HRM 20130801 Aug 2013 PDF

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HEALTH CARE REFORM
Set a compliance
timeline
ORGANIZATIONAL
DEVELOPMENT
Online courses open
training opportunities
Wayne Culbertson
Chief Human Resources Officer
Michelin North America
Invest in
Older
Workers
Cont ents | Zoom i n | Zoom out Search I ssue | Next Page For navi gat i on i nst ruct i ons pl ease cl i ck here
Cont ents | Zoom i n | Zoom out Search I ssue | Next Page For navi gat i on i nst ruct i ons pl ease cl i ck here
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Previous Page | Contents | Zoom in | Zoom out | Front Cover | Search Issue | Next Page
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THE WORLDS NEWSSTAND
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August 2013 HR Magazine 1
Contents
Au0uST 2013 v0LuME 58, NuMEF 8
20
COVER STORY
20 Invest in Older Workers
Loyal and reliable, older workers
yield a generous return on
investment.
By Robert J. Grossman
FEATURES
26 FIRST-PERSON ACCOUNT
All for Tomorrows Leaders
Goodyears executive team initiated
and participates in an intense
leadership development process.
By Gary VanderLind and Amy Alexy
ORGANIZATIONAL &
EMPLOYEE DEVELOPMENT
SPECIAL REPORT
30 Are Massive Open Online
Courses in Your Future?
This professional development
option may be appropriate for you
and your employees.
39 Upon Further Assessment
When selecting future leaders,
employers rely on results from
multiple tests and tools.
By Adrienne Fox
46 Q&A
Incentives for Executives
New research shows that long-term
incentives are often ineffective at
motivating senior executives.
Interview by Adam Van Brimmer
49 SPECIAL SECTION ON
HEALTH CARE REFORM:
ARE YOU READY?
AGENDAS
71 SOCIAL MEDIA
Polish Your Social Media Policy
Create a social media policy,
and train employees to behave
responsibly.
By Aliah D. Wright
75 COMMUNICATION
Its Not Too Late
Educate employees about health
care reform now.
By Nancy Hatch Woodward
ADVICE AND ANALYSIS
18 SOLUTIONS
Company sports teams, health
care coverage
By Margaret Fiester, SPHR-CA, and
Amber Clayton, PHR
79 HR TECHNOLOGY
Give Employees with
Disabilities an Assist
New technology offers many more
low-cost accommodation tools.
By Jennifer Taylor Arnold
89 LEGAL TRENDS
Collective Bargaining, Meet
Health Reform
Health care reform brings new
challenges to collective bargaining.
By Arthur Smith Jr.
MANAGEMENT TOOLS
is online. See this months issue at
www.shrm.org/hrmagazine.
Women Helping Women
Female leaders who pass on their
insights to other women beneft
from the relationships.
By Vickie L. Milazzo
HR Magazine (ISSN 1047-3149) is published monthly by the Society for Human Resource Management, 1800 Duke St., Alexandria, VA 22314, (703) 548-3440, to further the professional aims of the
Society and the human resource management profession. Members of the Society receive HR Magazine as part of their annual dues, $55 of which is allocated for the subscription to HR Magazine,
which is nonrefundable therefrom. Nonmember subscriptions are available from the Circulation Department at the following rates: Domestic (U.S. and its territories)$70 per year. Canada$90
per year. International (via airmail)$125 per year. Published articles do not necessarily represent the views of the magazine or the Society. Society for Human Resource Management 2013.
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This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information with regard to the subject matter covered. It is published with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in
rendering legal, accounting or other professional services. If legal advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought.
NEWS YOU CAN USE
7 HR NEWS
Employer benefts obligations
expand for same-sex couples;
employer mandate delayed; more.
16 EXECUTIVE BRIEFING
Mixed emotions lead to wise
decisions; resume content helps
explain hiring disparity.
85 COURT REPORT
Reduction in force tainted by willful
age discrimination; teacher fred for
harassing student lacks bias claim;
more.
99 WHATS NEW
Employee recognition; health and
safety; HR management systems;
more.
PERSPECTIVES
4 FROM THE CEO
A Journey to Becoming More
By Henry G. Jackson
104 FUTURE FOCUS
Skills Gap Holds Back
Some Grads
College graduates are
underqualifed, some HR
professionals say.
By Jennifer Schramm
HR MAGAZINE BOOK BLOG
The blog is online. See www.shrm.
org/bookblog for summaries of
Quiet Infuence; Up, Down, and
Sideways; A Necessary Evil; and
Manager 3.0.
SHRM RESOURCES
95 INSIDE SHRM
Insight and inspiration at Annual
Conference; HR faces timeless
challenges; more.
SPECIAL SECTION
101 BENEFITS BUYERS GUIDE
30
COVER PHOTOGRAPHY
BY HEIDI HEILBRUNN FOR HR MAGAZINE
DONT MISS
THE HEALTH CARE
REFORM
SPECIAL SECTION
on page 49.
Health Care Reform:
Are You Ready?
SPECIAL SECTION
INSIDE
52 More Time to Get Strategic
57 What Will Brokers Do Now?
62 Employer Mandate Delayed
63 Lessons Learned from a Private Exchange
64 Small Businesses Still Waiting
66 A Part-Time Workforce
7/15/13 2:48 PM
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Copyright 2013 Korn/Ferry International. All Rights Reserved.
Realized.
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We know that when talent shines, business grows. Thats why Korn/Ferry
helps our clients design, build and attract the talent they need
to achieve their business goals. www.kornferry.com
Potential.
Click for More
How to Contact Us
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Phone (703) 548-3440; Fax (703) 836-0367;
TTY (703) 548-6999; E-mail: shrm@shrm.org
Web: www.shrm.org
The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM)
is the worlds largest association devoted to human re-
source management. Representing more than 250,000
members in over 140 countries, the Society serves the
needs of HR professionals and advances the interests
of the HR profession. Founded in 1948, SHRM has
more than 575 affiliated chapters within the United
States and subsidiary offices in China and India. Visit
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information at www.shrm.org/members/transitioning.
Out of the Office
Work happens, even when employees are sick or on vacation. Here are resources for
managing absences and understanding their true costs. Find links to these and other
items at www.shrm.org/clickformore/outofoffice.
TOOLKIT: PAID-LEAVE
PROGRAMS
A SHRM How-to Guide helps you cre-
ate a plan that meets both your organiza-
tions and your employees needs.
PTO Q&A
Youve got questions about paid-time-off
rules? Weve got answers.
NAVIGATING THE LEAVE
MANAGEMENT MAZE
Coordinating leaves of absence under
various federal and state statutes is one
of the most daunting challenges faced by
HR professionals.
MEANWHILE, IN CALIFORNIA
The Golden State has its own unique
leave law rules. A SHRM toolkit pro-
vides guidance for staying compliant in
California.
THE COSTLY TRUTH
A new SHRM webcast looks at the real
cost of employee absences.
FLU SEASON
Put a plan in place that keeps your work-
place operational during flu and other
epidemics.
TRAIN YOUR SUPERVISORS
Download a presentation that you can
use to provide information to managers
about your organizations leave policies
and procedures.
Scan this code with
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barcode reader to get
links to all of these
resources and oth-
ers available from the
SHRM website.
Follow HR Magazine on Twitter
@HRMagazineSHRM.
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From the CEO
4 HR Magazine August 2013
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By Henry G. Jackson
A Journey to Becoming More
A
s I write this column, its been only a few days
since the conclusion of the Society for Human
Resource Managements 65th Annual Confer-
ence & Exposition (hashtag #SHRM13). And Im
pleased to have participated in an event that many
who attended are calling the best conference in the
history of the Society.
Our first conference in 1948 attracted 67 attend-
ees. This year, we set an all-time record of more than
15,100 attendees from 78 countries and the United
States, and our exposition had 700 exhibitors.
The largest-ever gathering of HR profession-
als inspired more than 3,000 Instagram photos and
25,000 tweetsputting #SHRM13 among Twit-
ters top 10 globally trending topics for two straight
days. And, it prompted coverage in more than 1,100
blog posts, newspaper articles and television stories,
including from the Associated Press, NBCs Today
show, ABC News and The Wall Street Journal.
We promoted this conference as an opportunity
to become moreto find ways to be better at your
job, smarter in your work, savvier in your decisions
and bolder in your commitment to be an effective
business leader. Based on initial reports, we delivered
on that promise.
One blogger wrote, It was one heck of a confer-
ence, and another called it Epic what SHRM
accomplished was spectacular in every sense of the
word.
Our general session speakers, ranging from for-
mer Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, to
Captain Mark Kelly and former Rep. Gabrielle Gif-
fords, provided unique global perspectives. They
dared us to dream and they challenged us with ways
to improve our communities, our workplaces and
ourselves.
All of themplus speakers at more than 200
concurrent sessionsepitomize what it means to
become more.
There was something important happening every-
where I turned in Chicago. And it all demonstrated
what an incredibly engaged and thoughtful group
the SHRM community is. We joined with AARP
in honoring the 2013 winners of the Best Employ-
ers for Workers Over 50 award; hundreds of mem-
bers spontaneously pitched in to assemble 3,000
personal hygiene kits for underprivileged individu-
als in the Chicago area; and the bloggers even orga-
nized a kickball tournament that raised $11,000 for
NoKidHungry.
My point: Now, more than ever, the call to action
for HR professionals is to be innovative, creative and
proactive. We are expected to lead, and that is why
we must become more.
SHRMs job is to help you reach your goals. The
SHRM Annual Conference is a giant step forward in
that journey.
I invite you to join us next year and see for your-
self whats so special about the Societys annual con-
ference, and how SHRM can help you transform into
the business leader you want to be. Our organiza-
tions are counting on us to be more.
Well see you at SHRM 2014 in Orlando.
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Big Ideas drive business. But helping your people create, develop, and deploy the ideas that will drive your
business can be a real challenge. Distractions, frustrations, and inefciencies abound. That is what makes
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perfect for you. UltiPro simplies complicated processes and day-to-day tasks that can bog you
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PEOPLE ARE COMPLICATED. WHICH IS WHY YOU NEED A SOLUTION THAT ISNT.
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From FORTUNE Magazine, February 4, 2013 2013 Time Inc. Used under license. FORTUNE
100 Best Companies to Work For is a registered trademark of Time Inc. FORTUNE and Time
Inc. are not afliated with, and do not endorse products or services of, Licensee.
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________________
HR News
For the latest HR-related business and government news, visit www.shrm.org/hrnews.
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Employer Benefits Obligations
Expand for Same-Sex Couples
On June 26, the U.S. Supreme Court, in United
States v. Windsor, found unconstitutional Sec-
tion 3 of the federal Defense of Marriage Act
that had prohibited the federal government from
acknowledging marriages between same-sex
couples. Same-sex marriages were recognized as
legal by 12 states and the District of Columbia
at the time of the ruling.
In a related case, Hollingsworth v. Perry,
the court ruled that those challenging a Cali-
fornia state court decision that made same-sex
marriage legal in Californiaby overturning a
state ballot initiative known as Proposition 8
lacked the standing to do so. The finding will
restore legal same-sex marriage in the state.
Key Implications
Todd Solomon, a partner at law firm McDer-
mott Will & Emery LLP in Chicago, identified
the following as key benefits implications for
private-sector organizations.
For a legally married couple who live in a
state where same-sex marriage is recognized:
Federal laws governing employee benefit
plans will require companies to treat employees
same-sex and opposite-sex spouses equally for
purposes of the benefits extended to spouses.
Employers with self-insured health plans
may not have to extend spousal-benefit coverage
to same-sex spouses, because federal law does
not require spousal health-benefit coverage and
because state insurance law mandates do not
apply to self-insured plans. However, employers
that continue to provide benefit coverage only to
opposite-sex spouses are almost certain to face
legal challenges under federal discrimination
law, Solomon said.
Employees will no longer have to pay fed-
eral income taxes on the income imputed for an
employers contribution to a same-sex spouses
medical, dental or vision coverage. And a
worker can pay for a same-sex spouses coverage
on a pretax basis under a Section 125 plan.
Businesses will have to offer COBRA contin-
uation coverage to same-sex spouses.
Employers with pension plans will be required
to recognize same-sex spouses for purposes of
determining surviving-spouse annuities.
Employees must be permitted to take fam-
ily and medical leave to care for an ill same-sex
spouse.
The big open question is what happens
to same-sex spouses who live in states such as
Florida or Texasstates that dont recognize
same-sex marriage. No one can answer the
question until additional guidance is issued,
Solomon said.
Stephen Miller, CEBS
Employer
Mandate
Delayed
The Obama administration
surprised the U.S. busi-
ness community when
it announced a one-year
delay, until Jan. 1, 2015,
in the Patient Protection
and Affordable Care Act
mandate that employers
with 50 or more full-time-
equivalent employees
provide health care cover-
age that meets minimum
requirements or face
penalties.
The postponement
of the employer shared
responsibility cover-
age mandate is linked to
a delay (announced at
the same time) until 2015
in implementing two of
the acts penalty-related
information-reporting
provisions:
Section 6055 requires
reporting by insurers, self-
insuring employers and
other parties that provide
health coverage.
Section 6056 requires
reporting by certain
employers with respect
to the health coverage
offered to their full-time
employees.
Due to the delay,
employers will not face
penalties for another year
with respect to employees
who receive premium tax
credits to purchase cover-
age on a government-run
exchange.
For more about the
delay of the mandate, see
page 62.
Activists opposing Californias Prop.
8 and the Defense of Marriage Act
await rulings by the U.S. Supreme
Court in Washington, D.C.
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HR News
High Court Narrows

Supervisor Definition
An employee is a supervisor of another
employee for purposes of liability under Title
VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act only if he or she
is empowered by the employer to take tangible
employment actions against the other employee,
the U.S. Supreme Court ruled June 24 (Vance v.
Ball State Univ., No. 11-556).
The high court rejected the position taken
by several federal appellate courts and the U.S.
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission that
supervisors include those whom the employer
vests with authority to direct and oversee another
employees daily work.
This distinction is important because, under
Title VII, an employers liability for workplace
harassment often depends on the harassers
status. If the harassing employee is the victims
co-worker, the employer is liable only if it was
negligent in controlling the working conditions.
In cases where the harasser is a supervisor,
however, different rules apply. Under standards
established in Faragher v. City of Boca Raton, 524
U.S. 775 (1998), and Burlington Industries Inc. v.
Ellerth, 524 U.S. 742 (1998), if the supervisors
harassment culminates in a tangible employ-
ment actionhiring, firing, reassignment to
significantly different duties, and so forththe
employer is strictly liable. But if no action occurs,
the company may escape liability by establish-
ing that it exercised reasonable care to prevent
and correct any harassing behavior and that the
plaintiff unreasonably failed to take advantage of
the preventive or corrective opportunities that it
provided.
For employers, this case is an excellent
reminder to review and update workplace harass-
ment policies and to retrain employees on these,
said Bernard Bobber, vice chair of Foley & Lard-
ners Labor and Employment practice.
Joanne Deschenaux, J.D.
Supreme Court Raises Bar
For Proving Retaliation
Retaliation claims brought under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act must
be proved according to traditional principles of but-for causation, not the less-
ened causation test applicable to bias claims, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled
June 24 (Univ. of Texas Sw. Med. Ctr. v. Nassar, No. 12-484).
While a discrimination plaintiff can prevail by showing that bias was a
motivating factor in an employment decision, an employee claiming retalia-
tion must meet the higher burden of proving that the employer would not have
taken the challenged action if the employee had not engaged in a protected
activity.
This decision is very good news for employers, said Anthony Oncidi,
head of Proskauers Los Angeles-based Labor & Employment Law Group.
An employee will have to prove that illegal retaliation by the employer actu-
ally caused the harm that is alleged, Oncidi said. Employers clearly should
prevail in cases in which the employee cannot prove that but for the employ-
ers desire to retaliate, he or she would not have been harmed.
Tailored Affirmative Action
Allowed in Higher Education
In a 7-1 ruling on affirmative action
in higher education that should perk
up federal contractors ears, the
U.S. Supreme Court showed that it
remains skeptical about this practice
but will permit it if it is narrowly tai-
lored to survive scrutiny.
The courts ruling sends the
case, Fisher v. University of Texas
at Austin, No. 11-345 (U.S. 2013),
back to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of
Appeals.
The court of appeals must assess
whether the university has offered
sufficient evidence that would prove
that its admissions program is nar-
rowly tailored to obtain the educa-
tional benefits of diversity, the court
said.
The court punted the case back
to the 5th Circuit, said Darrell Gay,
an attorney at Arent Fox in New
York. Even so, the court put private-
sector employers that receive federal
funds, as well as public universities
and employers, on notice that it still
values affirmative action.
Allen Smith, J.D.
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HR News
ITS NOT JUST THE BEGINNING OF A NEW DAY.

Great-West Financial
SM
refers to products and services provided by Great-West Life & Annuity Insurance Company ( GWLA), Corporate Headquarters:
Greenwood Village, CO; Great-West Life & Annuity Insurance Company of New York ( GWLANY), Home Ofce: White Plains, NY, their subsidiaries and afliates.
Every 24 hours, the world gets a chance to start anew. To plan ahead. To set goals and work to
make them come true. At Great-West Financial
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NLRA: Not Just for Unionized Workforces
In 2012, only 11.3 percent of employ-
ees belonged to a union, down from 27
percent in 1980 and 38 percent in 1950.
Because of these low participation fig-
ures, the National Labor Relations
Board (NLRB) is no longer primarily
focused on union elections or collec-
tive bargaining, said Michael J. Lotito,
an attorney with Littler Mendelson in
San Francisco, at the Society for Human
Resource Managements 2013 Annual
Conference & Exposition in Chi-
cago. The NLRB is now applying the
National Labor Relations Act [NLRA]
in a nonunion environment, he said.
Labor Board in Chaos
The NLRB is made up of five members,
but there are currently two vacancies.
Additionally, a District of Columbia fed-
eral appellate court, in Noel Canning v.
NLRB, 705 F.3d 490 (D.C. Cir. 2013),
held that the recess appointments
required Senate approval. A 2010 U.S.
Supreme Court case ruled that the labor
board may not act without a three-mem-
ber quorum (see sidebar).
In addition, the term of the boards
chair expires on Aug. 13. In July, the
Senate is considering the two pending
board nominations. But on Aug. 14,
we will have a nonfunctioning board,
Lotito pointed out.
The NLRBs regional offices will con-
tinue to investigate charges and process
election petitions, and the Canning case
will not immediately change how the
current board, acting general counsel,
administrative law judges and regional
directors interpret and apply the law,
Lotito said. But, he added, Ive been
doing this for a long time, and weve
never had a mess like we do now.
Social Media Policies
Against the backdrop of this confusing
situation, the NLRB has taken on a new
rolethat of monitor of employer activ-
ity in response to employee social media
posts. Employers that discipline employ-
ees for their social media conduct may
violate S ection 7 of the National Labor
Relations Act. The act gives unionized
and nonunionized employees the right to
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ITS THE START OF A WHOLE NEW TOMORROW.
GWLA is not licensed to conduct business in New York. The trademarks, logos, service marks, and design elements used are owned
by Great-West Life & Annuity Insurance Company. 2013 Great-West Life & Annuity Insurance Company. All rights reserved.
approaching every relationship with a spirit of partnership, integrity and commitment.
Ours is a legacy of nancial strength and stability, one that is embodied by the great
Rocky Mountains we call home. Learn more at: www.greatwest.com/launch
engage in concerted activities for the
purpose of mutual aid or protection.
In determining whether an employ-
ers discipline in response to an employ-
ees social media post violates the law,
the NLRB will examine whether the
post references, involves or concerns
wages, hours, benefits, working condi-
tions, or other terms and conditions of
employment, Lotito said. The board
will investigate whether the post is con-
certedin other words, does it show
that employees are working together to
advance the common good?
Lotito suggested that employers nar-
rowly tailor their social media policies
to meet business objectives and include
examples of prohibited conduct that
clearly would not be protected.
Disputed Recess Appointments
To NLRB To Be Reviewed
This fall, the U.S. Supreme Court
will consider the case National Labor
Relations Board v. Noel Canning. The
decision will determine whether the
presidents recess-appointment power
may be exercised during recesses
occurring within a session of the U.S.
Senate or is limited to recesses that
occur between sessions. The case
will decide whether the president is
able to fill vacancies existing during a
recess or is limited to vacancies that
come about for the first time during
the recess.
Prior to the courts decision to hear
the case, the National Labor Relations
Board lost two federal appeals court
cases on this issue. The U.S. Court of
Appeals for the District of Columbia
ruled that the Obama administra-
tion violated the Constitution when
the president appointed three NLRB
members to fill vacancies. These
rulings call into question virtually
every decision the board has made
since the recess appointments were
announced. The court will hear this
case during its term beginning in
October.
SHRM Online staff
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HR News
Senate Passes Immigration Bill Expanding E-Verify

The U.S. Senate on June 27 advanced the most significant
overhaul of the nations immigration laws in decades. The
Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration
Modernization Act (S. 744) would, among other measures,
expand the federal E-Verify electronic employment verifi-
cation program nationwide, requir-
ing employers with more than 5,000
employees to use E-Verify within
two years of enactment, followed by
employers with more than 500 work-
ers within three years of enactment. All
employers would be required to use the
system within four years of regulations
being issued.
S. 744 would substantially increase
the number of temporary work visas for
highly skilled foreign nationals trained
in science, technology, engineering and
math. Visas for agricultural workers
would be increased, and a new visa class would be created to
bring in people to fill jobs in the construction, retail and hospi-
tality industries.
The overhaul would clear up decades-long green card back-
logs and transform the nations long-standing preference for
family-based immigration to a prefer-
ence for skilled workers.
Advocacy to Continue
Meanwhile, the American Council on
International Personnel and the Society
for Human Resource Management have
pledged to continue advocating for a
fully electronic and integrated employ-
ment verification system that can accu-
rately guard against identity theft and a
Trusted Employer program for greater
processing efficiency.
Roy Maurer
Employee Benefits Shift in Era of Cost Pressures
Employers are continuing to make grad-
ual shifts to their benefits plans as they
confront legislative changes, escalat-
ing costs, slashed HR budgets and an
uneven economy, according to findings
in SHRMs 2013 Employee Benefits
survey report, released on June 14. The
report was sponsored by Colonial Life.
The survey of randomly selected
SHRM members was fielded in Febru-
ary. Noteworthy benefits trends high-
lighted in the survey report include:
Preventive health and wellness.
During the last five years, the number
of organizations providing wellness-
related initiatives that offer incentives to
employees has increased.
Retirement savings and planning.
Employer-sponsored retirement plans
continue to shift toward 401(k)-type
defined contribution plans, with more
organizations offering Roth 401(k)
options. There was an increase in the
number of organizations offering one-
on-one investment advice and specific
retirement preparation advice.
Financial benefits and compensation.
Employee referral bonuses have gained
in popularity over the past year.
Leave. Paid-time-off plans that com-
bine traditional vacation time, sick leave
and personal days into one comprehen-
sive plan continue to gain in popularity.
Less prevalent are floating holidays, paid
personal days, paid vacation leave dona-
tion programs and paid sick leave dona-
tion programs.
Flexible working benefits. Flextime
has remained stable in recent years.
Housing and relocation benefits.
Temporary relocation benefits continue
to decline in popularity.
Family-Friendly
Benefits Expand
Onsite lactation rooms and benefits for
same-sex partners, other than health
care benefits, continue to gain in popu-
larity, the researchers found.
Seventy-one percent of employers
offer dependent-care flexible spending
accounts, 26 percent allow employees
to bring their children to work in a child
care emergency, and 12 percent offer a
child care referral service.
With a majority of single-parent
families having a parent in the workforce
and 59 percent of two-parent families
with both parents employed, child care
benefits are an important recruiting
and job satisfaction driver for working
parents, said Evren Esen, manager of
SHRMs Survey Research Center.
Companies Foresee
Health Care Costs Increasing
Increase
16% or more
Increase
10-15%
Increase
up to 10%
26%
55%
19%
Source: 2013 Employee Benefits survey report.
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When employees are out, The Hartford can help you play on. With Absence Management solutions
that help maximize productivity and minimize costs. An online dashboard for tracking lost hours and
viewing incident trends. Administrative services that help keep you compliant with evolving and complex
leave legislation. And ways to help your employees return to work, or stay there in the rst place.
Contact your Hartford representative or learn more at thehartford.com/absence-insights.
The Hartford
is The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. and its subsidiaries, including issuing companies Hartford Fire Insurance Company, Hartford Life Insurance Company and Hartford Life and
Accident Insurance Company. All property and casualty policies are underwritten by Hartford Fire Insurance Company, Inc., and its property and casualty afliates, Hartford, CT. All non-property and casualty
policies sold in New York are underwritten by Hartford Life Insurance Company. Home Ofce of Hartford Life Insurance Company and Hartford Life and Accident Insurance Company is Simsbury, CT 06089.
4728 NS (03/13) 2013 The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc., Hartford, CT 06155. All Rights Reserved.
MANAGE ABSENCE. EMBRACE PROGRESS.
PLAY ON
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HR News
For state workplace law developments, visit www.shrm.

org/LegalIssues/StateandLocalResources
BRIEFS
STATE WORKPLACE LAW NEWS
NEVADA RESTRICTS USE OF CREDIT REPORTS
FOR EMPLOYMENT PURPOSES
Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval signed a law making
Nevada the third state in the past 12 months to enact
legislation restricting employers use of credit reports
and other credit history information for hiring and
other employment-related purposes. Nevadas law
follows closely on the heels of similar legislation
enacted by Colorado in April and adds Nevada to the
handful of other states that have similar laws: Califor-
nia, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Oregon,
Vermont and Washington.
WASHINGTON GOVERNOR SIGNS
SOCIAL MEDIA PRIVACY LAW
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee signed Senate Bill 5211
into law, making it illegal for an employer to require a
worker or job applicant to provide login information
defined as usernames and passwordsfor a personal
social media account. Other states with similar social
media privacy laws include Arkansas, California,
Colorado, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey,
Nevada, New Mexico and Utah.
CONNECTICUT LAWS EXPAND
PROTECTIONS FOR VETERANS
Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy signed two laws
expanding benefits and protections to veterans. The
first reinstates eligibility for state benefits to any veter-
ans discharged from the armed services, regardless
of discharge classification, who were denied benefits
solely based on sexual orientation. The second revises
current military leave protections to employees who
are members of the state armed forces who take time
from their job to perform ordered military duty.
IN NORTH CAROLINA, DONT ASK
ABOUT EXPUNGED CRIMINAL RECORDS
North Carolina enacted legislation prohibiting employ-
ers from asking potential employees in job applica-
tions or interviews to provide information about
records of arrests, criminal charges or criminal convic-
tions that have been expunged. The law, Prohibit
Expunction Inquiry (S.B. 91), takes effect Dec. 1.
New York City Outlaws
Discrimination Against
Unemployed Job Hunters
First in nation to protect unemployed applicants
New York City has enacted an ambitious law designed to protect
unemployed job seekers from discrimination by employers. The
amendment to the New York City Human Rights Law is the first in
the U.S. to define a job applicants unemployed status as a protected
class along with age, race, creed, color, national origin, gender, dis-
ability, marital status, partnership status, sexual orientation, and
alienage or citizenship status.
Although two statesNew Jersey and Oregonand the District
of Columbia previously passed legislation that bars employers from
publishing ads that solicit applications only from employed candidates,
these laws provide only administrative remedies and compliance is
rather simple: Dont post an ad that excludes unemployed applicants.
The New York City law is broader in scope than the other laws,
providing plaintiffs with the right to pursue private civil claims and
treating unemployed applicants in the same way that members of
other protected classes are treated under nondiscrimination laws.
Interview Questions
Under the new law, a number of traditional job application or inter-
view questions may pose serious problems if asked of unemployed job
applicants.
Problematic questions include:
Directly inquiring into an applicants current employment status.
Asking about issues related to employment gaps on a resume.
Asking an unemployed applicant to discuss the circumstances sur-
rounding the departure from a previous job.
Discussing an applicants lack of recent experience.
There are no exceptions carved out in the statute for cutting-edge
industries such as technology or medicine where science can change
extremely rapidly and where recent and continuous experience can be
critical.
Jeffrey Lax
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protection for employees who qualify, however
managing FMLA leave is complex and staffng around
absences can be costly.
By outsourcing the function to FMLASource
, a
ComPsych
company, you can lower costs and reduce

legal risk. FMLASource uses a team of attorneys and
experts to handle administration, reduce absences
and achieve cost savings with an ROI that typically
exceeds 10:1.
Get employees back to work faster
With ComPsych Build-to-Suit solutions, you can
integrate employee assistance and work-life programs
with FMLA processes to help resolve the root cause
absences.
Employees will be back to work faster, and theyll be
more effcient and effective than when they left.
Partner with the industry leader who provides
services to more than 19,000 organizations and
helps 53 million individuals stay more focused and
productive so you can stay ahead.
You want to be exible, but FMLA
stafng disruptions are costing you dearly.
STAY AHEAD OF ABSENTEEISM
compsych.com 800.755.3050
EMPLOYEE ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS BEHAVIORAL HEALTH WORK-LIFE WELLNESS FMLA MANAGEMENT HEALTH CARE NAVIGATION HR SOLUTIONS
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The Family and Medical Leave Act provides job
Executive Briefing
Emotions at Work:
When Can They Help?
Business leaders spend a lot of time and money train-
ing employees to make better decisions. Conventional
wisdom dictates that the way to do this is to teach
them to be more rational and less emotional.
But researchers at the University of Michigans
Ross School of Business have upended that theory.
Our findings turn this wisdom on its head and
show how certain moods or emotional states can actu-
ally lead to more accurate and effective decisions,
says researcher Jeffrey Sanchez-Burks, associate
professor of management and organizations at the
University of Michigan.
Specifically, we provide the first evidence that
when people are emotionally ambivalent, simul-
taneously feeling positive and negativethink of
your daughter leaving home to attend a prestigious
ballet schoolthey make more accurate forecasts,
Sanchez-Burks says. The underlying magic is that
their conflicting emotional state makes them more
open to considering conflicting information, which is
critical to making good decisions.
The researchers conducted four studies with more
than 600 people, inducing emotional states by having
them write about a life experience or watch a movie.
They recorded the participants accuracy in making
predictions and forecasts. The people who had mixed
emotions were consistently more accurate.
Business leaders should discard the idea that
employees can be emotionless, Sanchez-Burks says.
Resist the temptation to manipulate the moods
or emotions of people, and teams specifically, when
you need for them to make an important forecast or
decision, Sanchez-Burks says. The natural variability
in life will increase the chance that people will not be
solidly positive or negative.
The research is discussed in The Ambivalent
Mind Can Be a Wise Mind: Emotional Ambivalence
Increases Judgment Accuracy, published in the May
issue of Journal of Experimental Social Psychology.
Dori Meinert
Minorities Resume Content
Explains Hiring Disparity
After graduating from college, ethnic minority job applicants in Western
European countries take longer to find employment than ethnic major-
ity applicants do. Sometimes, minority graduates with the same degree of
educational and professional attainment take twice as long to be hired for
the same types of positions, researchers say.
Differences in minority and majority students resume content help
explain the employment disparity, according to researchers from Eras-
mus University Rotterdam in the Netherlands and Ghent University in
Belgium.
Ethnic minorities scored significantly lower on certain resume items,
such as organizational internships, supervisory positions, extracurricular
activities and elected offices. These small but significant differences led to
lower job suitability ratings for ethnic minorities, the researchers wrote.
Its unclear whether the applicants actually underperformed in these
areas or simply failed to record their activities.
The researchers analyzed hiring choices made by 40 recruiters and HR
professionals who evaluated the actual resumes of 200 anonymous appli-
cants100 minority, 100 majorityand made employment decisions
based solely on that criterion.
Resume content alone can paint an incomplete or even inaccurate pic-
ture of an applicant, so employers should look beyond that document
when making hiring decisions, the researchers advise.
Consider a more thorough selection procedure to ensure validity and
to make sure that the best-qualified candidates make it to the next selec-
tion round, says lead author Annemarie M. F. Hiemstra, assistant pro-
fessor at Erasmus University. This may not always be feasible in terms of
cost-effectiveness, but it is in terms of fairness.
Employer biases were controlled for the study, but some forms of
prejudice may still have had an effect on applicants resumes. It may be
that forms of hiring discrimination occur well before graduation, limit-
ing work experience that might have helped minorities get hired faster,
researchers wrote.
The study was published as an article, Ethnicity Effects in Graduates
Resume Content, in the July issue of Applied Psychology.
Antonio Franquiz
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WHAT WOULD HIS
REFERENCES SAY?
Gathering reference information often takes too long
and yields limited information about a candidates
past performance. What if you could:
Avoid the lowest 5-10% of your new hires through
behaviorally-based screening questions
(Quality)
Give your recruiters more time to recruit
by completing references in 2 days
(Productivity)
Gain 5 passive candidates per hire by capturing
reference responders contact information in a
searchable database
(Sourcing)
Be audit-ready with the click of a button
(Compliance)
Find out how over 500 leading companies,
including Fortune 1000 firms, are doing this
every day.
1 2
(610) 947-6300, x1203 fo@skillsurvey.com
Watch the video: www.skillsurvey.com/hrmag11
These leading organizations use online reference-checking:
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____________________
For additional questions and answers, go to
www.shrm.org/templatestools. For answers
to your questions, visit www.shrm.org
/hrinfo or call (800) 283-7476, option 5.
ONLINE RESOURCES
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Sponsoring an employee sports team
might seem like an innocuous way to
boost employee morale and promote
team building. But experts say it pays to
assess and mitigate legal risks surround-
ing such activities.
Workers compensation laws vary
from state to state. But, in general, if
an employee is injured playing on a
company-sponsored team that is other-
wise run by employees, the employee is
not covered by workers compensation
because such benefits typically are paid
for injuries suffered while working.
Although its possible the employer
could be liable if it owns the facility
where the injury occurred, its unlikely.
However, companies can run into
problems if an event is labeled as volun-
tary but HR or managers indicate oth-
erwise by, say, noting the lack of par-
ticipation in an employees performance
evaluation.
The key question is whether the activ-
ity is conducted in the course and scope
of employment. If not, the employer
is unlikely to be liable. However, if the
employer is more closely involved in the
activity, it could be liable for negligent
supervision of its employees.
HR professionals should work with
legal counsel to design a general release
form stating that the activity is volun-
tary, the company isnt supervising the
event, the employee assumes the risk
of injury, and the employee releases the
company from any liability for injury
sustained during the activity. In addi-
tion, counsel may recommend requiring
employees to sign waivers specifically for
state workers compensation.
Guidelines include the following:
Carefully consider whether there is
liability if the event is held on company
property or during company time. Some
employers dont allow employees to
leave work early to attend games unless
employees choose to do so under the
usual time-off policies.
Record the company policy on ath-
letic activities in the employee handbook.
Remind employees that normal
workplace rules and standards apply to
these types of activities. For example, if
a company has rules prohibiting fighting
or swearing, they would apply during
the company-sponsored games.
Stay aware of other nonemployer-
sponsored employee recreational activi-
ties such as a weekly pickup game of
basketball among workers on company
premises. Even if the company isnt spon-
soring or paying for these activities, they
could expose the employer to liability.
Margaret Fiester, SPHR-CA
What is a standard measurement
period under the health care
reform law? Why would an
employer select a longer period
rather than a shorter period?
Under the federal Patient Protection
and Affordable Care Act, a full-time
employee is defined as someone who has,
on average, at least 30 hours of service
a week. Under the shared responsibil-
ity provisions of the act, large employers
that do not offer full-time employees and
their dependents affordable, minimum
essential health care coverage may face a
financial penalty.
If an employer is uncertain whether
an employee will have, on average, at
least 30 hours of service per week or 130
hours per month, an employer may use
a standard measurement period to
make this determination.
A standard measurement period is
used to determine whether an ongoing,
rather than newly hired, variable or sea-
sonal employee is full time and eligible
for health care coverage. An employer
defines the standard measurement
period; it may be no less than three and
no more than 12 consecutive months.
An employer may have standard mea-
surement periods that differ in length or
in starting and ending dates for:
Collectively bargained and noncol-
lectively bargained employees.
Salaried and hourly employees.
Employees of different entities.
Employees in different states.
If the employee had at least 30 hours
of service a week or 130 hours a month
during the standard measurement
period, the employer would consider that
employee to be full time and thus eligible
for health care coverage.
In determining which standard
measurement period to use, employ-
ers should consider employee turnover,
work schedules and staffing.
If a position typically has high turn-
over, an employer may want to use a lon-
ger standard measurement period such
as 12 months to avoid spending time
calculating hours of service, administer-
ing health care coverage and processing
COBRA paperwork for employees who
may not be employed later in the year.
Some employers may not have the staff
to support the additonal paperwork.
Amber Clayton, PHR
Advice from HR Knowledge Advisors Solutions
Is an employer liable when an employee on a
company-sponsored sports team is injured?
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COVER STORY
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D
uring a 37-year career with Michelin
North America, Wayne Culbertson
worked his way up line and staff posi-
tions on three continents. In 2008, he
moved to the C-suite as executive vice president of
personnel and chief human resources officer for the
tire manufacturer. Five years later, as he approaches
61, Culbertson is moving on.
Surely hes earned the right to sit on the beach,
play golf and spend time with his family. But Culbert-
son has other plansand so does Michelin: Corpo-
rate leaders promoted him to director of the division
serving the United Kingdom and Ireland. He begins
the new gig this month.
Age is not a factor, Culbertson says. What
counts is whether you can do the job.
Culbertson fits the corporate profile: 37 percent of
the companys 22,000 workers and 80 percent of its
senior managers are over age 50. Older workers are
essential to our employment mix and part of our
business strategy, he says.
Michelin workers have high levels of job satisfac-
tion. Equally notable, Michelin has one of the highest
net profit margins in the tire industry. And in June,
the company was the only major manufacturer to
receive an AARP 2013 Best Employers for Workers
Employees age 50 and
older represent almost
a third of the U.S.
workforce. Theyre
your brain trust.
Workers
Older
Invest
in
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Wayne Culbertson, from Michelin
HR to division director.
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COVER STORY
Over 50 award. The awards are co-sponsored by the Society
for Human Resource Management (SHRM).
Many other employers seem to have lost sight of older work-
ers. Perhaps its because recruitment and retention became
less of a problem in the wake of the Great Recession. Yet older
workers have grown even more integral to human capital plan-
ning and to business: When the recession struck in 2007, 29.3
percent of the workforce was age 50 or older; today, almost
one-third of the workforce falls into that category. And by
2019, the Urban Institute predicts that the number will rise to
35 percent. As the economy brightens, insightful employers
such as Michelin will reap rewards while others try to catch up.
The idea that older workers add value to orga-
nizations was gaining traction before the economy tanked in
2007. Employers like Borders led the way. It found that older
employees delivered superior customer service and registered
much lower turnover.
But the recession prompted changes. Saddled with business
models that were no longer viable, some companies folded,
including Borders. Others, like General Motors and A&P, filed
for bankruptcy and reorganized. Survivors moved to austerity
mode, leading to an estimated loss of 7.9 million jobs. Unem-
ployment peaked at 10 percent in 2009.
In a weak labor market, some employers lull themselves
into complacency, says Rutgers University professor Carl Van
Horn, author of Working Scared (Or Not at All): The Lost
Decade, Great Recession, and Restoring the Shattered Ameri-
can Dream (Rowman & Littlefield, 2013). They should have
a strategy. For companies with older employees, its wise to
have employees who understand that population.
The recession shocked many older workers. By 2010, peo-
ple ages 55 to 64 saw the value of their 401(k)s decline by one-
third. Many put off retirement for a year or two. Then, with
the stock market recovery under way in 2012-13, they took the
plunge. As a result, HR directors now report a return to the
usual numbers of annual retirements.
According to Gallups newly released annual economic
and personal finance survey, the upward creep in retirement
age may not have that much to do with recent economic woes.
Instead, it may be an indication of a larger, more fundamental
shift in how Americans live, work and age.
Gallups mid-April survey shows that the average age when
U.S. workers retire has increased by four years, from 57 in
1993 to 61 today. Three-quarters of that upward shift occurred
in the 1990s and early 2000s.
Gallup researchers found that workers predictions of their
own retirement age shifted even more dramatically: In 1995,
49 percent of Americans who were not retired said they would
retire before age 65, 32 percent expected to retire at 65, and
just 14 percent anticipated having to wait past 65. Today, 37
percent of workers say they will retire at age 65, while another
26 percent think they will work beyond that age. Only 26 per-
cent think they will retire before they reach age 65.
Despite the return to the usual number of annual retire-
ments, many older workers still lack the resources to retire.
They must continue working or re-enter the workforce. In
almost every demographic, Americans earn less than they did
in June 2009 when the recovery started. Households led by
workers ages 55 to 64 have taken the biggest hit, with their
mean income falling by 7.2 percent.
In a 2012 AARP and SHRM survey of 1,004 workers age
50 and older, nearly eight in 10 said their primary reason for
working or looking for work was money or health insurance.
Only one in five was mainly motivated by nonfinancial reasons
such as enjoyment or desire to be productive.
Whatever the reason, more people in the U.S. who are age
65 and older are still working. In 1990, there were 3.8 mil-
lion still workingabout 12.1 percent of the over-65 popula-
tion. By 2012, that was the case for 7.7 million, or 17.3 percent
of that group. Many are professionalslawyers, professors,
nurses, doctors and top executives.
Discrimination remains all too common. In Staying
Ahead of the Curve 2013, AARP reports that 64 percent of
workers ages 45 to 74 have seen or experienced age discrimi-
nation at work. Of those, 93 percent say it is very or somewhat
common. Workers are most likely to experience it in their 50s.
Older Workers in the U.S. Labor Force
In thousands and percentages
Percentage of Percentage of
2008 labor force 2012 labor force
50 and older 44,991 29.2% 50,035 32.3%
55 and older 27,858 18.1 32,437 20.9
65 and older 6,243 4.0 7,727 5.0
75 and older 1,258 0.8 1,383 0.9
Total 154,287 154,975
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, 2008 and 2012.
Unemployed Older Workers
In thousands and percentages of unemployed workers
2008 Percentage 2012 Percentage
50 and older 1,777 19.9% 3,047 24.4%
55 and older 1,067 12.0 1,952 15.6
65 and older 264 3.0 482 3.9
75 and older 48 0.5 64 0.5
Total 8,924 12,506
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, 2008 and 2012.
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The Age Discrimination in Employment Act applies to workers
40 and older.
Since the recession, U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission (EEOC) age discrimination claims have increased
30 percent. The percentage of claimants who receive merit
resolutions is about 17 percent, the prerecession rate. Cash
awards, however, have increased: Annual awards averaged
about $60 million from 2002 to 2006, then jumped to
$87 million from 2008 to 2012.
Winning a case is challenging, especially when plaintiffs
allege disparate impactdiscriminatory action against an
entire group of older workers. In these federal cases, the stan-
dard of proof is higher than in other discrimination cases like
those based on race, says Daniel Kohrman, senior attorney at
the AARP Foundation.
A 2009 U.S. Supreme Court decision, Gross v. FBL Finan-
cial Services Inc., made it easier for employers to justify dispa-
rate treatment based on age. And, in 2011, Wal-Mart v. Dukes
made it harder for similarly situated individuals to be certi-
fied for a class-action federal lawsuit.
With the trend moving against them, plaintiffs lawyers are
looking to state courts. Although changes in the law make it
more difficult to win age discrimination cases, Kohrman cau-
tions employers not to be cavalier in their treatment of older
workers. Recent decisions may have shifted the balance, he
says, but blatant ageism will still give you a problem.
Furthermore, the EEOCs 2012 amended regulations clarify
when disparate impact becomes discriminatory. An employer
that has made a concerted effort to be fair and has taken logi-
cal steps can justify disparate impacts, Kohrman says. The
regulations provide guidance for employers about how to
make their decisions litigation-proof. Employers in jeopardy
are those who, out of carelessness or based on stereotypes, dis-
proportionately impose layoffs that cant be explained by a
legitimate business reason.
Some employers revere older workers. The Best
Employers for Workers Over 50 awards recognize such pro-
gressive employers, says AARP senior advisor Deborah
Banda. A panel of judges examines factors such as:
Is the culture welcoming to older workers?
Are there opportunities for them to advance?
What kinds of benefits are available to them?
The contest is open to U.S. employ-
ers with 50 or more workers; it costs them
nothing except the time required to com-
plete a detailed application. AARP and
SHRM accept the veracity of the data on
the honor system. Participants receive
a benchmark report that enables them to
see how they stack up. By showcasing
best-practice employers, we hope to set an example for others,
Banda says.
This year, 130 companies applied; 40 of them were previ-
ous winners. A large number of nonprofit, government, educa-
tion and health care organizations were among the honorees.
Absent or rare were representatives
from sectors such as manufacturing
and retail.
Only three companies on another
well-known listthe 2013 Fortune
100 Best Companies to Work For
earned recognition from AARP and
SHRM: Atlantic Health System,
Top 15 Jobs Held by Workers Age 65 and Older
By numbers of jobs
Farmers, ranchers and other agricultural managers 264,000
Managers 191,000
Retail salespeople 188,000
Secretaries and administrative assistants 184,000
Drivers, sales workers and truck drivers 178,000
Janitors and building cleaners 164,000
First-line supervisors of retail sales workers 163,000
Chief executives 150,000
Postsecondary teachers 135,000
Bookkeeping, accounting and auditing clerks 117,000
Real estate brokers and sales agents 116,000
Cashiers 106,000
Lawyers 102,000
Registered nurses 94,000
Elementary and middle school teachers 92,000

Top 15 Jobs Held by Workers Ages 55 to 64
By numbers of jobs
Secretaries and administrative assistants 670,000
Managers 638,000
Registered nurses 552,000
Drivers, sales workers and truck drivers 547,000
Elementary and middle school teachers 507,000
First-line supervisors of retail sales workers 489,000
Janitors and building cleaners 459,000
Retail salespeople 457,000
Chief executives 392,000
First-line supervisors of offce and
a dministrative support workers 296,000
Nursing, psychiatric and home health aides 284,000
Bookkeeping, accounting and auditing clerks 283,000
Postsecondary teachers 279,000
Cashiers 265,000
Accountants and auditors 262,000

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
For tips on attracting and retaining older
workers, see the online version of this
article at www.shrm.org/0813-older-
workers.
ONLINE RESOURCES
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COVER STORY
Scripps Health and law firm Perkins Coie LLP.
Given the huge number of U.S. employers eligible to enter,
AARP and SHRM would like to see many more applicants.
Companies are not coming to grips with the reality of the
aging of the workforce, Banda says. She suspects the detailed
application and time commitment may discourage some orga-
nizations, especially first-timers, from participating. In subse-
quent years, employers have the groundwork in place and data
are easier to produce.
It wasnt hard, says Carolyn Hatt, employment manager
at Swarthmore College. It was about one weeks work.
At the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Philip Lenow-
itz, deputy director of the Office of Human Resources, dele-
gated the task to an intern.
Its a mystery to us why others dont compete, says Dale
Sweere, HR director at Stanley Consultants, an engineering
services company in Muscatine, Iowa, with 1,000 employees.
The designation gives us an advantage in recruitment. We tar-
get seasoned individuals with 20, 25 or 30 years experience.
Employers that dont apply are missing out on access to a
huge labor pool, says Lenowitz, who provides HR services to
19,000 employees.
The branding is invaluable, adds Mike Bennett, SPHR,
vice president of HR at Cianbro Corp. in Pittsfield, Maine. The
employee-owned contractor has 4,000 workers. It shows we
care about our people.
The honor similarly helps Securian Financial Group in
St. Paul, Minn., advertise its commitment to older workers.
It makes our employees proud to work here, says Kathleen
Pinkett, SPHR, senior vice president of human resources and
corporate services for the 2,468-employee company. Our
turnover rate is only 5 percent compared to 18 percent in the
insurance industry overall. Employee enthusiasm also shows in
the referrals they make for open jobs. Forty-five percent of our
new hires come from them.
Benchmarking was one of the reasons Swarthmore chose
to participate. We wanted to see what others are doing to see
what might make us more attractive, says Pamela Prescod-
Caesar, vice president for human resources. Forty-eight percent
of her 1,000-person workforce is age 50 or older; 200 are fac-
ulty members.
Older workers serve as mentors, historians and knowl-
edge-transfer agents. They also make excellent cross-gener-
ational role models. The maturity and work ethic that they
bring cascades, Prescod-Caesar says.
They are loyalwith the highest retention rate of all age
groups. More than 77 percent of the respondents to the AARP/
SHRM survey said they planned to remain in their current jobs
until they stop working completely.
They score high on satisfaction surveys. As you age, you
get wiser and begin to understand the context of life, says
Karen Mathews, director of WorkLife Services at Marietta,
Ga.-based WellStar Health System, which made AARPs
Older Workers and Unemployment
Throughout the recession, the U.S.
unemployment rate for older workers
was lower than the overall rate. They con-
tinue, however, to make up a larger per-
centage of the long-term unemployed.
In March, the average duration of unem-
ployment for people age 55 and older
was 50.2 weeks, compared with 36.9
weeks for those younger than 55.
In addition, older workers accept
steeper cuts in pay when they do get
hired. For example, a U.S. Government
Accountability Office report found that
70 percent of workers age 55 and older
who were laid off in 2007-09 found
new jobs at less pay compared with
53 percent of workers ages 25 to 54.
Out-of-work seniors make up a small
part of the overall labor forceabout
2 million people in 2012. But being in
that category can be devastating, says
Rutgers University professor Carl Van
Horn. They were in the last years of
their prime earning years and hoped for a
good retirement. Now their resources are
depleted. People who had little started
using their resources to pay the bills.
They didnt keep money in the stock mar-
ket waiting for a recovery. They started
selling what they had, got a second mort-
gage on their home.
Overall, Americans in their 50s and
early 60sthose who are near retire-
ment but without access to Medicare
and Social Securitylost the most earn-
ing power of any age group. Their
average household incomes are still
10 percent below what they were when
the recovery began three years ago,
according to Sentier Research.
Wellesley College economists found
that people who lost their jobs in the few
years before becoming eligible for Social
Security reduced their life expectancy by
up to three years, largely because they
no longer had access to health care.
Thirty-seven percent of older workers
who lost their jobs in 2008-11 and did not
return to work ended up filing early for
Social Security when they turned 62. By
not waiting, they stand to lose substantial
amounts during the remainder of their
lives: Early filers receive about 25 percent
less than those who wait until age 66.
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2013 best employers list. By 50, Your expectations adjust
appropriately.
Mathews adds that workers hone their critical-thinking
skills over time. The more experience someone has, the more
valuable they are to us and our clients, Sweere adds.
Yet misconceptions abound about older workers.
Experts claim employers reluctance to give older workers a
chance may be based on factual inaccuracies. The following
are among frequently cited concerns:
Higher health care costs. Employers are hesitant to hire
older people because they fear higher health care costs.
National data show that older workers have more health
problems and are more likely to be on Social Security dis-
ability benefits. For example, The Health Care Cost Insti-
tute reports that U.S. health care expenditures per capita for
2011 were $8,776 for workers ages 55 to 64, compared with
$5,927 for those ages 45 to 55.
A number of winners of the 2013 Best Employers for
Workers Over 50 awards point out that older workers tend to
be healthier than unemployed people in that age group. They
say the costs are worth it on balance or that older workers
really dont cost more.
Someone who is working at age 70 is bound to be active
and healthy, observes Patricia Carroll, SPHR, CEBS, senior
director of benefits and corporate development at Solix Inc.
in Parsippany, N.J. When we analyze our costs and look at
the real drivers, older workers are not costing more, Carroll
says. The 382-employee company screens for benefits eligibil-
ity and processes claims. Thirty-nine percent of the employ-
ees are over age 50.
At WellStar, which has 12,000 employees, costs for older
workers are offset by the costs of the healthy, Mathews
says.
Stanley Consultants reports lower health care costs for
older workers. Our 30-to-45 age cohort costs us more than
the 60 and above, Sweere says. Children, family and medi-
cal conditions are significant drivers.
More discrimination claims and litigation. In 2012,
of more than 50 million workers age 50 and older, about
23,000 filed EEOC claimsthats only 0.05 percent of older
workers.
When people arent producing at Solix, a progressive-
discipline policy is followed. We give them a performance
improvement plan, Carroll says. If they still dont measure
up, we ask them to leave, and [we] pay severance. Everyone
has a case now and then, but weve had very few. When its
happened, weve never lost.
Little return on investment. Winners of the 2013 Best
Employers for Workers Over 50 awards say the return on
investment from older workers contributes to the companies
top standings in their industries. Their older workers are loyal
and remain with the company longer than younger workers.
They also have lower absentee rates.
At Stanley Consultants, where the old-
est employee is 79 and 30 percent of workers
are over age 50, the average tenure of 12 years
makes the company the retention leader among
competitors.
Last year, WellStar, where 32 percent of
workers are over age 50, had an operating mar-
gin of 6 percent, a top-tier score of nonprofit
performance.
Worsening performance. Studies show that
the falloff in performance in most jobs is mini-
mal and that when some abilities decline, older
workers compensate with counterbalancing ones
that enable them to continue to perform at high
levels. Like younger workers, some falter, but
breakdowns are case-specific.
People change as they get older; they gain
knowledge and experience but may slow down
in terms of energy, concludes Dr. William
Gahl, clinical director at the National Human
Genome Research Institute, which is part of NIH. For every
employee, theres a balancing point that determines whether
its worthwhile for him or her to be here. We deal with these
situations in an ad hoc wayno matter the persons age.
Robert J. Grossman, a contributing editor of HR Magazine, is a
lawyer and a professor of management studies at Marist College in
Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
Karen Mathews, director of WorkLife Services at WellStar Health System.
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All for Tomorrows Leaders
At Goodyear, todays leaders queue up to train successors.
By Gary VanderLind and Amy Alexy
First-Person Account
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I
n 2010, executive team members at
Goodyear North America asked,
Who in North America has the
potential to take on top business and
functional leadership roles in the next
two or three years, and what are we
doing today to prepare them? It was
up to the HR department to respond.
Goodyear North America, a divi-
sion of Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.,
manufactures original equipment and
replacement tires, related products and
services, and chemical products primar-
ily in the U.S. and Canada. Also in 2010,
major challengesincluding intense
global competition and economic uncer-
taintywere sweeping across the tire
industry. In response, Goodyears execu-
tive team decided to restructure the busi-
ness from a volume tire supplier to a
market-oriented tire supplier focusing on
target-market segments. We knew this
fundamental shift was going to require
development of a deep leadership bench
that would help sustain the change.
We already took identification and
development of future leaders seriously
and knew that identifying future leaders
was a strength among our managers at
all levels. We lacked a process to prepare
potential leaders for new roles. So we
made a commitment to establish a devel-
opment process that would accelerate
the shift to a market orientation and help
us close our senior leadership gap.
From 2010 to 2012, implementation
of a new leadership development process
helped us make the strategic transition.
Heres how we met the challenge:
We have always sought to have two
ready now candidates for each senior
position. For many years, Goodyear has
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had a rigorous global succession plan-
ning process that features transparent
discussions about talent. Each product
business unit and function conducts its
own reviews. For example, leaders in our
manufacturing organization discuss crit-
ical roles within plants and identify suc-
cessors and high-potentials each quar-
ter. The executive team holds quarterly
reviews. Finally, top leaders conduct an
annual succession plan review.
Previously, once future leaders were
identified, we often labeled them as not
ready now and let them mature in their
current roles rather than really develop
them. Our new leadership development
program was designed to remedy this.
Our challenge was to design a sus-
tainable development process to keep
high-potentials learning and prepare
them for senior roles. We needed to:
Develop deliberate processes.
Design curriculum aligned with busi-
ness strategy.
Close competency gaps.
In the past, we had frequently
brought in experienced leaders from
outside the company who had been
through business transformations,
thinking they would be able to lead us
better than someone on the inside
or get us to our goal faster. While the
candidates were excellent, our success
rate with external hires in key leader-
ship positions was often lower than
expected. We came to realize that we
needed to lower our dependency on
external hires for top roles. We adopted
the philosophy of buy early and build
upacquiring top talent early in their
growth and providing them with plenty
of development.
To move forward, the first step was to
conduct a learning-needs analysis. Our
executive team identified the competen-
cies to carry out our strategy. The result-
ing 10 management competencies, along
with Goodyears five leadership traits,
became the skills we wanted to measure
within our management population.
We surveyed 1,800 emerging lead-
ers and managers, asking respondents
to rate their current performance on,
and the importance of, each skill. The
response rate was 85 percent.
The results of this survey dictated
the direction of our Senior Leadership
Development Program. For example,
change management emerged as a focus
area when skills deficiencies were discov-
ered. Although survey results indicated
that the change management compe-
tency was a strength among our man-
agement population, further analysis
revealed that people rated themselves
highly when it came to telling others
about change but poorly when it came to
bringing people along with change.
Developing others received the lowest
ranking in terms of current skill levels, so
it became a second focus area. Two other
focus areas, strategy and results focus,
were also identified.
The executive team then selected 48
participants for our first development
cohort. Their titles ranged from manager
to general manager, director and chief
marketing officer. They were chosen
from our succession process and repre-
sented all units and functions.
Each person had to be nominated by
one executive and endorsed by another.
This double-nomination requirement
encouraged executives to get to know
talent outside their own units.
The Development Model
We applied a 70-20-10 model to the year-
long program: 70 percent learning on the
job, 20 percent learning from others and
10 percent formal learning.
We selected Harvard Business Pub-
lishing for curriculum design and pro-
gram implementation. Our curriculum
blends virtual and in-person sessions
using Harvards Leadership Direct plat-
form. Participants access content, such
as readings, discussion boards, webinars
and Q&A sessions, via the platform.
Four modules correspond to the needs
revealed by our analysis. A Harvard
moderator oversees the program, facili-
tates virtual sessions, moderates discus-
sions and interacts with participants.
Each module kicks off with a face-
to-face meeting, followed by virtual
learning over several weeks. Virtual
components include case studies and
lectures from Harvard Business School
professors. For example, professor Linda
Hill conducts a videoconference for the
Developing Talent module. Participants
gain insights from these experts that
enhance and accelerate learning.
We adopted the philosophy of buy early
and build up: acquiring top talent
early in their growth and providing
them with plenty of development.
Amy Alexy
For lists of Goodyears leadership traits
and competencies, as well as tips on
leadership development from the company,
see the online version of this article at
www.shrm.org/0813-Goodyear-leadership-
development.
ONLINE RESOURCES
Gary VanderLind
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First-Person Account
Goodyears executive team members
serve as co-moderators. Their involve-
ment shows their commitment to the
program and helps participants learn
leadership skills. Rounding out the for-
mal learning, each participant has an
individual development plan to study
Goodyears core leadership traits and
manager competencies.
To capitalize on learning from oth-
ers, experts at Harvard helped us intro-
duce a learning partner design. We
encouraged participants to identify an
area they wanted to learn more about
and find partners to assist them. A part-
ner is different from a mentor because
we are encouraging knowledge about
topics rather than providing feedback on
observed behaviors.
When developing on-the-job learn-
ing, we settled on two critical tools:
action learning projects and leadership
career path management.
Action learning projects. The execu-
tive team collectively developed the proj-
ects by identifying real business issues.
The projects are enormous. For example,
one project team developed a cost-reduc-
tion plan that had a substantial impact
on our supply chain.
The projects were introduced in Feb-
ruary 2012; each has two executive
sponsors. No team members had pre-
viously worked on the topics or in the
functions they were assigned to.
Leadership career path management.
We now manage future leaders careers
and provide them with stretch assign-
ments outside their current functions.
Under the philosophy of collective
ownership of talent, the executive team
manages these high-potential partici-
pants as a group. The team determines
individual career moves and how result-
ing vacant positions will be filled. For
instance, one recent stretch assignment
moved candidates from the consumer
product business unit to the commercial
unit for a strategic-change initiative.
The executive teams approach to col-
lectively owning North American talent
has been a critical driver of the leader-
ship development program. And because
executive team members sponsor the
participants, co-teach the material and
sponsor the projects, they now have
more awareness of talent outside their
units, thereby stimulating conversations
about and movement of talent across the
organization.
Documented Achievements
We have documented results that dem-
onstrate strength on our leadership
bench:
Half of the members of the first
cohort have received new assignments or
increased responsibilities28 percent
made lateral moves or changed the scope
of their roles, and 22 percent received
promotions.
We embraced a common language
around areas such as strategy and
change management. For instance,
leaders are familiar with after-action
reviews because of the business cur-
riculum in the program. Weve had more
new-product launches recently, and such
reviews helped us to quickly iterate pro-
cesses and eliminate barriers.
Many senior leaders have started
training programs in their own units and
functions. For example, Ryan Waldron,
vice president of the North American
Supply Chain, who participated in the
first cohort, cascades learned method-
ologies throughout his function. Other
supply-chain senior leaders sponsor or
teach in virtual cafs and discuss how
the material applies to their work.
In our 2012 engagement survey,
North American associates rated learn-
ing and development 5 percentage points
higher than they did in 2010.
Expansion of networking across busi-
ness units has been an unexpected upside
to leadership development. For example,
open communication and strong rela-
tionships help ensure that projects get
done in a way that wouldnt have been
possible four years ago; cross-functional
project teams implemented their changes
quicklyin some cases, before they
reported out their projects. In addition,
because participants were at different
grades, higher-level participants became
aware of the talent that could fill open-
ings in their units.
Leaders learned with participants.
Executives gained a new way of assess-
ing the business and recognized that
their participation ensures that the topics
and projects support the North Ameri-
can companys key challenges.
And in June, Goodyear launched a
similar global Senior Executive Develop-
ment Program in Akron with 25 high-
potential associates from around the
world, with the goal to develop future
global leaders.
Gary VanderLind is vice president of human
resources, North America, for the Goodyear
Tire & Rubber Co. Amy Alexy is the division
director of learning and talent development.
Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.
Products and Services: Global tire
manufacturing and distribution company.
Ownership: Public (NASDAQ: GT).
Top HR executive: Joe Ruocco, senior
vice president of human resources; Gary
VanderLind, vice president of human
resources, North America; Wendy
Radtke, vice president of the global
talent management center of excellence.
Employees: 25,250 in North America;
69,000 globally.
2012 net sales: $20.9 billion.
U.S. locations: Global headquarters
in Akron, Ohio. In North America,
nine manufacturing plants; seven
distribution centers; fve retread, mold
and mixing plants; four chemical plants;
621 retail locations in 41 states; and
Wingfoot logistical operations in 177
locations covering 38 states. Globally,
52 manufacturing and distribution
facilities in 22 countries, with regional
headquarters in Brussels, Sao Paulo and
Shanghai.
Connections: www.goodyear.com
/corporate, www.goodyear.com/careers.
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______
Announcing the candidate
source that grows on its own.
Introducing Te Q
from SkillSurvey.
Te Q is a new talent portal where candidates references can join an invitation only network
that builds itselfyour own growing crop of candidates that are respected, qualied, and
already interested in your organization.
To learn more, go to www.intotheQ.com/hr5
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ORGANIZATIONAL & EMPLOYEE DEVELOPMENT Special Report
S
tanford University professor
Daniel A. McFarland had been
teaching a class on organiza-
tional analysis for more than a
decade, reaching about 2,000 students.
Last year, he transformed the class into
a massive open online course (MOOC).
Instead of 25 or 30 students sitting in
his Palo Alto, Calif., classroom, almost
45,000 were checking in from four conti-
nents. It was daunting, like presenting to
an entire stadium, he recalls. He is now
preparing for a second session this fall,
this time with 51,000 registrants.
McFarland is at the forefront of the
MOOC movement. Some say the move-
ment will be a turning point in higher
education and corporate training. Will it?
Are MOOCs transformative or merely
innovative?
Designed for large-scale participa-
tion and free access via the Web, a typi-
cal MOOC lecture is self-paced, short
maybe 10 or 15 minutesand spiced
with multimedia components. Profes-
sors highlight issues as well as pose and
answer questions based on crowdsourc-
ing of information that participants
submit. After each session, students take
quizzes to verify that they understand
the material. They also discuss content
among themselves; interaction often
leads to Facebook and LinkedIn chats or
even face-to-face meetings. Students take
exams and a final, submit reports, and
grade other students essays.
Anyone can sign up, and there are no
prerequisites. MOOCs are free, although
some require fees for certificates of com-
pletion or charge tuition for college credit.
The Vision
Idealists envision MOOCs as changing
the face of higher educationmaking
college truly free and globally accessible,
opening the portals to millions of people
who currently are excluded. If the dream
is realized, employers will begin to see job
candidates who have completed a smor-
gasbord of targeted MOOCs and who
are as qualified as or more qualified than
those with traditional college degrees. In
addition, colleges and universities will lose
their near monopoly as kings of creden-
tials. For employees, MOOCs open vast
resources for professional development. I
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Future?
in Your
Massive Open
Online Courses
Are
Millions of students and workers are exploring
this option for professional development.
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It would unbundle the degree, pre-
dicts Dan LeClair, executive vice presi-
dent and chief operating officer of AACSB
International, The Association to Advance
Collegiate Schools of Business. Students
could take courses from different profes-
sors from anywhere and, if theyre success-
ful, get a certificate that companies can use
to validate their performance in the class.
So far, advocates are fighting to gain
acceptance for the MOOC model. In a
2012 survey of 2,820 academic leaders by
Babson Survey Research Group, about a
third said they thought employers would
accept MOOC instruction.
The Players
Last year, MOOCs catapulted onto the
world stage, generating feverish activity
and passionate commentary within higher
education and beyond. Several well-
financed companies associated with pres-
tigious universities, including Stanford and
the Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
emerged to produce and market MOOCs.
Now providers are scrambling to stake
claims. Theres a lot of risk taking and
different approaches, LeClair says.
Colleges and universities, professors,
employersanyonecan
enter the MOOC competi-
tion through free platforms
offered by companies such
as Blackboard Inc. Among
the providers are:
Coursera. The company
has partnerships with 62
colleges and universities. The
schools contribute profes-
sors and content; Coursera
adds technical expertise and
an online platform. If revenue
materializes, schools will receive a small
percentage plus 20 percent of gross profits.
Since launching in April 2012, Coursera
has registered 2.8 million students.
EdX. MIT and Harvard contributed
$30 million each in resources to this ven-
ture. Along with the University of Cali-
fornia-Berkeley, they offer 25 free credit
courses, with
plans to add as
many as 100 more.
This fall, classes from
Georgetown University, Uni-
versity of Texas and Wellesley
will be featured.
Udacity. This company began
as a Stanford experiment in which
160,000 students from more than 190
countries enrolled in an online class on
artificial intelligence. In January, the Amer-
ican Council on Education announced it
would evaluate whether four entry-level
Udacity courses are eligible for college
credit. As of February, Udacity had 20
active courses.
Quiet Evolution to E-Learning: A Paradigm Shift for Educators
While massive open online courses (MOOCs) are getting lots of
attention, traditional forms of e-learningthe kind students pay
for as they build credentials required for entry to and advancement
at workare leaving a bigger footprint. This suggests that higher
education already is changing significantly.
More Online Offerings
A survey by the Babson Survey Research Group, for example,
reveals that more than 6.7 million students took at least one online
course last year, an annual increase of 9.3 percent. Compared
to classroom courses, online courses were less costly to oper-
ate, more convenient and more accessible. Some led to degrees,
while others resulted in certificates in fields such as accounting.
Financially, the advantages of online versus in-person instruction
remain clear to administrators. More than two-thirds of the aca-
demic leaders who responded to the Babson survey said online
learning is critical to their long-term strategy.
Hence, e-learning is building a base in business and HR edu-
cation. According to AACSB International, The Association to
Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, 8.9 percent of accredited
schools offer online undergraduate programs, and 23.2 percent
of accredited graduate schools offer online programs. Over time,
migration to online study for graduate work has been substantial.
From 2005-06 to 2011-12, the number of accredited business
schools offering such study doubled from 41 to 82.
In a U.S. News & World Report survey of 628 schools, a third
said they offer online masters degrees in business administration.
Accredited business schools with online masters programs in
HR increased from three in 2005-06 to seven in 2011-12.
A February HR Magazine online survey of educators in a
Society for Human Resource Management database revealed
that 73 percent of the 85 respondents said their schools offer HR
courses online. Another 9 percent said they planned to do so the
following year.
Dwindling Quality Divide
How does e-learning stack up against face-to-face instruction in
terms of quality and outcomes? Very well, it seems. In the Babson
survey, more than three-quarters of academic leaders rated learn-
ing outcomes in online education as the same as or superior to
face-to-face instruction. A major academic analysis appears to vali-
date these perceptions.
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The Students
At this point, MOOCs seem to attract
primarily students who are cut off from
mainstream education by geography
or economics. The courses are popular
outside the United States, with students
everywhere drawn in by price, format and
convenience.
Providers are grappling with ways to
prevent identity fraud and other forms of
cheating, but technological advances have
made it harder to game the system.
McFarlands students explored 10
organizational theories via case studies.
Most registrants were international; only
18 percent came from the United States.
Eighty-five percent had at least a college
degree. Two-thirds were working full time
or were self-employed. Only 45 of the
45,000 were Stanford students.
Some of the registrants, such as Paul
Ledesma, channel sales manager at Cox
Communications in Las Vegas, were
encouraged to sign up by their employ-
ers. Ledesma completed the advanced
track requiring five to 10 hours of study
each week.
My leaders suggested that I focus
on organizational analysis. So when the
class came along, I took advantage of the
opportunity, he says. It was much bet-
ter than being stuck with 25 or 30 people
who were like me. Instead, I was engaged
with people from around the world
India, U.K., Philippines, Pakistan. It was
interesting to see how problems in the
workplace resonate.
Some 1,570 students finished the
10-week course. For the basic certificate,
1,451 students watched all videos, sub-
mitted quizzes, participated in an online
forum and passed the final. Another 129
advanced students and those earning
credit from Stanford met basic require-
ments, wrote two papers and peer-graded
eight others. McFarland says the 3.48
percent completion rate is typical among
MOOCs. Published reports claim about
10 percent of students finish such courses.
Retention can be expected to rise
if more colleges agree to grant trans-
fer credits for MOOCs. In California,
the Legislature is considering a bill that
would allow students who are unable to
find a seat in a required class or compa-
rable online class within their state school
to take a MOOC certified by the Ameri-
can Council on Education.
Apparently, few students take McFar-
lands course as a resume enhancer. They
dont care about the certificate, he says.
Most just want to dabble. However, the
professor says many who earn a certificate
list it on their LinkedIn page.
The Paradox
Any marketing professional will tell you
that free is a powerful driver. Put even a
small charge on a course and the market
declines precipitously. And free does not
apply only to money. People who get free
service often expect to be free from com-
mitment. Requiring them to demonstrate
performance by producing quality results
means many withdraw. Observers note
Accredited Business Schools
With Online HR Degree Programs
Undergraduate
University of Arkansas, Little Rock, College of Business
Graduate
State University of New York Institute of Tech, Utica, Department of Business
Management
Wayne State University, School of Business Administration
University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, College of Business and Economics
Tennessee Tech University, College of Business
University of Houston-Clear Lake, School of Business
University of Texas, Tyler, College of Business and Technology
Griffith University
Source: AACSB International.
Researchers at the U.S. Department of Defenses Advanced
Distributed Learning Initiative and the University of Tulsa ana-
lyzed dozens of studies comparing Web-based and classroom
instruction. Most of the 96 studies focused on knowledge of
facts, concepts and principles. E-learning and classroom learn-
ing were found to be equally effective when content and learn-
ers were the same in both types of courses.
The findings affirm the power of synergism. Learners
exposed to both e-learning and face-to-face instruction did
best. On average, the hybrid approach is the most effective,
outperforming the others by 26 percent, says Traci Sitzmann,
an assistant professor of management at the University of
Colorado-Denver and co-author of the study.
MOOCs are telling us theres a lot of potential for peer
learning and study groups, adds Dan LeClair, executive vice
president and chief operating officer of AACSB International.
Finally, e-learning does not work for all students. For exam-
ple, for a 2013 report, researchers at the Community College
Research Center studied results from nearly 500,000 courses
taken by more than 40,000 Washington state students. All
types of students performed worse in online courses than in
comparable face-to-face ones. The largest gaps in achievement
appeared for males, younger students, ethnic minorities and
students with lower grades.
Robert J. Grossman
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that while expanding access to education
is laudable, you cant give it away forever.
There is no such thing as a free lunch.
So the race is on. When grants and
venture capital run out, it remains to be
seen if there will be robust business mod-
els. For now, theres experimentation.
Some colleges are exploring the free-
mium model. They say: Take a free
MOOC from us. If you like it, well give
you college credit for the course when we
admit you as a paying student. Other
providers expect to earn licensing royal-
ties from their courses.
In contrast, some professors couldnt
care less about the business case. Steal my
lectures; build on them, McFarland urges.
I want to do anything I can to get my
material out there. The more people who
have access to it in any form, the better.
A closer look suggests that MOOCs
simply extend e-learning. MOOC
designers take online technology and
pedagogy and package them into free
products that have appeal because of the
topics and prestigious teachers.
Yet iTunes U has been offering free
university courses for some time, librar-
ies loan copies of The Great Courses
series, and MIT has been providing free
access to course materials online since
2002.
So if MOOCs are an iteration of
online learning, why the hullabaloo?
We know higher education is likely
to change as a
consequence of
MOOCs, but we
also know that
MOOCs in their
present form will
not last for long,
LeClair says.
They offer a vehicle for talking about
the transition.
The Takeaway
MOOCs come up in the debate about
the wisdom of maintaining the status
quo in higher education. The discussion
was triggered by the confluence of three
problems with higher educationcost,
quality and accessnow reaching near-
crisis, explains Anne G. Zahradnik, a
professor of public administration at
Marist College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
The debate centers on an educa-
tion delivery system that, critics say,
is bloated, underperforming and self-
absorbed. Critics
complain about:
Costs. Accord-
ing to the College
Board, the net
amount in-state
students at public
colleges will pay
this year rose 4.6 percent to an average
of $16,510. Thats more than twice the
rate of inflation.
As a result, U.S. students drop out
before receiving four-year degrees at
higher rates than in other developed
countries. According to a Harvard study,
only 56 percent of U.S. students graduate
in six years. The main reason students
quit? Money and burgeoning debt. Stu-
dents, families, taxpayers and legislators
ask why costs continue to escalate.
Meanwhile, college and univer-
sity leaders see a threat to their already
shrinking revenue if education becomes
a free commodity. They cant afford
to give away credit, predicts professor
Wayne Cascio at the University of Col-
orado-Denver. They will resist unless
they can find a way for MOOCs to gen-
erate sufficient revenue.
And folks who have been paying the
tab to keep the higher education estab-
lishment afloat are growing restless and
demanding answers. To them, MOOCs
will yield practical alternatives.
Quality. Employers complain about
skills gaps among entry-level workers.
In a 2011 survey of more than 1,000
employers conducted by the Accredit-
ing Council for Independent Colleges
and Schools, more than half said finding
For links to the Babson survey, massive
open online courses and other resources,
www.shrm.org/0813-MOOCs.
ONLINE RESOURCES
Not-So-Massive Online HR Curriculum
According to research by the Babson Survey Research Group, 2.6 percent of U.S.
higher education institutions have massive open online courses, and 9.4 percent plan
to offer them.
But what impact are MOOCs having on HR education and training? So far, not
much. A February HR Magazine online survey of educators in a Society for Human
Resource Management database revealed that all 85 respondents equated MOOCs
with traditional online courses at their schoolsoverlooking the fact that those cours-
es are neither massive nor free.
Officials at only one institution, Brigham Young University, said they reached as
many as 1,000 students online with a course on organizational effectiveness. The
entry-level organizational behavior class is open to anyone, but it is not free. Anyone
can take the course from anywhereBYU student or notas long as they pay the
tuition, says professor David Cherrington. Local students with access to the Provo,
Utah, campus can opt for a hybrid format and attend lectures. About 10 percent of
students who can attend do. Students take proctored exams in secure testing cen-
ters.
HR educators may be reluctant to sign on to distance learning because they
remain convinced that most HR learning should be grounded in face-to-face contact.
Direct exchanges help participants develop emotional intelligence skills. Nonverbal
communication can be lost online. HR educators see the value of basic courses such
as statistics being online, but when it comes to people subjects, they say syner-
gism within groups and interaction with the instructor remain essential.
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0313-JO9914 2013 The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc.
EXPECT
MORE
TO START YOUR FREE TRIAL,
CALL 800.372.1033 OR VISIT
www.bna.com/hrdsnmore
Custom answers. Live webinars.
Strategic white papers. Research
reports. A subscription to
Bloomberg BNAs HR Library.
The complete, integrated solution
HR professionals trust.
HR Decision
Support Network
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qualified applicants remains difficult.
Just under half thought that students
should receive specific workplace train-
ing rather than broad-based education.
Access. Proponents of online educa-
tion find it unacceptable and unsustain-
able for higher education to be inaccessi-
ble to millions around the world because
of physical or financial limits.
The Jangled Nerves
Wherever you look, institutions and peo-
ple whose meal tickets are tied to the sta-
tus quo are nervous. To them, MOOCs
and change are threatening.
College administrators worry that
the professor will replace the insti-
tution as the main attraction. Some
believe the brand of the professor will
matter more than the brand of the
school, LeClair says.
Many professors fear retrenchment
and loss of status. They realize that with
MOOCs reaching tens of thousands of
students, a few charismatic professors
with star quality
and super platform
skills may render
other professors
nonessential.
Trainers and
consultants who
currently offer
courses and webi-
nars worry that they
will face increased
competition from
MOOC providers
who market and
license them in the training space.
Yet advocates for classroom instruc-
tion are retreating in the face of mount-
ing peer-reviewed evidence that e-learn-
ing, when done well, is no less effective
than face-to-face instruction.
The Business Uses
The catalog of available MOOCs
grows daily. Subjects include business,
accounting, strategy, leadership and self-
improvement. Employers are becoming
more aware of their potential value.
In 2012, when CORP/U surveyed 243
chief learning officers about drawing on
MOOCs to support
training, 75 percent
expressed interest.
Corporate train-
ers challenge: iden-
tifying MOOCs
that mesh with their
agendas. Trainers
like those at pub-
lisher Pearson North
America found such
a match in a free
Stanford course
on innovation that
became part of leadership development,
explains Alan Todd, chief executive offi-
cer of CORP/U. And, Todd says, Boe-
ing trainers are building a MOOC with
the University of Washington to attract
engineers.
Cox Communications Ledesma says
employers can plug in a tailored compo-
nent to an otherwise generic MOOC. I
would find MOOCs that meet my needs
through a company like Coursera, he
says, then form a separate employee
study group and monitor it.
Ten years from now, what will the
higher education landscape look like?
Will there be fewer universities and
more MOOCs? Will most learning take
place through e-learning, with class-
rooms playing a niche role? Will blended
instruction become the norm?
David Pottruck, chairman of Red
Eagle Ventures Inc. in Pittsburgh, has
been following MOOC mania. As the
former CEO of the Charles Schwab
Corp. who rebuilt Schwabs business
model around the Internet, Pottruck
understands change.
The race to upgrade quality and
access to education while reducing costs
through e-learning will produce winners
and losers, he tells business leaders and
educators. Slow-moving institutions and
those that add the least marginal value
will find it difficult to survive.
Robert J. Grossman, a contributing editor
of HR Magazine, is a lawyer and a professor
of management studies at Marist College in
Poughkeepsie, N.Y. Kyle Yantz conducted
survey research for this article; the Marist
College finance and accounting major
graduated in May.
75% of 243
chief learning officers said they
were very interested or interested
in exploring massive open
online courses for professional
development when surveyed by
CORP/U in 2012.
Use MOOCs for Professional Development
For some employers, massive open online courses may be too general to incorporate
into professional development. A better option may be a MOOC derivative, such as
those designed by CORP/U. Tailored to each customer, these courses are presented
by university professors and bundled together with online interaction and classroom
workshops.
For example, Scott Figura, Coca-Cola Co. global director of supply chain capability
development, has created a seven-week course for 8,000 facility managers at 1,200
sites. Managers in groups of 35 to 45 begin with virtual instruction for seven weeks.
They set their own schedules, usually logging on before and after work for a set num-
ber of hours a week. The course concludes with a week of classroom time at regional
sites. Instruction is in Spanish and English, with plans to add Japanese and Chinese
options.
Georgia Tech faculty members deliver the virtual component. Practitioners and
faculty facilitate live sessions. The approach gives us a chance to build a sense of
community and also deliver the content with examples and situations that apply
directly to our business, Figura says.
CORP/U developers have also been working with the International Red Cross to
offer a tailored MOOC to train 13.1 million volunteers.
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______________________________
CALL US AT 866.685.2187 OR VISIT PARTNERS.ASHFORD.EDU
Designed with modern professionals in mind, Ashford Universitys
online courses form a relevant curriculum to develop future leaders
among your team. Ashford recognizes previous learning and will assess
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workshops, and other sources to transfer to an Ashford degree program.
Partnering with Ashford University can help maximize your current
training expenditures and provide ongoing learning opportunities for
your most valuable assets your employees.
12ACRP1157 AC-0255
400 NORTH BLUFF BLVD., CLINTON, IA 52732
EDUCATE.
DEVELOP.
RETAIN.
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_________________
I
f you are in the market for a lead-
ership assessment tool, there is no
dearth of options. The sheer number
and variety of assessment toolsand the
vendors that provide themmake even a
seasoned HR professionals head spin.
Just some of the types of tools HR
professionals can employ to assess a can-
didate for a leadership positionor an
employee for leadership potential
include:
Self-assessments.
Knowledge, behavioral and personal-
ity testing.
In-basket simulations that test ability
to prioritize, plan and delegate tasks.
Multi-rater assessments, often called
360-degree assessments.
Structured interviews with trained
assessors.
Panel interviews.
Employee engagement surveys.
Job simulations.
Bersin by Deloitte values the
Future leaders
face rigorous
testing as
employers
strive to measure
their worth.
Upon
Further Assessment ...
By Adrienne Fox
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assessment market at more than $800
million annually. Vendors range from
Korn/Ferry International, SHL, Mer-
cer, Center for Creative Leadership, and
Development Dimensions International
to thousands of smaller companies that
offer specialized assessments.
To help HR professionals sort
through the clutter, the Institute for Cor-
porate Productivity (i4cp) conducted
a leadership assessment survey of 610
business professionals from various
industries and company sizes. Fifty-four
percent reported to i4cp that they have
some kind of formal assessment process.
The 2012 survey also found that,
among the 25 tools respondents were
given to choose from, 360-degree assess-
ments were the most common, used by
77 percent of respondents organiza-
tions. This was followed closely by the
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and DiSC
behavior and personality profiles. In
addition to being the most commonly
used, 360-degree assessments were
rated as highly effective by 40 percent of
respondents.
When assessing managers and execu-
tives, three-quarters of respondents
use 360-degree assessments in com-
bination with other tools, such as the
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, Hogan
Personality Inventory, DiSC and psy-
chological assessments developed by
Lominger Ltd.
Fifty-one percent assess candidates
for virtually all management and super-
visory positions, and 64 percent employ
a mix of tests and interviews. The i4cp
researchers say assessment results are
more accurate when at least two tools
are used. Almost none of them were
designed to be used alone, the research-
ers stated, since they tend to look at dif-
ferent facets of leadership qualities.
Multiple Approaches
A 2011 Global Leadership Forecast
by Development Dimensions Interna-
tional also concluded that organiza-
tions using a mix of simulations, tests
and interviews have stronger leadership
benches. In general, a leadership assess-
ment uses one tool or a combination of
tools to measure a candidate against cri-
teria that the vendor chooses based on
years of validated data and the clients
leadership competency model.
Assessments capture personality
traits, preferred skills and behavioral
tendencies. For instance, DiSC measures
a persons dominance, influence,
submission and compliance. The
Hogan Personality Inventory looks at a
persons ability to remain calm and even-
tempered under pressure, ambition, val-
ues, social and interpersonal skills, and
communication skills.
In most cases, vendors administering
leadership assessments issue reports that
outline the candidates areas of strength
and weakness and that provide recom-
mendations for development.
Cost is a factor, but there are options
for most budgets. You can definitely get
an off-the-shelf online assessment that
is cost-effective, for instance, at $250
per person, says Kim Lamoureux, lead
analyst in talent acquisition at Bersin by
Deloitte.
Simple, low-cost assessments may
be sufficient for front-line supervisors,
but tests become more complex at
higher levels. For senior-level posi-
tions of director and above, a battery of
toolspersonality, behavioral-based
and simulation-basedis usually used,
Lamoureux says. At those levels, assess-
ment centerswhich test candidates in
many ways for four hours or longer
help determine how candidates per-
form under pressure. A 2007 survey of
180 business professionals by i4cp and
HR.com found that 44 percent of their
organizations used assessment centers.
Sending one candidate to an all-day
assessment center can cost $10,000 to
$20,000, according to vendors. For
some employers, the cost is worth it.
There is more at stake because selecting
the wrong person for a critical role can
have an enormous financial impact on
the organization, Lamoureux explains.
HR leaders working with smaller
budgets may create a lower-cost hybrid
approach that uses an online, vendor-
provided simulation followed by an
in-person presentation on that simula-
tion in the next room for the assessor
or hiring manager, says Jim Higgins,
principal in Mercers Talent Assessment
Solutions Group.
Thats the approach HR professionals
In the Toolbox
According to a 2012 survey by the Institute for Corporate Productivity, of the tools
available to identify, assess and develop future leaders, 360-degree assessments
are the most popular. However, three-quarters of respondents use 360-degree
assessments in combination with other tools. When presented with a list of
25 assessment tools, survey respondents indicated that the following are the most
commonly used :
Assessment Percentage of respondents
using this tool
360-degree assessments 77%
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator 68
DiSC 61
Lominger assessment instruments 47
Hogan Personality Inventory 43
StrengthsFinder 2.0 43
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___________
at Advance Auto Parts Inc. took in
finding leaders for its 3,900 stores and
55,000 employees. We looked into cre-
ating an assessment center, but we chose
a vendor who designed an in-depth pro-
cess using off-the-shelf assessments,
says Tonya Baker, the retailers director
of talent management systems.
Why Bother Testing?
HR professionals find value in leader-
ship assessment tools for three reasons:
New-hire fail rates. In a 2012 study,
Development Dimensions International
found that the success rate for front-
line managerial positions is 60 percent
when promoting internally and 50 per-
cent when hiring from outside. HR
professionals seek assessment tools to
improve their 50-50 chance of making
the right hiring decisions, says Kather-
ine Graham-Leviss, founder of XBIn-
Sight, a talent assessment firm.
Imperfect screening. It is hard to
gauge through interviews whether a can-
didate will succeed in your organization.
Interviewing is highly ineffective, Hig-
gins says. If you can put someone in a
situation and have him show his ability,
then the analysis will be more accurate.
Science. Well-designed, validated
assessment tools provide objective data
to inform a promotion decision. Based
on decades of neurological research,
the tools uncover values, motivators
and behaviors that otherwise may not
become apparent for months. Assess-
ments capture the soft skills that are
hard to glean, Graham-Leviss says.
Making an effort to ensure a match
between leaders and the organization is
worthwhile, according to the i4cp sur-
veyparticularly since it determined
that 89 percent of the time, new hires
fail because their attitudes dont match
up with the organizations values, not
because the individuals lack skills.
Its akin to a football player who under-
performs on one team and then goes on
to have a Hall of Fame career on another
team, Lamoureux explains. The skills
are the same, but the environment has
changed. When it comes to leadership, so
much of it is driven by potential within a
certain organization.
Employers should evaluate providers
to find assessments that fit their cultures,
Lamoureux advises, and should be
wary of vendors that say they can use the
same tool to assess everyone.
Mark Fernandes, chief learning offi-
cer at Luck Cos., a mining and crushed
stone supplier in Richmond, Va., looks
for such alignment. The major ven-
dors in this market are all competent,
he says. I want to know which one sees
things the way we do.
Once the choices are narrowed down,
the people involved in the decision
should take the assessments to ensure
that theyre user-friendly, relevant and
not overly time-consuming. A crite-
rion-related validation study shows a
Choosing the Right Assessment Tools
Before diving into the deep end of the assessment pool, HR professionals first
need to prepare for the plunge.
Understand whats driving the need for the leadership assessment, and
determine what the business wants from the assessment, says Mercers Jim
Higgins. Collaborate with the business leaders to find out what the leadership
profile is for your organization.
In the past five years, the content has shifted to assess leaders for ability to
innovate and manage change and complexity, he continues. In addition, global
competency has gained importance.
Good vendors have data to support general leadership traits, he notes, but HR
professionals can shed light on what specific traits work in their organizations.
The worst thing HR can do is to blindly go to vendors and say, We need a
leadership assessment. What do you have? Dont let the vendor tell you what
kind of leader you need, Higgins says.
Mark Fernandes knows exactly what type of leader is needed at Luck Cos. As
Lucks chief learning officer, Fernandes led a multiyear effort to develop a values-
based leadership model.
Once we had something to assess against, we became serious about using
leadership assessments, Fernandes says. All of the vetting becomes easier
once you codify the mission, values and supporting behaviors.
When meeting with vendors and assessing tools, employers should ask the
following questions about content, validity and scalability:

Is the tool compliant with U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
guidelines?

How is the tool validated, and how extensive is that validation?

What does the tool predict? Does it match with what your organization wants
to predict?

Is the tool intended to assess for competencies needed at the manager, direc-
tor, senior or executive levels?

What applicant volume can the tool accommodate?

Does the tool assess potential or immediate ability to do the job? Can it be
matched against a specific job or industry?

Does the vendor provide off-the-shelf or custom products? Does the vendor
adapt content or delivery methods?

Does the vendor charge a per-person rate or set prices?
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Special Report ORGANIZATIONAL & EMPLOYEE DEVELOPMENT
A
M
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P
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Congratulations to the American Military University and American Public University
graduate student nalists for the 2013 Presidential Management Fellows program
one of the nations most prestigious and competitive government opportunities
in leadership development.
Michael Berry
Management (AMU)
Brandy Billie
Business Administration (AMU)
Sherri Burns
Environmental Policy and Management (AMU)
Andreia Farias
International Relations and Conict Resolution (AMU)
John Gill
Andrea Grisham
International Relations and Conict Resolution (AMU)
Sharon Johnson
Public Administration (APU)
Pilar Lindstrom
Intelligence Studies (AMU)
Sharon Marcus
Public Health (AMU)
Matthew Mikaitis
Criminal Justice (AMU)
Michele ONeil
National Security Studies (AMU)
Curtis Rasmussen
Intelligence Studies (AMU)
David Roberts
Emergency and Disaster Management (APU)
David Robinson
David Sandifer
Criminal Justice (AMU)
Brandon Wilson
Each year, the program
seeks graduate students
who have demonstrated a
history of professional and
academic excellence, and
who are willing to undergo
a rigorous multi-stage
selection process. We are
extraordinarily pleased to
have our graduate students
recognized in this way.
APUS Executive Vice President &
Provost Dr. Karan Powell
Members of the regionally accredited American Public University System
statistical link between performance on
the assessment and performance on the
job, Higgins explains. Graham-Leviss
suggests using a sample of current lead-
ers representing high-, mid- and low-per-
formance to validate the tools.
The Experience
HR managers should not assume that
candidates will eagerly await testing.
The assessment process at Advance
Auto Parts takes candidates through
four hours of online testing for personal-
ity, behavior, critical thinking and finan-
cial acumen. Used for store managers,
district leaders, regional vice presidents
and senior vice presidents, the tests are
followed by a 45-minute interview with
an assessor. The vendor assesses each
candidate for job fit and capacity to lead.
Baker says hiring managers prepare
the top two or three candidates for the
extensive testing. Although most exec-
utive-level candidates have experience
with testing, Baker says some comment
on the duration or content of the assess-
ments. She pays attention to that feed-
back because she doesnt want to lose
good candidates as a result of testing.
Lamoureux adds that, in preparing
candidates, HR professionals should
stress that there are no right answers.
The tool is as much to help the candi-
date as it is the company, she explains.
Assessments typically ask the same
question multiple times in different
ways. The analyses will group similar
questions together to give broad indica-
tors of how people score. A lot of people
ask if users can game the test, Lamou-
reux says. But well-written assessments
ask a question so many ways that its
very difficult for the user to be inauthen-
tic on a consistent basis.
Make the Most of the Data
To get more bang for your buck, Gra-
ham-Leviss urges HR professionals to
mine assessment data for training and
development purposes as well as succes-
sion planning needs.
For links to a case study about a restaurant
chains internal assessment center and
other resources about leadership testing,
visit www.shrm.org/0813-leadership-
assessments.
ONLINE RESOURCES
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is projected to generate $5.50 per ton.
Do we know for sure that VBL and
these assessments directly caused these
numbers to improve? Yes. Can we prove
it? No, not directly, Fernandes says.
At Advance Auto Parts, We know
the assessment is valued by the leaders
because of the desire to expand its use to
other levels, Baker says.
Luck Cos. employs a 360-degree
assessment tool from the Hay Group pri-
marily for development purposes. All
leaders participate in annual 360-degree
assessments that measure them against
company values, leader competencies
and desired attributes. Annual engage-
ment surveys and performance reviews
further gauge how leaders perform
against a values-based leadership model
that Fernandes developed. For succes-
sion planning, Lucks HR team relies on
a VBL index, a score based on each
leaders 360-degree assessment, depart-
ment or team engagement survey, and
performance appraisal.
Fernandes and his HR team are
expanding the assessment to individual
contributors so that the data can feed the
leadership pipeline. We have 850 asso-
ciates, and were trying to develop 850
leaders, Fernandes says. In that hourly
workforce is an individual contributor
who can run this company someday.
Managers at Advance Auto Parts con-
tinue to use assessment data well after
hiring. The process generates one report
for HR and the hiring manager, and the
person hired receives a copy. The reports
highlight areas for improvement and
training. To plan for development, Baker
shares such test results with internal can-
didates who arent selected.
Assess Your Assessments
Even though i4cp recommends that
employers evaluate the effectiveness of
their efforts to identify suitable types of
leaders, only 20 percent of respondents
report that their organizations analyze
outcomes, according to i4cps 2012
survey.
Fernandes is working with research-
ers at the University of Richmond to for-
mally measure the return on investment
of Lucks VBL model. He cites figures
that he says demonstrate the assessments
are effective. For example, in 2004 prior
to the assessments and the VBL model,
Luck generated $2.50 in cash flow per
ton of stone sold; this year, the company
She adds that HR professionals
shouldnt get overwhelmed by choices
and options. There is no perfect assess-
ment process, she says. Find one that
works for your organization and can be
flexible to your needs.
Adrienne Fox is a contributing editor and
former managing editor of HR Magazine.
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Q&A
P
H
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H

B
Y

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C
ompensating corporate leaders
appropriately is a high-stakes
proposition. Top executives command
a financial premium. Putting together
compensation packages that attract,
keep and motivate executives to
perform their best with an eye toward
long-term profitability and business
growth remains a challenge.
A study published in January by the
Human Resource Management Jour-
nal explores the connection between
pay, performance and the alignment
of executives and shareholders inter-
ests. Based on surveys and interviews
with 90 senior executives at FTSE 350
companies, researchers found that com-
panies often place too high a value on
long-term incen-
tives, such
as stock
options,
in putting together executive compensa-
tion packages.
London School of Economics profes-
sor Alexander Pepper, a study co-author,
suggests that a more balanced compen-
sation approach would better motivate
executivesand better serve organiza-
tions. Pepper is an expert on employment
relations and organizational behavior
and a senior fellow at the university.
What do employers aim to achieve
through executive stock options and
other long-term incentives?
There is a strong body of theoretical
literature, developed in the 1970s and
known as agency theory. Proponents
argue that since owners and managers of
companies have different interests, it is
important to give incentives that encour-
age managers to act in ways beneficial to
shareholders. The objective is absolutely
right. Thats what boards of directors
want from their executives.
So what are the flaws in a long-term-
incentive approach?
Start with the argument that if some-
thing is good for you, more of it is better
for you. Stock options might be good,
but large amounts of stock options are
not necessarily proportionally better.
An aspirin is good for you if you
have a headache, but 100
aspirins are not 100 times
better. In fact, 100 aspirins
will probably kill you.
Human psychology
suggests the idea of a
direct relation-
ship between
pay and per-
formance
is flawed.
Start with
the notion of risk. Executives generally
do not evaluate risk the way accountants
and financial advisors do. Executives are
much more risk-averse and loss-averse
than financial theory would suggest.
The second flaw is that we dont deal
with uncertainty in a rational way. The
most significant flaw in agency theory
is the belief that we discount the future
at the rate of inflation. In reality, we dis-
count the future at much higher rates.
Executives discount the future at around
30 percent. So when you incentivize peo-
ple with rewards such as stock options
that will not pay out for three years or
more, the executive values that much less
than the theory would have you believe.
What adjustments should HR profes-
sionals make in formulating their execu-
tive compensation packages?
I am not arguing that long-term incen-
tives are bad. Nor am I arguing that
companies should pay top executives
bigger salaries and do away with long-
term incentives altogether. A better
strategy would be to offer smallerbut
much more balancedpackages: bigger
salaries, bigger short-term bonuses and
smaller long-term incentives. Evidence
suggests executives value short-term
incentives such as annual bonuses more
than long-term incentives because there
is a better line of sight between what
they do and how they are rewarded. Sim-
pler, more balanced reward packages
would be much more effective.
Stock options currently make up 58 per-
cent of the typical executive compensa-
tion package. How do you change the
mindset?
Government officials, regulators and insti-
tutions are already putting pressure on
corporate leaders to find different ways
Incentives for Executives
Research finds flaws in common compensation approaches.
Interview by Adam Van Brimmer
Alexander Pepper
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Employees receive a discount
to compensate executives. That could
gradually force companies to change their
approaches, and executives would then
see the value of balanced packages and
begin to change their behavior, too.
If executives place less value on long-
term incentives than believed, why
do stock options continue to figure in
recruitment?
It comes down to the executives con-
cept of fairness. We all look at what we
are paid not in absolutes but in relative
termshow we are paid in compari-
son to our peers of similar grades and
at similar organizations. Offering more
stock options makes that reference point
harder to find.
There is a threshold level of earnings
where monetary compensation loses its
effectiveness. Once we hit that threshold,
we focus on other rewards. We become
motivated by
whether we are
doing what we
want to do. Man-
agers would do
well to design jobs
that maximize the
sense of achieve-
ment people get from doing them.
History suggests that striving for a
sense of achievement tends to result in
innovation and other positives for com-
panies. Why?
What makes an entrepreneur motivated
to work in his garage on something? Is
it really the thought of a big payday? Or
is he just fascinated by what he is doing?
When [Steve] Wozniak and [Steve] Jobs
invented the Apple computer, did they
envision being
wealthy, or did
they just love doing
it? I think its the
latter. The focus on
extrinsic motiva-
tion is a detriment.
In many corporate
settings, behavior is about making sure
you dont do something wrong and miss
out on incentivized pay. Big companies
are good at incremental innovation as a
result, while small companies are better
at radical innovation.
Adam Van Brimmer is a business reporter for
the Savannah Morning News and a freelance
writer based in Georgia.
For more information about the study,
www.shrm.org/0813-Pepper-executive-
compensation.
ONLINE RESOURCES
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_________________________
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Health Care Reform:
Are You Ready?
SPECIAL SECTION
INSIDE
52 More Time to Get Strategic
57 What Will Brokers Do Now?
62 Employer Mandate Delayed
63 Lessons Learned from a Private Exchange
64 Small Businesses Still Waiting
66 A Part-Time Workforce
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Health Care Reform is radically changing
the direction of medical benet oferings
and while this segment of health care
will experience the greatest reformation
employers can also expect an opportunity
to ofer increased value through specialty
benets, which is expected to grow
substantially in the coming years. This
trend is not likely to change anytime soon.
Employers will continue to need to attract
and retain the best talent and competitive
benet packages play a key role.
Specialty benets such as vision, dental,
long-term disability, and critical illness
are going to become more crucial
as employers will use these types of
benets to attract key employees. Why
is that? Due to the new marketplaces
coming on board, employers will need
to make sure they are ofering benets
that provide maximum value, while
nding a balance in consuming less of
their own budget toward core medical
coverage. If employers choose to ignore
the importance of integrating all aspects
of their benets ofering they may see
their decisions afect their overall bottom
line, as well as employee satisfaction, and
talent retention. It will be important that
employers reassess their total benet
oferings to improve their nancial
outcome. One way this can be improved
is by placing more attention on an array
of health care solutions such as vision
benets.
The Patient Protection and Afordable
Care Act (PPACA) will also impact the
method in which employers will seek
benets for their employees. Pediatric
vision services are one of the 10 essential
health benets that all qualied health
plans need to ofer. We can expect to see
more coverage for children as a result of
the required pediatric vision benet.
Celina Burns, President of Davis Vision
noted, In the current health care
reform environment there is a dened
contribution movement underway that
is translating into higher cost share
and decision making responsibility
for consumers. This trend is driving a
signicant interest by employers and
members in understanding the true
value and cost in all facets of health care,
including vision. Having a diverse array
of specialty benet options tailored to
an individuals need is consequently
becoming increasingly important.
Additionally under the new law, children
up to the age of 26 may remain on their
parents medical plan, though they lose
access to the pediatric benet at age 19.
Vision benet plans have traditionally
replicated similar dependent rules to align
with medical plan benets, and as a result
it appears very probable this trend will
continue.
As voluntary products become more
familiar to the consumer and medical
core plan coverage diferentiations
are diminished, it will be increasingly
important for employers to clearly
communicate benet and funding options
through a greater exibility in choice of
oferings across the benet spectrum.
We understand the demand for
transparency, and will be taking a lead
position in educating consumers on the
true eyewear and eyecare value and cost
components, said Burns, and because
of our platform and end-to-end delivery
capability we believe we have the highest
value and choice ofering in the industry.
With all the new changes to take efect
with the PPACA combined with the rapidly
changing demographics, we can expect
voluntary benets to continue to be an
increasingly important supplement for
employers to manage their benets.
he isien ef eaIth 0are 8eferm
by Kris Knopf,
Vice President of Marketing,
Davis Vision
IncIusive
eaIth 8enets
All individual and small
business health plans must
ofer a comprehensive benet
package that includes:
(beginning January 1, 2014)*

- Emergency Services
- Hospitalizations
- Vision and dental care for
children
- Maternity Care
- Mental health and substance
abuse treatment
- Outpatient, or ambulatory,
care
- Pediatric care
- Preventive care
- Rehabilitative and
habilitation services
- Laboratory Services
*Source: Consumer Reports Health
Care Reform: Seven Things
You Need to Know
by Kris Knopf,
ADVERTISEMENT
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Take a new look at eyecare.
Davis Vision delivers an unbeatable combination of cost savings, unmatched
product choices and a variety of convenient independent optometrists,
ophthalmologists and retail options. Our end-to-end process ensures quality
vision care and afordable rates for our members and clients. For more
information on how Davis Vision can help you see savings visit us at:
www.davisvision.com
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E
mployers that were
scrambling to comply
with the Patient Pro-
tection and Affordable
Care Act by Jan. 1,
2014, caught a break when the
Obama administration delayed
for one year the requirement
that many must provide their
full-time employees with health
insurance. So the next several
months present an ideal opportu-
nity for business leaders to take a
hard strategic look at how their
By Gary B. Kushner, SPHR, CBP
HEALTH CARE REFORM SPECIAL SECTION
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4
health plans fit with organiza-
tional and HR strategies.
For many employers, it has
been a long time since they con-
sidered these basic questions:
Will we offer benefits?
Who will be offered benefits?
How rich will the benefits be?
Employers deciding not to
offer health benefits should con-
sider the impact that decision
could have on the organization
and whatif anythingthey
would replace the value of the ben-
efits with. How would the decision
affect recruiting and retention, not
just for leaders and top managers
but throughout the organization?
The impact will depend on the
employers marketits industry,
workforce size and geographic
regionand the answer may dif-
fer for certain employee groups.
A big-box retailer may not
care about retaining benefits for
greeters, though it might want to
do so for managers. On the other
hand, a high-end retailer whose
salespeople represent its com-
petitive advantage may need to
offer health benefits to attract and
retain the right talent. So, though
both employers operate in the
retail industry, their strategies will
be different.
Or a fast-food restaurant might
not care about offering health
insurance to an employee who
works the counter because, if that
person leaves, there is a large avail-
able talent pool for that position
and training time for a new hire
will be minimal. A tech company
interested in hiring and retain-
ing a programmer, however, will
need to consider its entire rewards
package, including compensa-
tion, health insurance and other
benefits.
These are all important consid-
erations, but employers should not
stop here. This years open enroll-
ment period demands that they
dig deeper.
Issues to Consider
If leaders decide they will provide
employee health insurance, there
are a number of qualitative issues
to consider. For starters, if the plan
has retained its grandfathered sta-
tus, is it worth keeping? While
most of the health care reform law
applies to both grandfathered and
nongrandfathered plans, there
are seven requirements that apply
only to nongrandfathered ones.
Employers that keep their
grandfathered plans cannot
change the co-insurance percent-
age employees pay or increase
deductibles or other plan design
elements beyond a certain point.
So, the trade-off for staying grand-
fathered is that the organization
will have to maintain an overall
richer plan design.
Next, consider other plans
that are subject to the health care
reform laws requirements. If den-
tal and vision plans are wrapped
into the health plan, they are cov-
ered by the law. If, however, both
plans are separate from the health
plan and have separate plan doc-
uments, even if they are with the
same carrier, they are not subject
to the health care reform law.
Then, depending on the size
of the company and how covered
plans are funded, the plans must
meet specific requirements. They
must:
Most Employers Will Continue Coverage
In 2013 Employer-Sponsored Health Care: ACAs Impact, the Interna-
tional Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans reports on a survey of 966
company representatives, including benefits and HR professionals, who
predicted the likelihood of continuing health care coverage for all full-time
employees in 2014. The survey was conducted before the employer man-
date was delayed.
Meet actuarial value require-
ments and pay at least 60 percent
of the allowed costs for covered
services.
Comply with the requi re-
ments to provide essential health
benefits if the plans are sponsored
by a small employer.
Provide coverage to all full-
time employeesthose regularly
scheduled to work 30 or more
hours a weekand their children,
Percentages do not total 100 percent due to rounding.
Definitely will
69%
Very likely
25%
Somewhat likely
4%
Somewhat unlikely
2%
Very unlikely
1%
Definitely wont
1%
Requirement for Nongrandfathered Plans
Seven requirements under the health care reform law apply only to
nongrandfathered plans:
New insured plan nondiscrimination rules. Fully insured health
plans will be prohibited from favoring highly compensated employees.
Minimum design requirements. Plans must cover essential
health benefits and deductible limits. For 2014, this requirement
applies only to small employers.
Appeals process standards. Employees have a right to appeal
their health insurance plan decisions. If payment is still denied, they
have the right to external reviews.
Preventive benefit cost-sharing requirements. There is no
cost sharingno co-payments or co-insurancefor immunizations or
preventive care.
Emergency services prior authorization. Employees may seek
emergency care at a hospital outside the plans network without prior
approval from the health plan.
Emergency services out-of-network cost sharing. Health
plans may not require higher co-payments or co-insurance for out-of-
network emergency room services.
Participants choice. Plan participants may select as a primary
care physician a pediatrician or gynecologist without getting a referral
from another doctor.
59%
The percentage of
organizations that are
developing or plan to
develop a new health
care strategy plan in
response to reform.
Source: Health Care Reform
Challenges and Strategies, based on
a survey of 818 HR professionals,
Society for Human Resource Man-
agement, 2013.
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Menber Purchase PrograniDell University new purchases only. Dell reserves right to cancel orders arising fron pricing or other errors. *Best Price Guarantee does not apply to retail or
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Save $50
_____________________
____________
up to a childs 26th birthday. Em-
ployers do not have to offer cover-
age for spouses.
Meet affordability require-
ments, which state that the em-
ployees share of the cost of an
individual premium may not ex-
ceed 9.5 percent of household in-
come. A safe harbor provision
allows employers to use the em-
ployees income as listed in Box 1 of
the W-2 as a substitute for house-
hold income.
Play or Pay
The health care reform law applies
only to employers with 50 or more
full-time equivalents (FTE), so
employers must first calculate
how many FTE they have to deter-
mine whether they must comply
with the laws employer responsi-
bility provisions. Employers with
50 or more FTE could face a pen-
alty if any full-time employees
buy coverage through a health
insurance exchange and receive
a government subsidy. Penalties
can vary:
If the employer does not of-
fer health benefits, it will face a
penalty of $2,000 a year times the
number of full-time employees it
has, minus the first 30 employees.
If the company offers a health
plan, but the plan does not meet
applicable rules, the penalty will
be the lesser of the $2,000 penalty
described above or a $3,000-a-year
penalty for each full-time employ-
ee who buys coverage through an
exchange and receives a subsidy.
Some employers look at the
fines and believe it makes more
economic sense to pay the pen-
alties instead of offering health
care, but this can be shortsighted.
Heres why.
Jeff, chief f inancial off icer
of Slant Lines, a hypothetical
architectural firm with 75 full-
time employees, knows that his
employees make the company a
marketplace leader. Even so, Jeff
decides to stop offering health
insurance and just pay the penalty.
Currently, Slant Lines fam-
ily health coverage costs $15,000 a
year; employees pay $3,000 of that
amount. Susan, an up-and-coming
designer, walks into HR and asks
about receiving replacement com-
pensation for the $12,000 the busi-
ness had been paying toward fam-
ily coverage.
Slant Lines leaders want to
retain Susan, so they agree to
pay her the $12,000 difference.
But Susan points out that she will
now have to pay Social Security
and FICA taxes as well as federal
and state income taxes on the
$12,000. In addition, the com-
pany will have to pay its share
of FICA taxes. Suddenly, Slant
Lines leaders realize that the lia-
bility for discontinuing the health
care plan for Susan aloneinclud-
ing penalties, additional compen-
sation and taxeswill cost the
company $17,609. Thats a 47 per-
cent increase above what they pay
when offering health benefits.
Another issue employers need
to consider: the so-called Cadil-
lac tax. This new federal excise
tax will be assessed on insur-
ance companies for costly health
plansthose that are in excess of
$10,200 for individuals and $27,500
for family coverage. Even though
the tax will not go into effect until
2018, employers would be wise to
do projections, based on current
health care benefits costs and rea-
sonable inflation estimates, to see
if they may be subject to the tax.
If the impact will be substantial,
employers can begin to make the
necessary changes to their plans
during the next two or three years
rather than all at once for the 2018
plan year.
Plan Designs
When considering health plan
designs, HR professionals should
go back to those basic strate-
gic questions concerni ng the
organizations objectives. If you
are looking for best-of-the-best
employees and have be en provid-
ing health care coverage as part of
a total rewards strategy, you will
conduct the same analyses you
did before health care reform:
Will you offer in-network and
out-of-network benefits; a health
maintenance organization, pre-
ferred provider organization or
consumer-directed health plan;
a health reimbursement arrange-
ment or a health savings account;
wellness incentives? Will the plan
be fully insured or self-funded?
You must also make certain your
plans meet the laws requi re-
ments, based on your size and
funding.
In addition, a good communi-
cation plan will be essential to edu-
cate employees about the changes
coming and to remind them about
the value of their health benefits
and the fact that you provide those
benefits because you value them.
Gary B. Kushner, SPHR, CBP, is
president and chief executive officer of
Kushner & Co., an international HR
strategy consultancy in Portage, Mich.
The Price of Dropping Health Care
Slant Lines represents a fictional architectural firm with 75 full-time
employees. Currently, the company pays $12,000 toward health care
coverage for Susan, a valued employee. If the company drops cover-
age, it will cost Slant Lines:
$12,000
2,500
1,109
2,000
$17,609
+
+
+
Susans replacement compensation
Source: Kushner & Co.
Social Security and FICA taxes plus
federal and state income taxes on
Susans replacement compensation
Additional employer payroll taxes
Penalty
Cost for not providing
coverage for one employee.
WEB
For links to more information on
health care reform, including a
tool to calculate the number of
full-time equivalent employees
an organization has, see the
online version of this article at
www.shrm.org/0813-health-
care-reform.
74%
The percentage of
organizations that
define part-time
employees in the same
way as the health care
reform law.
Source: Health Care Reform
Challenges and Strategies, Society for
Human Resource Management, 2013.
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______________
______
Health Care Reform Resource Page
By Joanne Sammer
A
s leaders of a rap-
idly growing com-
pany, executives at
American Advi-
sors Group have
faced challenges when it comes
to employee health benefits. We
currently have only about 20 per-
cent of our employees enrolled in
the coverage the company offers,
says Rebecca Pacillas, vice presi-
dent of human resources. The
affordable coverage and shared re-
sponsibility requirements under
the Patient Protection and Afford-
able Care Act have the potential to
create unpleasant financial conse-
quences unless the Orange, Calif.-
based company makes significant
changes to its health benefits.
Thats why Pacillas is working
closely with a benefits broker
to quantify those financial con-
sequences while also shopping
for a new health plan to offer
employees.
American Advisors Group
specializes in reverse mortgages.
It has grown from 200 employees
in February 2012 to more than
550 employees today; it projects
a workforce of 700 employees by
the end of the year. The employer
strives to offer competitive com-
pensation and benefits to attract
the right employees. However,
Pacillas recognizes the need for
hard financial data to sell senior
management on the need for bet-
ter employee health benefits.
For benefits brokerage firms,
this type of close client relation-
ship represents an ideal scenario.
Brokers are working to find new
ways to add value to these relation-
ships and, frankly, to generate rev-
enue in a postreform health insur-
ance marketplace.
Yet, Paci l las throws some
cold water on the situation: Our
broker is helping us prepare for
2014, but I would say they become
less important after that, she
says. Once the company follows
through on its plans to add a full-
time employee benefits manager
and takes more benefits-related
work in-house, she estimates that
the brokers role will be cut to half
its current level.
Uncertain Times
The idea of employers reducing or
eliminating the benefits brokers
role in negotiating and managing
employee health benefits keeps
brokers up at night. Brokers who
are going to survive the health
care shift understand the group
benefits brokerage business model
as it stands today is in the process
of drastically changing.
A 2011 study by the Boston
Consulting Group projects that
brokers market share of health
i nsurance distribution chan-
nels will drop from 47 percent
of insured individuals in 2011 to
29 percent in 2019. Meanwhile,
direct purchase by individuals
will increase from 18 percent to
27 percent of insured individuals,
and health insurance exchanges
will rise from 3 percent to 10per-
cent of the market during the same
period.
The role of the benefits bro-
ker is transforming into much
more of an advisory role, and
brokering the coverage is just a
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WEB
For more information about
benefits brokers, see the
online version of this article at
www.shrm.org/0813-benefits-
brokers.
small piece, says Joseph DiBella,
executive vice president at Con-
ner Strong & Buckelew, a benefits
brokerage and consulting firm in
Marlton, N.J.
In this environment, employ-
ers can expect far more from their
brokerscompliance assistance,
stronger client service, and ideas
and innovations. And if employers
are not getting this kind of atten-
tion from their current brokers,
they have an open marketplace
to find what they need. As Pacil-
las puts it, Our broker is work-
ing harder for fear that the com-
pany might go to another broker
or start shopping the market
ourselves.
Brokers agree. In fact, many
concede that the willingness and
ability of a brokerage to meet
employers expanding needs has
become the price of admission into
this marketplace. These develop-
ments have forced the more trans-
actional brokers to get out of the
business and allowed brokers
that have invested in their own
tools and compliance resources to
assume much more of an advisor
role, explains Thomas Mangan,
chief executive officer of United
Benefit Advisors, which offers
brokerage services. One example
of this expanded role would be
brokers providing actuarial calcu-
lators to help employers consider
the potential costs of a play-or-pay
decisionthat is, whether to pro-
vide benefits or pay the penalties
under the shared responsibility
provision of the health care reform
law.
More from Brokers
If health care reform is putting the
future of some benefits brokers in
doubt, the laws complexity may
be their saving grace. The law is
so complex that employers have
turned to brokers for support in
understanding and complying
with the requirements.
When Jason McMillan, hu-
man resources director at Tides,
a San Francisco-based nonprofit
with 700 employees, needs help
with benefits, he relies on his bro-
kers resourcesfor example, the
brokers in-house counsel so we
dont have to go to our own out-
side legal counsel. In addition,
the organization relies on its
broker to provide a range of ser-
vices such as a financial analysis
of plan costs and various levels of
employee contributions, as well
as benchmarking against health
plans offered by other nonprofits
and organizations in the San Fran-
cisco Bay area.
Our broker plays a very
hands-on role when it comes to
how we manage and strategize
about our plan and look at vari-
ous cost options, McMillan says.
For example, the organization
has always offered preferred pro-
vider organization plans and has
avoided high-deductible account-
based plans. However, with the
so-called Cadillac tax on high-
cost health plans scheduled to
take effect in 2018, Tides leaders
are rethinking that decision out
of concern that the companys
relatively rich health plans could
be hit by the tax. At the brokers
suggestion, they developed a plan
to phase out some of the more
expensive plans while rolling out
lower-cost options, including a
high-deductible plan with a health
savings account.
Employers that purchase
health benefits without using a
broker will quickly find that addi-
tional services such as planning
and analysis are no longer free.
MJ Insurance Inc. serves as an
example. It is working with cer-
tain clients to develop different
types of health-related programs,
such as onsite health clinics. Most
of our clients are self-insured,
so these clinics are designed to
reduce claims costs while also
providing enhanced benefits in a
cost-effective manner, says Andy
Vetor, a partner.
He notes that his Indianap-
ol is-based company does not
charge brokerage clients for plan-
ning and development because it
considers the services part of the
value the company provides as a
broker. However, MJ Insurance
does charge fees to employers
Brokers Could Face Decline in Customers
These figures represent the estimated market share of health insur-
ance distribution channels as a percentage of insured individuals. The
table is based on a 2011 survey of 120 health insurance executives
by the Boston Consulting Group.
Brokers, Agents Seen as Knowledgeable
Insurance brokers and agents indicated that their clients consider
them a source of information on health care reform, based on their
responses to this question:
How often do clients ask questions of you about the health care
reform law?
0 10 20 30 40 50
Brokers
Benefits consultants
Direct purchase
from insurers
Exchanges
Other
2011 2019

Source: Survey of Health Insurance Agents, Kaiser Family Foundation, 2012.
Often
43%
Sometimes
30%
Rarely
19%
Never
8%
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that are looking for such services
on an ad hoc basis but are not inter-
ested in developing a brokerage
relationship.
As brokers look to solidif y
their client relationships and de-
velop new revenue streams from
nonbrokerage clients, new bene-
fits services are likely to become
more commonplace. For exam-
ple, offering voluntary health
benefits to employees could be
a win-win for brokers and em-
ployers. Voluntary plans allow
employers to provide employees
with various types of insurance
coverage at group rates and with
no underwriting. These plans
tend to be fully paid by employ-
ees and are a low-cost way for em-
ployers to offer a broader array of
benefits at a time when they may
be scaling back on core health in-
surance. For brokers, voluntary
benefits offer a significant source
of revenue.
Services Evolve
Even as brokers offer new ser-
vices, the evolving approach many
employers are taking to health
benef its under the health care
reform law could significantly cur-
tail or end these relationships over
time. Even though Kristin Berdel-
man, director of benefits at Acco
Brands Corp. in Lake Zurich, Ill.,
sees the companys broker as a key
partner when it comes to health
benefits, she still expects the bro-
kerage firm to evolve and keep
up with whats happening in the
marketplace and within her orga-
nization. If brokers are going to
become true benefits advisors,
they need to have a full suite of
both legal and administrative
resources and expertise to support
their clients, she says.
Acco Brands relies on its bro-
ker for insurance renewals and
contract negotiations, compliance
support, post-merger and acquisi-
tion integration, vendor manage-
ment, benefits communication,
and global benefits management.
In addition, the broker has helped
the company develop a strategy
for revisiting basic health benefits
questions with senior leaders each
year.
We ask three key questions
each year, Berdelman says:
Do we conti nue providi ng
health benefits in the same or a
similar way as we have in the past?
Should we migrate to a defined
contribution approach to health
benefits?
Should we eventually move
away from providing health ben-
efits and direct our employees to
the public health insurance ex-
changes or some other vehicles?
Acco Brands plans to continue
its current approach to offering
health benefits, but that could
change in the next few years based
on the companys situation and
what its competitors do.
The annual review illustrates
brokers current bind: If Acco
Brands leaders ever decide to
make a change in the companys
benefits strategy and stop offer-
ing health benefits, the broker will
have played a role in eliminating
part of its own revenue by devel-
oping this decision-making pro-
cess for its client.
In the Marketplace
In this environment, employers
need to choose brokers wisely.
Although brokers are eager to
attract and retain clients, not all
will be able to meet every employ-
ers needs. For example, employ-
ers should beware of any broker
who treats the business as trans-
actional or a commodity, says
Nicole White, senior vice presi-
dent of ABD Insurance & Financial
Services Inc. in San Mateo, Calif.
With more of an advisory rela-
tionship, brokers are better able
to work with the client to achieve
Health Care Reform Draws Pessimism
Insurance brokers and agents are pessimistic about the potential effects
of health care reform, based on their responses to this question:
Do you think the following will be better off or worse off under
the health care reform law, or dont you think it will make much
of a difference?
100
80
60
40
20
0
Your business Health insurance
brokers generally
Source: Survey of Health Insurance Agents, Kaiser Family Foundation, 2012.
Responses from those who said they didnt know or declined to answer are not shown.
Worse off
Better off
Wont make
much of a
difference
the clients objectives and deliver in
terms of price.
However, as brokers look to
bring in as much new business as
possible, employers need to make
sure they continue to get ade-
quate attention. You want a roll-
up-your-sleeves partner who can
allocate the necessary resources
and time to your account, Berdel-
man says. We are being asked to
do a lot more with less staff, so bro-
kers are going to need to change
their models to meet our needs.
Some will, and some wont.
Charles Dayton, busi ness
manager wit h 60- employee
RVKArchitects Ltd. in San Anto-
nio, agrees that employers should
take advantage of what brokers
offer. In fact, Dayton sees this
level of support as a make-or-
break element of the relationship.
If you are not getting the kinds
of answers or information you
need, that, at the very least, gives
you a pretty quick heads-up that
you might need to use a different
broker.
Indeed, a primary reason em-
ployers use brokers is to have an
advocate in the purchasing pro-
cess. For that reason, Dayton
expects to continue to rely on a
broker even when the health in-
surance exchanges and Small
Business Health Options Pro-
gram are up and running. The
human element and focused at-
tention are selling points.
I dont know how an exchange
that is automated on the computer
will be able to do anything more
than present you with various
health plans available, he says.
You are not going to be able to
push back and ask for a better
offer.
Joanne Sammer is a New Jersey-based
business and financial writer.
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Now is the time to take advantage of the governments
delay in implementation of the Health Care Reform
employer tax through 2014.
During this one year tax-free period, you can improve
your companys bottom line and your employees
confdence and enthusiasm by transitioning your
company away from costly, high deductible, proft
devouring Major Medical plans, to the new
Contribution Advantage (DCA) program.
DCA enables you to drop your current Major Medical
plan and install a stable, cost efective, fully insured
health plan with no waiting periods, no deductibles,
and no co-pays, that is designed to cover 84% of the
average employees annual Health Care expenses
with no employee contribution.
DCA enables you to retain and recruit quality
employees. Your workforce will be happier with
immediate access to quality health care providers
with no deductibles or co-pays. Employees will still
have access to the exchanges and federal subsidies
to obtain low-cost Major Medical or catastrophic
health coverage.
With DCA you will have retained the inherent bond
between employer and employee by providing
for their health and welfare, while adapting to the
changing health care marketplace.
(July 2, 2013):
Most importantly, the delay of the mandate means
that more people will want to enroll in Obamacares
subsidized insurance exchanges. Every year, fewer
and fewer employers ofer health coverage; given
one more year to restructure their workforces, this
process could accelerate.
1
The Defned Contribution Advantage solution is a
product of Insurance Applications Group, LLC. IAG
has over 30 years of voluntary beneft plan design,
administration and enrollment breakthroughs in
the insurance industry. We enrolled over 600,000
employees in our plans in 2012.
IAG works with companies as small as 30 employees
and as large as 300,000. Our extensive experience
enables us to make continuous improvements in
plan design, pricing, and administration. Our results
have consistently proven superior to all comparable
programs.
We incorporate the proven best practices and
principles of the insurance industry into innovative
products and technologies for the future, says
IAG Founder and President, J. Marshall Dye. Our
forward-thinking programs have improved the quality
of life for hundreds of thousands of working people.
1
Making the Most of
Health Care Reform
Insurance Applications
Group Gives Employers
a Sensible Option
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U.S. Census: Percentage of Americans with Employment-Based Health Insurance, 1999-2011
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DCA provides employees per day benefts for wellness and preventative procedures, doctors omce visits, tests,
x-rays and lab work, out-patient and in-patient surgeries, prescription drug benefts, emergency room visits,
Hospital confnement, and more with no deductibles and no co-pays.
DCA is 100% employer paid. Current employee premium contributions essentially become salary increases.
Employees can then purchase Major Medical or catastrophic coverage from the Exchanges and receive Federal
subsidies if eligible.
With the employer mandate delayed a year, you will have plenty of time to think about all of the money you AND
your employees will save with our DCA Solution. visit DCAsolution.com for more information.
You CAN Drop Major Medical
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855.322.5375
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_____________
P
lay or pay has been
postponed. The
health care reform
laws mandate that
employers with
50 or more full-time-equivalent
employees provide health care
coverage that meets minimum
requirements or face penalties
has been delayed until Jan. 1,
2015. Many observers welcomed
the Obama administrations July
announcement.
The sheer complexity of the
law was reason enough for the
delay, according to Paul Ham-
burger, an attorney at Proskauer
Rose in Washington, D.C.
The law was resulting in work-
force realignment and restructur-
ing. In some cases employees were
laid off or saw their hours reduced.
Now employers have more breath-
ing room and, with more time,
might not restructure their work-
forces, Hamburger says.
Helen Darling, president and
CEO of the National Business
Group on Health, calls the delay
terrific news for large employers
all across the country.
The delay will most likely
have the greatest effect on employ-
ers in industries with large num-
bers of part-time workers and with
workforces whose hours fluctu-
ate, including retail, hospitality,
entertainment, agriculture and
restaurants.
Attorney Tom Christina
at Ogletree Deakins in Green-
ville, S.C., says: The delay gives
employers more time to coordi-
nate the roles of their vendors,
their payroll systems, their human
resource information systems and
other key players so that they will
be ready for compliance in Janu-
ary 2015. Employers might even
consider a dry run during part of
2014 to find any weak links in their
systems.
Christina cautions, though,
An employer that assumes the
delay is the first stage of repeal or
a major legislative overhaul could
find itself playing catch up by this
time next year.
Looking Ahead
The pos t ponement of t he
employer shared responsibility
coverage mandate is linked to a
delay until 2015, announced at the
same time, of two of the laws pen-
alty-related information-reporting
provisions:
Section 6055 requires reporting
by insurers, self-insuring employ-
ers and other parties that provide
health coverage.
Section 6056 requires reporting
by certain employers with respect
to the health coverage offered to
full-time employees.
Employers will not face penal-
ties for another year with respect to
employees who receive premium
tax credits to purchase coverage on
a government-run exchange.
However, many provisions of
the law are unaffected by the delay,
and employers must continue to
implement and comply with them,
advises an analysis by consultancy
PricewaterhouseCoopers.
From the report: New indi-
vidual and group health plan
requirements taking effect for 2014
plan years include a ban on annual
dollar limits on essential health
benefits, a 90-day limit on eligibility
waiting periods, new out-of-pocket
limit maximums, the elimination
of preexisting conditions exclu-
sions for adults, and coverage of
clinical trial participant costs.
New fees and assessments
including for the Patient-Centered
Outcomes Research Institute,
transitional reinsurance fees and a
health insurer taxare unaffected
by the delay.
Also unaffected are the require-
ment that most employer-provided
health care include coverage for
recommended preventive care
including contraceptive services
for women with no cost-sharing
and the requirement for employ-
ers subject to the Fair Labor Stan-
dards Act to provide written notices
about government-run exchanges
to each employee and all new hires
by Oct. 1, 2013.
Stephen Miller, CEBS,
and Allen Smith, J.D.
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Why Consider Exchanges?
In Aon Hewitts 2012 report The Time Is Now: Rethinking Health Care Cover-
age, which reflects survey results from more than 560 companies, employ-
ers identified the following as important features of an exchange model:
Goals of a Private Exchange
Private exchanges have the following objectives, according to Aon
Hewitt:

Create a competitive market in health care benefits at a retail con-
sumer level.

Drive efficiency and mitigate cost increases through competitive forces.

Consolidate purchasing power in the private sector to drive systemic
reforms of the health care delivery system.

Facilitate movement to a defined contribution model for those
employers who choose this approach.

Provide an alternative to public state or federal exchanges that com-
plies with health care reform requirements while allowing employers to
subsidize employee coverage and avoid penalties.

Slow health care cost inflation to a compensation-like rate of
increase.

Treat health benefits as an element of total rewards.

Expand choice, allowing consumer selectionsof networks, formu-
laries, premiums and deductibles, for examplethat could not be driven
unilaterally at the employer level.
Lessons from a Private Exchange
0 20 40 60 80 100
PERCENTAGE OF EMPLOYERS
Reduce cost
Improve access to quality plans
Enhance health and wellness programs
Increase choice
Lower employer accountability, risk
Percentages do not total 100 because multiple responses were allowed.
C
hoice drives sat-
isfaction on the
first large private
health insurance
exchange for U.S.
employers. Enrollees chose health
plans they decided offered the
best value for themselves and
their families, and they liked
being able to select among mul-
tiple carriers.
When given more options,
employees become empowered
to make individual choices based
on value, provider network,
price and health status, says Ken
Sperling, Aon Hewitt national
health exchange strategy leader.
Employees are not limited to a
predetermined plan and insur-
ance company.
New Model
The multi-i nsurer private, or
corporate, exchange created by
consultancy Aon Hewitt began
operating in the fall of 2012 for
plan year 2013.
Someti mes referred to as
def i ned contribution health
care, private health exchanges
allow employers to give eligible
employees fixed dollar amounts
for either individual or family
coverage, regardless of the plan
the employee chooses. Workers
add their own salary-deferred
contributions, choose among dif-
ferently priced plans from com-
peting health insurers and deter-
mine how much money they will
contribute to their eligible health
savings accounts if they have a
high-deductible plan.
Aon Hewit ts Cor porate
Health Exchange enrolled more
than 100,000 U.S. employees from
companies including Sears Hold-
ings Corp. and Darden Restau-
rants Inc., which owns and oper-
ates restaurant chains such as
Olive Garden and Red Lobster.
The exchange offers health, den-
tal and vision benefits options from
multiple national and regional car-
riers including UnitedHealthcare,
Kaiser Permanente, HealthNet,
Floridas Blue Cross and Blue
Shield Plan, and Health Care Ser-
vice Corp., which operates Blue
Cross Plans in several states.
Choices Change
Aon Hewitts postenrol lment
analysis for plan year 2013 showed
that:
More employees enrolled in
the exchanges consumer-driven
health plan than had enrolled with
their employers plan in 201212
percent of enrolled employees in
2012 vs. 39 percent of enrollees on
the exchange in 2013.
Participation in preferred pro-
vider organizations decreased
from 70 percent of enrolled em-
ployees in 2012 to 47 percent of
exchange enrollees in 2013.
Thirty-two percent of em-
ployees enrolled on the exchange
chose a plan similar to their em-
ployer-sponsored coverage, while
26 percent of employees opted
up for broader coverage. Forty-
two percent of exchange enroll-
ees chose to reduce their regular
payroll contributions by selecting
a less-comprehensive plan.
Almost 80 percent of employ-
ees enrolled on the exchange said
they were confident they chose
the health plan that offered the
best value for them and their fam-
ilies, and 93 percent indicated that
they liked being able to choose
among multiple carriers.
This model lets employees
decide which plan and which
insurance company is best for
them, and they are free to modify
that choice on an annual basis,
Sperling says.
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any small busi-
nesses will have
to wait a little
longer to use a
health insurance
exchange.
An exchange program for
small businesses that was set
to launch in October has been
put on hold for one year by the
U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services. The Small Busi-
ness Health Options Program
(SHOP) wi l l provide a state-
specific marketplace for small
group plans (those covering up
to 100 employees) within each
of the public exchanges that are
a hallmark of the Patient Protec-
tion and Affordable Care Act.
The del ay means publ ic
exchanges that are fully or par-
tially run by the federal govern-
ment on behalf of 33 states in 2014
would be required to offer only
one plan for small businesses,
rather than a range of competing
options. The 17 states that have
opted to run their own exchanges
could choose to order a similar
delay or implement the program
in full for 2014.
A Monkey Wrench
The announcement t hrew a
wrench into the plans of many
small businesses that were count-
ing on SHOP as a way to offer
employees more options with
more-competitive pricing and
lower administrative costs.
It is a big deal, says Josie Mar-
tinez, senior partner and general
counsel at EBS Capstone, an insur-
ance brokerage in Newton, Mass.
Smaller employers had been
looking forward to being able to
offer employees some choices
in the form of more options with
more-competitive rates. Now
those employers will have to fig-
ure out Plan B.
Their alternatives will vary
based on their organi zations
Small Businesses in Holding Pattern
SHOP Enrollment
Expectations
Year Number of employers
expected to apply
2014 200,000
2015 133,333
2016 200,000
Source: U.S. Centers for Medicare &
Medicaid Services.
circumstances. The health care
reform laws shared responsibil-
ity provision mandates a certain
level of employer-provided health
coverage. Organi zations that
have never offered health ben-
efits to their employees, but that
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And our ACA Fu is strong.
In fact, theres nothing stronger.
ALEX Does Health Care Reform tells
employees everything they need to know
about the individual mandate, guaranteed
issue, Medicaid expansion, and health
insurance marketplaces while helping them
make the best choices for themselves and their
families. ALEX is fast, fun, and easy to use.
Weve mastered
Health Reform.
www.meetalex.com/HCR
are subject to the shared respon-
sibility provision, could simply
reconsider the benefits question
later, when the federal program
is fully operational.
Smal ler employers t hat
already offer health benefits have
a more complicated task. Taking
away benefits is different from
simply delaying new benefits, and
a decision to do away with bene-
fits could damage a companys
culture and ability to attract and
retain employees.
The i mportant thi ng to
remember is, smaller employers
do have options, Martinez says.
Some employers will have
more options. Employers in states
that run their own exchanges
should find out specifically what
options will be available, says
Sheila Burke, senior public policy
advisor at the law firm of Baker,
Health Care Coverage by Small Employers
Smaller companies are less likely to offer health benefits to their
employees, according to the Kaiser Family Foundations Employer
Health Benefits Annual Survey 2012, which is based on survey
responses from 2,121 employers.
Number of
employees
Percentage of
companies offering
health coverage
3 to 9 50%
10 to 24 73
25 to 49 87
50 to 199 94
Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell
& Berkowitz PC in Washington,
D.C.
Small employers purchasing
coverage through the federal pro-
gram might be eligible for a tax
credit of up to 50 percent of their
premium payments if:
They have 25 or f ewer
employees.
They pay employees an av-
erage annual wage of less than
$50,000.
They offer all full-time em-
ployees coverage.
They pay at least 50 percent of
the premium.
No matter what they decide,
employers need to keep employ-
ees informed about SHOP and the
companys business reasons for
offering or not offering benefits.
Stephen Miller, CEBS,
and Joanne Sammer
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Antoinette Pilzner, an attorney at
McDonald Hopkins PLC in Bloom-
field Hills, Mich. The number of
days worked in the week is pretty
much irrelevant; its the average
number of hours actually worked
that matters.
Finally, some companies might
limit all but 30 employees to an
average of fewer than 30 hours per
week, because organizations do not
pay the penalty on their first 30 full-
time workers, Pilzner says. But, she
cautions, The employers business
must be adaptable to having more
employees doing the same amount
of work as a smaller number of
employees.
Morale Can Suffer
According to a May poll by Lee
Hecht Harrison, an overwhelm-
ing 74 percent of workers pre-
fer full-time employment over
part-time work, contract work
or self-employment. So a switch
away from full-time work can be
problematic.
The biggest problem I have
seen is the morale issue this cre-
ates in the workforce, says Patri-
cia Wise, an attorney at Niehaus
& Associates Ltd. in Toledo, Ohio,
noting that the law will have min-
imal impact on employers that
already offer coverage.
Oppenheim disagrees, saying,
The law is negatively impacting
those its intended to help, and we
will be faced with a part-time work-
ing society that will permanently
change the employer-employee
relationship.
The costs of the health care
reform law are substantial and
very difficult to absorb, says
Oppenheim.
Allen Smith, J.D.
S
ome small businesses
have cut workers
hours because of the
health care reform
law, and more could
follow suit. In a 2013 Gallup poll of
603 small-business owners, nearly
one in five said thats their strategy.
Republ i c Foods I nc. , a
750-employee Burger King fran-
chise based in Bethesda, Md.,
is moving away from full-time
employment. All new positions
and employees hired will be con-
sidered part time and will be guar-
anteed no more than 29 hours
per week, says Eric Oppenheim,
SPHR, Republic Foods chief oper-
ating officer.
Some Options Risky
The health care reform laws defi-
nition of a full-time workweek
30 hours or moremay cause
employers to slash weekly hours
below 30 to avoid providing health
care benefits to part-time employ-
ees, but management attorneys
arent sure this plan will hold up in
court.
The idea is popular but risky,
says Paul Hamburger, an attor-
ney at Proskauer Rose LLP in
Washington, D.C. There are
rules in [the Employee Retire-
ment Income Security Act], for
example, that prohibit employers
from taking employment-related
actions against employees to pre-
vent them from being eligible for
benefits.
Other employers are consider-
ing a four-day workweek. But that
strategy is also questionable.
Simply shifting employees to a
four-day workweek, by itself, would
not enable an employer to avoid
the pay-or-play requirement, said
The RISE of the
Part-Time
Society
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Is your company
prepared for the
changing health
care landscape?
Only 21% of
companies are
extremely or
very prepared to
address changes
coming to our
health care
system in 2014.
*

How will you be prepared?
Get our Employers Guide: aac.com/HealthCareReformGuide
*Source: 2013 Aac WorkForces Report Z130498b 6/13
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78% of organizations use an insurance
broker to navigate the health care reform law.
Source: Health Care ReformChallenges and Strategies, Society for
Human Resource Management, 2013.
Health Care Reform Highlights
After
2014
2014
Jan. 1
2015 2017 2018
The so-called Cadillac tax will
be assessed on insurance com-
panies and employers that self-
insure for costly health plans.

Individuals and small businesses can purchase coverage
through the public health insurance exchanges.

Employers that offer health care coverage must let employ-
ees know that they may remain on the employers plan and must
inform them of the consequences of opting out of the plan.

Employers must provide employees with information on avail-
able exchanges and possible subsidies.

Employers must provide each employee with a summary of
benefits and coverage at open enrollment for 2014.

Coverage begins through the public exchanges.

Most individuals who can afford it must obtain basic health insur-
ance coverage or pay a penalty.

Tax credits are available for people with income between 100 per-
cent and 400 percent of the poverty line to purchase coverage.

The small-business tax credit increases to up to 50 percent of a
qualified employers contribution for employee health insurance.

All limitations for pre-existing medical conditions must be removed.

Fully insured nongrandfathered health plans
are subject to nondiscrimination rules. Appli-
cable date to be determined.

Employers with 200 or more employees
must automatically enroll newly hired or newly
eligible full-time employees in an affordable
health plan. Applicable date to be determined.

Employers with 50 or more
full-time-equivalent employees
must offer health coverage or
pay a penalty.

Small employers have more
health insurance options through
Small Business Health Options
Program marketplaces.
Larger employers may
buy affordable and
qualified health plans
through the exchanges.
2013
Oct. 1
Health Insurance Exchange Status by State
State-based exchange
State-federal partnership exchange
Federally facilitated exchange
Source: Kaiser Family Foundation, June 20.
Toughest Reform Hurdles for HR
A 2013 Society for Human Resource Management survey report, Health Care
ReformChallenges and Strategies, reveals the responses of 818 HR profes-
sionals to the following question about health care reform:
What is the main implementation barrier to health care reform for
your organization?
Complexity of the law
Lack of understanding the details of the
law and its impact on the organization
Not applicable; there is no implementa-
tion barrier for my organization
Cost of implementing
Employee out-of-pocket expense
Other
+

Employers Not Embracing Private Exchanges
Has your organization considered using private health insurance exchanges?
No, we have not
considered
62%
Yes, but we are unsure
26%
Yes, but we have
decided not to use
10%
Yes, we are currently
using or plan to use
2%
Source: Health Care ReformChallenges and Strategies, Society for Human
Resource Management, 2013.
41%
27%
10%
10%
5%
7%
Health Care Reform Timeline
Nancy Hatch Woodward, a freelance writer based in Georgia, contributed to this health care reform special section.
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________________
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SOCIAL MEDIA Agenda
H
aving a social media policyand
training employees to follow it
are critical practices for every organiza-
tion. Even if your company is not using
social media, you still need a policy
because your employees are using it in
their private lives and they need guide-
lines to protect your interests and your
organizations reputation.
Before creating a social media policy,
employers should decide what they want
to get out of social media, advises Eric
Meyer, a partner in the labor employ-
ment law group of Dilworth Paxson LLP.
He says companies social media poli-
cies should speak to every type of com-
munication employees publish on the
Internetincluding comments on Face-
book, LinkedIn, Twitter, Foursquare,
blogs, wikis, online discussion boards,
Google Groups, Tumblr, and video- and
photo-sharing sites such as YouTube
and Flickrbecause any of that could
impact the company.
Considerations
If your company is going to use social
media, decide who will use it and for
what purposes. Will it be restricted to
just a few peoplesay, those in mar-
keting, HR or media relations? Are you
going to require supervisors or depart-
ment heads to know the networks that
their staff members are using?
Draw up the policy with the com-
panys culture and industry in mind.
Some industries (finance and health, for
example) have rules about social media
engagement and what company or client
information can or cannot be divulged.
Align a policy with your companys cul-
ture, whether it is formal or informal.
Tap different divisionsmarket-
ing, information technology, HR, media
and legalto help craft the policy.
Take a look at the employee handbook,
and identify existing rules that can
be applied to use of social media. For
example, rules in the code of conduct
or those regarding disclosure of propri-
etary information, sexual harassment or
equipment use may be applicable. Make
sure the social media policy is consis-
tent with and works in tandem with the
handbook, and that it covers postings on
social media platforms or technologies
that already exist as well as those that
have yet to be created.
Dont Overreach
Be careful not to infringe on the employ-
ees right to engage in what the National
Labor Relations Board (NLRB) calls
concerted activities for the purpose of
collective bargaining or other mutual aid
or protection.
For example, the NLRB has had
a problem with companies that say
you are not allowed to disclose confi-
dential information without defining
what is confidential information,
says Michael Schmidt, an attorney with
Cozen OConnors labor and employ-
ment group and author of the Social
Media Employment Law Blog.
Some companies consider salary
and wage information confidential, and
the NLRB has said employees can talk
about wagesso a company would be
overreaching by prohibiting employees
from discussing wage-related informa-
tion, Schmidt says.
Under the National Labor Relations
Act, Meyer explains, employees have
the right to engage in protected con-
certed activity. In a nutshell, when two
or more employees discuss the terms and
By Aliah D. Wright
Polish Your Social Media Policy
Set clear expectations about social media use, but beware of being intrusive.
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SOCIAL MEDIA Agenda
Inform employees
as to whether they
need approval
before posting
information and
identify whom
they should get
approval from.
conditions of employment in a way thats
designed or intended to effect change ...
they have the right to do that.
Social Screening
A policy should cover whether employ-
ers can use social media to screen can-
didates or employees and the inherent
risks involved. The Society for Human
Resource Management (SHRM)
unveiled research in 2013 showing that
57 percent of companies do not have a
policy relating to screening potential
employees social networking sites. Of
those that do have a policy, 21 percent
prohibit the use of the sites and 21 per-
cent allow use.
SHRM research from 2011 revealed
that most HR professionals (66 percent)
do not conduct online searches about
candidates or employees or sift through
their social media sites. Why? Because
they are fearful they may discover infor-
mation they are not supposed to know.
In 2008, 54 percent of HR profession-
als surveyed by SHRM said they did not
screen candidates by looking at their
social networking sites because they
were concerned about the legality of
doing so; in 2013, that number rose to 74
percent.
Employers may discover information
on Facebook about an individuals pro-
tected status under federal, state or local
law. This information might include the
individuals age, gender, religion, race,
political affiliation, national origin,
disabilities or sexual orientation. Or,
employers may discover information that
state laws prohibit them from knowing
about employees activities when they
are not at work. About 28 states and the
District of Columbia have laws that pro-
tect applicants from employers that may
discriminate against them for engaging
in lawful activities such as smoking.
There is a danger, too, that informa-
tion found online may be untruea
recruiter might find a fake profile for
a person, for instance. Or, employers
may not be consistent when checking
social media sites for all candidates. Of
course, there may be exceptionssay,
if a candidates job would involve work-
ing with social media. In those cases, a
third party instead of a hiring manager
could be used to scrutinize a candidates
accounts.
A policy should define the kinds of
employees or candidates who will have
their social media presences checked,
when they will be examined (for exam-
ple, during background checks) and
what information will be scrutinized.
State that only publicly available infor-
mation will be reviewed. Do not ask for
passwords; six states have passed laws
prohibiting this practice. Being consis-
tent is essential.
More to Do
In addition, a social media policy should:
State that employees are not to
divulge trade secrets or confidential or
proprietary information, and provide
examples of policy violations.
State that employees can be held
accountable for content they post on the
Internetwhether in the office, at home
or on their own timeparticularly if
something they post or share violates
other company policies.
Cover the legal consequences for
employers and disciplinary ramifications
for employees if rules are not met.
State that the policy is not a static
document. It may have to be revised as
laws and usage change, new platforms
are introduced, and existing platforms
expand. SHRM reports on such changes
regularly.
State that the policy relates to social
media use by the organizations entire
staff, not just those who use social media
in official capacities.
Clearly and succinctly educate
employees about social networkings
benefits as well as its pitfalls.
Set forth employee productivity
expectations in conjunction with their
social media habits.
Inform employees as to whether they
need approval before posting certain
types of information and identify whom
they should get approval from.
Convey to employees that they are
essentially ambassadors for the organi-
zations corporate brand, because what
they write on social media sites may be
disseminated to the worldeven if they
only share it with their friends.
Encourage employees to think twice
before posting comments they would not
say out loud or that they would not want
their chief executive officer, spouse, sig-
nificant other or grandparents to see.
Finally, do not just give employees
the policy and have them read it. You
have to have some form of training and
education because you cant always trust
that everyones going to read the policy,
Meyer says.
Aliah D. Wright is an online editor/manager
for SHRM. This article was adapted from
her book A Necessary Evil: Managing
Employee Activity on Facebook, Twitter,
LinkedIn and Hundreds of Other Social
Media Sites (SHRM, 2013).
For more information about creating a
social media policy, see the online version
of this article at www.shrm.org/0813-social-
media-policy.
ONLINE RESOURCES
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COMMUNICATION Agenda
H
ealth care reform is here, and
employers are working to comply
with the Patient Protection and Afford-
able Care Act. Yet 42 percent of Ameri-
cans are unaware it is the law of the
land, according to a Kaiser Health
Tracking Poll from April.
New health insurance rules are sched-
uled to kick in soon, so employee com-
munication about the reform law and any
benefits changes should start now.
Do not despair, however, if your com-
munication plan is at the starting line,
says Dani McCauley, senior vice presi-
dent of marketing at Univers Workplace
Solutions, a benefits administration and
communications provider in Hammon-
ton, N.J. Brokers, consultants and other
vendor partners can help.
A Strategic Plan
Employers should have a strategic com-
munication plan in place as early as
possible. By Oct. 1, all companies must
provide employees with information
about state health insurance exchanges,
where individuals and small businesses
will be able to shop for insurance.
If you know you are making changes
to your health plan, you need to figure
out what those changes will be before
you can communicate them, says R. Pep-
per Crutcher Jr., a partner in Balch &
Binghams Jackson, Miss., law office.
This is a very complicated topic, and
your communications should not be
rushed, he adds.
Careful planning is essential for fram-
ing difficult communications, such as
telling employees the company will not
offer benefits; will not pay as much (or
anything) for spouse or dependent cover-
age; or will reduce the number of hours
employees work, making them ineligible
for health care coverage.
Never give people bad news at the
last moment, Crutcher says. Dont
corner employees by springing some-
thing like this on them and then saying
Merry Christmas.
For organizations that are keeping
health care benefits, it is a great time to
remind workers how valuable these ben-
efit are and that the employer provides
coverage as an investment in employees.
We have heard from some clients
that their employees believe the govern-
ment is now giving them their health
care, and they no longer understand their
employers role, McCauley says. If an
employer does not stay active in the con-
versation, it is going to be very easy for
that employer to lose the perceived spon-
sorship. HR professionals have their
work cut out for them. The Kaiser poll of
1,203 adults living in the U.S. found that
about half of those surveyed said they
did not have adequate information about
the law, and only 11 percent said they
had received any information from their
employer. This puts a burden on HR.
Start with the Basics
HR has been immersed in health care
for the last several years, but the public
has not, says Heidi tenBroek, a princi-
pal at Milliman, a benefits consultancy
in Seattle.
Start by telling employees whether
the company plans to continue offering
coverage in 2014. Theres been enough
speculation out in the news about
employers dropping coverage, tenBroek
notes.
Jennifer Benz, founder and chief
executive officer of Benz Communica-
tions in San Francisco, notes additional
basic questions that employees will have
if their employer is continuing to offer
By Nancy Hatch Woodward
Its Not Too Late
Theres time to begin educating employees about health care reform.
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COMMUNICATION Agenda
health care coverage:
Could I get a better deal on the health
insurance exchange?
Could someone in my family get a
better deal on the exchange?
Am I eligible for a subsidy on the
exchange?
Answering these questions is criti-
cal because employers may face penal-
ties if their employees migrate to public
exchanges. HR professionals will want
to do all they can to keep employees in
their employers health plans.
Because the health care reform law is
so complex, the best approach is to focus
on the most critical information, com-
municate it simply and try not to get too
far ahead of yourself, Benz says.
Deliver bite-size pieces of informa-
tion, McCauley says, but try to frame
the information in the larger context of
the ongoing shift that is
occurring as a result of
the health care reform
law.
Try to provide person-
alized information, says
Denise Foster, a princi-
pal and practice leader at
Milliman. Tailor messages to the appro-
priate audiences, especially if only some
of your employees will be in the employ-
ers health plan.
Next Up: Leaders
Educate business leaders and get them
involved. The HR team at Intrust Bank,
based in Wichita, Kan., spent March and
April informing senior leaders about the
health care reform law, the banks health
care risks and claims data, and the lead-
ers role in the communication process,
says Jill Beckman, divi-
sion director of people
services. In May, the
president headed to bank
locations for all-employee
meetings to explain the
laws requirements and
that the bank already
offers many of those benefits.
HR professionals at Legacy Health
System in Portland, Ore., used e-mail
and other messages from their CEO to
employees that explained the organiza-
tions health plan in the context of health
care reform. They met with the organi-
zations leaders to detail how the leaders
could support and explain the changes
the hospital group was making to its
health plans, says Sonja Steves, SPHR,
senior vice president, human resources.
Use Your Entire Arsenal
Use a variety of tools in your education
campaign, experts advise. Try a little
bit of everything, and do not rely on
just one method, Steves says. Legacy
Healths HR professionals have used
home mailings and articles in newslet-
ters to educate the organizations 9,700
employees. They recently launched The
Future, a bimonthly e-mail on health
care reform. At first, it was a little mys-
terious to employees because no one
knew who wrote it, she says, but they
have come to rely on it.
At Intrust, managers encourage the
banks 880 employees to read mailings
and articles and come to meetings. HR
developed Q&As and, in May, began
putting out a series of newsletter articles
that focus on topics such as the health
care reform laws impact on the employer,
public health insurance exchanges or pos-
sible future health care benefits.
The HR department at Darden Res-
taurants Inc., headquartered in Orlando,
Fla., started employee communication
early. In 2012, employees had the oppor-
tunity to sign up for their 2013 health
insurance through a private exchange
offered by Aon Hewitt.
Communicate Key Reform Topics
Depending on its situation, an employer may need to cover the following topics
before the new plan year begins:
State exchanges. On Oct. 1, all employers must provide information to
employees about the public health insurance exchanges. Explain that if they decline
employer coverage, they may not be eligible to buy subsidized coverage through an
exchange for the same coverage period.
Play or pay. Employers need to announce whether they will continue to offer
health care coverage or whether they will elect to pay applicable taxes and give
employees the option to buy coverage, which might be subsidized, through an
exchange.
Plan-design changes. Some employers may offer plans and features that are
unfamiliar to employees and that need to be explained for example, a high-deduct-
ible health plan paired with a health savings account, a skinny med plan that pro-
vides limited benefits, or wellness program incentives.
Coverage changes. Employers must offer coverage to full-time employees and
their dependents; however, because spouses are not defined as dependents, cov-
erage for them is optional.
Cost-sharing changes. The employees coverage must be affordable, but
there is no such requirement for dependent coverage.
Medicaid expansion. In states that have signed up to expand Medicaid cover-
age, employees with household incomes up to 133 percent of the federal poverty
level may be eligible for Medicaid.
Reduction in regularly scheduled hours. Some employers, especially in retail,
hospitality and other service industries that employ hourly workers, have begun to
convert full-time jobs to part-time jobs to minimize their play-or-pay expenses.
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For more information about employee
communication, including links to model
notices about employees health coverage
options under health care reform, see
the online version of this article at www.
shrm.org/0813-health-care-reform-
communication.
ONLINE RESOURCES
Darden moved from one health plan
with one provider to five medical plans
and up to five carriers on the exchange,
depending on the location. Danielle Kir-
gan, senior vice president of total rewards
and HR shared services, says the com-
pany prepared for this change on ste-
roids by approaching its communication
and change process in three stages:
Build awareness. Last August,
Dardens HR team started educating
leaders and reaching employees through
videos, home mailings and text messages
about some new and interesting ben-
efits that would soon be rolled out.
Educate employees. In October, the
team held employee training sessions
facilitated by their benefits profession-
als and provided on-demand videos
employees could watch at their desks.
The videos detailed the companys new
high-deductible health plans and other
plan changes. Employees also had access
to video testimonials from colleagues
who had experience with different plan
options before joining Darden and from
actors portraying fictional employees
who explained why they chose a specific
plan option.
Encourage decision-making. Open
enrollment in October included elec-
tronic tools that were popular with
employees and that helped them model
their medical needs and choose the plan
best suited for them.
Handling Questions
Considering the complexity of the health
care reform law, HR professionals
should expect to be peppered with ques-
tions from employees.
Last year at Darden, HR received
many calls from employees regarding the
reform law. In response, the companys
benefits professionals created talking
points for managers, set up a call center,
and created a website where employ-
ees could submit questions and have
live chats with an HR representative to
get answers, Kirgan says. During open
enrollment, the company provided live
sessions to walk employees through the
process of signing up.
Intrust set up a team of four HR
professionals who were prepared for
a barrage of questions. HR developed
a two-page document listing all the
main points about the health insur-
ance exchanges, the waiting periods, the
affordability requirement and more. The
information was also made available to
senior leaders so they could provide sup-
port as well.
When it comes to health care reform,
Glassdoor Inc.s HR director, Amanda
Lachapelle, PHR, strives to communi-
cate one-on-one with 160 employees
of the jobs-and-career network based
in Sausalito, Calif. Because thats not
always possible, Glassdoor has a dedi-
cated intranet site on the topic, and the
professional employer organization that
manages the companys health insurance
benefits provides employees with infor-
mation about health care reform.
HR professionals would be well-
advised to keep the outreach and educa-
tion coming. When companies launch
something new, they tend to put a lot of
energy into the launch and think their
communications role is over, Steves says,
but not every employee is listening. If
Im personally impacted by the change,
then you have my attention, she says.
If Im not, I probably wont pay atten-
tion. Employers need to keep a steady
drumbeat of communication all the
time; then, as the need arises, people
know where to go for information.
Nancy Hatch Woodward is a freelance writer
based in Georgia.
Reform Terms
Your Employees
Should Know
A quick primer on health care
reforms key terms from R. Pepper
Crutcher Jr., a partner in the
Jackson, Miss., law office of Balch &
Bingham:
Full-time employee. Employees
are considered full time if their aver-
age service hourswork time plus
paid nonwork time plus certain
unpaid leave hoursare at least 30
per week or 130 per month.
Essential health benefits.
Individual and small group policies,
whether or not they are sold through
the health insurance exchanges,
must include certain core benefits,
such as emergency care, prescription
drugs and preventive services.
Exchanges. Beginning Oct. 1,
individual and small group policies
will be available through state and
federally operated health insurance
exchanges, with some individual pur-
chasers qualifying for premium and
cost-sharing subsidies.
Minimum actuarial value. A
plan must pay at least 60 percent
of the allowed costs for covered
services.
Affordability. The employees
share of the premium for individual
coverage under the employers least
expensive compliant plan may not
exceed 9.5 percent of the employ-
ees household modified adjusted
gross income.
Subsidies. Individuals and fami-
lies with annual incomes between
100 percent and 400 percent of the
federal poverty level may be eligible
for a subsidy to help them pay for
coverage they purchased through an
exchange if they were not offered
compliant, affordable coverage by an
employer.
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Copyright 2011, Oracle and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Oracle and Java are registered trademarks of Oracle and/or its affiliates.
Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.
oracle.com/hcm
or call 1.800.ORACLE.1
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HR Technology
Give Employees with Disabilities an Assist
A new generation of tools offers a variety of low-cost accommodation options.
E
li Hinson has worked for consulting
giant Booz Allen Hamilton for 13
years, so she was surprised when her
manager approached her last fall with
a concern: Hinsons manager and co-
workers at headquarters in McLean,
Va., had noticed an increasing number
of spelling, grammar and syntax mis-
takes in her writing. What they didnt
know was the causedyslexia, a lan-
guage-processing disorder that can
affect reading, writing and spelling.
Hinson was diagnosed in college but
had never disclosed her disability to her
employer. I really didnt like to tell peo-
ple that I have dyslexia, Hinson says.
Its only just recently that I felt comfort-
able enough to tell my manager.
Once she did, Hinson was connected
with Booz Allen Hamiltons disability
accommodations and workplace adjust-
ments team. Within a few weeks, the
team set her up with technology tools
that help improve her writing and read-
ing comprehension. Managers and
co-workers have seen a difference in
my e-mails, says Hinson, a SharePoint
administrator. The technology tools
gave me confidence. I dont need to have
a third party look over my work; I can do
it on my own.
Turnkey Solutions
The Americans with Disabilities Act
(ADA) of 1990 brought disability aware-
ness into the spotlight across the country.
Now, more than 20 years later, tech-
nology is ushering in a second wave of
consciousness about employees with dis-
abilitiesand the availability of simple,
affordable tools to accommodate them.
Solutions used to be costly and
cumbersome. Tony Stephens, public
policy and advocacy manager for the
National Industries for the Blind, based
in Alexandria, Va., has been blind since
birth. When he was in school, a screen
reading program and scanner cost thou-
sands of dollars, he says. Today, these
functions are features of off-the-shelf
operating systems or downloadable
add-ons.
By upgrading your operating sys-
tem, you get built-in speech recogni-
tion, speech output, magnification, icon
and graphic upgrades, word prediction,
color-contrast ability, and alternate key-
board and mouse controls. What main-
streaming means is that these technolo-
gies are becoming cheaper and more
cost-effective, says Beth Loy, Ph.D.,
principal consultant for the Job Accom-
modation Network, a grant-funded proj-
ect of the U.S. Department of Labors
Office of Disability Employment Policy.
Ten years ago, someone might have
had a dozen different devices such as
a screen magnifier, a currency reader, a
talking calculator and a GPS, says Chris
Frank, a team leader for employment and
technology services at the Association for
the Blind and Visually Impaired-Good-
will of the Finger Lakes, headquartered in
Rochester, N.Y. Now they might all just
be apps on a persons smartphone.
According to the U.S. Census
Bureau, about 56.7 million people in
the United States had some type of diag-
nosed disability in 2010, and more than
40 percent of them were working age.
Although the unemployment rate for
people with disabilities is higher than
the overall average unemployment rate,
experts say its not due to lack of skills.
This is a very solid untapped work-
force, Stephens says.
While the ADA has helped raise
awareness, misconceptions about people
with disabilities persist. According to
By Jennifer Taylor Arnold
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HR Technology
Stephens and his colleague Doug Goist,
some managers think that employ-
ees who use assistive technology are
somehow less capable. I like to say to
HR managers, How many of you use
reading glasses? Can you read with-
out them? explains Goist, an assis-
tive technology specialist. Glasses are
assistive technology. It doesnt mean you
cant perform in your job.
Beyond Compliance
In fact, people at all levels of education
and skill use adaptive technology in their
work. At Rosicki, Rosicki & Associ-
ates PC, a mortgage banking law firm in
New York, about 23 percent of its 425
employees have a disability. The firm
uses adaptive software and hardware
to accommodate those with vision and
hearing impairments, cystic fibrosis, and
spina bifida. There are certain assump-
tions that a person with a disability can
only handle the lowest-level work, says
Craig Wolfson, associate partner and
director of human resources. People
are surprised when we tell them we have
attorneys, managers, paralegals, employ-
ees at all levels who have disabilities.
While some disabilities are apparent,
the legal definition includes a range of
conditions, especially after the ADA was
expanded through the ADA Amend-
ments Act of 2008. ADA regulations
now include sensory, cognitive, physi-
cal and psychiatric conditions as well as
chronic diseases.
We have a significantly higher per-
centage of people covered by the act
as a result of the ADA Amend-
ments Act, says Michele
Magna, disability special-
ist at Booz Allen Hamilton.
We want to have employees
that can be as successful and
productive as possible. If
you arent providing those
types of tools, the individu-
als are at a disadvantage,
and youre not going to get
maximum productivity.
Amped Up
Today, adaptive technol-
ogy goes far beyond screen magni-
fiers and sound amplifiers. Interestingly,
many functions are familiar to a wide
audience, thanks to popular tools like
autocorrect, spell check and iPhones
Siri.
Speech recognition software (simi-
lar to Siri) allows users to speak their
thoughts and have them translated into
text in a program file, and can also read
text from a program file aloud. Word-
prediction software like autocorrect
uses context clues and user history to
complete words after just a few key-
strokes. And literacy programs such as
spelling and grammar checks catch mis-
takes in written communication. Adap-
tive technology versions typically have
beefed-up capabilities. Such tools can
help employees with challenges from
learning disabilities like dyslexia to
fatigue caused by conditions like mul-
tiple sclerosis.
At Booz Allen Hamilton, Hinson
uses a tool called WhiteSmoke to help
her write e-mails and Read&Write for
help with Word documents and Power-
Point presentations. When you start
typing, [WhiteSmoke] pops up and
reviews your sentences for you and
grades you before you can send out the
e-mail, she explains.
She benefits from the tools text-
to-speech capabilities to improve
comprehension. She says she processes
information better when it is
read to her than when she sees
it on a page or screen.
Adaptive hardware can
help employees with dexterity
limitations: A half-QWERTY
keyboard can help users who
have carpal tunnel syndrome,
one hand or limited fine-motor
skills. When a blind person uses
it along with a Braille display, it
can read text aloud as he or she
types. And smartpens allow
employees to transfer recorded
notes or audio to computer files,
so they can take adaptive technol-
ogy with them to meetings and
outside appointments in a convenient,
portable way.
Considering Cost
Employers should not be afraid of
price, Goist says. A 2012 Job Accom-
modation Network survey of 1,905
organizations that had provided accom-
modations for employees found that
57percent of the accommodations were
available at no cost, while the rest cost
$500 or less. In many cases, local gov-
ernment and nonprofit agencies can
provide adaptive technology tools to
employers for free or at reduced rates.
There is little to no cost for the
employer, Wolfson says. There might
be a little startup cost, [but] the employees
you are getting are so worth it. Manag-
ers at Rosicki, Rosicki & Associates have
worked with The Rehabilitation Institute,
Goodwill, New York states Adult Career
and Continuing Education Services-
Vocational Rehabilitation, and Helen
Keller Services for the Blind to identify
candidates with disabilities and appropri-
ate accommodations for them. Many
agencies will provide short-term or long-
term job coaches or onsite support to
help with the transition at no cost to the
employer, Wolfson says.
In addition, some state and federal
programs offer tax credits to employers
Some state and
federal programs
offer tax credits
to employers that
invest in adaptive
technologies.
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SHRM Photo Gallery
SHRMs biweekly video news
program for HR professionals.
Available on SHRM Online
and SHRMs YouTube channel.
Find current and archived episodes at
shrm.org/focusonhr
WATCH. LISTEN. GO!
that hire employees with disabilities and
invest in adaptive technologies. Employ-
ers should check with state or local agen-
cies that offer services for disabled resi-
dents to identify programs in their areas.
Tailored to the Job
When trying to identify the best adap-
tive technology solution for an employee,
HR professionals need to consider the
big picture. You cant just look at a dis-
ability in isolation, Magna says. Look
at it in conjunction with the essential
functions of their job. You could have
two individuals with the same diagnosis,
but, because their duties are different,
their accommodations packages might
look very different.
Plus, there is a range of variation
within each disability diagnosis. For
example, one person with limited vision
may prefer changing the color and font
display on her computer, while another
may prefer screen magnification.
Ask employees who need accommo-
dations lots of questions, advises Linda
Gillis, PHR, SPHR, Red Roof Inns hir-
ing and training manager. The Spring-
field, Ohio-based company has three
employees with visual impairments in
its customer contact center who use
screen reading and magnification tools.
Our goal is to make each agent the
best he or she can be at their job, Gil-
lis says.
Often, the employee or candidate
can be a valuable source of informa-
tion on adaptive technology options.
Vicki Minter, an agent in Red Roof Inns
customer contact center, has used the
Assistive Technology
Some widely used adaptive technology:
Screen readers and magnifiers

JAWSJob Access with Speech

Window-Eyes

ZoomText
Speech recognition

Dragon NaturallySpeaking

Kurzweil 3000

SpeakQ
Literacy programs

WhiteSmoke

Read&Write

WordQ
Keyboard

Matias
Smartpen

Livescribe
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DO YOUR
EMPLOYEES LOOK
FORWARD TO
MONDAY?
HR Technology
screen reading tool JAWSJob Access
with Speech softwareat a variety of
jobs since the early 1990s. I always
let [employers] know upfront that I
use adaptive equipment, Minter says.
Sometimes they are a little apprehen-
sive. I try to help them feel free to ask me
about it. The program Minter uses con-
verts text on a computer screen to speech
or a Braille display.
The per-
son knows their
impairment bet-
ter than anyone,
Stephens notes.
Dont be afraid to
ask What do you
need to do your job 100 percent?
At Booz Allen Hamilton, employees
request accommodations by submitting
a form through the companys intranet.
Adaptive services are covered in the
onboarding process, so new hires can
self-identify and request them.
At other employers, the process is less
formal. Red Roof Inn employees sim-
ply inform managers of their needs. The
two then work together to accommodate
those needs. We have an open-door
policy where peo-
ple can have those
conversations,
Gillis says.
Experts rec-
ommend that
HR profession-
als learning
about adaptive technology try out some
of the tools themselves. Employers
often have a lack of awareness of what
solutions are out there and how they
function, Goist says. If an employer
sits down and sees the unbelievable
things the technology is able to do, that
will remove any hesitation. There is
nothing you cant do when using this
type of technology.
Jennifer Taylor Arnold is a freelance writer
based in Baltimore.
Dont be afraid to
ask What do you
need to do your job
100 percent?
For more information about assistive
technology, see the online version of this
article at www.shrm.org/0813-assistive-
technology.
ONLINE RESOURCES
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2013 Kronos Incorporated. Kronos and the Kronos logo are registered trademarks of Kronos Incorporated or a related company. All rights reserved.
KRONOS
IN THE
CLOUD
INNOVATION
IN YOUR
WORKFORCE
Today, organizations of all types and sizes from Fortune 500 companies
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cloud technologies to help drive this change. With Kronos you can leverage
your entire workforce as never before, using it
to help achieve critical business goals such as
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improving customer satisfaction. These are the
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leveraging the Kronos Cloud for even greater workforce innovation. And now,
instead of seeing labor as a cost, Kronos is showing them how to use their
workforce as one of their most important assets to impact the bottom line.
Go to www.kronos.com/cloudhr for a free white paper on new technology
thats transforming workforce management software for increased value.
TIME & ATTENDANCE SCHEDULING ABSENCE MANAGEMENT HR & PAYROLL HIRING LABOR ANALYTICS
THE KRONOS CLOUD DELIVERS
WORKFORCE INNOVATION THATS
EASY TO DEPLOY, EASY TO MANAGE.
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For more information and to try the free demo, visit shrm.org/learning/August
The 2013 SHRM Learning System features an enhanced
user experience complete with updated content that
refects the body of knowledge tested on the PHR
and SPHR exams.
Choose the format that fts your learning preference.
Self-Study Program
PHR/SPHR Certifcation Preparation Seminars (3 days)
Virtual PHR/SPHR Certifcation Preparation (7 weeks)
Organizational Training & Development Programs
College/University Program
2013 SHRM Learning System
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SUCCEED.
ERTIFY
The #1 PHR
/SPHR
Certifcation
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Prep Tool
Court Report New cases are posted online each week. Visit www.shrm.org/law.
Reduction in Force Tainted by Willful Age Discrimination
Miller v. Raytheon Co., 5th Cir., No. 11-10586 (May 2, 2013).
An employer that purported to follow
facially neutral layoff procedures termi-
nated an employee because of his age,
the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
ruled, upholding a jury finding of a will-
ful violation of the Age Discrimination
in Employment Act (ADEA).
Richard Miller worked for Raytheon
Co. or its predecessor for almost three
decades in a variety of roles, primarily
in supply chain management. In 2006,
Miller was moved to special projects,
where he reported to Robert Lyells.
Miller initially performed well in his
new position. After failing to meet some
deadlines, however, he received a needs
improvement rating on his 2007 mid-
year review.
Raytheon initiated a reduction in
force (RIF) in early 2008. The com-
panys policy dictated that Lyells evalu-
ate his employees, subdivide them into
decisional units, rank them based on
a four-factor analysis and develop a list
of employees to recommend for reduc-
tion. Lyells placed the then 53-year-old
Miller in a decisional unit with four
other employees (ages 34, 49, 54 and
55) to be considered for termination. A
46-year-old woman who worked in the
same organization as Miller and had
similar job responsibilities was placed in
a decisional unit that was not considered
for the RIF.
Lyells recommended that Miller be
included in the layoff after determining
that his job function was nonessential
and that other employees could absorb
his duties. Although Miller was purport-
edly targeted for the RIF because of a
budgetary shortfall, at that time his job
was not charged to Lyells budget. The
only employee in Millers decisional unit
not recommended for termination was
the 34-year-old, to whom Lyells offered
retraining.
Because Miller had more than 20
years of service, Raytheons human
resources director and Lyells searched
for job opportunities for Miller. Lyells
contacted colleagues in other groups at
Raytheon to determine whether there
were any positions
that fit Millers skills,
but he was told there
were none. The com-
pany terminated Mill-
ers employment on
March 13, 2008.
Miller then met
with HR and com-
plained that he would be unable to get
another job at Raytheon because of his
needs improvement rating. Miller
was told to apply for jobs at a lower
salary grade and in a different group.
When Miller asked why he would not
be considered for a job in the supply
chain group, he was told, Because you
wouldnt be considered. Miller applied
for four jobs at Raytheon, but he was not
rehired.
Miller asserted that Raytheon termi-
nated him because of his age. The dis-
trict court held that the evidence was suf-
ficient to support the jurys finding that
Raytheon terminated Miller in willful
violation of the ADEA. The 5th Circuit
concurred.
The ADEA prohibits employers from
discharging or otherwise discriminating
against any individual because of his or
her age. A violation of the law is willful
when an employer must have known or
shown reckless disregard for the matter
of whether its conduct was prohibited by
the ADEA.
The 5th Circuit found sufficient evi-
dence for the jury to disbelieve the com-
panys argument that Miller was treated
the same as younger employees. The
court noted that Miller was told not to
apply for jobs in supply chain manage-
ment and was not
selected for a new job,
despite Raytheons
policy of exhausting
all opportunities to
place the individual
before releasing an
employee pursuant to
a RIF. Additionally,
Miller presented evidence that at least
two similarly skilled, younger employ-
ees (ages 34 and 46) were not terminated
despite being eligible for the RIF.
Moreover, the court cautioned, fol-
lowing facially neutral RIF procedures
does not necessarily insulate an employer
from ADEA liability or from a sustain-
able finding of a willful violation. Even
if Raytheon superficially applied its non-
discriminatory RIF standards to Miller,
the 5th Circuit stated that there was
considerable circumstantial evidence
that Raytheon went out of its way to
avoid rehiring Miller, in contravention of
its usual procedures, and to obscure the
reasons for its decisions.
By Roger S. Achille, an attorney and
professor at Johnson & Wales University,
Graduate School of Business, in Providence,
R.I.
An employer found to have
willfully violated the ADEA
can be liable to the aggrieved
person for liquidated
damages or double damages.
Professional Pointer
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Court Report
Teacher Fired for Harassing Student Lacks Bias Claim
Smiley v. Columbia College Chicago, 7th Cir., No. 10-3747 (April 30, 2013).
Third-Party Retaliation Claim Fails
Underwood v. Dept of Fin. Servs. State of Fla., 11th Cir., No. 12-14711 (April 25, 2013).
A college instructors employment dis-
crimination claim failed because her
employer fired her for her unprofessional
behavior, not for her race or national
origin, the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of
Appeals ruled.
Suriya H. Smiley, who is of Pales-
tinian and Lebanese descent, taught
a Radio Student Operations class at
Columbia College Chicago from 1994
until January 2009.
In late 2008, the school received a
complaint from one of Smileys students.
The student said Smiley harassed him
because he is Jewish and alleged that
Smiley said she could tell he was Jewish
by his nose and last name. He claimed
that she said, Damn, those Jews know
some good food.
The schools anti-discrimination
and harassment policy requires an
administrator to interview the com-
plaining student and the instructor
and then determine
whether the policy
was violated. When
the administrator
interviewed Smiley,
she admitted that she
goofs around with
students and that
she knew she hurt the
students feelings but
added, Its not going
to hurt a regular stu-
dent. The school
concluded that Smiley violated the policy
and was unprofessional, and it decided
not to have her teach more classes.
Smiley sued the school for racial and
national-origin discrimination under
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
The college contended that even if Smi-
ley had not actually harassed the student
for being Jewish, she
engaged in unpro-
fessional conduct by
teasing him.
The trial court
dismissed Smileys
claims, and the 7th
Circuit affirmed.
The court found that
the school treated
Smiley no less favor-
ably than non-Arab
instructors and fired
her because it believed she had acted
unprofessionally.
By Jason W. Palmer, an attorney at
Denlinger, Rosenthal & Greenberg Co.,
the Worklaw
Network member firm in

Cincinnati.
The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals
declined to extend protection against
retaliation to a state worker in Florida
employed by the Department of Finan-
cial Services (DFS)
whose wife had just
settled a claim of dis-
crimination with the
Department of Health
(DOH), a different
state agency. The deci-
sion affirmed a fed-
eral district courts
dismissal.
Byron Underwood
had been on the job
less than 90 days when the DFS termi-
nated his employment, indicating that
he was no longer a good fit. Previ-
ously, he had been a DOH employee for
approximately 14 years. His wife, also
formerly employed by the DOH, had
filed a lawsuit against the agency, alleg-
ing discrimination based on gender, age
and retaliation. She
settled these claims
one month before
her husband was dis-
missed from the DFS.
Underwood filed
claims of retaliation
under Title VII of
the Civil Rights Act
of 1964. He claimed
that his immediate
supervisor at the DFS,
Eric Whitehead, and the decision-maker,
Linda Keen, had a retaliatory motive, as
both had worked at the DOH during his
and his wifes tenures. He alleged that
each was aware that his wife had filed
claims against the DOH and that her
claims had recently been settled.
Underwood attempted to rely on an
expanded interpretation of the recent
U.S. Supreme Court decision of Thomp-
son v. North American Stainless LP, 131
S. Ct. 863 (2011).
The court found that an employee fell
within the zone of interests protected
by Title VII and thus could seek protec-
tion for retaliation when a closely affili-
ated co-worker had filed charges.
The 11th Circuit declined to expand
those principles to protect a spouse
working for a different employer.
By Robert J. McCormack, a shareholder in
the Tampa, Fla., office of Ogletree Deakins,
an international labor and employment law
firm representing management.
Employers should have
procedures for investigating
complaints of workplace
harassment or discrimination
and should follow those
procedures. The investigations
should be fair, thorough and
well-documented.
Before terminating someone,
consider whether a co-worker
of that employee has engaged
in any protected activity and
whether termination might be
viewed as retaliation for the
co-workers protected activity.
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Our nation is indebted to
those who dared to do the small,
brave thingthat later became a big
thing. We would be poorer without the
courage of their actions and the change they
inspired. We would not be the nation we are
today ... and the even better nation we hope
to be tomorrow.
We are the 250,000 human resource
professionals who belong to the Society
for Human Resource Management. We
are dedicated to promoting workplace
policies that ensure equality, fairness and
opportunities for all.
Who Have Kept America on the Path to Equality.
Leading People.
Leading Organizations.
HE DIDNT INTEND TO
BE A HERO.
BUT HEROES
SPEAK OUT WHEN
SOMETHING IS WRONG.
#shrmdream
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_________
When it counts.
AT L ANTA CHI CAGO DE L AWARE I NDI ANA L OS ANGE L E S MI CHI GAN MI NNE AP OL I S OHI O WAS HI NGTON, D. C.
Union organizing. An impending work stoppage. A wage/hour
collective action. Bet-the-company labor negotiations. A tricky
termination. A nationwide workforce reorganization.
With ever-increasing regulation and risk in todays workforce, when
the game is on the line you count on your rst string. One of only
11 full-service law rms in the country with a National Tier One
ranking for its Labor Practice.
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I
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E

Legal Trends
Collective Bargaining, Meet Health Reform
Bargaining over health care is harder than ever.
I
t is an understatement to say health
care is an integral part of collective
bargaining relationships.
In most labor negotiations during
the past 30 years, more time and effort
has probably been spent on the health
care plans provided by labor agree-
ments than on any other contract provi-
sions, including pensions. The Patient
Protection and Affordable Care Act
increases the stakes dramatically.
The legislation and its implement-
ing regulations introduce unprec-
edented complexity and increase the
costs of compliance. Enormous pressure
is placed on divvying up the amounts
available to employers and unions to
fund wage increases and even to main-
tain wages and benefits at existing levels.
And, all too often, labor negotiators wait
until just before a contract is set to expire
to get serious about negotiationsa
strategy that is nothing short of disaster.
Compounding the difficulties facing
labor negotiators, changes required by
the Patient Protection and Affordable
Care Act must be implemented on the
timetables provided by the legislation
without regard to the expiration dates
of labor agreements.
Questions for Negotiators
Labor negotiators from companies and
unions should address the following
questions to comply with the Patient
Protection and Affordable Care Act
mandates:
Do the parties want their health
insurance plan to maintain grandfa-
thered status under the law?
What opportunities are associated
with grandfathered status?
What requirements are subjects for
bargaining without jeopardizing grand-
fathered status?
What other topics should be
discussed?
What types of labor agreement
reopener provisions can be employed
as a way to address statutory changes
that are scheduled to become effective
during the life of a labor agreement?
Grandfathered Plan Rules
A grandfathered health plan is a group
health plan or insurance coverage that
existed on March 23, 2010, and in
which at least one person was enrolled.
Grandfathered plans are exempt from
the vast majority of insurance reforms
under the Affordable Care Act.
All plans, including grandfathered
plans, had to satisfy the following condi-
tions on Sept. 23, 2010, the effective date
of the act:
Continued coverage of children until
age 26, without regard to the definition
of dependent status. However, grandfa-
thered plans are not required to extend
this coverage if the child is eligible to
enroll in an employer-sponsored plan
other than the parents.
No lifetime limits on essential
health benefits.
Adoption of phase-in restrictions on
annual limits on essential health ben-
efits prior to the complete ban on life-
time or annual limits.
No rescissions or retroactive cancel-
lation or discontinuation of coverage in
the absence of fraud or material misrep-
resentation of facts.
Elimination of pre-existing condi-
tion exclusions from coverage for chil-
dren younger than 19.
Now the Perks ...
Although grandfathered plans are
subject to some Affordable Care Act
By Arthur Smith Jr.
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Legal Trends
requirements, maintaining grandfa-
thered status provides plans with the fol-
lowing opportunities:
Grandfathered plans have additional
time to study the impact of changes
required of nongrandfathered plans,
such as the cost impact of the laws
requirements to offer preventive care
and services in-network without cost-
sharing; that there be no prior-autho-
rization requirements for obstetric and
gynecologic care and emergency care
services; and that individuals be pro-
vided the right to choose their primary
care physician, including in-network
OB/GYNs and pediatricians.
Grandfathered plans do not have
to make information disclosures to
the U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services and plan partici-
pants about cost-sharing and coverage
requirements.
Grandfathered plans did not have
to comply with 2012 reporting require-
ments regarding benefits and health
care reimbursement structures.
Grandfathered plans did not have
to implement new internal claims and
appeals processes and procedures by plan
years beginning on or after Jan. 1, 2012.
Grandfathered plans are not
required to cover children age 26 or
younger if they are eligible for health
care benefits provided by another
employer.
Coverage eligibility rules based on
an individuals health status that are
effective for plan years after Jan. 1,
2014, are allowed to continue in grand-
fathered plans.
Summary plan descriptions and
records documentation requirements
for grandfathered plans
are less burdensome
than for nongrand-
fathered plans. Plan
materials provided to
participants of grand-
fathered plans must
include a description of
the benefits provided,
a statement that plan administrators
believe it is a grandfathered plan, and
contact information for questions and
complaints. Grandfathered plans must
maintain records documenting the
terms of the plan in effect March 23,
2010, and any other documents neces-
sary to verify that it is a grandfathered
plan.
Companies and unions preparing for
labor negotiations need to understand
what changes they can make to their
health plans without forfeiting or jeop-
ardizing grandfathered status.
For example, cost-sharing amounts,
such as deductibles required as of
March 23, 2010, may be increased by a
percentage less than medical inflation
measured from March 23, 2010, plus
15 percentage points without forfeiting
grandfathered status.
Similarly, co-payment amounts may
be raised by less than $5 or a percentage
less than medical inflation measured
from March 23, 2010, plus 15 percent-
age points, whichever is greater.
Limited changes related to cover-
age tiers are permitted and would not
jeopardize grandfathered status. For
example, labor negotiations could add
self-plus-one, plus-two or plus-three
coverage tiers to plans offering self-only
and family tiers, as long as the employer
contribution for family coverage is
reduced by no more than 5 percentage
points in determining the contribution
for the new tiers.
Companies and unions offering fully
insured plans can change carriers with-
out jeopardizing grandfathered status
as long as benefits and coverages remain
essentially unchanged.
Desirable
Changes
Because potential cost-
savings opportunities
are associated with relin-
quishing grandfathered
status, labor negotia-
tions should consider
making changes and adjustments to
health plans that are not permitted by
the standards for maintaining grandfa-
thered status.
These changes include:
Substantially cutting or reducing
benefits to diagnose or treat a condition
beyond what is permitted for grandfa-
thered plans.
Increasing co-insurance require-
ments beyond what is permitted for
grandfathered plans.
Increasing deductibles or out-of-
pocket maximums by amounts that
exceed medical inflation measured
from March 23, 2010, plus 15 percent-
age points.
Increasing co-payments by amounts
that exceed $5 or medical inflation
measured from March 23, 2010, plus
15 percentage points, whichever is
greater.
Decreasing an employers contribu-
tion rate toward the cost of coverage by
more than 5 percentage points.
Other Topics to Discuss
Unions and employers should also dis-
cuss the following changes:
Required changes. Negotiators can
and should plan early for sharing the
costs of required health plan changes.
These will include minimum essential
benefits that must be provided for such
items as ambulatory patient services,
emergency services, hospitalization,
maternity and newborn care, mental
Learn what changes
can be made to
plans without
jeopardizing
grandfathered
status.
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12-0862HH
12-0862HH
When in Rome
Powered by
Conduct your global business with condence.
Detailed Country Guides give SHRM members free
instant access and detailed advice on how to work
effectively in over 60 countries in the following areas:
Take an online self-assessment covering ve major
cultural dimensions. Compare your prole to typical
proles in other countries to identify and bridge gaps.
BUSINESS SKILLS
Learn how to manage and motivate
your multicultural workforce
CULTURE & CUSTOMS
Understand core values and the
business environment
TRAVEL & GENERAL INFO
Be prepared and know
what to expect
NAMES & PHRASES
Brush up on pronunciation
and earn the respect of
your foreign counterparts
www.shrm.org/countryguides
Free SHRM member benet.
Corporate license options are available.
health and substance abuse disorder
services, prescription drugs, rehabili-
tative services and devices, laboratory
services, preven-
tive and well-
ness services, and
chronic disease
management and
pediatric services,
including oral and
vision care.
Also, it is pro-
posed that most
private-sector plans will be required to
pay assessments based on the number of
individuals covered under a plan. These
assessments are estimated to be in the
range of $60 to $105 per covered person
to help stabilize premiums for individu-
als with pre-existing conditions.
Negotiators will need to plan for the
minimum-essential-coverage mandate.
That mandate requires that employ-
ers pay at least 60
percent of cov-
ered health care
expenses and that
employee con-
tributions not
exceed 9.5 percent
of the employ-
ees household
income.
Additional negotiations planning will
need to address the out-of-pocket annual
maximums requirements. These maxi-
mums will be $5,950 for self-only cover-
age and $11,900 for family coverage.
Labor negotiators will need to
take into account that no pre-existing
conditions coverage exclusions and no
annual limits on dollar value of benefits
will be allowed in health plans, regard-
less of participants ages.
In addition, health plans will be
required to provide:
Coverage of adult children to age 26,
even if married, regardless of eligibil-
ity for alternative employer-sponsored
coverage.
Premium discounts or rebates, modi-
fication of co-payments, and deduct-
ibles of up to 30 percent or even 50
percent, depending on regulations to
be issued, for participation in wellness
programs.
Vouchers worth the same amount as
the largest premium contribution the
employer makes to permit low-income
employees to purchase health insurance
For more about collective bargaining and
health care reform, see the online version
of this article at www.shrm.org/0813-
collective-bargaining-PPACA. For other
resources on employment law, visit www
.shrm.org/LegalIssues.
ONLINE RESOURCES
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Legal Trends
through exchanges, which are to be up
and running by 2014.
Low-wage earners eligibility. Hav-
ing low-paid employees in a bargain-
ing unit might lead to proposals to keep
some bargaining unit members from
being eligible for employer-sponsored
coverage, especially if some married
individuals in the bargaining unit have
household incomes that fall roughly
between 100 percent and 250 percent of
the federal poverty level. The families of
these individuals might be better off if
they are eligible for premium tax cred-
its based on purchasing coverage from
a health insurance exchange. They can-
not claim these credits if they are cov-
ered by an employers plan.
Cadillac plans. Finally, labor nego-
tiators who handle high-cost, or so-
called Cadillac, plans will need to
study methods for avoiding the 40 per-
cent excise tax on high-cost plans that
becomes effective Jan. 1, 2018. That tax
is imposed on employer-provided cover-
age if the cost exceeds $10,200 for self-
only coverage or $27,500 for employee-
plus-one and family coverages, or if it
exceeds $27,500 for all levels of cover-
age in multi-employer plans.
Reopeners
The complexity of the Affordable Care
Acts requirements, plus the uncer-
tainty associated with the content of
future regulations, suggests that special
reopener provisions be included in
labor agreements to require the parties
to reopen their agreements and negoti-
ate over the effect of future regulatory
requirements on health plans.
Reopener provisions can be designed
to reopen contracts and negotiations:
To address future regulatory
changes.
At certain points in time tied to
timelines set forth in the law.
In response to certain specified
changes in health care costs.
Be sure to heed this call for advance
planning, as the complexity and scope
of the mandates imposed by the Afford-
able Care Act cannot properly be dealt
with in the crisis atmosphere created by
a last-minute scramble to reach a new
labor agreement.
Arthur Smith Jr. is an attorney at Ogletree
Deakins in Chicago.
Special reopener
provisions should
be included in
labor agreements.
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_________________
At the SHRM Foundation,
we help shape where the workforce is headed because weve
been studying its evolution for more than 40 years. Our
oiio i t ffr ooootc/o /oolo fr t/ ooft f
professional workforce leaders by studying, analyzing, reporting
and promoting the best in human resource management over the
long term. We also make a commitment to the future of HR
with every scholarship we give to a future leader, every study
we undertake and every thought leader connection we make.
My affliation with the SHRM Foundation has enabled me to further
my education when I was awarded the educational scholarship
for two consecutive years. The SHRM Foundation scholarship has
signifcantly decreased the impact of the fnancial burden. Also, as
a student chapter advisor, I have witnessed my students benefting
from the scholarship opportunities available to them through
the SHRM Foundation. Students who may not otherwise be able
to afford to continue their education are able to, thanks to the
resources available from the SHRM Foundation.
Caroline Black, SPHR
The money provided from the [Foundation] education scholarship
was a tremendous resource in helping me successfully complete
my graduate program. I am currently working toward my SPHR, and
without the Certifcation Scholarship I would not have been able to
afford to purchase the training material. The SHRM Foundation is a
great beneft to students and professionals in the HR feld; everyone
has been helpful in answering questions and helping all of us in the
feld achieve our academic and professional goals.
Matthew Burr
13-0419
The SHRM Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonproft affliate of the Society for
Human Resource Management (SHRM) and is supported by thousands of tax-
deductible gifts from SHRM chapters, state councils and individual members.
To donate, visit www.shrmfoundation.org.
With your support, the SHRM Foundation:
Awards grants for groundbreaking HR research, having funded nearly $3.4 million in research since 2007,
and serving as the foundation for the creation of educational tools and solutions for use by HR practitioners.
Funds $170,000 in education and certifcation scholarships for future business leaders each year.
Produces practitioner-focused resources, including our DVD series and Effective Practice Guidelines,
helping HR professionals understand the long-term shifts in the workforce, not just the short-term trends.
Support
Your Profession
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2 0 1 3 F A L L C O N F E R E N C E S
EXCEED YOUR OWN EXPECTATIONS.
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+. '._.. '+'|. September 29-October 2, 2013
+. .+..s... '+'|. October 28-30, 2013
+. .+..s... '+'|. October 29-30, 2013
Diversity & Inclusion
Workex Conference
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conferences.shrm.org
13-0412
Strategy Conference
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With inspiring speakers, expert presenters, and engaging programs from basic to bold, SHRM
conferences empower HR professionals at every level of experience and responsibility. This fall,
immerse yourself in an unprecedented environment of learning, networking, and collaboration
with colleagues and mentors from across the U.S. and around the world.
Inside SHRM
More than 15,000 HR profession-
als gathered at the Society for Human
Resource Managements 2013 Annual
Conference & Exposition in Chicago in
June for learning, networking and lis-
tening to inspirational and cutting-edge
leaders and HR experts.
The slate of general sessions began on
June 16 with journalist Fareed Zakaria
and former Secretary of State Hillary
Rodham Clinton.
Zakaria provided perspective on the
slow-to-recover U.S. and global econo-
mies. Theres always recovery, he said.
It is sometimes difficult to see when
were in the midst of it.
Clinton told the audience members
that the country needs their HR exper-
tise and knowledge more than ever to
keep the U.S. competitive and the econ-
omy vibrant.
One of the entrepreneurs keep-
ing the U.S. economy running is Blake
Mycoskie, founder of the TOMS shoes
and eyewear company, who took the
stage on June 17. The principle behind
his business is simple and powerful:
For every pair of shoes bought, TOMS
donates a pair to a person in need. Cus-
tomers feel like they are making a differ-
ence in the world; they tell their friends,
and business prospers. To date, the com-
pany has donated more than 10 million
pairs of shoes around the world.
Giving doesnt just feel good; its
actually really good for business,
Mycoskie said. It can actually be a busi-
ness strategy.
The Art of Persuasion
HR professionals need to tap into their
inner salespeople and hone their pow-
ers of persuasion to succesed and help
their organizations succeed, said author
Daniel Pink on June 18. According to his
research, employees spend 41 percent of
their time trying to persuade others. He
told the audience that the art of persua-
sion is actually sales, even though money
isnt changing hands.
Think of trying to convince execu-
tives in the C-suite to accept a new idea,
or recruiting a top job candidate to come
work for your organization, Pink said.
Even though the cash register isnt ring-
ing, these are sales.
On the final day of the conference,
June 19, former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle
Gabby Giffords, D-Ariz., and her hus-
band, Capt. Mark Kelly, retired astro-
naut and Navy pilot, gave the closing
keynote address.
Insight, Inspiration at Annual Conference
The audience gave Giffords a stand-
ing ovation as she and Kelly walked
slowly across the stage. Kelly introduced
his wife as the woman who reminds me
each and every day to deny the accep-
tance of failure.
Giffords was shot in the head on Jan.
8, 2011, during a rampage that killed six
people and wounded 13 others in Tuc-
son, Ariz. She still has difficulty speak-
ing and has lost 50 percent of her vision.
Her message for the audience was simple
and powerful: Be passionate. Be coura-
geous. Be your best.
In his remarks, Kelly recounted his
struggles in flight school, admitting, I
was not a particularly good pilot. But
he persevered, eventually becoming a
combat pilot in Iraq, participating in
four space shuttle missions and com-
manding the final flight of the space
shuttle Endeavour.
As human resource professionals,
keep in mind when youre doing your
hiring that people can become really
good with the right training and sup-
port. Im a prime example of somebody
who was able to overcome a lack of apti-
tude with practice, persistence and the
drive to never, ever give up.
SHRM Online staff P
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Inside SHRM
HR Profession Faces
Timeless Challenges
Human resources is not a profession searching for meaning but one that
is driving business, Society for Human Resource Management Presi-
dent and CEO Henry G. Hank Jackson told attendees at the Soci-
etys 2013 Annual Conference & Exposition.
The gathering marked the 65th anniversary of
SHRMs founding.
SHRM has thrived for more than six
decades by innovating, adapting and listen-
ing to our members, Jackson said. Along the
way, weve helped train hundreds of thousands
of business leaders while also changing business
practices and strategies.
In thinking about the Societys milestone,
Jackson said he browsed through SHRMs
archives. The more I dug, the more I realized
we have been here before.
For example, finding high-skilled workers has been a perennial chal-
lenge, as this passage from The Personnel Administrator, February
1958, illustrates: In the changing structure of industry there is increas-
ing demand for scientists, engineers, technicians and highly skilled craft
workers, all of which require long periods of education, apprenticeship
and training.
The business challenges of the past and HR responsibility to
address them have always been there, Jackson said. The only differ-
ence now is that everyone recognizes HRs critical role in the business
process.
Innovation Plus Culture
SHRM Board of Directors Chair Bette Francis, SPHR, told conference
attendees that supporting innovation is HRs most pressing organiza-
tional goal.
Innovation is critical to every organization,
she said. Its the difference between compa-
nies like Apple and Kodak, Amazon and Pan
American.
All of us here today can play a critical role
in creating real organizational change by help-
ing build a culture that actively supports inno-
vation, Francis said.
She said that happens when HR serves as a
catalyst for change. She recalled a groundbreak-
ing program with manufacturers in Texas fac-
ing shortages of skilled workers. HR professionals worked with colleges
that provided training classes, and the graduates got jobs with employ-
ers seeking skilled workers.
Its up to us, Francis said, to shape the future of business, the
workplace and the millions of workers around the world.
New Membership
Leader Named
Elissa C. OBrien, SPHR, is the new vice presi-
dent for membership for the Society for Human
Resource Management.
I am looking forward to
engaging all our members
on critical issues that directly
impact our profession and
the organizations they
serve, OBrien said.
Previously, she was
senior vice president of HR
and training at WinnResi-
dential in Boston, director of corporate HR services
at Steward Health Care in Boston, and vice presi-
dent of Wingate Healthcare in Needham, Mass.
OBrien has served on the SHRM Special Exper-
tise Panel on Labor Relations, as state director for
the Rhode Island SHRM State Council and as presi-
dent of the Human Resources Management Asso-
ciation of Rhode Island.
Upcoming Events
August
1516 HR Generalist, Alexandria, Va.
26Sept. 22 Virtual HR Generalist
September
4-30 Virtual Essentials of HR Management
5-Oct. 15 Virtual PHR/
SPHR Certification Preparation
6 Performance Management, Alexandria, Va.
9 Communication & Credibility for
HR Professionals, Alexandria, Va.
11-12 HR Generalist, Denver
11-13 PHR/SPHR Certification
Preparation, Denver
12-13 HR Business Partners Part I, Denver
12-13 Talent Acquisition, Alexandria, Va.
Elissa C. OBrien
Bette Francis
Henry G. Hank Jackson
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MEMBER INSIGHT
Heather Doke, PHR
HR Director, City of Sheridan, Wyo.
Heather Doke is doing a different kind of nursing than she origi-
nally planned.
She switched from nursing studies to human relations, and
now shes nursing people through layoffs, nursing her city
government through new merit-based pay and nursing the staff
through other changes to the performance management system.
Doke, 39, has learned a lot working in the public sector as
HR director for the city of Sheridan, Wyo. Shes dealt with two
rounds of layoffs to cut the staff by about 30 percent, to 180.
You still take care of them even as youre letting them go, she
says. Being in the public sector adds the complication of knowing
layoffs will land on the front page of the newspaper.
Doke loves her 5-minute commute, the small-town vibe in
Sheridan and the beautiful setting at the foot of the Big Horn
Mountains. She teaches in her Mormon church and enjoys
having camping, fishing and snowmobiling nearby.
She had been active in SHRM at Utah State University, where
she earned her undergraduate degree and her masters in human
resources. Shes a past director of the Wyoming SHRM state
council.
She loves the networking and professional development
opportunities that SHRM provides, and the variety of her job.
I feel like I get to take care of peoplethats my job.
Tamara Lytle
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Chair
Bette J. Francis, SPHR
Wilmington Trust, Wealth Advisory Services
Immediate Past Chair
Jose A. Berrios
BTG: The Berrios Talent Group LLC
President and CEO
Henry G. Hank Jackson, CPA
Society for Human Resource Management
Directors at Large
Lori O. Carlson
Rotary International
Jeffrey M. Cava
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc.
Jorge Consuegra
The Fearless Group
James A. Kaitz
Association for Financial Professionals
Gary P. Latham, Ph.D.
Rotman School of Management,
University of Toronto
My-Chau Nguyen, CPA
SiriusXM Radio
Jennifer Pollino, CPA
former Executive Vice President, HR and
Communications, Goodrich Corp.
Virda M. Rhem, SPHR
Texas Property and Casualty Insurance
Guaranty Association
Coretha M. Rushing, GPHR
Equifax Inc.
Brian D. Silva, SPHR, GPHR
Fresenius Medical Care NA
Jose Tomas, SPHR
former President, Latin America and
Caribbean, Global Chief People Officer,
Burger King Corp.
David Windley
former Chief Human Resources Officer,
Yahoo!
SHRM Board of Directors
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GET THE HR EDUCATION YOU NEED TO BE MORE COMPETITIVE AND
WELL-INFORMED, WITH HELP FROM SHRM.
Designed by subject-matter experts, seasoned HR professionals and legal counsel, SHRM seminars
keep you up-to-date on the latest HR issues. When it comes to HR rules, regulations and policies, these
seminars are the most accurate. Whether youre a newcomer or experienced in the world of HR, take on
the SHRM education challenge to advance your career.
UPCOMING IN5TUCTOLD 5MINA5 (CLA55OOM & vITUAL)*
For more information and to register, visit shrm.org/seminars/august.
LEARN MORE.
ACHIEVE MORE. FALL SHRM SEMI NARS
ALEXANDRIA, VA
Sept. 6
New! Performance Management
Sept. 9
New! Communication & Credibility
for HR Professionals
Sept. 1213
Talent Acquisition
Sept. 1820
GPHR Certication Preparation
Oct. 4
New! Communication & Credibility
for the HR Executive
Oct. 78
New! Organizational Development
Oct. 1718
Strategic Human Resources:
Delivering Business Results
Oct. 2122
HR Metrics and Workforce
Analytics
Oct. 2829
HR Generalist
Oct. 31Nov. 1
New! Business Management
Nov. 4
New! Creating a Culture of Ethics
Nov. 78
Employee Relations
Dec. 23
New! Developing Effective
Coaching Skills
Dec. 24
PHR/SPHR Certication
Preparation
Dec. 56
SHRM Essentials of HR
Management
Dec. 1011
New! Compensation Essentials
BOSTON
Oct. 9
Conict Management Skills
Oct. 910
HR Generalist
Oct. 911
PHR/SPHR Certication Preparation
Oct. 1011
New! Compensation Essentials
Oct. 1011
HR Business Partners Part I
CHICAGO
Oct. 7
Finance for Strategic HR
Oct. 7
New! Succession Planning
Oct. 78
Employee Relations
Oct. 79
Oct. 89
New! Employee Development
Oct. 89
New! HR Business Partners Part II
Oct. 9
New! Current Issues in Labor
Relations
DENVER
Sept. 1112
HR Generalist
Sept. 1113
Sept. 1213
LAS VEGAS
Nov. 1314
Nov. 1314
Nov. 1315
Nov. 1415
HR Generalist
Nov. 1415
HR Metrics and Workforce
Analytics
LOS ANGELES
Oct. 8
California Base Compensation
Oct. 89
California Certication Preparation
Oct. 89
Oct. 89
Management
Oct. 9
California Workplace Law
NASHVILLE, TN
Oct. 2122
Oct. 2123
Oct. 2223
HR Generalist
Oct. 2223
HR Metrics and Workforce Analytics
Oct. 2223
NEW YORK
Sept. 1819
Sept. 1819
HR Metrics and Workforce Analytics
Sept. 1820
Sept. 1920
Employee Development
Sept. 1920
Sept. 20
Finance for Strategic HR
PHILADELPHIA
Nov. 45
Management
Nov. 46
PHR/SPHR Certication
Preparation
Nov. 56
Nov. 56
HR Generalist
TORONTO, CANADA
Sept. 20
Global Cultural Competence for
Business Leaders
Dec. 1213
vITUAL*
Sept. 430
Virtual Essentials of HR
Management
Sept. 5Oct. 15
Virtual PHR/SPHR Certication
Preparation
SEPT. 30OCT. 23
Virtual Essentials of HR
Management
Sept. 30Oct. 23
Virtual HR Generalist
Sept. 30Nov. 6
Virtual PHR-CA/SPHR-CA
Certication Preparation
Sept. 30Nov. 20
Virtual GPHR Certication
Preparation
Oct. 3Nov. 21
Preparation
Oct. 28Nov. 20
Virtual HR Generalist
Oct. 29Dec. 17
Preparation
2013
*See website for
registration deadlines.
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Whats New
Employee Recognition
Michael C. Fina has updated its social recognition tool, The Recognition Wall.
The tool is designed to help employees socialize across distances and congratulate
their peers on career milestones by, for example, providing words of encourage-
ment during orientation and honoring years of service and other events.
(800) 999-3462 | www.mcfrecognition.com | sales@mcfina.com
Health and Safety
Aflac Insurance Co. recently launched
the Aflac Hospital Advantage Policy,
designed to address the changing needs
of health insurance policyholders. The
policy includes more coverage plans and
new health savings account options.
(800) 992-3522
www.aflac.com | info@aflac.com
MyBodyCount has introduced a clinical
health score that is now available to the
public. The score is based on factors that
can help predict a patients risk of future
health-related problems, such as diabetes
and heart, kidney and lung diseases.
(410) 630-1317
www.mybodycount.com
info@mybodycount.com
The FitLinxx Pebble is an all-day activity
monitor designed to motivate people to
be active. Developed for corporate well-
ness programs, the easy-to-use device
clips to a shoe or waistband.
(866) 316-5151
www.fitlinxx.com | info@FitLinxx.com
Jiff Inc. has launched the Jiff Platform,
a Web-based tool designed to help busi-
nesses take advantage of the evolving
digital health world. Health insurance
plans, provider groups, self-insured
employers and wellness providers can
use the Jiff Platform to adapt their health
programs faster, increase revenues,
lower costs and improve outcomes by
engaging in collaborative relationships
with the consumers they serve.
(650) 323-3500
www.jiff.com | partners@jiff.com
HR Management Systems
Identify Security Software Inc. has
released an information technology secu-
rity program called identifyME. The
software combines facial recognition,
thermal sensing, proximity and GPS tech-
nology to help make sure the right person
is seeking access to a computer system
from the right place or at the right time
and for the right reasons.
(561) 244-2524
www.identifyss.com
info@identifyss.com
Performance Management
Cornerstone OnDemand has updated
and transformed its talent management
software suite into a single, collabora-
tive and easy-to-use online tool for users.
The update includes universal profiles
that collect and analyze user informa-
tion and activities from within the Cor-
nerstone system. Other enhancements
include a social collaboration platform
and social performance and employee
recognition tools.
(888) 260-0152
www.cornerstoneondemand.com
info@cornerstoneondemand.com
Retirement
The Guardian Insurance & Annuity Co.
has launched a website designed to help
people better prepare for retirement. The
website, 401k.guardianlife.com, offers
users access to educational resources
designed to help retirement plan partici-
pants save and invest for the future.
(866) 390-7268
http://401k.guardianlife.com
401ksalesdesk@glic.com
The U.S. Department of Labor has
launched an online toolkit to help
workers identify issues and challenges
in retirement planning. The agencys
Employee Benefits Security Administra-
tion developed the toolkit in cooperation
with the Social Security Administra-
tion and the Centers for Medicare and
Medicaid Services to help workers
understand important decisions related
to employment-based retirement and
health care plans.
(866) 444-3272
www.dol.gov/ebsa/pdf/retirementtoolkit
.pdf | ebsa@dol.gov
Staffing
Halogen Software has joined with Roth-
well & Associates to create a succes-
sion planning assessment tool. The tool
allows employers of all sizes and in any
industry to measure the effectiveness and
efficiency of their succession plans and
benchmark their plans to established
best practices.
(866) 566-7778
www.halogensoftware.com
info@halogensoftware.com
Training and Development
ON24 Inc. has released the Virtual Tal-
ent Development Suite. The online talent
development software is designed to help
employers manage their talent develop-
ment programs from new-hire orienta-
tion programs to leadership assessment
and training.
(415) 369-8000
www.ON24.com.
solutions@ON24.com
Product manufacturers and developers
provide information for Whats New.
Inclusion in this sample of products does not
necessarily imply endorsement by SHRM
or HR Magazine. For an online directory
of new products and services by category,
please see the menu in the upper left corner
at www.shrm.org/whatsnew. For SHRMs
complete and searchable vendor directory of
HR products and services, visit www.shrm
.org/hrvendordirectory.
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Where HR Professionals Find HR Professionals
SHRMs HR Jobs
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Buyers Guide
BENEFITS
BENEFITS
Great-West Financial
877-630-401k
www.greatwest.com
www.gwrs.com
Great-West Financial, headquartered
in metro Denver, administers $201.5
billion in assets for its 5.2 million
retirement, insurance and annuity
customers. Great-West Financial is
the nations fourth-largest retirement
plan record keeper (Plansponsor,
June 2013, based on total participant
accounts at Dec. 31, 2012).
Bright Tomorrows Begin Today
SM
BENEFITS
Veterinary Pet Insurance
www.petinsurance.com/hrmag
877-280-8873
Veterinary Pet Insurance can
strengthen your companys benefits
package as one of the fastest-
growing, frequently requested
voluntary benefits. In fact, 65% of
pet owners want their employers
to offer pet insurance. There is no
cost to your company, no minimum
participation and no administrative
hassles. Plus, your employees
receive a discount.
BENEFITS
Washington National
11825 N. Pennsylvania Street
Carmel, IN 46032
877-841-6001
www.WashingtonNational.com/hr
Our supplemental health and
life insurance products include
important features, such as wellness
benefits and premium-return option,
at prices employees can afford. You
can count on Washington National
for support with employee education
and easy enrollment, electronic
billing, flexible premium processing,
and fast, accurate claims payment.

Visit: www.WashingtonNational.com/hr

Limitations and exclusions apply. For costs and
coverage details, visit WashingtonNational.com.
COMPENSATION
ERI Economic Research
Institute
www.erieri.com
info.eri@erieri.com
800-627-3697
ERI Economic Research Institute
provides current market data for
more than 1,000 industry groups.
Thousands of corporate subscribers
rely on ERIs salary survey, executive
compensation, geographic pay,
and cost-of-living data to give them
Boardroom, court, and employee
level credibility. Nothing beats real
data and reproducible results, with
reported rates of error.
AWARDS & INCENTIVES
Best Buy
Rewards they really want
Best Buy gift cards or
personalized e-gift cards are hard
to resist and easy to redeem. From
performance rewards to employee
anniversary or holiday gifts, Best Buy
gift cards are your simple solution to
employee motivation.
No fees. No expiration dates. Just
Happiness.
Visit corporategiftcards.bestbuy.
com/HR or call 877-370-1234.
BENEFITS
Allstate Benefits
1776 American Heritage Life Drive
Jacksonville, FL 32224
904-992-3358
www.allstatevoluntary.com
Allstate Protects Employees, Too.
Surprised? Allstate Benefits is
one of the fastest growing benefits
providers today. Offering employees
the #1 Critical Illness product in the
industry. Let a leader in protection
help protect your employees, too.
Are You In Good Hands? www.
allstatevoluntary.com
BENEFITS
Delta Dental Plans Association
www.DeltaDental.com
As the countrys largest dental
benefits carrier, Delta Dental offers
a nationwide package of affordable
dental benefits for a wide range
of employers and contracts with
approximately four out of five U.S.
dentists to provide more than 59
million people nationwide with
quality, cost-effective programs and
services.
BENEFITS
Flexible Benefit Service
Corporation (FLEX)
10275 W. Higgins Road, Suite 500
Rosemont, IL 60018
888-353-9178
marketing@flexiblebenefit.com
www.flexiblebenefit.com
Since 1988, Flex has continued
to deliver quality, account-based
plans and benefits administration
services to employers nationwide,
including FSAs, HRAs, HSAs, Transit
and COBRA. We also operate and
offer the InsureXSolutions private
insurance exchange that features
an online marketplace for employers
to offer health, dental, vision and
retiree benefits.
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Buyers Guide BENEFITS
HEALTH & WELLNESS
hubbub health
100 SW Market St.
Portland, OR 97201
sales@hubbubhealth.com
www.hubbubhealth.com
hubbub is a technology-driven
wellness solution that uses social
circles and gamification to inspire
employees to get moving and live
healthy. hubbub is turn-key, or
companies can tailor challenges and
easily reward employees. hubbub
is a monthly subscription service
@ $3 per employee. Give hubbub
a try today at hubbubhealth.com/
employers.
HR MASTERS DEGREE
Florida International University
11200 SW 8th Street
Miami, FL 33199
855-FIU-ONLINE
onlineprograms@fiu.edu
FIUONLINE.COM
FIUs fully-online degrees offer the
very same quality of education
found at our Worlds Ahead on-
campus university; only this time,
its accessible anywhere. With our
expert faculty providing feedback and
guiding you every step of the way,
your FIU Online experience is one we
share with you. Visit FIUONLINE.COM
today to learn more about our Master
of Science in Human Resource
Management, and why all great leaps
begin with one small step. Lets take
that step together.
HR TECHNOLOGY
Ceridian
3311 E. Old Shakopee Road
Minneapolis, MN 55425-1640
877-552-5669
www.ceridian.com
Put Ceridian KnowHow
to work for you.
From payment solutions to benefits
and health and productivity
services, you can count on Ceridian
KnowHow to take the guesswork out
of choosing proven solutions that
assure your company will thrive, and
take the guesswork out of making
smart decisions for your bottom line.
HR TECHNOLOGY
Ultimate Software
2000 Ultimate Way
Weston, FL 33326
800-432-1729
Fax: 954-331-7300
ultiproinfo@ultimatesoftware.com
www.ultimatesoftware.com
Ultimate Software is a leading cloud
provider of people management
solutions. The companys UltiPro
solution provides a comprehensive
approach to human capital
management. Web-based features
include recruitment, onboarding,
benefits, payroll, performance
management, succession
management, business intelligence,
compensation planning, time and
attendance, and 24-7 direct access for
executives, managers, and employees.
COMPLIANCE
Bloomberg BNA
1801 South Bell Street
Arlington, VA 22202
800-372-1033
www.bna.com/HR
Bloomberg BNAs HR products help you
make decisions with confidence by
having the information you need right
at your fingertips. Youll find the most
up-to-date federal and state policies,
laws, and regulations, as well as expert
analyses and guidance that support
and complement the goals of your
organization.
HEALTH & WELLNESS
American Council on Exercise
ACE is a nonprofit organization
dedicated to empowering people
to live their most fit lives through
physical activity, better nutrition
and healthy habits. Lead change
in your workforce using thousands
of solutions, including: exercise
libraries, expert articles and videos,
healthy recipes, and interactive
programs tailored to your needs.
Contact 800-825-3636 x820 or
HealthyWorkplace@ACEfitness.org.

HEALTH & WELLNESS
ComPsych Corporation
455 N. Cityfront Plaza Drive
Chicago, IL 60611-5322
www.compsych.com
800-851-1714
Info-sales@compsych.com
ComPsych Corporation is
the worlds largest provider of
employee assistance programs
and is the pioneer and leader of
fully integrated EAP, behavioral
health, wellness, work-life, HR
and FMLA administration services
under the GuidanceResources
brand. Providing services to more
than 15,000 organizations covering
40 million individuals in more than
100 countries, ComPsych creates
Build-to-Suit programs which help
employers improve productivity.
SHRMs Focus on HR
1800 Duke Street
Alexandria, VA 22314
1-800-283-7476
Fax: 703-535-6468
FocusonHR@shrm.org
www.shrm.org/FocusOnHR
Want to stay up to date when you
are on the go? SHRMs bi-weekly
video program, Focus on HR, offers
news, insights and information in
a 10-minute update you can watch
from your phone, tablet or computer.
Past interviews have included noted
business thinkers such as Patrick
Lencioni, Deepak Chopra, Theresa
Amabile and Tom Brokaw.
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HUMAN CAPITAL MGMT LEGAL SERVICES TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT
HR
VENDOR
DIRECTORY
SHRM HR Vendor Directory
1800 Duke Street
Alexandria, VA 22314
703-535-6289
Fax: 703-535-6468
hrvendordirectory@shrm.org
http://www.shrm.org/
hrvendordirectory
Find the right HR product or service
right away. The premier vendor
directory for HR professionals,
SHRMs HR Vendor Directory
highlights more than 3,000 of the
foremost companies offering
products and services to the human
resource profession. Post your
online listing on our site today.
Ultimate Software
2000 Ultimate Way
Weston, FL 33326
800-432-1729
Fax: 954-331-7300
ultiproinfo@ultimatesoftware.com
www.ultimatesoftware.com
Ultimate Software is a leading cloud
provider of people management
solutions. The companys UltiPro
solution provides a comprehensive
approach to human capital
management. Web-based features
include recruitment, onboarding,
benefits, payroll, performance
management, succession
management, business intelligence,
compensation planning, time and
attendance, and 24-7 direct access for
executives, managers, and employees.
Ogletree Deakins
Ogletree Deakins is a labor and
employment law firm representing
management in all types of
employment-related legal matters,
with more than 650 lawyers located
in 44 offices across the United States
and in Europe. The firm also focuses
on business immigration, employee
benefits, and workplace safety and
health law.
Bloomberg BNA
1801 South Bell Street
Arlington, VA 22202
800-372-1033
www.bna.com/HR
Bloomberg BNAs HR products help you
make decisions with confidence by
having the information you need right
at your fingertips. Youll find the most
up-to-date federal and state policies,
laws, and regulations, as well as expert
analyses and guidance that support
and complement the goals of your
organization.
13-0411
The universal benchmark for undergraduate and graduate-level HR students.
SHRM ASSURANCE OF
LEARNING
ASSESSMENT
FOR GRADUATES OF HR DEGREE PROGRAMS
After passing the exam, students receive
a Cert|cote ol |eorn|ng that states they
|uve suttc|eut |uow|edqe to euter t|e
|uauu resource protess|ou bused ou
torau| educut|ou stud|es |u uu nk-re|uted
deqree proqrua.
STUDENTS: 0|st|uqu|s| qourse|ves |u
t|e nk job aur|etp|uce bq puss|uq t|e
ussessaeut.
EMPLOYERS: loo| tor t|e Cert|tcute ot
leuru|uq ou receut qruduutes' resuaes.
Iree User's 6u|de Avo||ob|e.
FACULTY: lucouruqe studeuts to
tu|e t||s ussessaeut. lt |us beeu
des|qued to |e|p uu|vers|t|es aeet t|e|r
uccred|t|uq bodq's ussuruuce ot |euru|uq
requ|reaeuts bq s|ow|uq t|ut t|e nk
deqree proqrua teuc|es |ts studeuts w|ut
|t suqs |t w||| teuc| t|ea. Iree Jechn|co|
Honuo| Avo||ob|e.
leuru aore ubout t|e exua uud |ow to
start preparing at shrn.org/ossessnent/
ougust.
QUESTIONS?
2013 FALL EXAM WINDOW
OCTOBER 15 NOVEMBER 15
s|ra.orq/ussessaeut/uuqust
APPLICATION PERIOD
AUGUST 16 OCTOBER 5
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Future Focus www.shrm.org/trends
By Jennifer Schramm
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E
ntrants to the labor market face a mixed
outlook. Those without college degrees are up
against a difficult environment. College graduates
and postgraduates are seeing improved conditions,
but challenges remaineven for the most edu-
cated. HR professionals report that there is a skills
mismatch between applicants and available posi-
tions, according to the Hiring 2013 College Grad-
uates survey from the Society for Human Resource
Management (SHRM).
The March survey of 468 randomly selected HR
professionals found that more than half of their
employers plan to hire 2013 college graduates,
mostly for full-time positions. However, economic
conditions continue to hinder hiring. A lack of cur-
rent openings was the most common reason cited by
respondents whose organizations had not yet hired
or dont plan to hire graduates.
A lack of key skills is another factor. One-fifth
of the HR professionals in the survey said they had
not yet hired graduates or dont plan to because
the graduates are underqualified for the open posi-
tions at their organizations. Though this may be
partially due to lack of experience, nearly half the
HR professionals said 2013 college graduates lack
basic writing skills, including grammar and spell-
ing skills. HR professionals also cited a lack of math
and speaking skills.
Finding college graduates with the needed
applied skills is even more difficult. Half the HR
professionals surveyed said 2013 graduates are defi-
cient when it comes to work ethic and professional-
ism. Respondents said new graduates lack business
acumen and written communication skills.
Companies in specific pockets of the economy
are having a particularly hard time finding new
graduates with needed skills. HR cited the following
professionals as the most difficult to find: engineers;
high-skilled technicians and programmers; skilled
trades workers, such as electricians, carpenters and
plumbers; and managers and executives.
Shortages in these fields have not yet translated
into higher wages for graduates. Most organiza-
tions are offering about the same compensation,
including salary and benefits, as they offered during
the past three years.
This could all change if the labor market
improves. A Business Roundtable survey of 141 U.S.
chief executive officers in June found that about
one-third of them expected to hire more workers in
the next six months, representing a small improve-
ment from prior surveys. In addition, data from
SHRMs Jobs Outlook Survey Report show that
HR professionals are growing slightly more opti-
mistic about the job market.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
found that more Americans quit their jobs in April
and May than in March, representing another sign
of confidence in the job market. Jobless claims are
also down.
If the positive trends continue, the picture could
become even brighter for new graduates. The down-
side will be that job seekers without the skills and
education employers need will continue to struggle.
And those skills shortages that HR profession-
als are concerned about? They could become even
worse.
Jennifer Schramm is manager of the Workplace Trends and
Forecasting program at SHRM.
Skills Gap Holds Back Some Grads
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GIFT CARD INCENTIVES
Recognize your star employees with Best Buy gift cards or personalized e-gift
cards. Whether you choose a plastic card or a unique digital e-card, Best Buy
rewards are easy to redeem online or in store. Best of all, a reward from
Best Buy represents the kinds of gifts people consistently say theyd like to
receivethings like tablets, TVs or smart phones. Turn up the enthusiasm
with gift cards from Best Buy, then just soak up all the happy.
NOW AVAILABLE AS
PLASTIC AND E-GIFT CARDS
2013 BBY Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved.
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EMPLOYEES WHO
ROCK DESERVE
REWARDS
THAT ROCK
Reward their hard work with a fun gift from Best Buy
.
No fees. No expiration dates. Just happiness.
CorporateGiftCards.BestBuy.com/HR __________________________________
TRANSFORMING
HUMAN
CAPITAL
MANAGEMENT
WITH A
SINGLE
APPLICATION
LEARN MORE AT WWW. DAYFORCE. COM/HRE OR CALL FOR A DEMO AT 1 (855) 329-3672
Move your HCM from a collection of disparate systems reliant
on fragile interfaces to a single, robust, real-time application.
One employee record, one user experience and zero interfaces.
R E A L - T I M E C H A N G E S E V E R T H | N G I N S T A N T P A Y C A L C U L A T I O N W I T H N O B A T C H E S

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___________________

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Senate Passes Immigration Bill Expanding E-Verify

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