IPMA-HR Urges Congress to Reject Paycheck Fairness

IPMA-HR joined several other employer and HR organizations to urge the Senate to reject the Paycheck Fairness Act. The groups oppose the legislation because it will not remedy discrepancies in pay between men and women. 

On March 11, 2010 the Senate Health Education Labor and Pensions committee held a hearing on S. 182. The House passed Paycheck Fairness as part of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act but it was stripped out before being signed into law.

The Paycheck Fairness Act calls for enhanced penalties for violations of the Equal Pay Act, including, significantly for public employers, punitive damages. Under current antidiscrimination laws, state and local governments are not subject to punitive damages because it is the taxpayers who ultimately pay for the award. The act also calls for enhanced training and education on the topic of gender inequality in pay.

A copy of the letter is available on the IPMA-HR Web site.

Top

KPMG Survey Reveals Job Security More Important than Pay and Benefits for University Students Worldwide
Results Indicate Strong Interest in Securing First Job Outside of Their Home Country

NEW YORK – As a result of the economic downturn, university students rate job security at a potential employer ahead of pay and benefits, according to a survey conducted by KPMG, a global network of firms providing audit, tax and advisory services.

The KPMG survey found that more than 75 percent of those polled—more than 350 university students involved with programs sponsored by Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE), a global non-profit group active on college campuses—considered job security their top priority when searching for a job as a result of the uncertain economic environment.

In addition, more than 50 percent of respondents would be interested in working internationally immediately after graduation, according to the KPMG survey. The survey was conducted at the recent SIFE World Cup held in Berlin.

“The global economic downturn has evidently shifted the way students are thinking about their careers,” said Shaun Kelly, vice chair-tax at KPMG LLP, the U.S. audit, tax and advisory firm, and current treasurer and executive board member of SIFE. “With many recent graduates still seeking employment, the interest that today’s current students express in employment overseas for their first job shows that they are open to going wherever the opportunities may be. No doubt they also recognize that overseas opportunities can lead to great experience and training necessary for success in today’s global marketplace.”

The global economic downturn is also having an impact on students’ views on career path options, the KPMG survey indicates. Some 69 percent said they are now more likely to study for a post-graduate degree than look to get a job immediately after graduation, and most (67 percent) said they were more likely to work for a public or nonprofit organization than a corporate business due to the downturn, according to the KPMG survey.

Factors Important to Choosing Employer

According to the KPMG survey, factors most important to students when choosing future employers included:

1. Real opportunities to learn new skills and develop themselves personally and professionally;
2. Challenging and exciting work; and
3. Working with and learning from talented colleagues.

“Students tell us that personal development and enrichment is clearly a top priority when selecting an employer, as is using their business skills to help the communities where they live and work,” said Kelly.

“The community involvement, leadership and career initiatives developed by organizations such as SIFE play an important role in helping their participants develop skills that set them apart from the average university student,” he added. “Employers that focus on making their organization a great place to work and build a career will likely be more attractive to students seeking their first job.”

Other Survey Results

Among other key findings:

1. The majority of the respondents (55 percent) said they might stay with their first employer for two-to-four years.
2. Facebook is the most regularly used social media platform among university students and also was identified as the social media vehicle they would most likely use when researching information about a future employer.

KPMG is a global network, operating in 144 countries with 140,000 people working in member firms around the world, of professional firms providing audit, tax and advisory services. The independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated with KPMG International, a Swiss cooperative. Each KPMG firm is a legally distinct and separate entity and describes itself as such.

KPMG LLP, the audit, tax and advisory firm, is the U.S. member firm of KPMG International Cooperative. KPMG International’s member firms have 140,000 professionals, including more than 7,900 partners, in 146 countries.

Top

Top-Paid Majors Among College Class of 2010

BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Engineering majors dominate the list of top-paid bachelor’s degrees, according to a new report from the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE). 

NACE’s Winter 2010 Salary Survey shows that engineering disciplines account for eight of the 10 most highly paid degrees.  

The only non-engineering related degrees in the top 10 were computer science and information sciences and systems. (See Figure 1.) 

Petroleum engineering earned the highest starting salary reported at the bachelor’s degree level—$86,220—more than one-and-one-half times the average starting salary reported for bachelor’s degree graduates as a whole ($48,351). 

“While a variety of factors play a role in determining salaries, new graduates with degrees in the technical fields tend to benefit from their relatively low supply. There is more competition for their skills, driving up their salary offers,” said Marilyn Mackes, NACE executive director. 

For example, petroleum engineering degrees account for less than one percent of all bachelor’s degrees conferred. 

“Not every case is that extreme, but, in general, candidates with technical degrees have an advantage in the job market,” Mackes said.

NACE will provide a second look at salaries for the Class of 2010 in April with the release of the Spring 2010 Salary Survey.

Figure 1: Top-Paid Bachelor’s Degrees

In addition, NACE will provide monthly updates on hiring/recruiting activity through the NACE Index (reported on www.naceweb.org), and will do a final update on employer hiring projections for the Class of 2010 with the Job Outlook 2010 Spring Update survey, scheduled for release in April.

About Salary Survey: Salary Surveyis a quarterly report of starting salary offers to new college graduates in 70 disciplines at the bachelor's degree level. The survey compiles data from college and university career services offices nationwide. Salary Survey is issued in winter, spring, summer, and fall, with the fall issue serving as the year-end report.

The National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) has been a leading source of information about the employment of college graduates since 1956. For more information, click here.

Top

City of Detroit to Go Scentless

A Detroit city planner successfully settled her Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) suit against the city based on her sensitivity to perfumes and chemicals. As a result, Susan McBride and her attorneys were awarded $100,000 and the city will post notices asking employees to refrain from wearing scented products including but not limited to colognes, after-shave lotions, perfumes, deodorants, body/face lotions, hairsprays or similar products.

The notice also asks employees to refrain from using scented products such as candles, air fresheners, cleaning compounds and other similar products. Changes will also be made to the New Employee Handbook and to the ADA training. The HR department for the city has been tasked with sending an e-mail to all employees in order to explain the policy and directing them to that if they or their HR representative or the ADA coordinator if they have concerns.

Susan McBride brought the suit after the city failed to respond to her complaints that a coworker’s perfume was so strong that it triggered allergies and made it difficult for her to breathe. She originally asked that the city relocate her or ask her coworker to cease wearing the perfume. The case is Susan McBride v. City of Detroit, CA#2:07—CV.12794

Top

Bonus Plans for 2010 Remain Strong While Salary Levels Gradually Rebound

NEW YORK – The majority of employers report that their bonus payments in 2010 will be similar to what they paid last year, according to a Buck Consultants survey released March 10.
 
The  survey, “Recovery, Restoration and Retention: 2010 Compensation Trends,” found that 58 percent of organizations expect to award bonuses that are within five percent of last year’s amounts. More than one in five respondents (21 percent) plans to make bonus payments that are five percent or greater than 2009 payments.

“Although these results may appear surprising, there are plausible explanations,” said Tom Burke, director at Buck Consultants. “Companies may have ended the year with earnings performance that was strong enough to meet or exceed their targets. And those targets may have been at levels that were the same as, or even less than, prior targets.”

“There are two other factors to consider,” said Burke. “First, companies may be rewarding those employees—especially top performers—who made it through downsizing and have been asked to do more. Second, companies may be more inclined to award bonuses, which are variable costs, rather than to increase base salaries, which drive up fixed costs including benefits that are tied to salaries.”

Buck Consultants, a leading human resources consulting firm, completed its survey in January 2010. The survey includes responses from 180 employers, representing virtually every sector of the U.S. economy. It examines bonus payments, salary increase budgets, and related workforce practices that have a significant impact on labor costs.

Buck’s survey found that pay increases for 2010 average 2.2 percent. This is greater than last year’s average, but slightly less than the 2010 projections made by companies in a prior survey Buck conducted in July 2009.

“Overall, economic conditions appear to be improving slowly,” Burke said. “We’re seeing a gradual lifting of pay freezes and hiring freezes. Companies that implemented salary cuts are restoring salaries in most cases. Employers realize the importance of reinvesting in their workforces as the economy shows signs of recovery. At the same time, they are being cautious so they are in sync with business performance.”

Other key survey findings include:

1. One-third of survey participants report making changes to the way they measure or reward the performance of their employees.
2. Thirty percent of the survey participants indicate they plan to use market-based salary adjustments to retain their top performers.
3. More than 95 percent of survey participants say they have no plans to expand or implement bonuses for attracting and retaining employees despite widespread reports about growing worker dissatisfaction.

Top

Companies Making Good Progress, but Still Have More to Do to Effectively Mitigate Costs and Improve Employee Health

LINCOLNSHIRE, Ill. – Despite the uncertainty of health care reform, most U.S. employers say they are continuing to make investments today that will improve the long-term health and productivity of their workforce, according to a new survey by Hewitt Associates, a global human resources consulting and outsourcing company.

But while well-intentioned, Hewitt’s survey shows most companies are just beginning to consider and implement the types of strategies, tactics and goals that will create positive and sustainable improvements in employee health and constrain escalating health care costs. 

Hewitt’s annual health care trends survey of nearly 600 large U.S. companies representing more than 10 million employees shows that employers’ short- and long-term approaches to health care remain consistent with last year. Almost two-thirds (65 percent) say they currently invest in long-term solutions to improve the overall health and productivity of their workforce while less than a third (32 percent) are primarily focused on controlling their annual health care costs.

Just three percent reported currently moving away from directly sponsoring health care. When asked about their future approach to health care, more companies (80 percent) plan to focus on improving health and productivity in the next three to five years.

Hewitt’s survey, conducted from December 2009 to January 2010, found that employer concerns regarding rapidly rising health care costs continue to grow. Almost all (95 percent) companies say managing costs is a top business issue, up slightly from 91 percent in 2009.

This concern is not surprising; Hewitt’s research shows that total health care costs have more than doubled in a decade—from $4,793 in 2001 to $11,058 in 2010—and are expected to continue increasing over the next 10 years. 

“The harsh reality is that with or without comprehensive health care reform, employers remain on course for having the same or greater cost and employee health problems over the next few years as they have in recent years,” said Jim Winkler, leader of Hewitt’s U.S. Health Care practice. “Employers know they aren’t getting results using traditional approaches and are taking steps to reverse that trend. However, they still have a lot of work to do to get on a path where they'll see positive, sustainable changes that really move the needle.”

Top

IPMA-HR Managing Employee Performance as a Human Resources Business Partner Online Class Begins April 7

Register now to take part in IPMA-HR’s “Managing Employee Performance as a Human Resources Business Partner” online class, which is being offered in partnership with Prince George’s Community College. The class will begin April 7, and costs just $495 for members of IPMA-HR; the cost for nonmembers to take part in the class is $595.

This course examines the “how-to’s” for creating strategic partnership with human resources supervisors and managers to effectively manage employee performance. Participants have an opportunity to develop their own action plans for partnering with management in developing plans for their organizations.

Who Should Attend?
Senior managers who are interested in improving organizational performance, HR directors and other HR specialists whose responsibilities include performance management and/or organizational development, should participate in this course.

Learner Outcomes Include the Following:

1. Defining performance management
2. Understanding the variety of performance management systems available
3. Developing the competencies needed to be a business partner and how to apply them
4. Understanding and assessing how performance management partnerships benefit an organization
5. How to select the performance management system appropriate for your organization
6. How to apply performance management in your organization

Benefits of Online Learning:

1. Convenience. You decide when and where to take your classes
2. Fast. Complete the program in only five weeks
3. Priorities. Continue to work full-time

Registration
To register for the course, visit www.ipma-hr.org. Be sure to log into the “members only” section of the IPMA-HR Web site, then click on “Registration” at the top right of the page and follow the prompts. Or, download your registration form and fax the completed form to (703) 684-0948.

Prince George’s Community College is a fully accredited, two-year institution of higher education serving students and working adults from Prince George’s County, Md., metropolitan Washington, D.C., and around the world. The college’s main campus is located less than 10 miles from the nation’s capital at 301 Largo Road in Largo, Md., with additional campuses in Hyattsville, Laurel, and Camp Springs, Md., on Andrews Air Force Base.

Top

Call for Applications for IPMA-HR Graduate Study Fellowship, Scholarship Programs

IPMA-HR is once again providing the opportunity for its members and for the children of its members to apply for funding for the upcoming school year through the IPMA-HR Graduate Study Fellowship Program and through the IPMA-HR Scholarship Program. The deadline to apply for both programs is June 4, 2010.

Graduate Study Fellowship Program
The Graduate Study Fellowship Program provides up to two fellowships of $2,000 each for IPMA-HR members who are seeking graduate degrees at the master’s level in human resource management, public administration, business administration, or a related field. Members seeking law degrees are also eligible to apply for the fellowships. Anyone seeking a doctoral-level degree is not eligible to apply. The fellowship is renewable for a second year providing that the recipients demonstrate satisfactory academic progress and retain their IPMA-HR membership.

To be eligible for the graduate study fellowship program, an individual must have been an IPMA-HR member for at least one year. Applicants must have at least five years of full-time work experience, strong leadership ability, and a commitment to public service. Student members do not qualify for the fellowship.

Scholarship Program
IPMA-HR provides one-time scholarships of $1,000 to the children of IPMA-HR members who are seeking undergraduate degrees at accredited colleges and universities. Preference is given to students who are seeking degrees in human resource management or public administration. The parent or legal guardian of applicants must be a current member of IPMA-HR and have maintained membership for at least the last three years.

For more information, contact Debbie Tankersely-Snook by phone at (703) 549-7100, or by e-mail at tankersely@ipma-hr.org. Click here to download the application for the IPMA-HR Scholarship program. Click here to download the application for the IPMA-HR Fellowship program.

Top

Submission Deadline Approaching for Measuring ROI in the Public Sector, to be Published jointly by IPMA-HR and the ROI Institute

In the last decade, much progress has been made in capturing the impact and ROI in a variety of types of Human Resources programs. Public sector HR organizations have achieved success with this issue and we want to capture these success stories. This new case book will feature ROI studies that show the impact and value of the human resources function.

The concept of ROI in the public sector has never been more important than it is today. With the pressure to deliver more with less, public agencies must ensure that HR programs are delivering value. This is particularly important for the expensive, high profile, and highly visible (even controversial) programs. Value must be expressed in terms that top administrators understand and that taxpayers demand. Today, this means impact, monetary value (expressed cost reduction or cost avoidance) and, yes, the financial return on investment.

Case studies are needed in every aspect of HR including, 1) recruiting and selection, 2) orientation and on-boarding, 3) compensation, including pay for performance, 4) benefits and benefits administration, 5) ethics and compliance, 6) diversity, 7) employee relations and work climate, 8) safety and health, 9) wellness and fitness, 10) career development, 11) talent management, 12) management and executive development, 13) leadership and coaching, 14) technical and administrative training, 15) legal issues and, 16) e-HR and human capital management systems.

Each case study should describe the project and the surrounding issues and concerns that lead to the evaluation. The methods used are fully described including the data collection, analysis, and reporting. The data collected should include reaction, learning, application, impact, ROI, and intangibles. Also, case studies should show how the impact of the HR program is isolated from other influences. The goal is to show credible case studies that will serve as examples and learning tools for others.

Publishing a case study in this new book is an excellent way to show the great work of many government departments and agencies. It brings recognition and respect to the important and valuable projects undertaken by HR managers in the public sector. It is also a good way to bring recognition to those individuals who make the difference in designing, developing, implementing, and supporting important projects.

Editors
Dr. Patti Phillips, president & CEO of the ROI Institute, and Dr. Jack Phillips, chairman of the ROI Institute, are serving as editors of this publication. Together the Phillipses have edited and/or authored over 50 books on the topics of measurement, evaluation, and ROI. For more information on the ROI Institute and the work of Drs. Patti and Jack Phillips, please visit www.roiinstitute.net.

Deadlines
The deadline for submission is March 31, 2010. Exceptions may be made under special circumstances and if appropriate arrangements are made.

For More Information
Case study guidelines may be downloaded at www.roiinstitute.net.

For additional information, please contact the project manager, Beth Phillips, either by mail at ROI Institute, Inc., P.O. Box 380637, Birmingham, AL 35238-0637, by e-mail at beth@roiinstitute.net, or by phone at (205) 678-8101.

 Top

On the Calendar

March 28-30, 2010
North Carolina-IPMA 2010 Spring Conference
Raleigh Hilton North
Raleigh, N.C.
Visit www.nc-ipma.org for more information.

April 7
Online Course
Managing Employee Performance as an HR Business Partner

April 22, 2010
2010 SCPMA-HR Annual Conference
Human Resources: Agents of Change
Almansor Court
Alhambra, Calif.
Contact Brigitte Charles, either by phone at (714) 536-5917, or by e-mail at bCharles@surfcity-hb.org, or visit www.scpma-hr.org for more information.

April 24-28, 2010
Southern Region Conference
Oklahoma City, Okla.

April 28-30, 2010
Western Region Conference
San Diego, Calif.

May 20, 2010
SNIPMA-HR Annual Conference
2010: A New Beginning
Texas Station Hotel
North Las Vegas, Nev.
Contact Tammara Williams at williamst@rtcsnv.com, or visit www.snipma.com for more information.

June 6-9, 2010
Central Region Conference
Middleton, Wis.

July 7
Online Course
Managing Employee Performance as an HR Business Partner

July 14
Online Course
Developing Competencies for HR Success

September 19-22, 2010
Eastern Region Conference
Adlephi, Md.

September 22
Online Course
Developing Competencies for HR Success

October 2-6, 2010
2010 International Training Conference & Expo
Sheraton Seattle Hotel & Towers
Seattle, Wash.
Contact IPMA-HR Director of Membership and Professional Development Jessica Allen at jallen@ipma-hr.org for more information. Check the Web site at www.ipma-hr.org for conference updates.

October 6
Online Course
Managing Employee Performance as an HR Business Partner

Watch the HR Bulletin and our Web site for more information on educational opportunities.

Top