Last Thursday, January 22nd marked Astron Solutions 10th anniversary.
We would like to thank everybody who visited all of us at the office to
help us celebrate this wonderful occasion. And we just want to send out
our sincerest thanks for making all of this possible! The continued
support of Astron has been amazing, and we hope to be able to say this
again in January of 2019 for the 20th Anniversary!
Also, keep an eye out for special 10th Anniversary events all throughout 2009!
Fact or fiction: Men own the germiest places in the office.
Fiction (We were surprised too.)
Women’s office spaces are three to four times germier than their male
counterparts' office space. How is this possible? Well, women tend to
have more stuff in general on and around their desk and workspace. More
stuff translates to more potential places with germs.
There were over 100 surfaces tested for germs. Here are a few examples of which gender has it worse:
- Telephone: Women had more germs than men
- Mouse: Again, women more germs than the men
- Desk (the actual desk surface): Men more germs than the women
For the full article and a listing of the most common items in a workspace,
click here.
Trade show season is inching ever closer…grab your calendars and mark
Astron’s first Road Show events of 2009. Our first show of the New Year
is in Houston, TX. National Director, Michael Maciekowich, will be
presenting at the Houston Society of Healthcare Human Resources
Administration held on Wednesday, February 18th, 2009. For more
information, please
click here.
Astron’s
next show is held in Albany, NY as part of the Capital Regional Human
Resource Association (CRHRA) on March 19th. Director of Client Services
Paul Hart Miller will be there meeting and greeting.
Then on April 28th through April 30th, Astron
Solutions will be exhibiting AND presenting at the SHRM Staffing
Management Conference held in Las Vegas, Nevada. There, National
Director Jennifer C. Loftus will be giving a presentation and meeting
with the attendees at our exhibit booth.
As more details and shows become available, we will surely pass them along.
We hope to see you there!
2008 was a memorable year for human resource professionals. There were
far more challenging events in 2008 than in many prior years. The
events of 2008 have also altered numerous human resource strategies for
years to come. Below is a summary of some of the key events we’ll be
discussing for years to come.
U.S. Presidential Election
We
elected Barack Obama, an African American, as President. Hillary
Clinton, a woman, ran against him for the Democratic nomination. Sarah
Palin, another woman, was on the Republican slate as the Vice
Presidential candidate. These events raised diversity awareness
throughout the country. Along with these accomplishments came increased
demands on human resource professionals to develop systems and programs
to support and encourage diversity throughout their organizations.
Financial Service Organizations Bailout
The U.S. Government provided AIG with about $150 billion to rescue it
from collapsing. The reasons for AIG’s decline are complex. There were
allegations of wrong-doing. Our economy survived Enron. Large companies
failed before. This was different. The AIG event triggered a widespread
loss of consumer, investor, and employee confidence. Human resource
professionals experienced increased scrutiny in administering all forms
of executive compensation and challenges from employees who wanted more
open disclosure on compensation decisions.
Votes on Gay Marriage
Californians first allowed same sex marriages in June then voted to
outlaw it in November. Connecticut legalized gay marriage. Human
resource professionals were left, in many cases, unsure as to how to
approach issues of domestic partnership not knowing which way state
regulations would turn.
Smartphone Sales Skyrocket 2008 U.S.
sales of Smartphones, such as BlackBerries, grew at a rate of more than
70% each quarter over the corresponding quarter in 2007. Comparable
global growth rates were in the range of 10-20% –huge figures in a
stagnant economy. More people are more connected than ever. Human
Resource professionals are challenged more and more to keep pace with
the rapidly changing technological landscape. With changing technology
come demands from executives and employees for HR to develop
organization-wide systems for more rapid disbursement of information
and analysis of data.
Governmental Leadership Collapse NY
Governor Eliot Spitzer resigned after admitting to being involved with
a prostitute. Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich was accused of selling
Barack Obama’s senate seat. Detroit’s mayor, Kwame Kilpatrick, was
indicted on eight felony charges, including perjury, obstruction of
justice, conspiracy to obstruct justice, and misconduct in office
because of an affair. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
Alphonso Jackson resigned as federal investigators looked into
accusations that he steered housing contracts to friends. Human
Resource professionals were challenged to ensure policies and
procedures governing ethical behavior in the workplace were in place
and enforced.
Housing Bubble Bursts While Gas Prices Fluctuate Wildly
Unprecedented rise in housing prices. Unqualified borrowers. Subprime
mortgages. Credit crunch. Foreclosures. Economic crisis. Gas prices
soar to $4.00 per gallon then drop below $2.00. Human Resource
professionals were challenged to set 2008 and 2009 compensation budgets
that were both responsible to the organization’s ability to pay and
employees’ needs to make ends meet. At one point in 2008 many
organizations considered increasing current compensation budgets and to
develop alternative travel support for employees. Others were
investigating special financial counseling programs to help employees
survive personal housing challenges. We’ll be exploring the housing
issue in more depth in an up-coming issue of Astronology.
In With Marijuana, Out with Trans Fats
Michigan legalizes medicinal marijuana. Massachusetts decriminalizes
marijuana. New York City California bans trans fats. Human Resource
professionals had to review their policies on substance abuse and
wellness to ensure compliance and to meet increasing employee demands
for healthier workplace environments.
Wall Street Bonuses
Executive pay was all over the news. All of a sudden,
everyone is a compensation expert. Now that we’re using our tax money
to save some of these companies, the government is taking an interest
too. Again, human resources, especially compensation professionals, is
under increased pressure to ensure all compensation programs have been
designed to be reasonable, equitable, and ethical.
Unemployment Rate Highest in 26 Years
The unemployment rate is heading above 7 percent, and rising steadily
as of this writing. The rate is higher than it’s been since 1982. While
the pool of potential employees has grown, Human Resource professionals
are challenged to ensure key talent is retained and motivated,
especially when the short-term financial gains of layoffs may appear
lucrative to some executives.
These are just some of the key events of 2008 that shaped
2009’s human resources strategies. Human Resources has taken a critical
role in both supporting and shaping the ever-changing employer-employee
landscape. Clearly, retention and rewards came to the forefront in 2008
while the go-go recruitment strategies of past years took a back seat.
2009 will undoubtedly prove to be an interesting year, one where those
HR professionals and organizations with both short- and long-term
strategies that balance conflicting needs will most likely enjoy the
greatest success.
Wonder what your fellow readers think about critical HR topics? Is your organization unique from or similar to others?
Click here to view the results of our past polls!
An article from guest author,
Employ Voluntary Programs to Enhance Your Benefit Offerings
Fact or Fiction?
If you have a topic you would like addressed in Astronology, or some
feedback on a past article, don't hesitate to tell us! Simply reply to
this e-mail. See your question answered, or comments addressed, in an
upcoming issue of Astronology. Looking for a top-notch presenter for your human resource
organization's meeting? Both Jennifer Loftus and Michael Maciekowich
present highly-rated sessions on a variety of compensation and employee
retention issues. For more information, send an e-mail to
info@astronsolutions.com.
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Copyright 2008, Astron Solutions, LLC
ISSN Number 1549-0467
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