ASHHRA eNews Pulse

Dear ASHHRA Members,

Finally... the goal is in sight. The actual event is on the horizon. The fun is about to begin.

• The board and ASHHRA staff are putting the final touches on the conference preparation.
• The keynote speakers are finessing their speeches.
• The education session presenters are polishing their presentations.
• Tropical storm Igor and Julia are moving safely into the open Atlantic (and no where near Florida). (Yes, I've been tracking them with every update... noon, 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. You get that way when you're involved in a major conference preparation. Trust me).

It's all coming together! On September 25th, the 46th Annual ASHHRA Conference and Exposition kicks off in beautiful Tampa, Florida.

We hope to see you there! If you haven't registered, it's not too late! If you have, fantastic! This will simply be THE premier health care HR event of the year... and you won't want to miss it.

Jeff Payne, SPHR
Vice President, Human Resources
Lakeland Regional Medical Center
1324 Lakeland Hills Blvd
Lakeland, FL 33805-4500
P: 863-687-1045
F: 863-284-1971

 

Boost your HR expertise and enrich your health care business knowledge at this year’s ASHHRA Conference! A variety of learning sessions led by industry experts will offer the best practices, tools, and resources to help you achieve success in the coming decade. Access the conference program now to learn about this year’s conference and all its offerings.

Visit http://www.ashhra.org/ashhra/conference/conference2010/files/ASHHRA_Onsite%20program(revised-FINAL).pdf to view the full article online.

 

Application period open now through Oct. 15, 2010, for those seeking careers in a variety of health care fields. Two $1,500 awards are available. Visit ahacareercenter.org for details!

Visit http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/ASHHRA to view the full article online.

 

By Karin McGinnis

The federal government wants to put an end to misclassification of workers as independent contractors and has the health care industry in its sights. Earlier this year, the United States Department of Labor (DOL) and the Treasury Department announced an interagency "Misclassification Initiative." The Initiative involves millions of dollars, new personnel, targeted audits, and even training of OSHA investigators to spot misclassification problems and "rewards" for states that are the most successful in finding and correcting misclassification.

Visit https://www.naylornetwork.com/ahh-nwl/articles/index-v2.asp?aid=126671&issueID=22496 to view the full article online.

 

Fisher & Phillips LLP

While tough economic times continue, companies everywhere are creating innovative solutions to keep their loyal staff happy. As the company pocketbooks don’t have the spare cash for generous raises, many employers are turning to title promotions with slight raises as a way to show their appreciation. And while there’s nothing wrong with advancing a competent person, employment law experts warn companies to maintain integrity when giving promotions and be aware of potential legal risks associated with job title inflation.

Visit https://www.naylornetwork.com/ahh-nwl/articles/index-v2.asp?aid=126672&issueID=22496 to view the full article online.

 

With the November election quickly approaching, employees may become engaged in discussions at work about their political viewpoints and preferred candidates. However, attorney Lonnie Giamela warns that such discussions could lead to legal problems if employees feel as if they have been discriminated or retaliated against based on their political views, or if they feel pressured by a boss to vote for a particular candidate.

Visit http://hr.blr.com/HR-news/Performance-Termination/Political-Activity-Workplace/Political-Discussions-at-Work-Can-Be-a-Legal-Landm/ to view the full article online.

 

You already know that winning depends in no small part on hiring people better than yourself. If you are a youngish entrepreneur or boss, that will entail hiring older and more experienced people, especially in top roles for your organization. Managing a colleague with ten or fifteen more years of experience than you can present unusual challenges of motivation, boundary-setting, and leadership. Here are some ways to get the most out of your hires and your collaboration with them.

Visit http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2010/08/managing_older_managers_a_guid.html to view the full article online.

 

A few years back, I started noticing that my MBA students were behaving differently. More and more, they opened the meetings they requested with me by talking about themselves, sometimes at length. I found this odd, especially since the topics they wanted to discuss didn't require me to know a great deal about them. I thought I was witnessing an unhealthy trend, but I didn't know how much weight to give my own observations. I could have been misremembering the past, or just getting more crotchety. Whether or not I am, young people today are clearly getting more narcissistic.

Visit http://blogs.hbr.org/hbr/mcafee/2010/09/a-few-years-back-i.html to view the full article online.

 

A police sergeant is suing the city of Chicago for allegedly violating Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) regulations by not compensating for time spent on the employer-issued BlackBerry during off-hours. The case is an opt-in collective action, allowing for other "similarly situated employees" to join the suit.

Visit http://hr.blr.com/HR-news/Compensation/FLSA-Fair-Labor-Standards-Act/FLSA-Case-Compensation-for-Time-Spent-on-BlackBerr/ to view the full article online.

 

U.S. companies will spend less on pay raises and variable pay awards in 2010 than they originally expected, indicating their lingering concerns about the stability of the economy. But they are more optimistic about the future, with most expecting to bump up salary increases and variable pay awards in 2011, according to a nationwide survey by consultancy Hewitt Associates.

Visit http://www.hewittassociates.com/intl/na/en-us/AboutHewitt/Newsroom/PressReleaseDetail.aspx?cid=7126 to view the full article online.

 

We’ve all heard the rumblings about how job burnout is pushing many employees to look for new jobs. But some disturbing new research indicates the problem may go deeper than people simply feeling overworked. Bottom line: Many workers have lost trust in their employers. That’s the over-arching message in the results of a Deloitte survey, which indicated that 34 percent of employees plan to look for a new job when the economy improves.

Visit http://www.hrmorning.com/disturbing-new-trend-pushing-workers-to-jump-ship/ to view the full article online.

 

As employees’ feelings of uncertainty about their future grew during the recession, employee engagement scores across the country dropped, says Leigh Branham, SPHR. However, some employers were actually able to increase employee engagement.

Visit http://hr.blr.com/HR-news/HR-Administration/HR-Strategy/Top-Workplaces-Master-Six-Drivers-of-Employee-Enga/ to view the full article online.

 

September is National Preparedness Month. The national observance is sponsored by the Department of Homeland Security’s Ready Campaign and highlights the importance of preparing for emergencies such as natural disasters and potential terrorist attacks.

Visit http://hr.blr.com/HR-news/Health-Safety/Emergencies/National-Preparedness-Month-Organizations-Can-Prep/ to view the full article online.

 

One hundred companies were recognized for their commitment to provide employees with family-friendly benefits. Working Mothers released their 25th annual list of the 100 Best Companies that help employees gain some work-life balance.

Visit http://hr.blr.com/HR-news/Benefits-Leave/Work-Life/Working-Mothers-Name-100-Best-Companies/ to view the full article online.

 

Catalyst Learning Co. (CLC) has begun its graduation ceremonies for more than 140 working adult students at 13 hospitals in Chicago for the School at Work (SAW) "Building a Career Ladder in Health Care" Program. The project provided front-line, incumbent health care workers with the education, skills and confidence to advance in their careers, opening up other academic opportunities for these workers to enter nursing and other fields.

Visit https://www.naylornetwork.com/ahh-nwl/articles/index-v2.asp?aid=126685&issueID=22496 to view the full article online.

 

By Dave Urlakis, Director of Analytics, The Jellyvision Lab, Inc.

According to Hewitt Associates, in 2010, 55 percent of employees passively defaulted to the same health insurance coverage they had the previous year. But with health costs rising and family needs changing every year, it’s often surprising that employees don’t at least look at other options to see if they’ve selected the right plan for them. Why should you care, you might ask? Because SHRM reports that benefits are the number two deciding factor in employee satisfaction and retention. It’s important to educate employees about their benefits and help them choose the option that meets their needs.

Visit https://www.naylornetwork.com/ahh-nwl/articles/index-v2.asp?aid=126686&issueID=22496 to view the full article online.

 

For many years we have been hearing an increasing amount of information regarding Electronic Health Records (EHR) and related technologies with acronyms such as EMR, PHR, HIE to name a few. More recently, we have been hearing an emphasis on incentives and programs that may be available to physicians that adopt or utilize technology and provide quality reporting, including the federally funded Electronic Prescribing (eRx) Incentive Program, PQRI (Physicians Quality Reporting Initiative) as well as some privately funded programs from some health plans. Today, there is significant attention on what is commonly referred to as "meaningful use."

Visit http://www.physiciansnews.com/2010/09/08/getting-clear-on-ehr-incentives-and-value/ to view the full article online.

 

What, in short, does it take to be productive and efficient in a world of infinitely rising demand, and endless potential distractions? By productive, I mean generating goods and services with lasting value. By efficient, I mean doing so with the least amount of unnecessary expenditure of time and energy. Here are six behaviors that we regularly teach to our clients.

Visit http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2010/09/six_ways_to_supercharge_your_p.html to view the full article online.

 

Do you have the responsibility for supervising the work of others? If so, you know that employees don't always do what you want them to do. On the one hand, they act as if they are competent professionals. On the other, they procrastinate, miss deadlines, and wait for instructions. They blame others when their work is unsuccessful. And worst of all, employees become defensive when you try to coach them to successful performance improvement through excellent, goal-accomplishing work. So, what's a supervisor to do? Performance improvement is your answer.

Visit http://humanresources.about.com/od/manageperformance/a/manage_perform.htm to view the full article online.