensation, since more compensation doesn’t always directly improve someone’s engagement. It also relies on rewards and recognition. Managers need to find ways to give people all three. - Identity – knowing who you are, what you’re capable of, and believing in yourself.
This building block relies on the theory of functional fixedness, the idea that people rely on their past successes to inform their next actions. If something has worked in the past, why not continue doing it? Managers need to push employees to think outside the box, consistently innovating new solutions to old problems. - Leadership – having someone who believes in, challenges, and shows you the way.
Every workplace, in some fashion, has a leader who is capable of showing people the way. Most times, these leaders are the ones who can self-diagnose and critique themselves. These employees aren’t necessarily managers or in executive-level positions, but they are the ones people lean on when they need a guiding light. Give these people a platform. - Relationship – having connections with people you care about.
When people are invested in each other, they have a sense that they don’t want to let their team down. Even when things with the company are bad, people will tough it out because they want to stay for the people they’ve built up relationships with. Foster those relationships. - Environment – having surroundings that support and enable your efforts.
If people are living in a bad environment, their behaviors will reflect their surrounding negativity. This was evident in New York’s broken windows theory. The city had high amounts of crime. Some people wanted to bolster the criminal and justice system, and crack down on that crime. A new mayor instead invested in beautifying the environment, cleaning up the city and fixing broken windows. Amazingly, the crime was reduced in those areas. Be aware of your company’s environment and how it impacts employees. - Renewal – finding restoration through balance and moderation.
Finally, this block of engagement is important for every employee. There may be a time when a great worker becomes disengaged and feels burned out. A short break or new challenging project may be in order to rouse spirits once more.
See the original article Here.
Source:
Stead L. (2016 November 30). 16 building blocks that bolster employee engagement[Web blog post]. Retrieved from address https://www.hrmorning.com/16-building-blocks-that-bolster-employee-engagement/
DOJ to appeal overtime ruling
Great article from BenefitsPro by Jack Craver
The Obama administration is not giving up on its overtime rule just yet.
The Department of Justice is appealing an injunction placed on the rule by a federal judge, which prevented the rule from going into effect on Dec. 1, as planned. The injunction came in response to a suit challenging the rule by 21 states, led by Texas and Nevada.
"That injunction was granted to some large businesses and Republican governors who had colluded to try to disrupt the implementation of this rule,” says White House spokesman Josh Earnest, according to NPR. “And essentially continue to take advantage of more than 4 million of the hardest-working Americans."
Judge Amos Mazzant of the U.S District Court for the Eastern District of Texas ordered an injunction after deciding that the challenge to the rule was likely to succeed in a trial.
The Department of Labor exceeded its authority by raising the salary threshold for a worker to be exempt from mandatory overtime pay from $23,660 to $47,476, Mazzant writes.
The ruling suggested that federal overtime law only allows the agency to determine overtime eligibility based on job duties, not salary, Mazzant writes. The ruling thus casts into doubt the existing salary threshold as well.
If the legal battle drags on, it is unlikely that the incoming Trump administration will continue fighting on behalf of the rule in court. In the one instance in which the president-elect commented on the issue during the campaign, he said that he would like to see an exemption from the rule for small businesses.
If Trump did reverse course on the issue, it would be a great disappointment to the Republican attorneys general who brought the suit. In a statement following the announcement of the injunction, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who led the suit, said that the new rule “hurts American workers."
Congressional Republicans also denounced the rule when the Obama administration announced the final version in May. House Speaker Paul Ryan called it “an absolute disaster.”
See the original article Here.
Source:
Craver J.(2016 December 2). DOJ to appeal overtime ruling[Web blog post]. Retrieved from address https://www.benefitspro.com/2016/12/02/doj-to-appeal-overtime-ruling
Employee Communications When Emotions Run High: Five Steps to a Successful Message
Check out this great read from The Society of Human Resources (SHRM), by SHRM Staff
Ultimately, leaders must understand their organization’s culture to determine the most appropriate employee message, or whether a message is necessary at all. In the case of the election results, however, we cannot deny that a change has occurred and for some employees that change was not what they were expecting.
As with any major change an organization and its people go through, it’s important for leadership to create an environment where open, transparent and constructive dialogue is encouraged within the workplace. Pretending like nothing has happened or that people aren’t feeling directly affected does a disservice to your people and ultimately your organization. Here are 5 ways to communicate with your employees when emotions run high.
1. Reinforce your Company Values
When crafting a message to employees, you will find the most success if you use this as an opportunity to reinforce the values of your company. One of our values at SHRM is, “Our People Matter” and so, for us, it’s important that our employees feel supported and heard. Acknowledging their feelings will go a long way in establishing trust in the organization.
2. Double Down on Benefits
Employers can also use this as an opportunity to highlight some of the company’s benefits offerings. Direct employees to their company Employee Assistance Program for resources that might be available to them. Many EAP programs offer stress management and personal wellness tools that employees can take advantage of during this time.
3. Offer Support
There are a range of activities – some of which can be tied to a wellness campaign – that an organization can do to assist employees:
- Bring in a massage therapist and offer de-stressing hand and foot massages to help employees unwind
- Bring in a yoga instructor or offer meditation resources
- Offer donuts or other snacks and create safe space zones around the workplace where employees can congregate and have discussions.
4. Open Lines of Communication
If a company does send a message to employees, it is important to reinforce the importance of person-to-person communication. At a time when tensions are high, internal social media platforms may not be the best place for employee dialogue.
5. Manage with Empathy
Most important, it is crucial that people managers recognize the signs of stress in their employees and approach them with compassion and empathy in the coming days and weeks. We do not always know what people are going through or dealing with outside of the office. Supervisors should work with their HR department to know what resources are available for employees, but they should also just be there as a supportive listener.
Finally, whether post-election communication comes from HR, executive leadership, a communications department – or if ultimately the decision is made not to send any message at all – this is a good time to take a closer look at your employee culture, reinforce your values, highlight your benefits and wellness offerings and show employees that they are supported, valued and heard. In the end, the most important lesson, and perhaps what your employees will value the most, is simply showing that you care.
See the original article Here.
Source:
SHRM Staff (2016 November 12). Employee communications when emotions run high: five steps to a successful message[Web blog post]. Retrieved from address https://blog.shrm.org/blog/employee-communications-when-emotions-run-high-five-steps-to-a-successful-m
5 tips for insurers to successfully implement new technology
Great article from Benefits Pro. By Laura Drabik
Over the past 10 years, I’ve worked with insurers dedicated to transforming how they do business through the implementation of technology.
I’ve collaborated with large insurers, regional insurers and startups. Although the size of the insurer has varied, principles they have employed to ensure transformation success have not.
And these principles apply to all segments of the insurance industry, including carriers, agents, brokers and claims professionals.
Here are five key observations from the implementations that I’ve worked on and the maneuvers these insurers employed to drive success:
1. Articulate your mandate — again and again and again
I once worked with a large insurer on one of the most complex initiatives. As a former change-management consultant, I found it impressive that before the vendor-evaluation process started, the chief information officer and his team communicated their vision to all levels of the organization in one succinct statement.
As the team transitioned to implementation, this vision was a beacon reminding all project members of what they should be driving toward. Whether gathering requirements, planning releases or gathering user feedback, all activities kept the executive mandate in mind, from evaluation through implementation.
Working toward one goal ensured consistency of direction across teams, improving the probability of success in achieving the business goal they were all striving for.
Later, in a conversation with that same CIO, he revealed that the key to their success was repeating the mandate to ensure it became innate knowledge within the organization.
To keep the message top-of-mind in an organization, use company town halls, CEO updates, webcasts, annual reports and newsletters as opportunities to refresh employees and stakeholders on the executive mandate, and why the company is on this transformation journey.
2. Create one team
Early in my career, I worked as a change-management consultant across various industries.
Regardless of the industry I was working in, I found organizations tended to divide project teams into separate technical and business units. Rather than create units, successful transformation projects combine the business and technical people into one team.
Keep in mind, everyone is working toward achieving one business mandate. To reinforce the “one team” approach, successful transformation projects situate the team in one location. Technical people take the same training as the business people, they celebrate their group identity by creating a team name, and they rally around a set of core team values.
When assembling one team, successful transformation projects staff with the best and brightest their organization has to offer. Rather than have these resources flip-flop between their regular jobs and the transformation initiative, they ensure the resources are 100 percent dedicated to the most critical points of the transformation journey. They understand that the transformation initiative is their organization’s future and require the right people to focus solely on the project at the most important time.
3. Build the new factory
At a recent user conference, one CIO presented a transformation project detailing how the insurer refused to rebuild the old factory or current system and instead focused on the new system as the factory of the future.
If transformation is your goal, don’t carry over old business processes and rules that were limiting in the past.
Successful transformation projects use the new system as the new best practice for doing business in the future. When team members begin slipping back into old processes, successful transformation projects challenge these team members with questions like “Is that how you want to do business in the future?” or “How does this support our executive mandate or business vision?”
Successful transformation projects separate the business-process education from the system training, with the understanding that a new system will come with a new set of best-practice business processes that could cause confusion among hardcore users.
A regional Canadian insurer I worked with made the brilliant decision to first educate its user community on the new business process before launching training on the new system. This allowed an easier transition to the new system because the new business processes were inherently supported by the new system.
4. Stick to 'out-of-the-box'
After purchasing vendor software, you become part of the community that helped to drive the best practices of that software.
Many insurers say that the majority of industry processes are the same across the industry and across insurers. Instead of trying to reconfigure a core process that really is the same across the industry, leverage the commonality and out-of-the-box content to accelerate your transformation project and drive it into the future.
Successful transformation projects spend their project dollars and time by nuancing content that differentiates them from their community and, more importantly, their competition.
5. Generate excitement for the initiative
Change can be scary, but in today’s work environment it’s the norm.
Successful transformation projects convert fear into excitement by advertising the project. Whether through CEO updates, town halls or other events, sell the importance of the transformation project and the team supporting it.
One insurer I worked with creatively orchestrated “showcase” demonstrations of the system on a quarterly basis to employees. The brief demonstrations targeted crucial pain points and showcased the way the new software would resolve the issue. They also knew it was important to gather feedback, not just from the showcase events but also from focus groups and the field. When an organization has an influential field presence, successful transformation projects advertise the project to the field by conducting regular roadshows and ensuring that the community’s feedback is incorporated into the solution.
See the original article Here.
Source:
Drabik, L. (2016 November 14). 5 Tips for insurers to successfully implement new technology[Web blog post]. Retrieved from address https://www.benefitspro.com/2016/11/14/5-tips-for-insurers-to-successfully-implement-new?ref=hp-blogs&page_all=1
Executive order forces DOL to enact final rule on paid sick leave
Interesting read about the new DOL final rule from Employee Benefit Adviser, by Leanne Mehrman
The U.S. Department of Labor acted on President Obama’s Executive Order 13706 (EO) and released a final rule implementing the requirements for federal contractors and subcontractors to provide employees with paid sick leave. Specifically, contractors must provide one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked on or in connection with a covered contract, for at least 56 hours per year, and subject to certain limitations. The requirements will take effect for covered contracts entered into on or after January 1, 2017.
An employee may use the leave for his or her own physical or mental illness, injury, medical condition, treatment or diagnosis as well as that of any person with whom the employee has a significant personal bond that is or is like a family relationship, regardless of biological or legal relationship. This includes such relationships as grandparent and grandchild, brother- and sister-in-law, fiancé and fiancée, cousin, aunt, and uncle. It could also include others with whom the employee has a family-like relationship such as a foster child or foster parent, a friend of a family, or even an elderly neighbor in certain circumstances.
An employee may also use the leave for absences from work resulting from domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking, if the leave is for the reasons described above or to obtain additional counseling, seek relocation, seek assistance from a victim services organization or to take related legal action. The leave for domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking is available for the employee and for the employee to assist a related individual as described above.
Covered contracts: The EO and Final Rule apply to contracts and contract-like instruments (which will be defined in DOL regulations) if the contract is:
- a procurement contract for services or construction;
- a contract for services covered by the Service Contract Act (SCA);
- a contract for concessions, including any concessions contract excluded by DOL regulations at 29 CFR 4.133(b); or
- a contract or contract-like instrument entered into with the federal government in connection with federal property or lands and related to offering services for federal employees, their dependents, or the general public; and
The wages of employees under these contracts are covered by the Davis Bacon Act (DBA), the SCA or the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), including employees who are exempt from the FLSA's minimum wage and overtime provisions.
For contracts covered by the SCA or DBA, the EO and Final Rule apply only to contracts at the thresholds specified by those statutes. For procurement contracts in which employees' wages are covered by the FLSA, the EO and Final Rule apply only to contracts that exceed the micro-purchase threshold as defined in 41 U.S.C. 1902(a), unless expressly made subject to this order pursuant to DOL regulations.
Highlights of the final rule requirements include:
- Accrued sick leave must be carried over from year to year;
- Contractors must reinstate accrued sick leave for employees rehired by a covered contractor within 12 months after job separation;
- Contractors are not required to pay a separating employee for unused sick leave upon separation;
- Contractors must inform an employee, in writing, of the amount of paid sick leave accrued but not used no less than once each pay period or each month, whichever is shorter;
- Contractors cannot require the employee to find a replacement worker as a condition for using the paid sick leave;
- Contractors covered by the SCA or DBA will not receive credit toward their prevailing wage or fringe benefit obligations under these acts by providing the paid sick leave required by the EO;
- A contractor's existing paid sick leave policy provided in addition to the fulfillment of the SCA or DBA requirements, which is made available to all employees, fulfills the requirements of the EO and Final Rule if it permits employees to take at least the same amount of leave as provided by the EO for the same reasons;
- Employees must provide written or verbal notice of the need for leave at least seven days in advance if the leave is foreseeable and as soon as practicable when the need for the leave is not foreseeable;
- A contractor may only require certification of the need for the leave for absences of three or more consecutive days, but only if the employee received notice of the requirement to provide certification or documentation before returning to work;
- A contractor’s existing PTO policy can fulfill the paid sick leave requirements of the EO as long as it provides employees with at least the same rights and benefits that the Final Rule requires if the employee chooses to use that PTO for the purposes covered by the EO;
- Contractors may not interfere with or retaliate against employees taking or attempting to take leave or otherwise asserting rights under the EO;
- Contractors must still comply with federal, state or local laws or collective bargaining agreement provisions that require greater paid sick leave than required by the EO.
SCA health and welfare benefit rate to be adjusted: The DOL’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) will be announcing an SCA health and welfare benefit rate specifically for federal contractors whose employees receive paid leave pursuant to the EO and Final Rule. This rate is expected to be lower than it would be without consideration of the provision of this paid sick leave.
Recordkeeping requirements: Contractors will be required to make and maintain records for purposes of the EO and Final Rule, including:
- Copies of notifications to employees of the amount of paid sick leave accrued;
- Denials of employees’ requests to use paid sick leave;
- Dates and amounts of paid sick leave employees use; and
- Other records showing the tracking of employees’ accrual and use of paid sick leave.
As with other leave laws, federal contractors must also keep employees’ medical records, as well as records relating to domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking, separate from other records and confidential.
Employers’ bottom line
Federal contractors who anticipate entering into contracts that will be subject to Executive Order 13706 should do the following: First, review any current PTO/sick leave policy to determine if any revisions may be needed to bring it into compliance with the EO and Final Rule. Second, review the current payroll system to ensure that it has the capabilities to track the amount of paid time off accrued and taken, and timely advise employees. And finally, become familiar with the specific and detailed requirements contained in the Final Rule to ensure compliance upon entry into the first covered contract.
See the original article Here.
Source:
Mehrman, L. (2016 October 6). Executive order forces DOL to enact final rule on paid sick leave. [Web blog post]. Retrieved from address https://www.employeebenefitadviser.com/opinion/executive-order-forces-dol-to-enact-final-rule-on-paid-sick-leave
Employee Recognition: Picking Up the Pieces
Here's an interesting article from The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) by David Kovacovich
As I enter my tenth year in the Human Capital Management space, I figured it would be beneficial to my readers to reflect on how our industry has (and has not) evolved over the last decade's time.
* The following scenarios are built on real life business engagements. The names have been changed to protect the innocent.
Case Study #1: A Story of Manipulation
Employee A (Let's call him Carl) had worked for Company X (let's call it Pied Piper) for a calendar year. After 3 failed endeavors at Bay Area start ups, Carl was looking for something more stable. He had a single motivating factor: MONEY!
Work at a Large Corporate Technology firm was different than the start-up world: Bureaucracy was thick, rule structure was more intense and cashing out was trumped by climbing the ladder. So how could he climb the ladder?
Achieving sales results did not come as easily in an Enterprise role at a large company and Carl struggled in this first year. The results weren't there so he needed another tool to help get him promoted. Then it hit him like a lightening bolt..... his company had announced the end of the annual performance review process to be replaced with a high touch performance management system (even large corporations cannot refute common sense). The performance management process was positioned as a pro-active measure to build the internal talent pool.
Carl's bargaining chip? Employee Recognition would be leveraged as part of the Performance Management system. Carl's job was simple, he sent an email to roughly 100 colleagues asking them to participate in an experiment (he even went-so-far as to title his email "An Experiment In Human Compassion"). Carl asked each of his colleagues to send him a recognition through their peer to peer system. He offered to return the gesture. Carl was a fun guy at happy hour so getting his peers to buy-in was no problem. Within a week, Carl shot to the top of Recognition Leaderboard. This flagged him as an 'up and comer' in the system and garnered him an opportunity to apply for a Management position.
Carl was promoted to Management, 8 employees left under his reign and he was fired less than a year later.
The company lost great performers and the recognition program was tarnished.
What's worse? The company was sued by an employee who was passed over for promotion sighting leadership development as a popularity contest. (Carl's "Human Compassion" email was submitted into evidence).
Lesson Learned: Using Recognition as a Performance Lever is Dangerous Business!
Case Study #2: A Shattered Cookie Cutter
The message was simple, "we need to cut costs so any programs that are not mission-critical are to be discontinued". The CEO was very clear in her directives so the formal recognition program was removed. This program had operated with over 90% adoption for nearly 10 years (CRM adoption hovered at about 38%).
With the program removed a caveat was dangled. Keeping our employees engaged is job one so we are reconstructing programs that will streamline appreciation:
1. Employees would go to dinner with their supervisor if they qualified as a top quarterly achiever.
2. Employees who hit a tenure milestone would receive a letter from the CEO and a gift card.
When Employee A (let's call her Nancy) hit her 20 year anniversary with the company, she received a form letter from the CEO and a $250 gift card. She tested the signature on the letter but it did not smudge. Then she pulled out her i-phone to use the calculator.
$1.73 a month. That's what her contribution to the organization was worth.
She flipped over the form letter, wrote two words on the back, grabbed a picture of her kids from her desk and headed out the door.....
I QUIT
Lesson Learned: No Recognition is Better than Thoughtless Recognition!
Case Study #3: Leadership Jumps on the Manipulation Train
The VP of HR sent out the annual employee survey at the tail end of the 7 paragraph diatribe. The message offered a proverbial laundry list of all of the "perks and benefits" of working at Company X. Benefits packages, non-guaranteed pay increases, company functions and education aid were all mentioned as the things that made Company X a "Great Place to Work". Mr. HR Guy included a mention of half day Fridays during the summer months if the company hit their revenue goal.
Filling out the survey was mandatory. Managers received bonuses for "5" rating across the board and were regulated for examination if any of their team dipped below last year's survey results.
The survey structure was based on the following:
1. Make the Great Place to Work list and Senior Managers receive a bonus.
2. Managers who average a "5" receive a bonus.
3. Managers whose average scores wavered were consulted by HR as to what to do to ensure employees "no longer seemed discontent".
The leader of the Human Engagement process allowed his greed to override a prime opportunity to receive feedback from the trenches. He did not receive his bonus.
Managers were subjected to adversarial relationships with employees: meeting with each of them to guess who used what comment to berate them while urging employees to keep their comments in-house.
The results of the survey were skewed. Employees who wished to stay in their managers good graces "marked 5 to survive". Those who saw through the hypocrisy of the exercise gave lower scores than they otherwise would have to mock Leadership's misunderstanding of workforce engagement!
Lesson Learned: Surveys Are an Opportunity to Identify Areas of Improvement not a Meter for Compensation!
The Recognition industry was built by fulfillment houses whose strengths lie in purchasing & distribution. Times have caught up with them. It's 2016 and systems of feedback and leadership development are far more important to today's employee than a logo-ed lamp.
Surprises:
1. Companies are still investing heavy dollars in catalog-driven Service Anniversary programs (because employees still like them).
2. Performance Management has not replaced Employee Recognition.
3. Social Recognition has proven effective for a limited time if there is not a reward within the process of participating.
4. Results compensation programs are up to 100x more-invested than Recognition programs in the majority of companies.
Opportunity:
1. Diversify budgets to create more high touch, immediate recognition opportunity
- I've beat this horse to death since 2006 and I'm not giving up.
2. Make recognition initiatives performance based.
- It's incredibly simple to program technology to reward mission critical behaviors instead of off-the-shelf catch phrases.
3. Use Social Recognition to attract employees to a platform that offers a variety of performance-based programs.
- Consolidation enhances engagement and saves significant dollars.
4. Replace revenue improvement incentives with behavior-based development programs.
- Compensating the bottom line is easy to measure and easier to manipulate. Creating programs that promote responsible behavior geared toward relationship development will strengthen long-term organizational stability and improve revenue.
I believe the Human Capital Management industry (or whatever you want to call it) has the greatest opportunity for growth of any:
- Human Resource professionals need to continue a Change Management focus.
- Vendors should shift from reward fulfillment to active behavior change consulting.
Don't Forget to Remember!
Dave
See the original article Here.
Source:
Kovacovich, D. (2016 September 27). Employee recognition: picking up the pieces. [Web blog post]. Retrieved from address https://blog.shrm.org/blog/employee-recognition-picking-up-the-pieces