FOR THE PEOPLE

Jan/Feb 2011 A snapshot into the current issues affecting your people

Vacation Time: Take It or Leave It?

Based on a vacation deprivation survey conducted annually by Expedia.com, Americans receive the fewest days of vacation on average of any of the industrialized nations, 13 days to be exact. To make matters worse, about 25% of allotted vacation days are never used. The most mentioned reasons for not taking vacations are hardly surprising:

Too busy at work Spouse cant get away from their job Required to schedule vacations far in advance by my company Employer pays me for unused vacation time Worried about losing my job

So why should any of this matter to an employer? Lets look at employee performance for starters. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) frequently cites that a large majority of employee injuries in the workplace are caused by an inattentive or tired worker. If you consider that one injury each year at a workplace could be caused by a tired worker, resulting in lost time and productivity, is it really worth encouraging employees not to take their time off? How does any employer encourage employees not to use their vacation time? Please see Vacation time, page 2

Inside This Issue

Vacation Time: Take It or Leave It? New Years Resolutions for 2011 Company Credit Card Minefield One for the Road: Tax Tidbits Yup, They Said It Perfect People Solutions

New Years Resolutions for 2011

It is a new year and every January we make new resolutions. Whether it is to start something (exercise, diet or education) or to quit something (smoking, drinking or some other ing), we always resolve to make a change for the better. But often we fail to stay the course and quickly fall off the wagon. As an employer, here are a couple of resolutions to look to do in 2011: 1. Understand the total value of being an employee at your company. Believe it or not, money is not the only thing that you are paying employees. Medical benefits, vacation, 401K and bonuses are also part of the value of working for an employer. Another under-appreciated aspect of working at the company is the culture. Every year, Fortune and other magazines come out with lists of the best places to work. They talk about benefitsok, so most of us will never offer on-site day carebut the more critical part of the survey is the culture that the companies create. Turnover at these places is non-existent: it easier to get into Harvard than to get a job at Please see Resolutions, page 2

Vacation time
Continued from page one

Most people would assume that the biggest motivator not to take a vacation would be programs that pay employees for unused vacation time or policies that allow employees to rollover unused days. This, however, is only part of the answer. Many employers create policies which make it difficult for workers to take time off on short notice, which may deter them from taking a vacation at all. The amount of notice required to schedule a vacation is often not well defined by the company. Some companies require a months notice, others require two weeks. Whatever the company requires is still subject to approval. Most employees dread the process of having to put in for vacation. A more common reason why an employee wont use his vacation time is because the company has created a culture that frowns on vacations. For instance, having manager who boasts about never taking vacations, telling his employees that the business is more important than sitting around doing nothing. Before you smile and agree with those who think vacations are a waste of time, here are some interesting numbers from the American Management Association: 33% of employees coming back from vacation are more productive than when they left. About 50% say they feel better about their families and that their home life is more balanced, leaving them to better focus on work. 75% of workers see the number of weeks of vacation they receive as one of the top benefits of working at a company. Employees who have recently had a vacation are three times more likely to view the company they work for as being a good place to work.

So what does all this mean? Whatever vacation culture you model or alloweither through formal policies or informal directionyour employees will adopt that culture as their own. Make sure your approach to vacation is consistent at all your locations and with all your managers. If you encourage your employees to take their allotted vacation time, make sure the managers below you follow your lead.

Resolutions
Continued from page one

one of these companies. So you need to ask yourself What is the value of your culture to your employees? 2. Figure out who your most valuable employees are and why they are important. You may know who these people are, but many times managers have not examined the reasons why they are so valuable. Why does the reason an employee is valuable matter? Because sometimes an employees value is based on something he did in the past, but a closer examination might show he hasnt had the magic for a while. Leaders need to make sure that loyalty doesnt get in the way of productivity. Your other employees know when their co-worker is or is not getting it done. When a leader holds up someone who is no longer valuable as an example to others, it hurts the leaders credibility. Conversely, when someone really is handling his business and is treated as being valuable, that behavior is noticed and others try to copy or exceed the performance. These two resolutions should allow you to get off to good start as a manager or leader in 2011. Dont fall off that resolutions wagon!

Company Credit Card Minefield

What ever happened to good ol petty cash? You know, the slush fund that companies kept around for purchases like printer paper, toner cartridges or cake for the monthly birthday parties. What happened was that the temptation of having cash around that wasnt always counted became too great. Whenever an auditor showed up, the slush fund was short and someone ended up being shown the door. Once the idea of giving employees company credit cards was introduced, petty cash disappeared. Now we live in the new minefield known as company credit cards. Minefield? Before you think of this as being a bit melodramatic, here are some quick examples of explosions caused by company credit cards. The most recent high-profile case involved Mark Hurd, the former CEO of Hewlett Packard. Hurd was allegedly dismissed for misusing and improperly reporting expenses on his company credit card. And then theres the story of the employees of the Republican National Committee who used an RNC credit card at a strip club. These kinds of stories come up all the time. Sometimes it is the less obvious situations that cause explosions:
1. An employee is short on cash and uses the card to purchase a gift for his spouse, fully intending to pay it off

before the statement shows up.

2. A manager makes a cash advance to cover a shortage in the store safe. 3. A supervisor buys supplies on a credit card that never end up at his business.

Where the whole credit card thing really blows up is when an outstanding performer for your company does something stupid with a card. If you overlook his mistake and others find out, firing someone else for doing the same thing could really cause trouble. So does this mean you shouldnt have company credit cards? No, but it does mean you need to have a few safeguards put in place: Have clear policies about who is eligible to receive cards and what the credit limits are for different positions or levels in the company. Clearly lay out circumstances under which a card can be used. Conduct a short class on the proper use of the company credit cards to current users and when a card is issued to new users. Do regular audits on the cards. Handle disciplinary matters with card misuse consistently regardless of the employee involved.

By following these safeguards you can reduce the likelihood that one of your employees will be the next victim of the credit card minefield.

One for the Road: Tax Tidbits

As you wrap up your year end, here are a few quick tax-related items to consider: Work Opportunity Tax Credit Allows employers to claim a tax credit that could be as much as $9,000 for new hires of 12 targeted groups. The federal government recently added returning veterans and disconnected youth to the groups, making it 12. COBRA: Health Insurance Continuation This is the tax credit for any company that provided reducedcost COBRA medical coverage to separated employees. Cell Phones Employers no longer have to charge employees for personal use of company cell phones as a taxable benefit.

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While people arent perfect, your people solutions should be.

P ERF ECT P EOPLE S OLUTIONS

Yup, They Said It

Two older female employees were in the break room when one asked the other one how much she enjoyed the companys new workout program. Well, I bent, twisted, gyrated, jumped up and down and perspired profusely. Surprised, the woman replied, That sounds like a great class. The first woman shrugged and said, Wouldnt know. By the time I got my leotards on the class was over. ****** A driver is out delivering pizza in a driving rain storm. He comes to a house and knocks. A woman answers the door and sees the driver is soaking wet. She calls her son to bring her purse. When the child comes over she pays and tips the driver. As she closes the door she remarks, There goes another reason why you should go to college!