When the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) went into effect in 2003, most employers that had self-insured health plans took steps to make sure they were in compliance. But with the passage of time, compliance standards at a number of organizations have fallen off some, and human resource departments need to take another look at HIPAA and healthcare privacy, according to Workforce Management, a human resources communications company.

One problem that has arisen is the failure of businesses to comply with the HIPAA security rules.

Many businesses still have not completed their plans and procedures for maintaining security of electronic healthcare information, stipulated in the HIPAA guidelines. Others have not updated their security arrangements, specifically arrangements they need to have with business associates, spelling out exactly who can and cannot have access to healthcare information, and how to protect that information. This is something human resource departments may want to prioritize since the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services has recently begun HIPAA compliance audits.

Businesses often fail to train new workers who have access to protected healthcare information about HIPAA guidelines, and to retrain workers when there are changes to the company’s healthcare arrangements, such as new wellness programs. This training is required. Companies should also should have periodic refresher courses for employees to remind them of what the privacy guidelines are for health information.

Another problem is that employers have not taken the time to familiarize themselves with state privacy laws. HIPAA does not preempt these laws, so if they are stricter than the HIPAA guidelines, both state law and HIPAA regulations must be followed.

Also, if a company makes changes to the way it administers its health plan that affects privacy policies, or adds new kinds of health plan coverage, or adds a wellness program, the company needs to make changes to its HIPAA compliance regulations and send notice of these changes within 60 days. This often is not being done.

Another problem is that companies often do not have procedures in place for dealing with privacy complaints. HIPAA does not require a company to have a written policy for resolving complaints, but having one could prevent a lot of headaches later on. The company could be assessed penalties by Health and Human Resources if a complaint is filed with the agency and the complaint is determined to be valid.

When you need help finding great employees for your NYC-area company, call upon the expertise of Winston Resources. We look forward to hearing more about your staffing requirements!

A representative from human resources needs to be on any performance improvement team that is worth the name, according to business analyst Brad Power.

In addition to people who know how things work, and people who know how to make them work better, Power says that there also should be on the team people who know how to get workers to accept and work with the new policies and procedures. These are people who know about how incentives work, how best to incorporate training programs, who know how best to communicate, and who know how to work within the corporate culture. These are all the people skills in which human resource workers specialize.

Studies have shown that efforts to make change happen in companies fail almost three-fourths of the time. The reason, Power says, is not because the new procedures were bad, but because the workers didn’t want to change the way they worked.

While Power says it is crucial to have human resources on any performance improvement team, few companies do. Part of the problem is with human resources itself. If it is to get involved in process improvement, human resources needs to change the way it operates.

It must change its standard defense for keeping things the way they are. This is a natural reaction for human resources – the department’s job is to maintain the policies and procedures of the company by making sure it complies with all the laws and regulations. But this is a role where human resources works against change, where it has to watch out for risks and threats. So if the company makes major changes in its operations and processes, a whole new set of risks and threats arises to which human resources needs to attend. It involves changes in job descriptions, terminations, training and development, etc.

But any performance improvement team needs members who are human resource professionals, who know about the behavior of employees both individually and as an organization. They know what is important to employees. They can be of immense help to the team in assisting them to fit the needs and interests of employees into the needs of a new system that is more effective and efficient.

Let Winston Resources “be of immense help” to your New York City firm when it comes to sourcing, vetting and placing qualified and reliable workers for your company. We look forward to hearing from you!

Recent signs are showing that companies that develop a culture where coaching is encouraged and practiced well by everyone have better bottom lines. This may be something for human resources departments to think about and to get involved in creating such an atmosphere.

A recent study by the California-based advisory firm Bersin and Associates showed that companies where managers made efforts to frequently coach others had business results that were 21 percent better than those companies that did not. And companies that developed a corporate culture where coaching was encouraged had a bottom line 13 percent better than those that did not, as well as significantly better engagement, productivity and customer service among employees.

The study, surveying almost 200 companies, also revealed that nearly three-fourths those surveyed now do coaching in place of conventional performance reviews. However, the authors also noted that coaching effectively is not a skill that many managers have.

According to the study’s authors, coaching is a major challenge for businesses trying to improve performance, yet they don’t know how to get the support needed for it. To ensure that coaching becomes an integral part of a company’s culture, senior executives need to get involved in coaching. But this is a problem in itself as only about 10 percent of executives believe in the value of coaching to improve performance.

To reverse the problem, business leaders need to get involved and personally bang the drum for coaching, especially by starting up coaching programs in their companies, according to the report. The report also says that human resource departments also need to get involved to help create an atmosphere that supports and measures the effectiveness of coaching.

Good performance management centers around coaching, experts say. Performance reviews focus on the past, while coaching looks toward the future and how to improve. To coach effectively, managers need to be good listeners, help to reinforce the behavior they want to see, and also ask open ended questions.

If you’re Manhattan-area company is on the search for improved results in 2010, partner with Winston Resources. We can help you source and place great employees, help you with your payroll, help you with drug testing, and more. Contact us today!

A recent Gallup poll has revealed that workers who are overweight or obese miss 450 million more work hours each year than workers who are normal weight.

This absentee rate has lead to about $153 billion in lost productivity each year. Less than 15 percent of the workforce is not overweight and does not have ongoing health issues because of the weight, according to the Gallup poll of more than 100,000 workers. The health problems of the overweight, and their high numbers, are a big hindrance to productivity, according to Gallup.

Because of this, it is imperative that companies take action to address these health problems, and many employers are. Many companies now have gyms in their buildings, wellness websites and free memberships to health clubs. But the problem is that often workers do not take advantage of these things. The problem is making sure they get some kind of physical activity on a consistent basis.

One example of a company that is making an active effort to get employees engaged with their health is PepsiCo. The company provides employees with an easy-to-use overview of their entire health background. The technology keeps tabs on employees’ insurance claims and other information in a personal online health assessment.

Based on this information, the company gives employees wellness information that is tailored to their particular situation and needs. For example, an employee who is pregnant would receive information about prenatal care, or an employee with high blood pressure would receive information on hypertension.

The company also provides employees with health coaches that workers may contact by telephone or in person, Hewlett says. These coaches can help the workers design health programs suited just for them. The program has helped more than 30,000 PepsiCo employees reduce or eliminate a health risk.

According to Gallup, workers who are overweight and have one or two chronic health problems have about 1.1 days a month when they are not well, and this increases to more than 3.5 days for workers who have three or more chronic health issues. Workers who have normal weight by comparison only have about a third of a day a month when they are not well.
 
The costs to business of unhealthy U.S. workers are more than four times higher than those of workers in the United Kingdom. In the United Kingdom, about 20 percent of the workers are normal weight and have no chronic health issues.

When looking for reliable and talented workers for your temporary, temp-to-hire and direct-hire needs, contact Winston Resources. We’ve helped hundreds of companies in Manhattan and the NYC-area since 1967 and we’d be delighted to help yours. Contact us today!

When looking at job a candidate, there are many factors to consider in making a decision as to whether someone will be successful or not in the job. Naturally, education and training play a key role in making a hiring decision. But there are other factors as well. Personality and character traits – the so-called intangible elements – are also very important and need to be given serious consideration also.

These character traits can be the difference between a person who is mediocre in a job and one who is outstanding. A person who has strong problem-solving skills, yet may lack the specific educational or work experience required, still might be the one to hire because of his or her unique ability.

It may be well worth the effort to find a person who thinks outside the box, works well with others, thinks independently, and questions the way things are done. This is particularly important, according to human resource professionals, if you are in an industry that is changing quickly, or if your company is growing rapidly.

To find these qualities, human resource professionals recommend the following:

First, you need to figure out what particular qualities you seek. You need to establish these qualities even before the first candidate comes in for an interview. For example, do you want someone with good problem-solving ability? If the job is one where the person will need to increase sales of a flagging product or merge supply chains, it may be important that the person can think creatively. How important is it for the person to be calm under pressure? Is unpredictability a key element of the job, where there may be a lot of competition or a lot of change in demand? Then poise under pressure may be a key trait the person will need to succeed in the job.

And if the environment is unpredictable, how important is it that the person be a quick study, that her or she is able to learn and adapt quickly? How important is it that the person is able to work well with others and/or influence them?

You’ll need to develop questions that focus on the traits you seek. For example, if you see from a candidate’s work experience a time when he or she was navigating an unfamiliar landscape, you can ask how the candidate felt about and handled the situation.

When you’re looking for that special employee, let Winston Resources help your Manhattan-based company find the right candidate. We’ve been helping NYC companies find high-performing and reliable employees throughout our 44-year history. Contact us today!

Human resource departments are not doing enough to get out in front and help their organizations change and improve the way they work, according to business consultant Brad Power.

Some business leaders see their human resources department more as a bureaucracy where innovative thinking is not encouraged. Others say human resources is not used enough.

In order to integrate an attitude of constant improvement in a company, three areas need to be considered, according to Dave Ulrich, a professor and recognized leader in human resources – the people working there, the rewards given to them and the kinds of training they get.

Companies need to hire and promote people who take to heart the company’s mindset and behaviors, and let go the people who don’t. And so if the company hires people who value constant improvement it sends a clear signal about what the company thinks is important. When people see what is going on, they will change the way they work and what they do to fit what they see. The problem here is that the human resources professionals often are limited in what they can do – they have to follow the requirements set down by their manager. And these requirements tend to revolve around expertise, not the staff’s skills sets or behaviors.

Another way to instill constant improvement in a company is through rewards, which also can change the way people behave. Through rewards, companies can recognize workers who have achieved measured goals. To have constant improvement, workers not only have to do their work, but improve on it as well. But, again, human resources often has been limited to what it can provide here because it does not usually have the kind of experience or permission to work with managers in changing rewards to encourage improvement.

The third area, training and development, also can be used to encourage constant improvement. Training and development also can be used to show workers what the company sees as important. But human resource departments normally cannot encourage improvement training unless it is pushed by the company’s leaders.

To become more effective, human resources needs to help a company’s leaders focus on customers, long-term results and investing in the workforce. Human resources must be able to have the ear of the company’s leadership to be able to work constant improvement into the equation.

When you’re looking for great temporary workers for your New York City company, call upon Winston Resources. We look forward to hearing from you!

With the job market as tight as it is, it may come as little surprise that there has been an appreciable increase in false statements made on resumes, according to hiring managers. It has become more of a widespread problem.

Job candidates tell outright falsehoods, or they will leave out important facts about their background or employment history. The most common falsehood is extending dates of employment to cover up gaps in work history.

Job candidates also will include on resumes or applications degrees or certifications they have not earned, list a college or university they have not attended, list particular technical skills they do not have or exaggerate, or lie about other accomplishments.

To head off these problems, employers need to include disclaimers about making false statements or omissions and that these fraudulent statements will automatically disqualify a candidate from consideration, according to Russell Thomas, an attorney specializing in employment law. Employers also should not neglect doing background checks. Naturally, the higher level the position, the more you want to do a thorough background check on the applicant.

Another way to verify statements made by applicants is to simply look at what’s in the public record, Thomas says. With all the social media that now exist, there are plenty of places to go to do this. You can check out MySpace, Facebook or YouTube for information. These sites can confirm what is on a person’s resume, or reveal false statements a person has made on a resume.

The interview also is a key place to look for discrepancies or misleading statements and try to verify statements, Thomas says. That is why good interviewing skills are important. The best thing to do is ask the applicant questions that he or she will not expect. The interview should be set up so that the applicant is the one doing most of the talking, while the interviewer is spending most of the time listening and observing.

Whatever you do as an employer, Thomas says, avoid the urge to overlook misrepresentations on an applicant’s resume. These misleading statements could be a sign of some deeper character flaw that may affect the person’s ability to do the job.

In this tough job market, employers need to be especially vigilant about fraudulent resumes, Thomas says.

Let Winston Resources source and vet candidates for positions at your Manhattan-area company. We can perform preliminary interviews and conduct background checks to verify statements regarding skills, education and job history. Contact us today!

Information technology is more and more playing a dominant role in many businesses, and human resource departments need to get out in front of these IT trends or they risk losing out to rivals in the hunt for talent with the skills to navigate in these up and coming areas.

One big trend right now is the rapid growth of portable media devices. Not only have these devices made it a lot easier to get information, they have heightened the demand by businesses for people who can help companies navigate in this area and increase the company’s impact.

A recent survey shows several other trends in information technology that are driving hiring in IT. One trend is the ever increasing amount of data that is available electronically. Another trend is the continually changing threats to cybersecurity. And another trend is the increasing collaboration by workers online.

Because of these trends, companies are looking to hire people who have the skills in these areas, and demand is often greater than supply, resulting in higher salaries, according to John Reed, one of the contributors to the survey.

The growth in use of smartphones and tablets has companies scrambling to find people with the know-how to work with these platforms. Because of the demand in this area, starting salaries are expected to increase more than nine percent, in the range of $85,000 to $122,000.

Because of the ever increasing amount of data available to companies online, firms are looking for people who know how to mine the data for information the company can use to increase sales. These business intelligence analysts will see their starting salary increase six percent, to between $89,000 and $123,000

Because of all the activity online, cybersecurity has become a big concern for businesses, especially in banking and healthcare. As a result companies are looking for more data security specialists, who should see their starting salary go up six percent, to between $89,000 and $121,000

Also, company workers are using social media more to collaborate among themselves. As a result, businesses are looking for programmers who can develop software for these uses. Starting salaries here are expected to increase six percent, to between $70,000 to $110,000.

If you need great employees, whether in the IT or another business sector, contact Winston Resources. We can staff your New York City business with great people in temporary, temp-to-hire and direct-hire positions. We look forward to hearing from you!

f you work in human resources, you must often send memos and e-mails, create reports or PowerPoint presentations. Naturally, you want to make these writings as effective and powerful as possible. But how exactly do you go about doing that?

David Silverman, a former businessman and current business writing professor, has some advice on the topic.

First, he says, good writing contains a call to action. The purpose of business writing – good business writing, that is – is to get the recipient to do something – solve a problem, create a strategy, analyze or evaluate something. If your e-mail does not ask the recipient to do anything, why send it, Silverman asks.

His next piece of advice is – get to the point right away. The first line in your writing should explain what it is about and why you are sending it. You don’t want to create any mystery or suspense. What is the bottom line? Figure out what you want to say, and then say it. Don’t waste time with linguistic throat clearing.

His next piece of advice is not to assume anything. Often when we write we leave gaps in our explanations or in our assumptions because they seem obvious to us. Well, they may not be so obvious to the reader. Does the reader need to know that a certain project won’t work out if something else is not done, or that if a certain company goes under it will affect your firm? You need to fill in the gaps. One popular writing text suggests you imagine your reader peering over your shoulder as you write, asking you questions about what things mean. Do that, and then answer your reader’s questions.

If you then follow up on your original writing, don’t just assume everybody remembers what you originally wrote about. Fill them in again if necessary, Silverman says. If you are not sure everyone will understand the meaning of an acronym, explain it.

Another thing you need to be clear about, Silverman says, is exactly what your opinions are on the subject at hand, and what you want your reader to focus on. Your writing should give the reader options that he or she can respond to, Silverman says, instead of trying to make them read your mind.

Speaking of a “call to action”: if you need great workers for temporary, temp-to-hire or even direct-hire assignments in your Manhattan-area company, contact Winston Resources. We can fill your open positions with great people quickly and affordably. Contact us today!

As changes in management techniques, the economy and technology lead to changes in the workforce, employers are struggling to keep abreast of guidelines on worker classification.

Because of this, the Society for Human Resource Management has called on the federal government to clarify the statutory and other regulations that classify workers as employees or independent contractors. It is a need that is urgent, according to Christine Walters, a Society member and employment law attorney, who testified before Congress about the issue.

Each time a company enters into a relationship with a new worker, there is the challenge of asking the right questions to ensure that the worker is classified correctly, Walters said. And it does happen that employers do, without knowing it, make mistakes in classifying workers, she said.

The work environment in the 21st century has created a host of worker arrangements, some brand new, that companies now have to deal with, including part-time employment, flex-time and telecommuting schedules, leased employees, direct-hire employees, temp workers associated with agencies, per diem workers, and independent contractors.

Further complicating the situation is the fact that there is a patchwork of federal laws that apply to independent contractor arrangements, including the Family and Medical Leave Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Internal Revenue Code, the Fair Labor Standards Act, the National Labor Relations Act, and state unemployment insurance codes.

The Family and Medical Leave Act allows employees to take up to 12 months of unpaid leave of absence for the birth of a child or a serious family illness. The Americans with Disabilities Act mandates that employers make changes to protect the rights of people with disabilities. The Fair Labor Standards Act makes requirements relating to the basic minimum wage and overtime pay. It affects both public and private employers. It requires that companies pay covered employees at least federal minimum wage and overtime pay. The National Labor Relations Act explains the rights that employees have to organize and to bargain collectively with their employer through the employees’ representatives.

There needs to be more guidance and education from the government about the laws affecting workforce arrangements, along with more enforcement of them, Walters said.

employees and managers to stay in touch regarding performance benchmarks via online journal entries. Such tools make it easier for firms to align their employees’ tasks, projects and responsibilities with clear goals. The tools also help track performance on a year-round, on-going basis.

When you need to tap into the “hidden talent market” for your New York City company, contact Winston Resources. We have many excellent contract professionals available to serve at your firm on a temporary, temp-to-hire or direct-hire basis. We look forward to hearing from you.