Five quick links to some useful web tools. OK, well mostly useful - one is just to make you laugh.

Dictionary of Occupational Titles - alphabetical index to the Dictionary of Occupational Titles as supplied electronically by the US Department of Labor.

Everybody's Legal Glossary - plain-English definitions for hundreds of legal terms, from the common to the bizarre, brought to you by NOLO, a legal publishing firm.

Seat Guru - if your job requires business travel, you will appreciate this site that offers actual layouts of planes so you can preview your seat and flight amenities. You can also access the airline's info and policies about check-in, baggage, and traveling with infants and pets.

Video tutorial on how to use RSS readers - if you read several blogs a week, a more efficient way to do it is to subscribe to an RSS reader. This brief video tutorial will teach you what you need to know. Also see Frank Roche's great post from KnowHR on What Everybody in HR Ought to Know About Blogs and How to Read them Fast.

7 Funny Newspaper Job Wanted Ads - or how NOT to write a job ad.

Posted by Julie Ferguson on July 11, 2008 at 8:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Ta-da List - the web's easiest to-do list tool. It's free and you can make lists just for yourself or share them with others. If you would like to manage multiple to-do lists, try the tabbed listaculous. One of the best things about these web-based tools is that you can access them from anywhere.

26 reasons why most brainstorming sessions fail - and what you can do about it.

Marker board walls - need lots of space to jot down ideas in those brainstorming meetings? Kevin Kelly's Cool Tools gives you a rundown on available options from cheap tile board to upscale ceramic-coated metal.

Get Things Done Flowchart

Six tips for more effective meetings

Get Human allows you to bypass automated telephonic self-help filtering systems at hundreds of companies to speak directly to a human customer service representative. If you've ever been shuffled back and forth at a giant telco, retailer, or bank, this list might cut your waiting time and frustration.

Google tips and tricks
If you are simply using Google for basic searches, you are missing a lot of utilities. The following tips list just a few of the handy ways you can use Google.

Check local weather
To see weather conditions and a four-day forecast for a particular U.S. or worldwide location, type "weather," followed by the location or the zip code.
Examples: weather 01778 or weather Paris

Check the time at a remote location
Enter the word time and the location in the search box.
Example: time London

Track flight status and weather conditions
Enter the airline and flight number in the search box.
Example: United 535
To check airport weather conditions and delays, type the airport's three letter code followed by the word "airport"
Example: Bos airport

Convert currency
Enter the amount of US dollars and the desired currency in the search box.
Example: 50 US dollars to euros

Specific site search
To restrict your search to one particular site, first enter the term you want to search for, then the word site followed by a colon followed by the site you want to search.
Example: wellness site:www.hrwebcafe.com

Links back
Find out what other sites link to a web page. Enter link:websiteURL into the search box.
Example: link:www.hrwebcafe.com

Dictionary
Type 'define' followed by the term you need a definition for in the search box
Example: define:harassment

Calculator
Type your math problem in the search box
Example: 647+268=
More instructions on Google's calculator.

For more Google tips, visit Google Guide for interactive online tutorials.

Posted by Julie Ferguson on May 28, 2008 at 1:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Phishing is a type of email fraud in which the sender impersonates a trusted source to try to gain access to passwords, credit card numbers, and other sensitive information. The victim is at risk of theft, identity theft, or contacting malicious computer viruses. Fraudulent e-mail is frequently disguised as a message from a bank or a trusted merchant. Scam e-mails often contain a link to a site that either requires the person to enter sensitive data or instructs the user to download a special program. These fake e-mails often look and sound very authentic - even experienced users can be fooled. But over time, consumer education has alerted many to the scams and most people know better than to give out sensitive information without vetting the source.

Spear Phishing
Scammers continue to up the ante. More recently, these fraudulent e-mail scams have gotten more sophisticated, targeting specific companies in a practice often called spear phishing, which is a more targeted approach. In these attacks, the phony e-mails masquerade as communication from within the organization - such as from the HR or IT department or from a specific manager. Last week, there was a report of spear phishing emails that targeted CEOS through emails disguised as court subpoenas.

Keep informed, educate your employees
Employers need to stay alert about new phishing scams and need to educate their workers about scams to protect the organization from vulnerabilities - it only takes one chink in the armor to launch an internal attack. Two good sources are the FBI e-scams and warnings update and the Anti Phishing Work Group, an organization which stays on top of the latest scams and is a good source of consumer information and education about phishing scams. In how to avoid phishing scams they offer consumer pointers, among them:

• Be suspicious of any email with urgent requests for personal financial information
• Don't use the links in an email, instant message, or chat to get to any web page if you suspect the message might not be authentic - call the company on the telephone, or log onto the website directly by typing in the Web adress in your browser
• Avoid filling out forms in email messages that ask for personal financial information - you should only communicate information such as credit card numbers or account information via a secure website or the telephone
• Always ensure that you're using a secure website when submitting credit card or other sensitive information via your Web browser
• Consider installing a Web browser tool bar to help protect you from known fraudulent websites.
• Regularly log into your online accounts (to ensure that there has been not fraudulent activity)
• Ensure that your browser is up to date and security patches applied
• Always report "phishing" or “spoofed” e-mails to the following groups:
  * forward the email to reportphishing@antiphishing.org
  * forward the email to the Federal Trade Commission at spam@uce.gov

Make a policy that you will never ask for confidential employee information (passwords, credit card numbers, social security numbers) via e-mail and publicize the policy widely. Use newsletters, company meetings, and bulletins to publicize security tips and to teach your employees that whether at work or at home, they should never share confidential information via e-mail. Here are a few consumer quizzes you can use to test their - and your - knowledge:

Phishing IQ Test
Catch a phish - take the quiz
On Guard Phishing Quiz (flash, sound)
Can you spot the phishing?

Posted by Julie Ferguson on April 21, 2008 at 11:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

If you've ever managed a worker who has been diagnosed with cancer, you know the challenges that it can pose, both in terms of your own interactions with the person, and also in terms of supporting and managing concerned colleagues. It can be a difficult and delicate balance, offering support and flexibility for the employee while managing within the policies and needs of your organization. We've compiled some excellent resources from around the web that might be helpful to you and to your employees.

Managing Through Cancer Principles - offers a set of principles, resources and tools for organizations and managers that want to support employees with cancer and their co-workers. The site offers a set of principles along with manager/employee responsibilities and suggestions for developing supportive time-off policies, such as paid time off and leave banks. The site also discusses telecommuting and flex time options. While the guideline is specific to cancer and cancer treatment, most of the principles are applicable in managing employees with any life-threatening illness.

Beyond the matter of principles and policies, there is the very real matter of how managers and colleagues should talk to an employee who has been diagnosed with cancer or who is dying of cancer. Often, people who are grievously ill become isolated because friends and colleagues are uncomfortable and simply don't know what to say or how to deal with the person - so they simply avoid things. Here is a list of some very helpful resources offering guidance for how to talk to and interact with a person who has cancer.

Top 10 Dos and Don'ts when someone in you life becomes seriously ill is a short, practical guide with solid advice.

Supporting a friend who has cancer also offers Dos and Don'ts for things to say, along with a list of practical ways you might offer help and good gift ideas to show your support.

Quick tips for everyday situations offers suggestions for how colleagues and friends can be supportive of and respond to everyday situations, such as a coworker diagnosed with breast cancer, a relative with clinical depression, or how to offer help to a blind person in the gym.

How to talk to a friend with cancer is a discussion board thread that links to some very helpful articles, but more importantly, shares the real-life experiences of people who are living cancer and people who have lost loved ones to cancer. This is a rich, frank, and very touching discussion by and for the real experts - people who are living/have lived through real life situations.

Remember, these are the types of situations where your EAP can offer real support and resources - be sure to recommend the services of your EAP to both the person who is ill and their family members. Also, check to see if your EAP offers help and guidance for supervisors.

Posted by Julie Ferguson on April 10, 2008 at 11:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We've previously discussed the importance of helping the military to return to work. Of the 1.5 million troops that have served in Iraq and Afghanistan, approximately one in every four is a "citizen soldier" serving in the ranks of the National Guard or the Reserves. In many cases, they will be returning to resume jobs at former employers.

As we've learned from the experience of returning vets in past wars, the transition is not always an easy one. Many who return are IED survivors with serious physical injuries such as amputations, burns, and traumatic brain injury (TBI). Many others suffer from an array of behavioral health problems such as depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). One recent Pentagon study identified that as many as one in three returning troops have mental health problems six months after their return. The study showed that the transition is even harder for citizen soldiers than for active-duty soldiers: "About 42 percent of the Guard and reserves, compared to 20 percent of active-duty troops, were identified as needing mental health treatment in two screenings. The first testing was immediately upon return from Iraq and the second six months later."

Helping to ease the transition back to the workplace
The Disability Management Employer Coalition and several large insurers teamed up with military and veteran advisers to examine the challenges and opportunities facing returning veterans and to identify employer-based resources and strategies to help ease the transition. The group, calling themselves the Workplace Warrior Think Tank, has produced a useful guide for employers: The Corporate Response to Deployment and Reintegration Highlighting Best Practices in Human Resources and Disability Management * (PDF).

The following are among the group's most important best practice recommendations:

• Establish a Military Leave and Return Policy covering employees who are members of the Reserves or National Guard. A key component of that policy is to communicate the range of benefits and programs that apply, including provisions of the federal Uniformed Services Employment and Re-Employment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA), which requires job protection for all employees who are deployed regardless of the size of the employer.
• Inform civilian employees (such as those who work for defense contractors) who are assigned to work with the United States military overseas of the benefits programs available to them. In particular, employees should understand the federal Defense Base Act, which will cover them during their overseas assignment.
• Evaluate the effectiveness of the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) and behavioral health services to help returning employees (including members of the military and civilian employees assigned overseas) who have been diagnosed with or who are exhibiting symptoms of major depression, generalized anxiety or post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
• Use good general disability management practices that apply, including:
  - maintaining communication during absences;
  - celebrating employees’ return to work;
  - giving employees adequate information about benefits prior to deployment;
  - allowing time to reintegrate after an extended absence;
  - considering accommodations to assist the employee’s return to productivity;
  - recapping changes while employees were gone;
  - establishing red flags to help supervisors identify potential problems; and
  - obtaining commitment from senior management to ensure that programs are given strong support and a cultural presence.
• Offer sensitivity training to managers, supervisors and co-workers on issues and challenges faced by civilian soldiers during deployment and post-deployment.
• Provide mentoring programs to link returning civilian soldiers with veterans in the workforce. The commonality of military experience may forge bonds among colleagues to support the successful reintegration of returning workplace warriors.

EAPs identified as a vital resource
The Workplace Warrior Think Tank stressed the importance of employers having not just an EAP, but one that is well equipped to address the full spectrum of behavioral health issues that are common to re-acclimating veterans, particularly PTSD and depression. In addition, the EAP must be poised to address the many family problems and stresses that can surface both during and after deployment. According to congressional testimony by Todd Bowers, Director of Government Affairs for Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, 27% of soldiers now admit they are experiencing marital problems, and 20% of deployed soldiers say they are currently planning a divorce. And a CBS investigation points to a veteran suicide rate that is twice that of average Americans.

Employers must train supervisors and HR staff to spot warning signs for problems early and must have resources in place for referrals to appropriate help and support services. For employers who will have returning citizen soldiers, the next EAP renewal might be a good time to kick the tires and ensure that it is up to providing the serious support and mental health services that will be needed. The transition will not be a once-and-done matter, but a long-term issue that America's employers will be dealing with over the next few decades.

*More information and a copy of the full Guide are available through the Disability Management Employer Coalition.

Posted by Julie Ferguson on March 14, 2008 at 2:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

We're happy to see more and more blogs emerging that focus on human resources and the workplace. Here are a few blogs that we've been watching and will add to our blogroll:

Race in the Workplace - a blog that explores how race and racism influence our working lives. In addition to providing link roundups to good articles and links on diversity issues, the blog also features some thoughtful essays. Here are a few recent topics: politics in the workplace; why some people discriminate against people of their own race; and the corporate divide between black and white women

The Monster Blog - This is a blog written by staff of the online job giant, Monster. But the blog doesn't necessarily focus on finding jobs or finding job candidates. Rather, the team describes their effort as, "...a chance to write about an array of issues in a free-form style. Sometimes we'll talk about the day's big news stories and sometimes we'll muse about workplace microwave etiquette -- just depends on the day." A pretty good way to get a sense of what the Monster Blog is all about is to skim through their Top 12 Monster Blog Posts of 2007.

The HR Capitalist - not a newcomer to the field, this well-designed and interesting blog by Kris Dunn has been up and running since December of 2006. He describes his interests as " ...the intersection of the HR practice, technology and business results in today’s organizations. I have a strong interest in areas like recruiting and performance management, but keep an eye towards the thousand other areas that impact HR Generalists at every level." In today's post, he talks about why reading SHRM is like eating an unsalted cracker - suggesting that the organization needs to go beyond its meat & potatoes fare by offering customization and opinions - and hiring a few bloggers. He notes that, "Getting and keeping a seat at the table means you have opinions, even if they are unpopular. There's a name for people without opinions in our profession - they're called administrators."

Welcome to the World of HR - This is a blog by staff of Astron Solutions, an HR consulting and technology firm. It covers link roundups to HR news, as well as a series called "What I'm Hearing" where bloggers opine on various topics, such as workplace romance, executive compensation, and 401ks.

Posted by Julie Ferguson on February 11, 2008 at 8:58 AM | Permalink

In the cool tools department, we offer a must-bookmark reference site for your health and wellness program: HealthExecLynx, which bills itself as "agile inks for busy health care executives." With more than 1,100 links , it's a gateway to links for all things health-care related, from health policy blogs and health news sources to governmental concerns and health care associations. Don't miss the other health care links page, offering dozens of useful and entertaining resources, ranging from HospitalLink and Centerwach Clinical Trials Listing Service to Quackwatch and eSkeletons Project
The site is provided by the Department of Health Policy and Administration is one of the oldest and most respected programs in health administration in the U.S. and part of the School of Public Health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Posted by Julie Ferguson on January 26, 2008 at 9:45 AM | Permalink

What do managers do, anyway? Casey Stengle defined management as "getting paid for home runs that someone else hits." What's your definition? Ask a Manager offers a breakdown of what managers are responsible for.

Give this man a job for a week - One Week Job - Sean Aiken is attempting to work 52 jobs in 52 weeks and blog the results. He says he will travel anywhere and invites employers to hire him for a week.

One of our favorite stops - Susan Heatherfield always has well-researched information on her Human Resources blog on about.com. This week, she experienced a nearby tornado and used the occurrence as a springboard to discuss the importance of every workplace having an emergency plan. A timely post as it coming as it does in the midst of hurricane season and on the heels of the California fires.

Health & Wellness - Nursing Online Educational Database offers a list of the top 100 health and wellness blogs.
The Visual Medical Dictionary is an interesting way to explore medical issues. Enter a disease, therapy or drug and begin exploring relationships.

Love me, love my candidate - as we gear up to the upcoming election year, it might be helpful to think about how politics can affect things at work. Scott Flander of Human Resource Executive discusses potential impact on the work force when the boss talks politics. Also, see our past post on When politics spills over into the workplace.

Multiculturalism - The Multicultural Advantage looks to be a good resource. It offers " ... a wealth of articles, job opportunities, event listings, research, tools, downloads, links and other resources for professionals from diverse backgrounds. The site also addresses the needs of diversity recruiting and workplace diversity professionals who are seeking to reach & understand them."

Communication - The American Sign Language Dictionary is a great visual learning tool. Pick a word from an alphabetized list to view a short video clip of someone making the sign for that word. It's both useful and rather fun.

Posted by Julie Ferguson on October 26, 2007 at 2:18 PM | Permalink

Our hearts go out to all the folks suffering in the terrible fires and related chaos in southern California. In the aftermath, there will no doubt be crisis-management lessons for employers in how to communicate with and support employees, just as there were HR lessons from Katrina.

Your technology and web staff should be front line soldiers in crisis planning and crisis management. The Web offers numerous tools that employers should learn to harness for both their public and Intranet sites in the event of natural or man-made emergencies. To learn more about these technologies and to view them in action, see Using Social Media Services to Track the California Fires. This article offers links and discussion about how Google, Flickr, YouTube, Twitter, Wikipedia and del.icio.us are being harnessed to offer real time updates, news, and resources about the San Diego area fires.

Note: some of the following links may change or expire as the situation evolves.

Nate Ritter offers an excellent example of how one individual is providing an important public service via the text messaging tool, Twitter. News station KPBS also has a good Twitter news feed.

Some very interesting (and terrible) updates are being provided via Google Map mashups, which bloggers and programmers are cobbling together quickly. This KPBS News map displays fire burn areas, evacuation areas, evacuation centers, road closures, and more. This blogger is mapping the homes that have been claimed by fire in his neighborhood of Rancho Bernardo. His blog, And Still I Persist is an example of the valuable role that bloggers can play in a disaster.

As they were during Katrina, newspaper message boards become an important gathering point for local residents to share information, resources, and help to neighbors. The Union-Tribune's SignOnSanDiego wildfire forums have logged tens of thousands of messages since yesterday, grouped by geographic areas. Many distant folks have been reading these boards to keep track of areas where friends and family live.

And don't forget—one other vital employer resource during and after an emergency is an employee assistance program. Sadly, there will be many, many hurting people when this terrible fire has run its course.

Posted by Julie Ferguson on October 23, 2007 at 12:19 PM | Permalink

We've found a few new blogs and resources that you might find useful. There are brief introductions to each in this post and we've added them to our sidebar. (If you haven't checked out our sidebar lately, why not take a few minutes to poke around? There's an expanding collection of links to other business blogs and general HR resources.)

HR Metrics - The stated goal of this site is, "To help organizations optimize their performance by being the best source of HR metrics." The site has several useful components:

• Metrics Center - offering templates and formulas that can be used to measure safety, training, benefits, hiring, and many other organizational matters.
• Library - a compilation of hundreds of articles by HR experts on various topics, with an emphasis on metrics.
• Blog - We note with some interest that the blog's most recent entry is on Measuring EAPs, suggesting that one standard for measuring effectiveness is to chart your EAP's impact on retention. There are several other excellent recent entries, as well.

KnowHR Blog - This is a smart and fun HR blog - it includes book reviews on HR literature, posts on serious HR issues, and a generous dose of humor, something we really like. How can you not like a blog that tells you about paper airplanes for HR pros?

HR Daily Advisor - offers a free daily newsletter from BLR, but you can also simply visit the blog's daily posting. Search hundreds of archived tips by chronological date or by topic matter. Today's post captures some of the baseball fever that's in the air: Workplace Lessons from Baseball's Cal Ripkin Jr.

Posted by Julie Ferguson on October 19, 2007 at 11:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

October is Cyber-Security Awareness Month. We received a newsletter from one of our clients, the Connecticut Department of Emergency Management and Homeland Security (DEMHS) which included 8 important cyber safety practices compiled by the National Cyber Security Alliance. We thought it would be a good list to share with our readers, and Commissioner James Thomas of the CT DEMHS has granted us permission to do that. We've summarized the tips and provided links back to the source for more detailed information. We think these would be good tips to pass along to employees in your organization, too!

Eight Cyber Security Practices to Stay Safe Online
The widespread availability of computers and connections to the Internet provides everyone with 24/7 access to information, credit and financial services, and shopping. The Internet is also an incredible tool for educators and students to communicate and learn.

Unfortunately, some individuals exploit the Internet through criminal behavior and other harmful acts. Criminals can try to gain unauthorized access to your computer and then use that access to steal your identity, commit fraud, or even launch cyber attacks against others. By following the recommended cyber security practices outlined here, you can limit the harm cyber criminals can do not only to your computer, but to everyone's computer.

However, there is no single cyber security practice or technological solution that will prevent online crime. These recommended cyber security practices highlight that using a set of practices that include Internet habits as well as technology solutions can make a difference. The National Cyber Security Alliance's Top Eight Cyber Security Practices are practical steps you can take to stay safe online and avoid becoming a victim of fraud, identity theft, or cyber crime.

1. Protect your personal information. It's valuable.
2. Know who you're dealing with online.
3. Use anti-virus software, a firewall, and anti-spyware software to help keep your computer safe and secure.
4. Be sure to set up your operating system and Web browser software properly, and update them regularly.
5. Use strong passwords or strong authentication technology to help protect your personal information.
6. Back up important files.
7. Learn what to do if something goes wrong.
8. Protect your children online.

Posted by Tami Hodges on October 9, 2007 at 9:20 AM | Permalink

Learn how much your organization's turnover is costing. The University of Wisconsin offers an Online Employee Turnover Calculator

The Charity Navigator is a great resource for researching potential recipients of your organization's philanthropic efforts. The site uses a rating system to evaluate a charity's financial health and offers advice on safe and responsible giving. The site has received many media accolades for the service it provides.

Is your workplace as green as it could be? Calculate your office footprint to see how you stack up and to access some useful resources.

Here's an interesting site that is a clever resource for your wellness program: What does 200 calories look like?. The site is designed to help people make better, more informed nutrition choices by depicting photos of a 200-calorie portion of various foods.

Dread those upcoming presentations? Dumb Little Man, a blog that focuses on productivity and other matters, offers basic public speaking tips for newbies and follows up with some tips for making killer presentations. You might also view this amusing You Tube clip showing you how NOT to use PowerPoint in your presentations.

The Glossary of Health Insurance Terminology is a useful reference tool to keep in your bookmarks come benefit renewal season. Also, the Glossary of Terms in Managed Health Care.

Want to have "mad skillz" when it comes to online searching ability? Try this handy reference list to learn about deep searches: Research Beyond Google: 119 Authoritative, Invisible, and Comprehensive Resources

Have a zip code but don't know what location it's associated with? Use this handy zipdecode map to find out - simply click the map and type in your zip code.

Posted by Julie Ferguson on September 6, 2007 at 9:53 AM | Permalink

Lately, there's been a spate of grim headlines about domestic violence resulting in deaths: the professional wrestler who killed his wife and young son and then himself, and the pregnant Ohio mother who was murdered, allegedly by the father of her child. Domestic violence is certainly nothing new but, occasionally, high profile cases such as these bring the issue to the forefront.

Because we spend so much time at work, colleagues and supervisors are often in a unique position to spot signs of domestic violence and employer can often play a critical role in directing the employee to help through referrals to an EAP or other community resource. In the past, the "none of my business" type of thinking often prevailed, but today employers know that problems at home rarely stay at home. All too often, domestic abuse comes right to the workplace:

• Homicide is the leading cause of death for women in the workplace.
• Of the approximately 1.7 million incidents of workplace violence that occur in the US every year, 18,700 are committed by an intimate partner: a current or former spouse, lover, partner, or boyfriend/girlfriend.
• Lost productivity and earnings due to intimate partner violence accounts for almost $1.8 billion each year.
• Intimate partner violence victims lose nearly 8.0 million days of paid work each year - the equivalent of more than 32,000 full-time jobs and nearly 5.6 million days of household productivity.

The Family Violence Prevention Fund identifies an annotated list of seven reasons why employers should address domestic violence. Here's a quick summary:

1. Domestic violence affects many employees.
2. Domestic violence is a security and liability concern.
3. Domestic violence is a performance and productivity concern.
4. Domestic violence is a health care concern.
5. Domestic violence is a management issue.
6. Taking action in response to domestic violence works.
7. Employers can make a difference.

The site also offers an excellent list of case histories of what some progressive employers are doing to combat domestic violence and suggests actions that both large and small employers can take to combat domestic violence.

Some of the basic things that employers can do include:

• Instituting a workplace zero-tolerance policy for workplace violence
• Providing secure work environments
• Raising awareness of the problem by educating your employee
• Reminding employees that help is available for domestic violence
• Training managers and supervisors to be alert for potential signs of domestic abuse
• Having referral protocols and resources in place for employees who need help - preferably an EAP or a social service experienced in dealing with domestic abuse

New York's Office for the Prevention of Domestic Violence offers a Domestic Violence Model Workplace Policy Initiative with specific Guidelines for Employers along with a model policy for private employers.

Some other good resources include:
American Institute on Domestic Violence
Safe@Work
Delaware Coalition Against Domestic Violence
The Corporate Alliance to End Domestic Violence

Posted by Julie Ferguson on June 28, 2007 at 11:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

The cost of depression in the workplace can be steep: lower productivity, higher absenteeism and higher medical costs. Some studies put the national price tag for untreated depression in the workplace as high as $80 billion a year.

How much does employee depression cost your organization? The Depression Calculator is a tool that provides employers with a financial snapshot of workplace costs associated with untreated depression and the potential savings that would accrue by helping employees suffering from depression to obtain treatment. Results are tailored to organizations based on size, industry type, location and age/sex breakdown of the work force.

The tool was compiled by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA)in 2004 and was reissued again earlier this year to reflect new economic data. It uses a Productivity Impact Model, a research-based management tool, to predict the number of days of absenteeism and associated costs, as well as to project the net savings from treatment.

The calculator is broken into four sections. Participants first enter basic demographics about their type of business and various characteristics of their work force, such as size and composition based on age and sex.

The second section charts the expected prevalence of depression based on these responses and estimates the lost time and medical costs that untreated depression are likely to incur. The third section estimates the likely reduction in absenteeism and medical costs if employees get treatment and the fourth section estimates the incremental benefits over a three year period.

In addition, the Depression Calculator site includes a good list of resources about depression for employers and for individuals who might be suffering from depression.

Posted by Julie Ferguson on June 21, 2007 at 7:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Are you protected? Online security
Identity theft is a growing problem for individuals and organizations. Passwords are one of the most fundamental online security measures, yet most people are fairly careless in creating a password, opting for convenience and memorability over security. If you want to be really scared, check to see how quickly a password can be breached by a determined cracker when it is just a combination of letters and numbers. Then try this password checker to test the strength of your favorite passwords. So just how do you create a password that is secure enough to foil the evil-doers, but simple enough to remember? Here's a simple tutorial that teaches you how to create and use strong passwords - useful information that would be well worth sharing with your staff in the next company newsletter.

Enhance your employee communications
Trying to come up with some ways to dress up a report or to present a complex concept to employees in your next presentation? This periodic table of visualization might be a good idea generator. This clever tool categorizes various types of graphical representations and suggests ways they might be used. Simply let the page load, and hover over any of the elements.

Once you've determined the way you'd like to present your information, use this list of nifty tools for drawing diagrams, charts and flow-charts. And a site called "Brainy Betty" has free PowerPoint templates and backgrounds, as well as a variety of tutorials, tips, and tricks to help you create better presentations.

Regulatory compliance

• The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) Overtime Calculator Advisor - this calculator will help you determine the correct payment of overtime, under federal law. Remember to check with state law, too. (thanks to Jill Pugh of Employment Law Blog)
• U.S. Department of Labor State Workers' Compensation Laws - state by state comparisons of various benefits and regulatory provisions, such as the waiting period and which states are employee or employer physician choice.
• IRS guidelines for determining whether a worker is a contractor or an employee for tax purposes. Check with your state law on this matter, too.

Increase your productivity
There's been a delightful profusion of productivity sites cropping up over the last few years, many of them geared to discussing ways to use online tools to simplify and organize your personal and professional life. Lifehacker.com is a blog that focuses on harnessing technology to enhance your productivity. We love the philosophy: "Don't live to geek; geek to live." Not to be confused with lifehack.org, a blog dedicated to lifehacks or "... any hacks, tips and tricks that get things done quickly by automating, increase productivity and organizing."

Can't get enough productivity tools? This list compiles the top 50 productivity blogs (most of which you haven't heard about). It's a great list - the only downside is that if you check them all out, there goes your productivity for today ... but think of it as an investment in your future.

Posted by Julie Ferguson on May 23, 2007 at 4:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

From time to time, we like to pass along some of our staff's favorite bookmarks and handy dandy Web tools. Here's a roundup of a few that you might find useful.

The Days Off Calculator is a useful tool for any organizations that have complex staffing needs, such as retail, call centers, and assembly operations. It assists in scheduling staff over a 7-day week by working out how many workers can have any given pair of days off (Saturday/Sunday, Sunday/Monday, etc.) and still fill the staffing requirements. Enter how many people you need each day and it tells you how to set up your employees' off-days.

Drug Digest is a great resource for your wellness programs. It bills itself as "the most comprehensive source of noncommercial, evidence-based, consumer-oriented drug information on the Internet." Access reference materials on drugs, vitamins, breakthrough medical research, and state-of-the-art disease management. It includes a drug interactions database for checking potentially harmful drug interactions and a variety of other helpful interactive tools.

Policies, Handbooks: Samples and Examples - About.com's Human Resources site has an extensive list of sample policies, job descriptions, and handbook examples that can be used as guides when developing or revising your own policies and procedures.

OneLook Dictionary Search is an essential bookmark, allowing you to search multiple dictionaries at once through a single interface. OneLook includes more than 5 million words in more than 900 online dictionaries. Find definitions, find translations of a word in other languages, or use wildcards to search for that word that you don't know how to spell. Try it out with today's word of the day - a quick definition can be found on the right, and more detailed information from a variety of sources can be accessed from a list on the left.

Google docs and spreadsheets - did you know Google has a suite of free Web-based collaborative tools? If you've ever tried to keep track of various versions of a document or spreadhseet as it passes through many hands, this is a good tool. You can share, collaborate, and edit from various locations in real time.

Quickies:
How much can you save with paperless pay? Use this ROI Calculator to find out.

Benchmarking you business - Statistics of U.S. Businesses from the US Census Bureau.

Relax - ten steps to a less stressful commute.

Want to ensure that your work force is operating at its most productive? The 10 C's of employee engagement.

Posted by Julie Ferguson on March 1, 2007 at 7:22 AM | Permalink

Holidays come with a price and you probably have plenty of employees struggling this month to pay all the bills from the “Christmas Shopping Season”. We at ESI offer comprehensive financial counseling to our members but if you don’t have this type of benefit, check out some of the links below to offer resources to troubled employees. Or review them for yourself if you spent beyond your budget. When we are thinking about how to make ends meet we are not thinking about our work.

www.nfcc.org
This Web site of the National Foundation for Credit Counseling helps users find a nonprofit credit counselor in the user's area. It also offers how-to advice, such as a how to request a copy of your credit report, and a budget calculator that compares your monthly spending to others.

www.practicalmoneyskills.com/english/index.php
Geared toward teens but useful for adults, this site by Visa teaches the basics of money management in an engaging way.

www.cardweb.com
www.creditcards.com
www.bankrate.com
All things credit card oriented. Cardweb.com is where to go for third-party information about the credit-card industry, as well as news and commentary for consumers about individual cards and card issuers. CreditCards.com is sponsored by credit-card companies, and is loaded with offers broken down by rates, special offers and special needs. Bankrate.com is a major clearinghouse for consumer finance information. It includes credit-card basics and calculators that let consumers determine their credit and budget, and tally how long it will take to pay off debts.

www.dinkytown.net
This amazing site offers calculators on any aspect of your financial life you want to know about, and some you may not want to know about. Various functions tell your net worth and estimate how much you need to save to retire without having to start a lemonade stand at age 75.

www.fueleconomy.gov
At this U.S. Department of Energy site you can search for the cheapest gas prices by city, and compare automobiles' gas mileage, greenhouse gas emissions, and pollution and safety ratings. The site also includes tips on how to get the best gas mileage out of your vehicle and information on hybrid and alternative fuel vehicles.

www.zillow.com
Want to check on the estimated value of your home, and also peek at the values in the neighborhood? Go to Zillow and plug in your address and watch the magic happen. You get a satellite or line drawing view of the neighborhood with accompanying prices based on records from sales, physical characteristics of the homes and so on. You can use the My Zestimator tool to add information, such as about remodeling, that will refine the estimate. You also can request information on comparable homes, which could come in handy in doing research if you are considering appealing your tax assessment.

www.interest.com
Check this simple yet thorough source for information on mortgages, home equity loans and lines of credit. Calculate what you can afford to borrow, or look at what you gain or lose using an adjustable-rate loan vs. a fixed-rate loan. The site also explains financial terms.

http://cflbulbs.com
This is an easy switch most of us never think of. Compact fluorescent bulbs promise a seven-year lifespan and lowered electric costs. Cflbulbs.com also contends: "If every household in the U.S. replaced just one incandescent light bulb with an energy-efficient compact fluorescent light bulb, it would eliminate the equivalent of the emissions created by one million cars. And that's only one bulb per household! Most homes have 15-30 bulbs."

Posted by Tina Simson, Vice President, Regional Director on January 25, 2007 at 7:28 AM | Permalink

TradePub.com - Why pay for trade publications if you can get them free? At TradePub, qualified professionals can subscribe to free trade publications and technical documents. Browse by industry and geographic eligibility to find the titles that best match your skills and interests, then simply complete and submit an application form. Some publications offer generous trial subscriptions, while others offer ongoing free subscriptions. There are a variety topics - here's a quick link to the available Human Resources publications.

Benchmark your business - Ever wonder how are you doing compared to others in your industry? BizStats is an interactive site offers small to mid-size organizations instant access to useful financial ratios, business statistics and benchmarks. Simply select your industry and enter your revenue to determine if your expenses are above or below national industry averages. The site also offers links to dozens of statistics for various industries.

Quick MBA - Been putting off enrolling in that MBA program? In the interim, pay a visit to Quick MBA. The site is self-described as an online knowledge resource for business administration operated by the Internet Center for Management and Business Administration, Inc. It's a very handy reference tool!

Acronym Finder - Awash in industry jargon and pesky acronyms? The HR field is notorious for an alphabet soup of abbreviations and acronyms - this invaluable resource offers some welcome relief.

Newspapers24 - Need to find the local newspapers for your regional offices to submit a job ad or keep in touch with local headlines? This site is your one-stop shop, linking to 12,000 newspapers worldwide.

Posted by ESI on January 9, 2007 at 1:10 PM | Permalink

The Department of Labor (DOL) announced the first-ever Drug-Free Work Week is scheduled for October 16 - 22. The stated purpose is to educate employers, employees and the general public about the importance of being drug-free as a component of improving workplace safety and health and to encourage workers with alcohol and drug problems to seek help.

We recently discussed the high toll that substance abuse can take in the workplace, and the importance of implementing a drug-free program. In fact, certain employers are mandated by law to implement a drug-free workplace. Failure to have such a program can be costly for both employers and employees alike:

• Alcohol and drug abuse cost the nation $246 billion annually, or nearly $1000 each for every man, woman and child.
• Substance abuse problems cost American business an estimated $81 billion in lost production.
• Up to 40 percent of industrial fatalities and nearly half of all industrial injuries can be linked to substance abuse.
• One in five workers report that they have had to work harder, redo work, cover for a co-worker or have been put in danger or injured as a result a fellow employee's drinking.
• Substance abuse is estimated to cause 500 million lost workdays annually.

The DOL offers an extensive variety of suggested activities and programs that employers can implement at their work site, with links to other resources. Below, we are excerpting a few that we see as vital.

Implement a Drug-Free Workplace Program—Drug-Free Work Week is the perfect time to launch a Drug-Free Workplace Program if your organization does not already have one. Such programs are natural complements to other initiatives that help protect worker safety and health. To learn more about them, visit DOL's Working Partners Web site. In particular, the site's Drug-Free Workplace Advisor Program Builder offers detailed guidance on how to develop a Drug-Free Workplace Program, starting with the first step: a written policy.

Promote your Drug-Free Workplace Program—If your organization already has a Drug-Free Workplace Program, Drug-Free Work Week is a logical time to ensure the program is adequate to meet current needs and to remind employees about its important role in keeping them safe while on the job. One way to do this is to distribute to all employees a copy of your drug-free workplace policy, along with a positive message about valuing health and safety, and then provide an opportunity for them to ask questions about it, perhaps through an open forum or privately.

Train supervisors—Supervisors are the individuals closest to an organization's workforce. As part of Drug-Free Work Week, organizations can conduct training to ensure supervisors understand their organization's policy on alcohol and drug use; ways to deal with workers who have performance problems that may be related to substance abuse; and how to refer employees to available assistance. Working Partners offers more information on Supervisor Training, including ready-to-use training materials.

Educate workers—To achieve a drug-free workplace, it is critical that an organization educate its workers about the nature of alcohol and drug use and its negative impact on workplace safety and productivity. Drug-Free Work Week is a natural time to step up such efforts through training sessions, guest speakers or brown-bag lunches. Working Partners offers more information on Employee Training, including ready-to-use training materials. If employee education is already a regular activity, a Drug-Free Work Week program could be offered on a specific timely topic such as the abuse of prescription drugs or methamphetamine.

Remind employees about the availability of EAP or MAP services—If your organization has an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) or Member Assistance Program (MAP), Drug-Free Work Week presents a perfect opportunity to remind them of its availability. Such programs offer free, confidential services to help all employees, including supervisors, resolve personal and workplace problems, such as substance abuse. They also offer confidential substance abuse screenings as well as brief intervention, if warranted, and help employees locate local treatment resources. Working Partners offers more information about EAPs.

Posted by ESI on October 13, 2006 at 7:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

We all know that turnover is costly, but do you know just how costly? Do you know what your costs are for hiring a new employee? Or what it costs your company if you make a bad hire? There are a variety of free online tools and widgets to help you assess these costs and figure them into your planning. Here are a few tools that we've found useful.

A handy resource that's well worth bookmarking is a page of useful HR calculators compiled by the Recruiters Network. These include a Cost Per Hire Calculator, a Recruiting Costs Calculator, a calculator to assess the Cost of a Bad Hire, a Moving Calculator to help determine relocation costs, a variety of calculators to measure the turnover rates or costs, a Salary Calculator to learn comparable salaries for hundreds of U.S. and international cities, and an Hourly & Annual Wage Rate Converter.

Aon Workforce Strategies also has a pair of valuable tools. Their Absence Cost Estimator calculates your direct and indirect costs of absence and their Turnover Cost Estimator calculates your direct and indirect costs of turnover. Both tools help you to determine the magnitude of the problem and provide a baseline to measure future performance.

ADP Screening and Selection Services offers a Bad Hire Calculator to help you assess how much a single bad hire could cost your company.

HR Software offers a page of links to a variety of turnover calculators.

The Society of Human Resource Managers (SHRM) has compiled a list of links to a variety of compensation and benefit calculators, including salary wizards, cost of living calculators, and inflation calculators.

Posted by ESI on October 10, 2006 at 1:53 PM | Permalink

Dangerous work - What are America's most dangerous jobs? (free registration may be required) The Bureau of Labor Statistics released its annual report on workplace fatalities (PDF), complete with graphs and charts about what types of events cause fatalities and in which industries fatalities occur most frequently. Transportation incidents lead the list, accounting for 43% of all fatalities. At 14%, homicides are the second most frequent cause of work-related deaths. While the raw number of fatalities seems to have taken a slight dip, work fatalities have increased for Hispanics, blacks, and women.

E-mail burden - A typical office worker gets more than 100 e-mail messages a day. In an article entitled Businesses Struggle Under Growing Weight Of E-Mail, Information Week explores issues of productivity, confidentiality, archiving, and e-mail monitoring. And as if the burden of e-mail weren't bad enough, a Rutgers study is suggesting that workers can become "techno-addicts," potentially creating new employer liabilities. Is information and communication technology (ICT) addiction the stress claim of the future?

Workers comp fraud - Workers Comp Insider talks about claimant fraud and how to avoid it. But workers aren't the only perpetrators of fraud - fradulent employers cost the system $30 billion a year.

Unhappy workers? - Are your professional workers good targets for recruiters? Yes, if they aren't happy with their current job. Workforce Week reports on a recent survey that points to a downturn in employee satisfaction. At least one-third of the survey participants were noncommittal about staying in their present job. The article suggests that employers need to be proactive in establishing programs and communications to ensure worker retention.

Susan Heatherfield of About.com's Human Resources talks about employees' most frequent complaints, and offers a unique prescription for employers to enhance satisfaction and ensure retention: Put more fun and humor in the workplace.

Another reason to keep employees happy - An article by Leah Carlson Shepherd in Employee Benefit News discusses the link between disability and depression and suggests that integrating mental health and disability benefits can help to lower costs and improve health outcomes.

Posted by ESI on August 24, 2006 at 12:17 PM | Permalink