ASHHRA eNews Pulse

Dear ASHHRA Members,

I am thrilled with our progress as we approach the end of the first quarter of 2011. We had a great face-to-face board meeting in Washington, D.C. and I am happy to report that we are working hard on the goals for this year, and in line with our three-year strategic plan. Early indications of attendees, exhibitors, and sponsors for our annual conference are way above the norm. ASHHRA was presented an award by the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense David L. McGinnis for our organization's commitment to the support of the National Guard and Reserves. (There is more to come on this honor in a later report.) In all, we are off to a great start for 2011.

We, as your ASHHRA Board members, felt that one of the things we needed to communicate this month, in light of the heavy emphasis on ethics and sound business practice, is our current ASHHRA board practice.

Please note that ASHHRA Board member participation is entirely voluntary, without any form of compensation from ASHHRA, AHA, vendors or any other source. Board members complete a comprehensive conflict of interest statement annually, which is reviewed and approved by AHA. As has always been the case, service generously rendered by ASHHRA Board members has been and will remain voluntary by colleagues who have been willing to "give back" to the profession. We remain appreciative of that generosity, and the same generosity demonstrated throughout ASHHRA, as regional and chapter leaders serve in the same voluntary way.

ASHHRA Board member travel is done in a fiscally responsible manner by utilizing AHA travel services, coach airfare, and by limiting the amount of travel annually by frequently utilizing conference calls for Board meetings.

The ASHHRA Board fully embraces the principles of stewardship and accountability to our membership and remains willing to openly engage in dialogue with you to ensure that professionalism and ethics are safeguarded within our association. We appreciate and safeguard the trust that you have placed in us.

Please know that in the wake of the economic crisis, as a board, we evaluated and made adjustments to ensure the financial viability of the organization. We have cut back to two face-to-face board meetings this year, instead of the usual three, as an example of our awareness to the economic uncertainty.

Thanks for your continued support, and I will report on progress toward our goals next month.

Robert Walters, SPHR
Corporate Director, HR Operations
Health First, Inc.
3550 North Harbor City Blvd.
Melbourne, FL 32932-0069
(321) 434-1957
bob.walters@health-first.org

 

Articles include: "HHS Imposes a $4.3 Million Civil Money Penalty for Privacy Rule Violations," "New Medical Device Innovation Initiative Announced," and "The Joint Commission Primary Care Model." Access it here.

Visit http://www.ashhra.org/advocacy/index.shtml to view the full article online.

 

The Gary Willis Leadership Award recognizes mid-level managers and directors who have made outstanding leadership and operations contributions to their organization. Award winners will receive one of two $2,500 scholarships for health care HR education. Deadline extended to April 1.

Visit http://www.ashhra.org/awards/gary_willis_leadership.shtml to view the full article online.

 

Learn at your own pace, advance your career, and earn recertification credits through this customized online learning platform that provides comprehensive health care HR knowledge in a self-paced format.

Visit http://www.ashhra.org/learning/elearning_network.shtml to view the full article online.

 

By James J. McDonald, Jr., Managing Partner, Fisher & Phillips LLP
Regulations issued in 1991 following the enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act required that public accommodations modify their policies, practices, or procedures to permit the use of a service animal by an individual with a disability. Over time, quite a variety of species came to be characterized by their owners as service animals including pigs, horses, monkeys, snakes, lizards, birds, and rodents. The U.S. Justice Department has issued new regulations effective March 15, 2011, that will substantially limit the types of animals that will qualify as service animals under the ADA.

Visit https://www.naylornetwork.com/ahh-nwl/articles/index-v2.asp?aid=139154&issueID=22502 to view the full article online.

 

By Jim Giuliano
Companies that do drug testing of applicants or are thinking about it will want to make note of this one. The question before a federal court: Can you refuse to hire applicants who fail a drug test and then apply again later while "in recovery"?
SOURCE: HR MORNING

Visit http://www.hrmorning.com/ada-court-clarifies-tricky-rule-on-hiring-someone-in-recovery/ to view the full article online.

 

Employees' use of medical marijuana has all the earmarks of a real headache for HR pros. But a recent federal court decision offers some good news. Private firms can legally fire employees who violate company drug policy even if state law permits the use of medical marijuana, according to a recent ruling out of Michigan.
SOURCE: HR MORNING

Visit http://www.hrmorning.com/judge-clarifies-company-rights-on-medical-marijuana-use/ to view the full article online.

 

By John Hollon
If there is one thing that is pretty obvious as we slowly crawl out of the recession, it’s this: quite a few workers are ready to bolt for a new job if the right opportunity presents itself.
SOURCE: TLNT

Visit http://www.tlnt.com/2011/03/08/survey-74-of-workers-are-passive-job-seekers-ready-to-consider-a-move/ to view the full article online.

 

By Amy Gallo
As politicians and economists puzzle over America's jobless recovery, managers who have started to hire again face another problem: how to handle all the overqualified candidates coming through their doors. The prevailing wisdom is to avoid such applicants. But the unprecedented availability of top talent created by this recession and new research on the success of these candidates may be changing that.
SOURCE: HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW

Visit http://blogs.hbr.org/hmu/2011/03/should-you-hire-an-overqualifi.html to view the full article online.

 

By John Hollon
Get ready for the "New War for Talent." Call it something else if you like — maybe the War for Talent 2.0 — but as Lou Adler and others have been warning of and writing about over at ERE, the post recession "War for Talent" may finally be here. According to a new study by Bersin & Associates, talent shortages are cited as a key business challenge by more than 50 percent of business leaders surveyed for the first time in almost three years — since the beginning of the Great Recession — as attention shifts from cost cutting to things like innovation, skills development, and rebuilding business growth as the economy slowly improves.
SOURCE: TLNT

Visit http://www.tlnt.com/2011/03/02/are-you-ready-for-war-for-talent-2-0/ to view the full article online.

 

By Theresa M. Welbourne
The topics of pay and motivation along with pay for performance are "hot." It may be the overall lack of salary increases and bonuses over the last few years or the rise in new books on the topic spurring interest. Whatever the cause, I have been asked quite a bit lately what I think about pay as a motivator.
SOURCE: TLNT

Visit http://www.tlnt.com/2011/03/08/does-pay-affect-leader-productivity/#more-17617 to view the full article online.

 

The stock market crash of 2008 wasn’t enough to make people give up on traditional retirement savings plans. 401(k) account balances hit a 10-year high last year, according to data from Fidelity Investments. The average account balance rose to $71,500, up 11 percent from the end of 2009.
SOURCE: HR MORNING

Visit http://www.hrmorning.com/retirement-account-balances-hit-new-high/ to view the full article online.

 

By Linda Robertson
Some of your employees may have recently received a letter in the mail notifying them that they are considered an HCE — highly compensated employee. The good news is that being an HCE means a nice paycheck, since the employee would have made at least $110,000 in 2010. The bad news is that because of their HCE status, their ability to contribute to the company 401(k) may be limited.
SOURCE: TLNT

Visit http://www.tlnt.com/2011/02/21/the-impact-of-being-a-highly-compensated-employee/ to view the full article online.

 

By Lisa van der Pool
This flu season the chances are pretty good that if you come down with a bug, you caught it from your coworker. That's because 76 percent of employees interviewed said they "somewhat frequently" come in to work when they’re feeling ill, according to a new survey from Accountemps in Menlo Park, Calif.
SOURCE: BOSTON BUSINESS JOURNAL

Visit http://www.bizjournals.com/boston/news/2011/03/07/SickWorkers.html to view the full article online.

 

By Michael O'Brien
A new listing of the top 10 most-banned websites by businesses in 2010 prompts the question: Who decides which sites get blocked? And, as social sites are most often blacklisted, it's ironic that experts say such decisions should be made by a cross-functional group, not by a single department.
SOURCE: HUMAN RESOURCE EXECUTIVE ONLINE

Visit http://www.hreonline.com/HRE/story.jsp?storyId=533333076 to view the full article online.

 

By David Shadovitz
Nearly all employers offer some type of workplace-flexibility program, but few train employees on how to successfully utilize such initiatives or managers on how to successfully work with employees who have flexible schedules. Too often, workers fear asking for flexibility, experts say.
SOURCE: HUMAN RESOURCE EXECUTIVE ONLINE

Visit http://www.hreonline.com/HRE/story.jsp?storyId=533333080 to view the full article online.

 

Although 74 percent of employers report that they do not survey their employees to determine benefit satisfaction, 78 percent believe their employees to be either very or somewhat happy with the benefits with which they are provided, according to a recent survey of Benefits Communication practices conducted by BLR.
SOURCE: HR.BLR.COM

Visit http://hr.blr.com/HR-news/Benefits-Leave/Employee-Benefits/Survey-Most-Employers-Believe-Employees-Are-Happy-/ to view the full article online.

 

By Christian Schappel
CFOs can be tough nuts to crack when it comes to sign off on ramping up employee rewards programs. But here are 10 things they said they’re willing to pay to provide this year. More than 1,400 CFOs from a random sample of U.S. companies with 20 or more employees were recently asked, "What perks, if any, is your company offering or planning to offer in 2011 in an effort to attract and retain employees?"
SOURCE: HR MORNING

Visit http://www.hrmorning.com/this-years-10-most-popular-non-cash-rewards/ to view the full article online.

 

By Congressman Phil Gingrey, M.D. (GA-11)
It is estimated that one in every 10 dollars spent within the health care system will be used on defensive medicine and frivolous lawsuits this year. This is due in part to investors and hedge funds seizing on medical liability lawsuits in order to reap the rewards that should be going directly to injured patients. The New York Times recently reported that nearly $1 billion will be spent this year on these meritless suits, resulting in the exploitation of countless patients by lawyers and their investors looking for economic gains. The health care system, already too costly and laden with waste, now includes a medical liability system functioning as a vehicle towards profit instead of acting on behalf of the patients' best interests.
SOURCE: PHYSICIANS NEWS DIGEST ONLINE

Visit http://www.physiciansnews.com/2011/02/22/the-health-act-brings-protection-back-to-patients/ to view the full article online.

 

By Carla Rieger
Looking at the common mistakes of change leaders is a great entry into this topic because people often only achieve success through its opposite: failure. Consider the concepts of success and failure. They are opposites yet related—you cannot know one without the other. Our perception of any situation is relative, and we can only understand it through contrast. For example, in a universe in which everything is blue, you cannot discuss the concept of blueness because you lack contrasting colors.
SOURCE: HRM TODAY

Visit http://www.hrmtoday.com/leadership/how-to-avoid-the-top-4-mistakes-change-leaders-make/ to view the full article online.

 

By Vanessa Hall
In a perfect world, your employees will always trust you and your organization. In spite of your best efforts, though, trust can and will erode. That’s the bad news. The good news is you can recover. How do you rebuild trust?
SOURCE: TLNT

Visit http://www.tlnt.com/2011/02/28/what-to-do-when-trust-breaks-down/ to view the full article online.

 

By Sarah Green
This slideshow on Harvard Business Review is based on Failure to Communicate: How Conversations Go Wrong and What You Can Do to Right Them by Holly Weeks.
SOURCE: HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW & FAILURE TO COMMUNICATE: HOW CONVERSATIONS GO WRONG AND WHAT YOU CAN DO TO RIGHT THEM

Visit http://hbr.org/web/slideshows/difficult-conversations-nine-common-mistakes/1-slide to view the full article online.