Does the free market’s creative destruction create more than it destroys?  Do oligopoly conditions (a small number of sellers dominating an industry) undermine free market theory?

The Global Human Resources Outsourcing (GHRO) team would like to know the answers to these and related questions, so we’re sharing a discussion of the issue, which is on the agenda at The HRO Today Forum, currently taking place in Washington, D.C. at the Gaylord National.

“A Workforce Congress: Insourcing, Outsourcing, & Job Creation” is the title of a panel headed up by Richard Crespin, Global Executive Director of the HR Outsourcing Association (HROA).

Free markets contrast with controlled markets in which prices, supply or demand is directly controlled.

In a recession, existing businesses shed jobs in an effort to cut costs and hoard cash for the lean months ahead, Crespin argues.  As the economy recovers, they start to add these jobs back.  It’s “economic churn,” not new economic growth.

To move the conversation beyond economic churn, the HROA convened HR Officers from large and small companies to discuss how to can create a more competitive workforce for companies, for America, and for the world.

The HROA also hosted a debate on “Is outsourcing good for America?”  This debate directly takes on the question of whether the free market’s creative destruction creates more than it destroys.

Oligopoly is at the heart of the counter-argument about the free markets concept.  The term “free market” itself reflects an idealized mathematical notion of how people behave, in that the emergent prices are a natural “push and pull” of supply and demand. In economic theory this is called “perfect competition,” because it occurs only when there are a large number of customers and a large number of suppliers in a market for goods which are optional purchases. In a perfectly competitive market, the ideals of a free market essentially exist. This was the economic theory of the 1960s to 1980s.

What’s happening now? The current trend in economics observes that big markets rarely operate in this perfect competition – because human beings are conscious of markets, they seek profits, they shut out competitors, and they corner markets as monopolies and oligopolies.  The result: fewer jobs all around.

Let us know what you think by commenting below.

The old fashioned online job board has gotten nimble and smart, according to author Brent Skinner writing in the March issue of HRO Today.  In his article “Job Board Stiff?”  Skinner writes that search and social media are challenging large boards to adapt and evolve their models to accommodate new realities.

Skinner’s recommendations get the “Good Job Hunting Seal of Approval” from the Global Human Resources Outsourcing (GHRO) team.

Organizations seeking to hire top talent now have the responsibility for owning their online career advertising presence through syndication and one-to-one engagement via social media, notably Facebook and LinkedIn. A savvy organization, employing social media intelligently, can quickly get in front of highly targeted passive talent. For instance, setting up an employment page on Facebook means that every time a new opening posts to the page, it will display in all fans’ home feeds.

Old job boards are boring. They’re one-way, mass communication devices largely bereft of personalization and interactivity, attractive only to the most desperate of job seekers.

“Old-think” job boards are on the wrong side of history. But job boards are anything but becoming extinct. “New-think” boards just look a lot different from their predecessors.

Simply Hired and other job boards fall under the category of aggregators. These, along with Monster, are large boards that display job ads pertaining to as many industries as possible. Their scope is national, even international, and they have countless regional counterparts.

Then there are the niche job boards—narrowly focused on single industries, professions, or needs. For example, this category includes FlexJobs, which posts to its board only jobs that are work-from-home friendly—a larger and more dynamic constellation of jobs than conventional wisdom might suggest.

The future of job boards requires that they integrate social media, help hiring companies leverage search engine marketing to optimize postings for a longer shelf life, and build a talent community wherein they help candidates grow and evolve in their jobs.

Managers of the job boards that will flourish must understand that they reside at a confluence of variables, all exerting an influence on the changing nature of the job hunt. These factors include employer brand, job seeker engagement, search engine-driven sourcing and more.

In the end, they’re all seeking the Good Job Hunting Seal of Approval.

This week’s record-breaking winter weather has walloped over 30 states and affected one in three Americans.  In weather this severe, emergency officials advised people not to travel unless absolutely necessary, lest they get stuck in blinding conditions or massive snow drifts.  To many, the thought of curling up under a blanket beats going out in a blizzard any day.  So the kids get to stay home on snow days, but when do their parents get to stay home from work?

The truth is, employment law doesn’t dictate when a business must close for weather—closing a business is solely the employer’s judgment call.  Many businesses may choose to stay open in severe weather, depending on demand for their goods and services.  This is especially true of grocery stores, gas stations, hotels, and public-service industries like police and fire departments, hospitals, and snow plow operations.  It makes business sense to stay operational if there is legitimate work to be done, even in a blizzard.  Plus, businesses in areas that are used to winter snow will be less inclined to close due to weather, thanks to efficient snow removal.

But what happens to employees when businesses make the call to close?  From a human resources standpoint, businesses that close for weather are not required to pay hourly or non-exempt workers.  Like any other workday, these employees must be compensated only for the hours actually worked.  Exempt employees are another matter.  Businesses that close for a few days due to weather must pay their exempt employees who were ready and able to report to work.  On the flip side, businesses do not have to pay exempt employees who were unavailable to report to work, for example, due to the weather, transportation, or child care issues.  An exception occurs when businesses close for an entire payroll week because of weather, flood, or power outage.  Under these circumstances, exempt employees who perform no work for the week—not even checking e-mail from home—are not required to be paid.

It’s 2011, and with a new year brings a new way to steer your small business toward success!  One strategy you might not have considered: enlisting a professional employer organization (PEO) like Global Human Resources Outsourcing to take care of your business’ Human Resources needs.  By partnering with a PEO like GHRO, your business will benefit from a skilled and efficient Human Resources team at a fraction of the cost of maintaining an internal HR department.

So what can GHRO do for your business?  Our experienced specialists provide all the services of complete HR and payroll departments.  We’ll act as your personal staffing agency; start to finish, from developing a customized recruitment strategy, to screening potential candidates, to assisting with employee selection and negotiations.  Additionally, we’ll function as your payroll department, keeping abreast of the latest payroll laws and regulations.  We’ll also act as HR consultants and risk managers, monitoring safety and workers’ compensation law, government compliance, and employee benefits.  We can also help you establish an employee wellness plan, an employee handbook, and other strategies to best fit your business’ unique needs and goals.  With GHRO, you can efficiently outsource the employee relations that can stress your business’ time and budget.

With GHRO on your side, you’ll be gaining a trusted business advisor, just like your CPA or attorney.  So let us assume the risks and responsibilities of maintaining your employees while you concentrate on your core business.  We have a package to meet the needs of any small business.  Contact us today to see how your business can benefit from GHRO!

As we look toward a new year, many of us start thinking about how to change ourselves for the better.  That’s where the New Year’s resolution comes in.  Several consistently popular resolutions across the years: to lose weight, to exercise more, to manage stress, to quit smoking, and to drink less alcohol.  What do all these resolutions have in common?  They’re related to health and longevity.  As we look toward a new year, why not consider giving your employees the gift of health through an employee wellness program?

Wellness programs focus on employees’ physical well being, including medical requirements and general health.  Wellness programs offer a variety of health-related solutions, which may include weight loss plans, stress management training, smoking cessation programs, nutrition coaching, physical fitness advice, behavioral health therapy, and physiological testing, like blood pressure screenings and cholesterol checks.  If your business already offers an employee wellness program, why not give the gift of a special alternative therapy, such as a massage session?  Your employees will thank you well into the New Year.

How can healthy employees benefit your small business?  Perhaps the most obvious way is through reduced absenteeism.  Healthy employees show up ready to work and to keep productivity levels high.  They also arrive with improved morale and loyalty, since well-cared-for employees are more likely to feel appreciated by and connected to their employer.  This also contributes to the invaluable harmonious workplace.  Healthy employees also provide the business with reduced health care and insurance costs and, indeed, lower overall costs.  Dollar for dollar, the investment into an employee wellness program is well worth the return.

If your business is interested in establishing an employee health and wellness program—or improving upon an existing program—GHRO can help with our HR Total Solutions Package.  With GHRO Total Solutions, your business will be on its way to an employee wellness program, and it will also have direct access to unlimited services, such as asset protection, cost containment strategies, and turnover reduction strategies.  With nearly one hundred years of combined HR experience, GHRO’s team is committed to meeting your HR needs.  Visit our website to receive a free quote.

To the relief of consumers, a large percentage of United States companies are bringing their call centers back to American shores. Many have found it difficult to interact with call center operators, as the operators often find themselves easily confused by slang and vernacular used by native English speakers.  Because of this disconnect in communication between caller and operator, callers are becoming less likely to use information or help hotlines and often ending their phone calls more bewildered than they began­– without the help, clarification, or instructions they were seeking in the first place.

In response to the widespread disappointment from American consumers, companies are bringing their call centers back home meaning ease in communication as well as an increase in jobs available across America.  While companies have previously found it very profitable to outsource jobs, the payoffs are now nowhere near as high as they used to be.  Inflation, as well as a rise in the pay expected in foreign countries, has pushed the cost of outsourcing to popular “call center countries” such as India and the Philippines through the roof.  Once companies began to take the cost and quality of service provided through their call centers into consideration, many began to bring their business back home to the States.

Another bonus for American firms seeking a solution to their call-center dilemma: they are now able to contribute further to strengthening the American economy.  Experts currently estimate that hiring someone in Nebraska to work at a call center costs only 15% more than hiring an employee in India.  Take into account any potential tax-breaks the company may receive for hiring new (American) employees, as well as the impact that employee could have on their local economy, and the benefits of an American-run call center begin stacking up.

American consumers are voicing their opinion about their feelings about outsourcing customer service overseas. Reports have been conducted that have found customers expressed more favorable feedback when they perceived a call center in the U.S.

A few facts about American Call Centers:

• Consumer satisfaction is 1/5 higher when calls are (or are perceived) to be handled within the United States.
• Consumers are more likely to have their problems solved when the person handling their call can understand the issue and properly articulate the solution.
• The opportunity cost of employing operators in other countries is beginning to far outweigh the benefit.
• U.S. companies are looking for cost-effective, economy-building labor solutions across the board.  Housing their call centers at home, rather than abroad, brings more employment opportunities for unskilled laborers and strengthens the lower classes.

While outsourcing call centers may have not been a viable option in the long run, companies are still looking for cost-effective options for their businesses.  Human resource outsourcing, such as benefits outsourcing, employee and labor relations, employee leasing, government compliance, HR audits, HR consulting, HR management, payroll services, and recruitment services, are becoming popular ways for companies to save time and money, allowing them to bring you better products and services for less.

It is not Wall Street, the large multi-national corporations or even the vast banking institutions that are the driving force behind the American economy. Small businesses remain the dominating factor that figure into the continuing success of the U.S. Economy. Small businesses with less than 500 employees support more than half of the private sector American workforce. By hiring a Professional Employer Organization (PEO) to help stay profitable in turbulent financial times, small businesses are able to reduce their operating costs, raise the efficiency of their management and stay competitive in the marketplace, thus keeping them playing a successful role in U.S. economy.

Small businesses do the following:

• Employ over half of America’s private sector workforce.
• Are responsible for hiring at least 40 percent of workers in the technological fields such as science, engineering and computer programming.
• Include over 50 percent of home-based businesses.
• Make up nearly all of the firms dedicated to employment.
• Generate the majority of new inventions and innovative breakthroughs in science and technology.

Despite the fact that banks and other lending institutions are currently creating more barriers than providing assistance to small businesses relying on loans to establish credit lines for commercial mortgages, vehicles, equipment and leases; as well as the fact that government regulations are making it increasingly difficult and more expensive per employee to stay in compliance, it has never been more crucial for small businesses to survive in the down economy.

Your PEO to the Rescue

For the reasons above, Professional Employer Organizations are coming to the aid of small business and providing hope for the future to many small business owners.

Why use a PEO? To help small businesses survive in a down economy,­­ a PEO will offer the following solutions:

• Establish an employer relationship by contractually assuming many employer risks by becoming the employer of record for government compliance, safety and worker’s compensation and employee/labor relations.
• Incorporate optional health benefits, 401k administration, general liability coverage, background checks, recruitment services and payroll services.
• Provide relief from the burden of HR management, employee benefits, employee leasing and HR audits.
• Improve employment practices, compliance and risk management in order to reduce a business’s liabilities.
• Allow access to a comprehensive administrative service, employee benefits and HR Consulting.

Being the little guy on the block is never much fun. However, small businesses are discovering finding that competitive edge has become easier with the help of a (PEO) professional employer organization.

Trying to establish and maintain a business presence in today’s marketplace is difficult enough for large companies but even more difficult for the smaller ones. This is why the little guys on the block are getting big help by choosing to take advantage of human resources outsourcing for recruitment services, HR management, government compliance, employee/labor relations as well as other HR functions.

The current economic climate is making it harder for small businesses to thrive. The high costs of employee benefits and government compliance are forcing organizations to explore new strategies to lower their operating costs to remain competitive. Human resources outsourcing provides the HR consulting and HR management that relieves employers of the many pressures of hiring, training and maintaining their staff.

Small businesses are cutting costs and increasing their efficiency by having an administrative services organization take over the responsibilities of payroll services, safety and worker’s compensation, employee leasing and other HR services.

Whether you have 2 employees or 2,000, utilizing a PEO can help businesses find talented employees as well as offer their management expertise to train and maintain them while lowering costs and saving the employer both time and energy.

A company’s goal is to succeed and become profitable. In many cases this means growth and expansion. A PEO understands the needs of both employer and employee. Their sole focus is to minimize costs while implementing an HR management structure to maximize efficiency.

Taking advantage of the cumulative experience of a PEO provider will help manage everything from employee relations to interpersonal communications between employees and customers.

Regardless of the competition, small business owners do not have to compromise on productivity or profitability. Small business owners can take advantage of the many opportunities for growth and success by using a professional employee organization to achieve the competent HR management that will give them the competitive edge.

A growing number of companies are choosing to incorporate human resources outsourcing into their business model. However, to be successful it takes professionals who are capable of implementing successful HR outsourcing strategies:

Top 5 HR Outsourcing Strategies:

1.    Recruiting Qualified Employees – With the evolution of technology, finding experienced employees who have the skills required to make a business successful in today’s marketplace is an integral part of the hiring process. Human resources outsourcing provides professional recruitment services that will focus on connecting the most qualified employees with the right employers. By utilizing the services of an HRO, PEO or ASO, companies gain access to a diverse workforce with a wide variety of expertise and skill sets. Bad hiring practices are a common mistake companies are finding very costly, resulting in substantial losses to their production and deeply impacting their bottom line.

2. Superior Training Techniques – Adequately training a workforce is time consuming and can drain a company’s resources without the critical input of human resources experts to establish well organized and successful training techniques. When neglecting to sufficiently train employees job performance and employee retention suffer and will ultimately reflect a company’s profits as well as their credibility. Training and development requires a company to be proactive. Relying on professional HR management for guidance and structure has proven to be vital for any business model.

3.  Employee Relations – Maintaining employees is complex and involves clear-cut policies that need to continually be communicated. Employee benefits, an employee handbook and employee/labor relations are all important business practices that are designed to cultivate a working relationship between business owners and employees. Avoiding potential problems and litigation is a critical aspect of HR that is significantly facilitated by a professional employer organization.

4. Observance of Government Regulations – Companies who do not comply with the mounting amount of changing local, state and federal regulations are subject to huge fines and must pay thousands of dollars per employee to comply.  While compliance is costly the penalties for not complying is more expensive. Keeping organizations up-to-date with these regulations takes the support of HR consulting services that specialize in government compliance.

5.   Employee Incentives – The key element to effective employee relations is to reinforce an employee’s value on a continual basis. Companies must motivate their employees to retain them. A management system designed to improve retention and employee/labor relations will reward the employee for their hard work and boosting job performance and output.

Human resource outsourcing is becoming a commonly used business solution for companies who want to lower their expenditures while expanding their labor pool. Most companies are seeking creative and effective strategies to improve their profit margin in a troubled economy.

One of the most popular alternatives is the outsourcing of non-core business such as HR management and payroll services to save money and increase output without cutting back on quality.  Human resource outsourcing is important to any business because it is more cost efficient and time saving to hire an agency to recruit and train employees rather than to do it in-house. Outsourcing workers also relieves companies of the burden of assuming all of the risks and responsibilities of employee/labor relations, safety and workers compensation.

From employee benefits services and payroll processing to HR consulting and technology services, more and more companies are relying on outsourced employees to bring specialized skills to their businesses. High quality employees are any company’s most critical asset.  Outsourcing for fields such as technology and professional services has been proven to be advantageous for companies who want to focus on their core business and but still progress in the marketplace.

Your company more likely than not already outsources some services for these reasons. The most common functions outsourced by employers include:

1.    Call Centers
2.    IT
3.    Distribution
4.    Security
5.    Customer Service
6.    Tax Advisory
7.    Applications Management
8.    Bank Tellers
9.    Technicians
10.    Front Office Administration

Using the recruitment services of a Professional Employer Organization (PEO) or an Administrative Services Organization (ASO) allows a company to rely on their recruitment services and employee leasing services without having to pay the additional high price of employee benefits.

Keeping up with the competition is more difficult to do in a down economy. Utilizing human resources outsourcing is an efficient way for businesses to raise their performance while lowering costs. HR outsourcing is an invaluable tool for recruiting the right people with the experience and expertise that will help a business stay competitive.