Issue 16, January 2008   SECTIONS Articles & Insights WorkForce in the News EmpCenter Webinars Upcoming Events by Roger A. Smith, CPP & Payroll Consultant SMART New Year's Resolutions “Happy New Year!” In addition to party hats and champagne toasts, those words also bring to mind New Year’s resolutions. For many of us, New Year’s resolutions are an annual ritual of committing to self-improvement. However, studies suggest that as many as 90% of us break our annual resolutions and only achieve guilty feelings from falling short. [more]   OTHER ISSUES December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 SUBSCRIBE   Happy New Year from The Workforce Chronicle It's a new year and The Workforce Chronicle is back with more of the interesting, helpful and colorful from the world of workforce management. In our first issue of 2008 we'll look at the advantages of employee self-service and check in with the Payroll Prof for some New Year's resolutions. Congratulations to Joni Bell from Mattawan Public School District for winning a gift certificate to Amazon.com, our year-end giveaway for viewing one of our 2007 webinars in December! Featured Article Eliminate Stress and Implement a Payroll Best Practice – Employee Self-service In some way, we all strive to accomplish best practices. Trying to find the best possible way to accomplish a task, at home or at work, is a best practice. For many of us, we try to get more done in less time. For example, our two-day weekends are short, yet this is when we have time to run errands and take care of household tasks. We learn the most efficient routine to get our chores done, so we can also enjoy the weekend. It is the same concept on the job, although the goal may depend on your role in the organization. Maybe your goal is to get more work done in eight hours, so you can go home to your family. The CEO’s goal may be to cut costs for budget constraints, or to spend the savings elsewhere. To ensure success, there is a proven methodology to follow when implementing a best practice. COMPLETE ARTICLE   Articles & Insights Palmetto co. fined $167K in back wages A Palmetto environmental consulting company has agreed to pay $167,454 in back wages to employees following an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division. [more] Tyson employees file suit over pay Six employees of Tyson Foods, Inc., in Joslin, Ill., have filed suit against the company over time they spend at the plant, but are not paid for. According to the suit, the company does not pay employees working on the assembly line for pre- and post-production activities such as putting on and taking off personal protective equipment, cleaning and sanitizing equipment and walking to the production line from their locker, among other things. [more] Brooklyn Dry Cleaner Settles with Laundry Workers, Also Agrees to Pay Civil Penalty A local dry cleaner, after being investigated and sued by the U.S. Department of Labor, has agreed to pay his employees more than $30,000 in back wages. [more]   WorkForce Software in the News Control Labor Costs by Improving your Absence and Leave Management Process, PAYTECH, January 2008 More WorkForce Software In The News   EmpCenter Online Our comprehensive time and attendance solution is available as a fully hosted service, which runs on equipment hosted and managed by WorkForce Software’s experienced team. Ideal for organizations with limited IT resources, allowing them to focus on other tasks critical to your business. EmpCenter Online provides organizations with numerous financial and technical advantages: Low monthly fee covers all software, hardware, hosting, support, and upgrades Implementation costs can be incorporated into the low monthly fee Quicker implementation by our experienced team nets you a higher ROI Service level agreements are structured to ensure high uptime Conversion path to a customer hosted system is available WorkForce applies all updates and patches to the system System reliability is ensured through a redundant system architecture Privacy and security is ensured through the use of multiple layers of firewalls, SSL encryption, and VPN configurations Continuous monitoring of the system and fine-tune it for optimal performance Separate production and test environments allow you to test configuration changes prior to rollout Contact WorkForce Software for more information at info@workforcesoftware.com.   Webinars What are Payroll Best Practices? Change Management for the Payroll Professionals Time Collection for your Mobile, Field, Remote Workforce Process Modeling in the Payroll Department Strategic Planning in the Payroll Department Payroll Technologies: Past, Present and Emerging Top 5 Essential Practices for Payroll Professionals Controlling Overtime Pay with Scheduling Automation Trends and Myths of Workforce Management The Fair Labor Standards Act - A Review   Events Stop by to see WorkForce Software at the following 2008 Conferences. Texas Association of School Board Officials - TASBO Austin Convention Center March 4 – 6, 2008 Booth #950 CUPA-HR Midwest Region Conference Hyatt Regency Chicago March 16 – 19, 2008 Booth #110 HR Technology in Hospitality March 17 – 18, 2008 Wynn Las Vegas Booth #313 Colorado Association of School Board Officials - CASBO Omni Interlocken Resort April 9 – 10, 2008 Michigan School Board Officials - MSBO DeVos Place Grand Rapids, Michigan April 30 – May 1, 2008 APA’s 26th Annual Congress Austin Convention Center May 13 – 17, 2008 Booth #412 IHRIM 2008 Disney’s Contemporary Resort Lake Buena Vista, Florida June 1 – 4, 2008 Booth #231 APA’s Leadership Forum Austin, Texas August 2008 20th Annual Northwest Regional Payroll Conference Lynnwood Convention Center Lynnwood, Washington September 18, 2008 CUPA-HR National Conference & Expo 2008 Adam’s Mark Hotel St. Louis, Missouri October 12 – 15, 2008 Booth #303 HR Technology 2008 Conference McCormick Place Chicago October 15 – 16, 2008 Booth #646     Sponsored by: