workplace matters magazine september-october 2014

Your Newest Workforce

HR by the Numbers

Pay Freeze Update

75 Years of HR Disciplines

SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2014

SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2014 | MSEC.ORG

ContentsSeptember/October 2014

1 A Note From the Editor Eye on Leadership Conference 2014

2 Your Newest Workforce

3 Recertification and the New SHRM Credentials 2015 Executive Leadership Program

4 Then & Now: 75 Years of HR Disciplines

5 Member Profile: Lenhart’s ACE Hardware

6 MSEC Infographic

8 How to Control Workers’ Compensation Costs

9 Staff Spotlight: Betty Fulton

10 HR by the Numbers

11 The Affordable Care Act: A Synopsis of This Year and Next

12 Sick of Your HRIS/Payroll Providers . . . There is Hope

13 Pay Freeze Update – Where Are They a Year Later?

MSEC is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year!

We opened our doors in 1939 with 100 member companies.

Today we have over 3,000 members, in 77 industries, representing

nearly a million employees. We appreciate your support and look

forward to serving you for another 75 years.

SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2014 | MSEC.ORG 1

A Note From the Editor

Lorrie RayMembership Development

I personally want to invite you to join us for our 75th Anniversary Luncheon at the Seawell Ballroom at the Denver Center for Performing Arts complex on September 26, 2014 from 11:00am to 1:30pm. MSEC will have a guest speaker, Steve Gilliland. Steve transcends barriers of age, culture, and occupation, to demonstrate to audiences how they can open the doors to success in their careers, their relationships, and their lives. To help members celebrate, we wanted this event to be affordable, and I am pleased that members will only be pay-ing $50 to attend the luncheon. Please RSVP to Blacktie-Colorado.com by September 19.

In honor of our 75th anniversary, take a look at the Then and Now article on page four. Also, our centerfold for the magazine this month is a graphic representation of our membership, with some other fun facts.

Are you hiring? If you are, you are not alone. Many of our members are. You may find the article on page two, by Evan Abbott, to be helpful as you bring new employees on board to your organization. Another topic that gains importance as hiring goes up is making sure workers’ compensation costs are not also going up. The article by Jennifer Vold on page eight, provides particular insight on this topic.

Along with hiring, you may be getting needs met in your human resources department. This may include a professional certification. As you may know, there are some changes going on the area of human resources and certifications, and the article on page three, may help to explain those changes.

I hope you find the articles useful, fun, and informative. Do you want your organization included in this publication? Please let me know. I can be reached at 800.884.1328.

SAVE THE DATEMSEC’s Eye on Leadership Conference 2014

Building Your Leadership Reputation:A Blueprint To Activating Your Influence

Presented by Sara Ross, Director of Innovation and Product Development at the Institute for Health and Human Potential, returns to MSEC bringing new material,

her expertise, very popular approach, and ground breaking content.

November 6, 2014 • Denver Botanic Gardens • $165 per person $145 per person (3 or more from the same organization) • $900 for corporate table of 8.

Register now at MSEC.org.

SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2014 | MSEC.ORG2

Your Newest WorkforceEvan Abbott, Organizational Development and Learning

Often, when I am talking with members, I hear a common complaint. It goes something like this, “These kids today. I don’t ever remember it being so difficult. They don’t seem to know what behavior is appropriate in the workplace. And they want their hands held on everything.” It reminds me of an article I was reading recently. The author was chastising youth for feeling entitled, always needing to be entertained, and not understanding the value of a strong work ethic. Can you relate? Careful. The article was written in 1959 and the author was talking about the youth of that period – today’s Baby Boomers.

Today’s newest workforce, The Millennials (born 1980 – 2000) are about 80 million strong. The majority of them have entered the workforce in some capacity whether it is after-school jobs, post-college, or those early 30-somethings launching their professional careers. Many of them, through the encouragement of their parents and teachers, entered the workforce late (“Don’t get a job while you are in school. You have plenty of time to work after you graduate.”). As a result, a few of those first-job lessons we all learn (e.g., show up to work on time, don’t horse around, don’t call the boss “dude,” etc.) have been delayed. And some employers find they are the ones teaching these lessons to their newest employees.

But think about what we are not having to teach them: collaboration skills, creativity, and innovating through technology; skills many of us are still working on developing. Every generation has something they need to learn from the generations that come before and every generation has something to teach. As you work on introducing these newest employees to the workplace, consider these ideas:

• Assign a Mentor – Millennials have been raised on coaches and learning through success. This per-sonal guidance will send a message of importance to your new employees and is a great way to help pass along the knowledge of your more senior staff.

• Forget Common Sense – There is no such thing. What is common sense to you is new information for someone else. Think about the norms that you take for granted in your organization and be sure to communicate those expectations.

• Give Them a Voice and Listen in Return – in less than ten years, Millennials will be the dominant demographic of the workplace. Giving them a voice now and learning how to engage in constructive dialogue will put you miles ahead of the competition and increase your curb appeal to this important demographic.

And if that weren’t enough, are you planning to be in the workforce two to four years from now? If so, get ready for the next generation! Who are they? It’s too early to tell. But, odds are, the Millennials will have something to say about them.

Baby Boomers Gen X Gen Y Millennials


Recertification and the New SHRM CredentialsTammeron Trujillo, Human Resources Services

Earlier this year the Society for Human Resource Management

(SHRM) announced it would start offering new credentials for HR professionals. The new

credentials, called the SHRM-Certified Professional (SHRM-CP

or CP) and SHRM Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP or SCP), will be available in 2015; the first testing window is May 1-July 15.

SHRM is offering a simple process for profession-als with current certifications from the Human Resources Certification Institute (HRCI) to acquire the CP or SCP between January 1 and December 31, 2015. The process is free, and SHRM provides details on its website at http://certification.shrm.org.

Like HRCI’s certifications, the PHR and SPHR, SHRM’s certifications will be valid for three years and will require demonstrated professional development to recertify. SHRM will require 60 professional development credits (PDC) for both the CP and SCP over a three-year period. Unlike HRCI, SHRM will not distinguish between general and business/strategy credits. Credits can be accumulated through activi-ties or education related to human resources or related competencies outlined in the SHRM Body of Competency and Knowledge (BoCK).

MSEC is committed to supporting our members by offering opportunities for certified professionals to accumulate credits. We will continue submitting courses and conferences for pre-approved HRCI credit and will also be applying to be a preferred provider for SHRM.

The Executive Leadership Program Produces Outcomes

With the Leader in Mind!

Find out more about this pivotal program and how it can help today’s

executives continuously develop themselves and cultivate their

relational skills.

November 4, 2014

Time: 8:00–9:30am

Cost: FREE!

Location: MSEC Denver 1799 Pennsylvania Street

Denver, CO 80203

To register, call 800.884.1328 or go online to MSEC.org.

2015 EXECUTIVE

LEADERSHIP PROGRAM

PREVIEW BREAKFAST


Then & Now 75 Years of HR Disciplines The Birth of HR, Assessments/ Testing, Surveys, and Organizational DevelopmentJames McDonough, Membership Development

Impossible to fathom in 2014, there was a time when the intertwined disciplines of Human Resources/ Skills Assessment/ Surveys/ Organiza-tional Development did not exist. Prior to the 20th century, most Americans lived rural lives where work activities were directly connected to outputs. Planting fields of seeds and tending them to harvest provided a very clear connection between individual efforts and out-comes. Typically people were born into their livelihoods and had little freedom to choose alternative careers; a much simpler economy offered few employment options. This relationship between worker and work did not require much research or analysis and, until passage of the FLSA in 1939, there was no need for

“HR stuff” (surveys, etc.).

Modern warfare, technology, and industrialization dramatically challenged this simple formula. These fostered a need for new tools to manage increas-ingly complex organizational structures.

World War I challenged the U.S. to respond in new ways: efficient and rapid mass deployment of qualified military personnel over long distances was needed. Errors in human judgment would be amplified and possibly determine the war’s out-come, thus must be minimized. Responding to this urgent need, two Cornell researchers introduced standardized assessments known as the “Army Alpha” to predict the soldier’s ability to succeed in their assigned position. Administered to over one million service men, it was considered a great suc-cess. This approach appealed to American industry who adopted such assessment practices to boost productivity.

An important milestone was Harvard researcher G. E. Mayo’s industrial experiments conducted in the 1920s and 1930s. He identified the “Hawthorne Effect” which indicated employees improve produc-tivity based on emotional factors, not just mechani-cal forces. His conclusions, though not universally accepted even today, inspired the emerging field of Industrial and Organizational Psychology (IOP).

Powerful socio-economic and political forces combined with IOP to mold the human-relations movement of the 1930s. Countering the prevail-ing scientific-management approach, this movement emphasized the role of psycho-logical forces in the workplace and asserted that productivity was not just a function of equipment, raw materials, and labor. The interplay between

individual qualities, worker relationships, and organizational practices was a force to understand and manage. The foundation was firmly set for the Human Resource discipline to evolve over the com-ing decades alongside expanding employment law.

American World War II military equipment and procedures required much higher levels of techno-logical competency than any previous war. Skills testing and aptitude assessments developed to evaluate the best people to operate equipment and achieve the highest levels of competency. Post-war industry again adopted military practices to boost productivity and measure employee satisfaction to avoid work stoppages and unionization. As the U.S. economy expanded globally and grew ever more complex, IOP evolved to address new challenges. In 1945, New York’s legislature established the State School of Industrial and Labor Relations at Cornell


Member Profile

Since 1946, Lenhart’s Ace Hardware has been committed to serving the downtown Mesa, Arizona community with the best quality hardware products and services. Frank and Vergil Lenhart founded the business and appropriately named the store Lenhart Brother’s Hardware.

To meet and exceed customer demands of product selection, the store eventually joined the Ace Hard-ware cooperative. The hardware store is still family owned and operated now by the third generation of the Lenhart family.

Lenhart’s Ace Hardware offers many services includ-ing glass and Plexiglas cutting, screen and window repair, and custom orders. Last year, J.D. Power and Associates ranked Ace Hardware as the “Highest in Customer Satisfaction with Home Improvement Retail Stores, Seven Years in a Row.”

With almost 70 years in the hardware business, one thing has always remained consistent at Lenhart’s Ace Hardware and that is, “to treat every customer the way you would like to be treated.” Whether a customer just needs a few nails to complete a project or needs to paint a large area, the sales staff takes pride in helping customers find just what is needed to get the job done right. Lenhart’s Ace Hardware strives for outstanding customer service.

Thank you, Lenhart’s Ace Hardware for being a member of MSEC since 2010!

University to study and improve the tumultuous relationship between employees and employers. This formal education program was the first to focus on labor and related human resource topics, adding legitimacy, rigor, and standards to a nascent disci-pline. The American Society for Personnel Adminis-tration founded in 1948 (later known as the Society for Human Resource Management or SHRM) further heightened self-awareness among practitioners.

Widespread use of formal surveys to monitor wages, benefits, and workplace satisfaction came after World War II. Industry’s concern over worker satis-faction was focused on increasing productivity by avoiding work stoppages, labor unrest, and other conditions that encouraged unionization. Surveys to compare wages and benefits with other employers provided useful data for negotiations and business planning. Responding to member needs, MSEC has conducted labor market research and provided survey data since the 1940s! Today, with skilled practitioners, technological advances and best practice processes, the business community relies on MSEC surveys as an essential business tool.

A sinister side of the HR discipline was the inten-tional misuse of testing, assessments, and other HR processes to discriminate against minorities and women, denying them equal access to employment opportunities. Unintentional adverse impacts of various employment practices became of equal con-cern. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 tackled such prob-lems by requiring testing, assessments, and other screening practices be validated as work-related. In subsequent decades, technological advances would bring more sophisticated tools and approaches; debate and litigation over accuracy, efficacy, and adverse impact continue. MSEC guides members through such complex issues on a daily basis.

MSEC evolved over the last 75 years lockstep with HR to meet member needs. A look back explains much about where we are today and hints at what might be ahead. Next quarter, our last installment in this series will peer into the future of what’s to come in the workplace. MSEC will continue to be at members’ side to meet those challenges.


FRANCIS FORD “THE GODFATHER” COPPOLA

IAN “GANDALF” MCKELLEN

TURNING 75 IN 2014

JOHN “FISH CALLED WANDA” CLEESE

NUMBER OF YEARS MSEC’S EMPLOYMENT LAW UPDATE CONFERENCE HAS BEEN HELD

TINA “ROLLIN’ ON THE RIVER” TURNER


How to Control Workers’ Compensation CostsJennifer Vold, Labor Relations

Employers in Colorado searching for options to reduce workers’ compensation insurance premiums need look no further than the Colorado Premium Cost Containment Program. This program, can pro-vide significant cost savings by both reducing the premiums employers pay and by reducing claims through better safety and health rules, policies, procedures, and training.

Employers apply for cost containment once they have completed six required steps and documented them for a year. If approved, the employer’s workers’ compensation insurer applies a discount (typically five percent) to the employer’s work-ers’ compensation policy at the next renewal period after certification.

The six steps below are those employers must undertake to be premium cost-contained, and are also valuable steps anyone can take to reduce the risk of injury in their workplace.

Step 1: Formal declaration of an organization-wide safety policy Employers must have a written declaration of the organization’s commitment to safety, signed by top management and communicated to all employees. This declaration should be crafted to reflect the philosophy and commitment of top management to safety. It should also be tailored to fit the individual culture of the organization. A safety policy should define the fundamentals of an organization’s safety program and communicate that the safety and health of all employees is a top priority for the organization. The policy should be dated at the time of distribution to all employees and should reflect any future revision dates.

Step 2: Formal creation of a safety committee and/or coordinator Employers must name a safety coordinator and/ or create a safety committee and identify objectives and tasks for each. Top management should

distribute a dated memo to all employees identi-fying the safety coordinator and/or safety com-mittee members outlining their responsibilities. The appointed safety coordinator and/or safety committee members should also sign and date the description of duties and responsibilities. These records should be updated as assignments change and objectives are revised, to be treated as “living” documents. Documents should also reflect revision dates.

The safety coordinator and/or committee should show documentation of participation in the safety

program by documenting and signing safety audits, participating in safety meetings, participating in accident investigations, recommend-ing safety policies, establishing and updating safety rules, and promoting safety awareness.

The safety committee should meet on a regular basis (at least quarterly),

depending on the employer’s industry. Documenta-tion should consist of dated meeting minutes with the safety committee members’ signatures.

Step 3: Clearly defined and conspicuously posted safety rules Employers must develop site-specific safety rules for the particular hazards of their industry and the specific jobs within their organization. A signed and dated copy of the safety rules must be submitted with the application for premium cost containment.

Once employers have drafted and distributed safety rules, they must obtain employees’ acknowledge-ments that they have received and read the safety rules.

Step 4: Safety awareness and loss prevention training Employers must conduct relevant safety training for all employees at least once a quarter and document this training appropriately. Appropriate documenta-tion includes the safety information and training


Chances are if you have ever called MSEC for a new username or password, you have spoken with Betty Fulton. You may not know her face, but you have heard her friendly voice. Not many companies have employees

who have been around for 35 years, and we are lucky Betty Fulton came to work here in 1978. In 2014, Betty retired.

Betty’s first job was in the Surveys Department, where she manually entered all the survey data and time. Technology has changed quite a bit since then, at that time MSEC’s Front Range Survey took up 38 eight-inch floppy disks.

Her latest job was updating our membership database (i.e., issuing and assisting members with access to our website). Her favorite part about working here has been servicing members and assisting colleagues. Betty has made wonderful friends within MSEC and established good rela-tionships with many of our members.

When asking Betty about her time here, she said, “MSEC was a wonderful place to raise my two girls, our CEO believed in family first; therefore I was able to attend all their school functions.” Betty was been here long enough to remember when MSEC was only one building (there are now three).

In her spare time, she enjoys teaching children and adults at her church, as well as the GMBC of Colorado. During retirement, she plans to become more involved in her church, purchase a three-wheel bicycle, get to know her neighbors better, and volunteer at her local library to read to children. She also plans to travel and spend more time with her seven grandchildren.

Betty leaves MSEC with this quote, which seems fitting given her positive and kind voice, “One day at a time, this is enough. Don’t look back and grieve over the past for it is gone. Do not be troubled about the future, for it has yet to come. Live in the present and make it so beautiful that it will be worth remembering.”

Staff Spotlight Betty Fulton

provided (attach power points, handouts, etc.) plus a signed and dated employee attendance roster and acknowledgement of training. Training can be a mix of in-person training and electronic training. Employers should also have a documented safety orientation and training program in place when new employees are hired.

Step 5: Written designation of two designated medical providers Employers must designate two medical provid-ers to treat employees who suffer work-related injuries and illnesses. Once designated, employers must communicate the medical providers’ specific contact information to all employees in writing and obtain signed and dated employee acknowledge-ments that they have received this designation. Employers should make a similar written designa-tion to employees after each work-related injury.

Step 6: Written policies and procedures on claims management and return to work To be cost-contained, employers must have written claims management procedures detailing their unique processes of handling a claims from the moment of injury or illness through return to work and, ultimately, to the final resolution of claims. Claims management procedures are essentially

“how-to” guides for employees tasked with admin-istering workers’ compensation claims. Claims management procedures should cover: employee claim reporting procedures (when, how, and to whom employees should report incidents or inju-ries); employer claim reporting procedures to the workers’ compensation insurer (when, how, and to whom employers should report claims); accident investigation procedures (who should investigate accidents and how investigations should be con-ducted); and return-to-work procedures (steps the employer should take in returning injured employ-ees to work). Employers must coordinate with their workers’ compensation insurers at least annually on issues such as loss-run review, outstanding reserves, and employee classification.


HR by the NumbersJames McDonough, Membership Development

In our digital age, numbers drive decision-making at all levels. Think about how the number of Twitter followers or Facebook friends and “likes” can lend value to a company. Or someone’s career! Large numbers seem to have a magic that identifies and validates value. They suggest that if a mass of people like something, it must be good for almost everyone. Think of carnival rides or food trucks in your town; isn’t the one with the longest line the most appealing? The assumption is the folks in that line know something YOU don’t. Who wants to be left out of a good thing? A virtuous cycle is created whereby a crowd attracts ever more attention. Kick-starter campaigns benefit from this phenomenon.

The MSEC Library is taking advantage of numerical rankings and ratings of published works to identify promising new titles to add to our collection for members’ benefit. Our goal is to provide timely, useful resources that help drive business results, enhance professional development, and promote employment law compliance. Along with some internal quality reference checking and critical analysis, here are some recent titles added that were sourced in part by their reader ratings. All are available for members to check out. Next to each title is the Amazon five star rating scale and the number of reviewers (a larger number suggests a more reliable, valid pool of impartial readers).

The Only Negotiating Guide You’ll Ever Need: 101 Ways to Win Every Time (13)

42 Rules for Your New Leadership Role (31)

The Performance Appraisal Tool Kit (17)

The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business (2,031)

The Next IQ: The Next Level of Intelligence for 21st Century Leaders (9)

101 Tough Conversations To Have with Employees (62)

Flex: The New Playbook for Managing Across Differences (6)

Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less (173)

Why Doers Do (5)

How To Deliver a Great TED Talk (70)

What do you think of this methodology? Do large numbers have value, or are they the result of clever marketing and exemplify a lemming mentality? In this age of endless promotion and new marketing gimmicks, it is growing ever harder to distinguish between hype and reality. Check them out, decide for yourself, and let me know! I will factor your feedback into our new resource acquisitions. I wel-come your calls or emails for help with using any of these or other MSEC Library resources.


The Affordable Care Act: A Synopsis of This Year and NextRyan Sarni, Labor Relations

If you have been ignoring the Affordable Care Act in hopes it would just go away, it’s time to start paying attention to it. Relief has been granted from its provisions in 2014, and there will also be some relief in 2015; at the same time, require-ments are ramping up.

Originally, all employers with 50 or more employees were considered Applicable Large Employers and required to provide insurance or pay a tax. That is still true, but make sure you know the numbers when it comes to the current employer mandate status. If you have between 50 and 99 employees,

you have a one-year delay from this provision. If you have over 100 employees, you must provide benefits in 2015, or face paying the tax.

The Internal Revenue Service regulations, released February 10, 2014, granting the one-year delay to employ-ers with 50-99 employees, come with rules attached. An employer cannot reduce the number of employees or the hours they work to artificially stay below the 100-employee threshold. Any coverage provided to employees as of February 9, 2014, cannot be eliminated or reduced, and employers must certify that they have met these criteria.

While employers with 100 or more employees must provide insurance to avoid taxes, they also receive sub-stantial transition relief in reduced taxes if they do not provide it. If such an employer provides no insurance to full-time employees, the penalty is reduced, as well as if the employer provides insurance that does not meet minimum value or affordability tests.

Changes have also been made to categories that affect coverage. Step and foster children are no longer con-sidered dependents. Seasonal employees are those who work six months or less and start around same time every year. Employees rehired after a break in service of at least 13 weeks are considered new employees for the purposes of required coverage, and that extends to 26 weeks for educational organizations. Additionally, work-study time for educational institutions is not counted towards full-time employment, although paid internships are.

Finally, you should know that while you are not required to provide insurance in 2014, if you do, your plan must meet a number of standards. If you are curious about what you must do now and in the future, just call us at 800.884.1328 or visit our Health Care Reform Learning Zone at MSEC.org. The learning zone is interac-tive, and allows you to you can learn about the health care reform provisions that apply to your organization. We can also come to your organization to provide an in-depth assessment on how you can plan to comply with this law.

Check out our NEW Bulletin Blog at MSECBulletin.msec.org


Sick of Your HRIS/Payroll Providers . . . There is HopeKristen Borrego, Outsourced Consulting Services

Anyone who has worked in HR/Payroll for any amount of time knows the importance of a good HRIS/payroll system. When these systems are lacking or non-existent, problems can arise. In some cases, the problems created by an inadequate system are glaring, but in most cases, they build over time, until they manifest as a volcanic eruption of paperwork on the corner of your desk. As with most things, the first step is identifying the problem. If it is determined that your inadequate system is causing problems, don’t fret, you can do something about it.

With technology evolving and changing, there are more HRIS/Payroll solutions than ever before. The question is how do you get the conversation started? Before you dive into vendor meetings, you will need to do some internal information gathering. Make a list of what needs to change in a new system and what you would like to have changed. This will give you a good list of requirements to begin looking at your options.

Some things to consider are:

• Automation of processes

• Cloud-based storage, security, and mobility

• Software integration

• Growth potential within system

• One solution for all of your HR and payroll needs

Once you have your list of requirements, prioritize between the items a new system must have versus the items that would be nice to have.

The next step will be to create a short list of vendors you would like to meet with. If a number of vendors can provide what you need (and want), do some research. Use your professional networks to ask others what systems they use. Ask them what they like about it and what they don’t. This input might be some of the most helpful you will get. When talking to vendors, make sure they give you a clear idea of the cost to fulfill your requirements. Ask about implementation fees and fees for custom reports. Ensure you get anything said dur-ing the sales process in writing and ask for a comprehensive demo. If possible, be sure all the key stakeholders are available to meet with potential vendors and see the software before making a final decision.

After deciding on your software, set-up the system and go through implementation. Take the time to make sure you set-up the system the way you want and need. Although implementations can be extremely time consuming, don’t skip steps here. It is much easier to correct things on the front end then it will be once you have already put data in the system. Run your parallels and validate all the data.

When you have implemented the system, train your staff and managers. This step is imperative! If employees don’t know what is expected of them or understand how to use the system, it will never function the way you have intended.

MSEC understands that moving to a new HRIS/Payroll vendor can be a daunting task and we are here to help. With MSEC’s partnership with Paylocity, we can help you move the eruption of paperwork that has landed on your desk. For more information, contact [email protected].


Pay Freeze Update – Where Are They a Year Later? Sue Wolf, Surveys

In last year’s July/August issue of Workplace Matters magazine, we reported historical data on pay freezes from our Colorado Benchmark Compensation Survey. After we published our 2014 edition of the survey, I wondered if the number of organizations reporting pay freezes had gone down from last year. The survey defines a “pay freeze” as no increase given to an employee’s base salary.

I have good news to report! In the 2013 survey, 13 percent of Colorado organizations projected a pay freeze in 2013 and 12 percent of organizations in 2014. In this year’s survey, only 10 percent of organizations reported a pay freeze in 2013, down 3 percent from what they reported last year. In addition, only 8 percent of organi-zations are projecting a pay freeze in 2014, and just 7 percent in 2015.

This chart looks back at 20 years of pay freezes reported by employers in the annual Colorado Benchmark Compensation Survey. As you can see, we are finally down to single digits of organizations reporting pay freezes. We are also getting closer to pre-recessionary figures of 5 percent during the period of 2005-2007.

Pay freezes can also equate to lower average pay increases for employees receiving an increase. The aver-age projected pay increases are getting higher now with fewer organizations reporting pay freezes. The pay increase projections for 2014 in Northern Colorado and Resort areas are 3.1 percent. Northern Colorado is also projecting a 3.1 percent pay increase in 2015. This is the first time since the recession we have reported an average pay increase over 3 percent in any of the Colorado geographic areas surveyed!

If we remove pay freezes from the 2015 averages, the average pay increases for All Colorado is 3.0 percent. Still not as high as the average pay increases received during 2005-2007 at 3.5 percent, but getter larger each year.

It is nice to see the trend of fewer organizations projecting pay freezes and average projected pay increases higher than previous years. Maybe in the 2015 edition of the survey we will be back to pre-recessionary figures of 5.0 percent for pay freezes and 3.0 percent or greater for pay increases. Stayed tuned to see what happens with pay freezes and increases when we publish the Fall Planning Packet Survey in September 2014.

PRSR

T ST

DU

S PO

STAG

E PA

ID

DENV

ER, C

O PE

RMIT

NO.

552

1799

Pen

nsyl

vani

a St

reet

P.O

. Box

539

Den

ver,

Colo

rado

802

01-0

539

MSE

C.or

g | 8

00.8

84.1

328

workplace matters magazine september-october 2014

Documents

leadership conference

leadership reputation

new employees

anniversary luncheon

executive leadership

new material

human potential

editor eye