Daily Archives: April 10, 2010

Careers, Compensation, Compensation & Benefits, Conflict Resolution, Corporate Culture, Employee Relations, Employment, HR, HR Consulting, HR Services, Human Resources, Labor Relations, Workplace

Acas Reports Increase In Those Seeking To Avoid Employment Tribunal Claims

Acas, the employment relations service, has released new figures that reveal the number of businesses and employees which are trying to avoid employment tribunal claims continues to rise in recent months.

Acas Reports Increase In Those Seeking To Avoid Employment Tribunal Claims

Monthly calls to the Acas helpline which, have resulted in being referred to the early conciliation service - pre-claim conciliation (PCC), have almost doubled since September. The free service aims to settle workplace issues which could escalate to an expensive tribunal.

By the end of February 2010, 8,304 PCC referrals had been made from the Acas helpline since the service was launched to accompany changes to the Employment Act in April 2009. Acas estimates that over 5,000 employment tribunal claims have been avoided already.

Rising demand for the service has resulted in a steady increase in referrals culminating in over 2,700 in the last quarter of 2009. The first quarter of 2010 is on track to exceed this figure by at least 20%. At the moment around 300 referrals are being received every week on average, and Acas expects this number to rise to about 400 during 2010.

Commenting on the figures, Ed Sweeney, Acas Chair said: “This data indicates that workers and employers are increasingly taking steps to avoid employment tribunals. The current economic climate has created difficult workplace challenges for managers, HR professionals and employees. The earlier issues can be sorted out, the more likely people will remain in productive employment in the workplace.

“The service is quick. Over half of all resolved cases are completed in around three weeks instead of the six to nine months that most tribunal claims take We have a responsibility to support the economic recovery by resolving workplace disputes early on and in doing so, avoiding costly, stressful and time consuming employment tribunals.”

The PCC service was launched in April 2009 alongside the new Acas Code of Practice on Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures following the Government’s Dispute Resolution Review in 2007.

Via EPR Network
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Joe Kiedinger Launches Program To Help People Connect Better With Co-Workers, Spouses And Children

Joe Kiedinger, founder and Brander-in-Chief of Prophit Marketing of Green Bay, believes that the number one killer of employee job satisfaction and workplace engagement is tension caused by unhealthy relationships and perpetual misunderstandings.

To help employers reduce tension and ultimately increase the level of employee satisfaction with their lives at both work and at home, Kiedinger is launching the About Me Card Program, an employee engagement system combining breakthrough communication approaches with supporting software.

The core of the About Me Card Program involves a practical personal assessment that reveals individuals’ fundamental motivations that are most essential to their happiness. With this information, human resources staff, business owners and managers can better understand what drives employees at the deepest level and can assist them with performing their jobs in a more meaningful and productive way.

Kiedinger is holding a premiere event for the launching of the About Me Card Program at 3:00 p.m. on Tuesday, April 27, at the Meyer Theater in downtown Green Bay. The event is free and open to the public and is being held in partnership with Junior Achievement. The event will include a presentation by Kiedinger, a demonstration of the software, a panel discussion, and live entertainment featuring Let’s Be Frank Productions.

Appearing on the panel will be Mark Skogen, President/CEO of Festival Foods; Dan Swift, General Manager of Dahl Automotive Group; Angela Owen, President of TBL Leadership Partners; Tom Thibodeau, Director of the Servant Leadership Program at Viterbo University; Chris Elliott, Managing Director of About Me International; and Kiedinger.

At the event, attendees will get a glimpse of two About Me Card Programs that will be released in 2011, About Me Kids and About Me Teens, as well as several technological enhancements involving social media.

According to Kiedinger, the About Me Card Program offers important benefits for employers. “When this program is applied to a business, it allows people to communicate clearly without misunderstanding, reduce conflicts, cut tension, hire right and match employees to jobs that fit their talents. In short, this tool creates a whole new level of cooperation and connection between people at work,” he says.

Kiedinger adds that “while all of these factors contribute to increased profitability, what is special with this program is that it helps employers do the right thing—make life better for their employees.” In addition, he says the program is also unique in that it helps facilitate the development of leaders across organizations.

Kiedinger says the most notable feature of the About Me Card Program is its simplicity. “I like to call it a ‘Monopoly’ property card except that instead of being about property it is about a short list of rules to help people successfully connect with one another. The software enhances the experience by allowing people to communicate effectively at the click of a mouse. No other assessment offers this level of immediacy and practicality while providing relevant individualized information,” he says.

Kiedinger says the About Me Card Program is an ideal culture-building tool that can easily become a company’s training program or be integrated into an existing training program. He also says the program can help improve employees’ personal lives by minimizing if not eliminating workplace tension that they would typically bring home with them at the end of the workday.

The About Me Card Program is already being used by a wide array of organizations, and the initial results have been very positive, according to Kiedinger. Organizations that are currently using the program include the United Way of Brown County, Festival Foods, Trig’s, Dahl Automotive, Al Huss Auto & Truck, The Selmer Company and TBL Leadership Partners. In addition, the program is scheduled to be used by a Campbell’s Soup Company plant in Texas in May.

Kiedinger notes that the About Me Card Program continues to draw inquiries from a variety of interested parties, including some organizations from China.

A white paper on the About Me Card Program is available. “How to Produce Highly Motivated and Engaged Employees in the Face of Today’s ‘What’s In It For Me? Workforce’ ” is available at www.aboutmecard.com.

Via EPR Network
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