It’s a dog-eat-dog world out there. A lot of companies are seeing increasing costs and decreasing profits. Since profit is the point, many executives and small business people — like many of you — are doing what they can to cut costs to thrive and stay alive. 

Many times that means changing the structure of the company and those changes often mean demotions for some employees. Demotions also come poor performance. A survey from the Robert Half Company’s OfficeTeam said 47% of human resource managers say they’ve had to demote one or more employees.

Reasons vary:

•  39% of the HR managers said poor performance is the reason

•  38% said the person didn’t succeed at the job once promoted into it

•  16% noted the company was restructuring or eliminating the position

•  6% said the demotion was voluntary

Brandi Briton is Office Teams district president. She said, “A demotion may happen for a variety of reasons, including performance issues, organizational changes and an employee requesting fewer responsibilities due to personal or career priorities”

She said demotions are a tough but a new reality. “It’s never easy to accept a lower role, but workers can show their professionalism and bounce back by keeping their emotions in check, understanding the root cause and performing at a high level to position themselves for future advancement,” Briton added.

Bouncing back includes:

•  Understanding why the downgrade happened

•  Seeking detailed information about the new job

•  Asking how they can improve

•  Asking if training is available

•  Asking if the demotion can eventually be reversed

Briton said an employee needs to weigh all the options and decide whether they want to make the most of the new position or to look for work elsewhere.

Other findings:

•  Men — 19% — were more likely to be demoted than women — 7%

•  HR managers said 22% of employees aged 18 to 34 were more likely to be downgraded

•  Just 10% of those 35 to 54 suffered downgrades

•  Only 3% of people 55 and over were demoted

•  One in 10 — 14% — of the work population have been demoted

•  Of those demoted, 52% quit

•  The other 48% tried to make a go of it

•  47% of those demoted said they lost interest in work

•  41% took the news well and focused on excelling in the new job

The survey was done by OfficeTeam and touched over 300 HR managers in U.S. companies with 20 or more employees. The company also talked with 1,000 workers aged 18 and over working in offices.

Source link: Carrier Management

January 2017 was a good month for insurance industry employment. The U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) said most insurance sectors saw a rise of employment in the first month of 2017.

Insurance Information Institute (I.I.I.) economist and senior vice president Steven Weisbart, Ph.D., CLU, analyzed the report. It’s a good news-bad news scenario. Yes, the January figures are good but they may not continue. The good news, under a Republican presidency and Congress changes may be coming for insurance that are good.

For agents and brokers January saw 11,400 jobs added to the workforce. That’s up 1.5% from January of last year and puts the employment level for agents and brokers at 781,900. The report says employment in the segment is strong and has been for the last three years. In July of 2012 there were 660,700. The rise of 121,000 is 18.3%.

Independent claims adjusters saw a rise of 4,000 to 59,600. The increase is 7.2%.

Health carriers saw gains. But year over year the jump is only 0.4% or 1,900. Health employees now sit at 470,900.

Life and annuity carriers employment is 6,400 to the good compared to 2016. That’s 1.9% and the number of employed in life and annuity is 350,600.

Reinsurance saw an employment rise of 100 over 2016 or 0.4%. Those employed in reinsurance is 24,900.

Job increases aside, the staffing firm Robert Half and Happiness Works who does analytics asked 12,000 U.S. and Canadian workers to ID their country’s most stressful jobs. By profession, insurance hit number-two and was beaten only by legal as the most stressful possible job.

Here’s the list:

1.    Legal

2.    Insurance

3.    Healthcare and wellness

4.    Hospitality and food services

5.    Financial services

6.    Education and training

7.    Administrative

8.    Manufacturing

9.    Accounting

10. Human resources

11. Marketing or creative

12. Finance

13. Technology

When it comes to how stress differs from job to job, Robert Half found:

•  Semi-skilled or agricultural workers are the most stressed

•  Staff level professionals are in the middle of the pack

•  Senior executives — believe it or not — are the least stressed

Robert Half and Happiness Works said the things that create stress on the job are:

•  Workplace culture

•  Leadership

•  Workload demands

Source links: PropertyCasualty360.com, Carrier Management

A new federal overtime rule goes into effect on December 1st. Employers will be forced to pay overtime to salaried workers making less than $47,500 a year. It’s a drastic change and close to double to today’s $23,660.

The Obama administration’s rule is not sitting well with Republicans and with business groups. All are calling it a federal overreach. Critics say it is going to force employers to put more salaried workers into hourly positions. Layoffs are a likely result because salaried executive, administrative, professional and computer employees are now eligible for overtime.

Early last week — led by Texas and Nevada and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce — 21 states filed a lawsuit to stop the rule. They’re saying it is going to place a very heavy burden on state budgets for one, and business budgets for another.

Speaking for the states and the Chamber, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said, “Once again, President Obama is trying to unilaterally rewrite the law. And this time, it may lead to disastrous consequences for our economy.”

U.S. Labor Secretary Thomas Perez isn’t too worried about the suit being successful. He says the government is on sound legal and policy footing. And as proof, Perez said today only 7% of full-time salaried workers are entitled to collect overtime. In 1975 that figure was 62%. “I look forward to vigorously defending our efforts to give more hardworking people a meaningful chance to get by,” Perez said.

The suit contends the U.S. Labor Department overstepped its authority and increased the salary threshold way too drastically. It also believes the department failed to account for the cost of living variables from region to region.

Source links: MSN Money, The Hill, Insurance Journal 

The Jacobson Group and the Ward Group do an annual survey on jobs. It is called the U.S. Insurance Labor Outlook Study. This year’s study found 66% of insurance companies are going to hire in the next 12 months. 

That’s the highest rates the survey has seen since it began in 2009.

Jacobson Group CEO Gregory Jacobson said September’s survey last year saw a percentage of 65%. And those hiring then and in the next 12 months say they’re doing so in spite of the fact they expect business to be down. “The continued focus on increasing staff paired with mass retirements and virtually non-existent industry unemployment will only further interfuse an already challenging recruiting environment,” he said.

Here’s what else the survey found:

•   Just 4% will decrease staff in the next 12 months

•   Technology, claims and underwriting is where hiring will take place

•   The hardest jobs to fill are technology, actuarial and executive

While there are no current stats on how agencies will be hiring in the next 12 months, we do know that wages at independent insurance agencies — and captives, too — are rising at a phenomenal rate. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said the average salary of an insurance agent today is $64,790.

In 2013 that figure was just $47,450.

Of course the usual factors — geography, the employer involved and experience — set up just how much an agent is paid. Agents in the East and in New England make the most money and some hit low six-figure incomes. In the PIA Western Alliance states just agents in Oakland-Hayward-Berkley, California hit the six-figure average at $104,900.

As for the PIA Western Alliance states, here are the average incomes:

•   Alaska — $31,780 - $54,340

•   Arizona — $54,810 - $60,340

•   California — $66,350 - $94,040

•   Idaho — $60,650 - $65,320

•   Montana — $54,810 - $60,340

•   Nevada — $54,810 - $60,340

•   New Mexico — $31,780 - $54,340

•   Oregon — $60,650 - $65,320

•   Washington — $54,810 - $60,340

One possible reason for rising salaries — other than desperation to replace retiring workers — is the improving economy. And a better economy means employees are looking to see where the grass is greener.

A survey from Aon Hewitt titled Workforce Mindset checked in with 2,000 employees. It found 52% of employees are wide-open to the possibility of leaving their current employment and 44% are now actively seeking.

To defend yourself — if you’re an employer — you need to offer:

•   Above average pay — 62%

•   Above average benefits — 61%

•   A fun place to work — 58%

•   A flexible work environment — 57%

•   A strong values fit — 56%

Ray Baumruk is the employee research leader at Aon Hewitt. He said, “To keep and attract the highest performers, employers need an authentic employee value proposition that sets them apart from competitors. Even more importantly, organizations must listen to their employees to understand and foster a culture where employees’ expectations and desires are closely aligned with the employment experience they offer.”

Employees also want to be engaged:

•   They are 15% more likely to be engaged when workplace communication is open and honest

•   They are 11% more likely to be engaged when they feel they are encouraged to share ideas and opinions

Source links: Insurance Journal, Insurance Business America, Carrier Management

The background checking company HireRight said a lot of potential employees — and probably employees you have on the payroll now — lied on their resumes. Only the company doesn’t peg it as lying. To placate the politically correct, the term used is “misrepresentation.”

And those “misrepresentations” — according to the 2016 HireRight Employment Screening Benchmark Report — are usually job history and education backgrounds. The company says of the 3,500 firms they checked in the recruiting, security and management professional arena:

•  88% said of the resumes they check have misrepresentations

•  84% have job history and education credential issues

These — HireRight’s Mary O’Loughlin says — would not have been found without a thorough background check. But these days with workers who are increasingly mobile and in a job market that grows more competitive by the day, background checking has become very complex.

“As businesses invest in expanding their employee base, increasingly looking to non-traditional employees to do so, it is more important than ever that they institute a thorough screening process to bring in the most qualified candidates. Providing a positive candidate experience during this process has lasting implications for employee engagement, retention and, ultimately, a company’s brand,” she said.

These are the most popular and used background checks:

•  89% — Criminal and other public record searches

•  77% — Identity like Social Security Number validation and so on

•  64% — Previous employment

•  55% — Driving records

•  50% — Education

Businesses are also changing how they do business which also complicates background checks. Contract work and temporary workers are more common now than in the past and 81% of those responding to the survey said they are now doing more screening of this type of worker.

That’s close to double the 48% checked five-years ago.

Here’s what else they’re finding:

•  More employers are now screening candidates who have lived, worked or studied abroad.

•  19% of those responding say they’re looking at people with non-U.S. backgrounds.

•  In 2015 the number was 15%.

•  Screening practices are also changing because of relaxed medical marijuana laws.

Businesses report having a lot harder time keeping up with their employment needs. A whopping 53% say they find finding, retaining and developing talent a top business challenge.

Challenge or not, a lot of businesses are finding they’re able to retain their older, more experienced talent. While the baby boomers are now hitting retirement age, about 20% say they’re still working.

When asked about retirement:

•  27% say they’ll work as long as possible.

•  12% say they will not retire at all.

The big question is why. A survey from Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies found some answers:

•  60% say making money and earning benefits is one reason they won’t retire now.

•  Over half of those surveyed said they have financial problems and need the money anyway.

•  60% have no money in 401(k) or other retirement accounts.

•  36% say they are working past 65 because they like their jobs and don’t want to quit working.

Addressing those that want to keep working and not just for financial reasons, a study by the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College found those with college and graduate degrees tend to work longer than those without.

That’s pretty good news because a lot of employers tend to want their older workers to stick around. Replacing that experience and skill level is not that easy says a different study done by a different group with close to the same name. It’s the Center for Retirement Research.

It found in 1985 the highest salaries of a career was earned in your 40s. By 2010 the highest earnings shifted from the 40s to the 50s. Today, all workers older than 50, earn more than they did 25 years ago. And those in their late 60s are making 30% more.

One last point … those in their 60s now have more time to do what they want to do. The life expectancy is lots higher than it used to be and if a person takes care of themselves, they can work longer and it won’t cut into their retirement fun.

And working — some studies say — keeps a person healthier.

Source links: Insurance Journal, Employee Benefit News