35 PER CENT of US companies have said they will assess the design of their retirement programs this year
THIRTY-FIVE per cent of US companies have said they will assess the design of their retirement programs this year. The study of 146 large US companies revealed that organisations are planning to become more proactive in their efforts to educate and make it easier for employees to participate in their retirement programs. Results showed companies were offering the following in terms of funds:
Target maturity/premixed lifestyle 85%
Automatic enrolment 58%
Investment guidance 54%
The study also found that 34 per cent of organisations already couple or plan to couple automatic enrolment with contribution escalation features. Almost 60 percent of companies (57 percent) already offer or are very likely to offer automatic rebalancing in 2007, up from 47 percent in 2006.
Source: Hewitt Associates
More Aussies require better work culture
SIXTY-FOUR per cent of Australian employees have said a different work culture would help them do their job better. Of the 967 respondents surveyed, 25 per cent described the culture of their work as “passive aggressive”, behaviour that is typically characterised by blame-storming, procrastination and complaining. Others described their workplace as jovial, schizophrenic, hyperactive, introverted and even manic depressive. In addition, 25 per cent of those surveyed placed the blame of a counter-productive work culture on their boss.
Source: Talent2
UK graduates do it tough
THIRTY-THREE per cent of university graduates feel they did the wrong course with the costs and related debts stopping them from buying a house, starting a family and saving for retirement six years after graduation. A report of 876 graduates from the UK in 2000 and 2005 found 23 per cent of those who graduated in 2005 said they would choose a different course such as a scientific/technical course and 22 per cent would choose a business-based course or a professional qualification. The increase in average starting salaries between those who graduated in 2000 and 2005 is just 8 per cent with those graduating in 2005 and earning a mean starting salary of £19,451 ($49,242), while 2000 graduates are beginning with a mean of only £18,016 ($45,609).
Source: Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development
Aussie workers end of year spring clean
THIRTY-NINE per cent of Australian workers put clearing their email inbox at the top of their agendas before the start of the new year. According to the survey, workers across the country were more focused on domestic duties within the office such as:
Surprisingly, tasks that rated lowest on agendas were asking for a pay rise (11 per cent), plans to resign (9 per cent), and debriefing clients or colleagues on the year that passed (13 per cent).
Source: Linkme.com.au
European financial execs reap the benefits
FIFTY-TWO per cent of European organisations have no maximum bonus for executive positions. According to a survey of 1,000 employees at 33 top multinational banking and insurance companies, over 70 per cent of compensation for financial services chief executives is paid through bonuses and long-term incentives. Demand for chief risk officers was made evident as they received average salary increases of 14 per cent during 2006. Other positions that received above average salary increases included heads of:
Treasury 12%
Communications 10%
Human resources 9%
Among the survey respondents, 39 per cent reviewed their long-term incentive plans during the last 12 months, or are currently reviewing them. Insurance chief executive officers received median long-term incentives worth 210 per cent of base salary compared to 170 per cent of base salary for banking chief executives.
Source: Mercer Human Resource Consulting
New laws cause change in payroll systems
SOME 31 per cent of organisations have reported updating their payroll systems to handle the impact of the WorkChoices legislation. The survey of 200 organisations in New South Wales showed that a further 17 per cent of companies were currently reviewing their payroll infrastructure as a result of the legislation for calculations regarding annual leave entitlements, shift work, award interpretation and time-keeping. More than 50 per cent of organisations claimed they faced difficulty in satisfying the differing internal staff requirements when deploying a new payroll system.
Source: PayGlobal
