Staffing Agencies and Health Care Reform

The Staffing View

On business, the workplace and employee relations

November, 2009

Staffing Firms Can Help with your Health Care Costs

It’s unproven whether or not the emperor Nero fiddled while Rome burned But who could blame employers and employees for having that image in mind when they think about Congress, the White House and health care costs these days As another year passes without reform, premiums continue to climb

According to analysis by the consulting firm Hewitt Associates average health care premiums for employers increased 6 percent this year, similar to 2008 and the expected increase for 2010 The projections mean that since 2001, premiums have more than doubled, from $4,159 per employee to $9,120 next year

Employees are feeling the impact as well Their share of the costs, including employee contributions and out-of-pocket expenses, will reach an average of $4,023 next year That’s triple their burden in 2001

Needless to say, in a struggling economy where revenues are flat or growing more slowly and salary increases are smaller, the rising costs of health care certainly aren’t making a recovery any easier For businesses, more money committed to health care expenses means less for more productive investments such as capital improvements and new business ventures Meanwhile employees are left with less disposable income, which creates it own domino effect: less money spent on consumer goods and less to save for retirement

That cost shift from employer to consumer is set to continue About 52 percent of employers now are increasing or planning to increase employee cost-sharing, according to a survey this year of 480 HR and benefits executives from midsize and large organizations by Towers Perrin, the global professional services firm

Employers remember, when you contract with Microtech and its affiliates, you do not inherit costs such as health care coverage

Quality Networking, Not Quantity,

Is Critical to Your Job Search

Okay you’ve been working hard in your job search, contacting companies, calling friends, making people aware you’re looking for a temporary or permanent job And you can proudly point to the 300 friends you have on Facebook and the 500+ connections you have on LinkedIn as evidence that you’re aggressively networking

But good networking isn’t about quantity, it’s about quality How many of those 500 connections could you turn to for a referral if needed? There comes a point where names on your contact list are as meaningful as that box of business cards on your desk They’re passing acquaintances rather than invested relationships

Good networking is about getting to know someone well enough to feel comfortable vouching for them with someone you know It’s also about being able to ask them for a referral when you need one That doesn’t happen at the first networking event you attend or just because you’ve been “friended” or asked to “connect” It takes time

Here are a few thoughts on the best way to develop those relationships

• Think about how you can help the other person and not what they can do for you If you want people to give to you, give to them first It’s that simple People are more inclined to think about a person who has helped them than someone who has not They’re grateful and they see someone who cares about others

• Don’t be too quick to judge It’s surely tempting to meet someone and immediately assess a person’s value to your own career That’s too superficial in relationship building Before you dismiss them out of hand, talk a bit You may find you have much in common

• Think long term Your most valuable contacts in your current job search were probably made years ago and have been maintained since then These are people who have known you over time and have stayed with the relationship They’re more willing to help than someone you met yesterday But someone you meet today might be very helpful in a career move in the future

 

Marketing guru Seth Godin has thousands of friends on Facebook, but says many of them are worthless because they aren’t real relationships “Networking is a useless distraction when it’s fake,” he says “The Internet has allowed an enormous amount of fake networking to take place”

Don’t measure the effectiveness of your networking by the numbers you have on your social networking site Measure it by the quality relationships you can count on

Mind Your Manners on the Job

The recent high profile stories involving workplace affairs for talk show host David Letterman and ESPN baseball analyst Steve Phillips have revived the discussion about proper conduct in the office Is there ever a good time for an office romance? Should the boss become involved with subordinates? What happens in the company when relationships go sour?

Whether you’re a new temporary or permanent staffer, it would be wise to learn the policies of your employer Regardless of how many times experts advise against office romances or occasional trysts, when groups of people spend a large amount of their time together, incidents arise The greater danger is that one person becomes interested in another, who isn’t interested in getting involved with the first If unchecked, the infatuation can turn into sexual harassment

According to the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature constitute sexual harassment when it affects an individual's employment, unreasonably interferes with an individual's work performance, or creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment

While that might seem to define sexual harassment clearly, many times people stumble over the line and problems - leading to disciplinary action, dismissal and even legal action - can arise According to the EEOC there are several fine points around sexual harassment people should remember when conducting themselves at work

• Sexual harassment isn’t simply a man being the aggressor to a woman The victim as well as the harasser may be a woman or a man The victim does not have to be of the opposite sex


• The harasser can be the victim's supervisor, an agent of the employer, a supervisor in another area, a co-worker, or a non-employee


• An action need not even be directed at a specific person to be considered sexual harassment The victim could be anyone affected by someone else’s offensive conduct


• Unlawful sexual harassment may occur without economic injury to the victim or discharge of the victim


• If someone believes they may be a target of sexual harassment, they should make it clear that they are not interested in a relationship with the harasser and that his or her behavior should stop The harasser's conduct must be unwelcome

No doubt a large percentage of happily married couples have met on the job It would seem inevitable that some people would connect that way, given that women now make up nearly half of total employment in the US according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Be aware of your company’s policies and the law and that working environment will be healthy and respectful for all

Pandemic Planning

This year, smart employers are planning for the flu season as they might manage their inventory The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have some tips

• Forecast and allow for employee absences during a pandemic due to factors such as personal illness, family member illness, community containment measures and quarantines, school and/or business closures, and public transportation closures

• Create guidelines to modify the frequency and type of face-to-face contact (eg hand-shaking, seating in meetings, office layout, shared workstations) among employees and between employees and customers

• Encourage and track influenza vaccination for employees

• Evaluate employee access to and availability of healthcare services during a pandemic, and improve services as needed

• Review employee access to mental health and social services during a pandemic, including corporate, community, and faith-based resources

• Identify employees and key customers with special needs, and incorporate the requirements of such persons into your preparedness plan