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BusinessWeek's 10 Best Corporate Practices

BusinessWeek recently provided their list of the 10 best corporate practices or the "ideas that make great sense for employees and for the organizations that employ them:

1. Employee-Referral Bonuses
2. Employee-Driven Transfer Policies
3. Van Pools and Subsidized Transportation to Work
4. Town Hall Meetings
5. Ethics Hotline
6. Distance Learning
7. Company-Sponsored Alumni Groups
8. Corporate Social Responsibility Programs
9. Matching Contributions (i.e. 401K or donations)
10. Intranets
    

Read more details on these 10 items at the following link.

10 Best Corporate Practices. [BusinessWeek]

Workforce Vision * Post: Bill Inman * Human Capital * Contingent Workforce * Globalization * Trends * Outsourcing

Is the Impending Talent Shortage in the U.S. a Myth?

It has long been said that the mass retirement of the U.S. Baby Boomers would cause a workforce shortage. See Preparing for Baby Boomer Retirement and Retiring Baby boomer Expected to Hurt U.S. Companies for more information.

However, at least in California it seems that more Baby Boomers (aged 55-64) are working than ever before, not retiring! Should this trend increase the impending workforce shortage may be averted if not at least delayed. According to statistics published in a study by the California Budget Department, the number of Californians ages 55 to 64 who are working has grown from 54.2 percent in 1995 to 61.6 percent in 2006.

Workforce Vision * Post: Bill Inman * Human Capital * Contingent Workforce * Globalization * Trends * Outsourcing

What is the business of managing contingent or contract labor called?

Workforce Vision * Post: Bill Inman * Human Capital * Contingent Workforce * Globalization * Trends * Outsourcing

Top 5 Benefits and Risks of Outsourcing

WORKFORCE VISION: The cost advantages of outsourcing functional areas, of nearly any organization, seemly continue to outweigh the drawbacks. Rising wages and declining service quality should stabilize as global penetration of outsourcing matures. Until that time it is recommended that companies research their potential outsourcing vendors deeply (including references) in order to minimize their change of failure.

PricewaterhouseCoopers in their outstanding report "Key Trends in Human Capital - A Global Perspective - 2006" report outline their top 5 Benefits and Risk of Outsourcing:

Key Trends in Human Capital - A Global Perspective - 2006. [PricewaterhouseCoopers]

Workforce Vision * Post: Bill Inman * Human Capital * Contingent Workforce * Globalization * Trends * Outsourcing

"Major Implications for Workplace Free Speech" - 2007 CLAY Award Recipient Adam Levin

CONGRATULATIONS to Workforce Vision friend Adam Levin on his 2007 California Lawyer Attorney of the Year Award (CLAY). The CLAY award is known as the most prestigious award for California attorneys and Levin is one of the top employment lawyers in the State. Levin's "sexual harassment defense of Warner Bros. before the California Supreme Court in 'Friends' case had major implications for workplace free speech...At stake was freedom of speech within the work environment to address potentially offensive topics such as sex, race and religion in the logical course of doing one's job whether writing for a TV sitcom, discussing stories in a newsroom or academic discussion in a university classroom."

We recommend you read Levin's article - "So This Guy Walks Into a Bar . . . .": Dirty Jokes and Vulgar Language in the Workplace After the California Supreme Court’s “Friends” Decision (PDF) to learn more about whether or not your employees maybe crossing the legal line. Read the press on Levin's CLAY Award below.

MS&K Partner Adam Levin Receives 2007 CLAY Award

Levin’s sexual harassment defense of Warner Bros. before the California Supreme Court in “Friends” case had major implications for workplace free speech

Los Angeles, CA--Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp LLP, a leading California law firm that has provided integrated legal and business solutions for nearly 100 years, announced that Adam Levin, a partner in the firm’s Litigation practice, has been selected as a California Lawyer Attorney of the Year (CLAY) award winner by California Lawyer magazine.

“Adam’s selection as a California Lawyer of the Year is well deserved,” said Thomas Lambert, managing partner of Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp. “He is among the most creative and skillful trial lawyers I have seen in action and a major strength to our firm.”

California Lawyer received nearly 200 submissions for the prestigious award. The winners were selected by the publication’s editors for making a significant impact on the law, the profession, an industry, public policy, for a client or for the benefit of the public in 2006 that is expected to have a significant impact on the law.

Levin received his CLAY award for successfully litigating Lyle v. Warner Bros. Television Production before the California Supreme Court, where he obtained a unanimous decision in favor of several writers and the producers of the hit television series "Friends" in a wrongful termination and harassment suit brought by former writers' assistant Amaani Lyle. Lyle, who admitted she had been warned before taking the job that writers could get raucous during the creative process, claimed their discussions went far beyond the scope of the show, including frequent discussions of their personal sexual experiences.

At stake was freedom of speech within the work environment to address potentially offensive topics such as sex, race and religion in the logical course of doing one's job whether writing for a TV sitcom, discussing stories in a newsroom or academic discussion in a university classroom. Named one of Daily Journal Extra's “Top 20 Lawyers Under Age 40 in California” in 2005, Levin has established himself as one of the leading labor and employment lawyers in California.

Levin represents employers in all areas of labor and employment law, including serving as lead counsel in numerous employment discrimination, wrongful termination, trade secret/unfair competition and right of publicity cases, labor arbitrations, National Labor Relations Board hearings and other administrative proceedings with a focus on the motion picture and television; video game; advertising; and broadcast industries.

About Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp Established in 1908, Mitchell Silberberg's 125 attorneys provide integrated legal
and business solutions addressing its clients' concerns in the following areas: Labor and Employment; Intellectual Property and Technology; Entertainment and New Media; Immigration and Benefits; Tax and Family Wealth Planning; and Environmental Law. Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp LLP has offices in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. For more information, visit http://www.msk.com

"So This Guy Walks Into a Bar . . . .": Dirty Jokes and Vulgar Language in the Workplace After the California Supreme Court’s “Friends” Decision. [Adam Levin, Taylor Ball - Mitchell Silberber & Knupp]

Workforce Vision * Post: Bill Inman * Human Capital * Contingent Workforce * Globalization * Trends * Outsourcing

CEOs Hired From 'Outside' Cost Much More Than Internal Promotions

Jeff Nash of Financial Week writes, "According to a new study, companies pay their chief executives nearly three times more when they hire them from outside the company than if they promote from within."

Nash continues, "In the first year of employment, CEOs snagged from the outside earned median pay of $13 million in 2005, compared with $5 million for those appointed from the inside." "Just 15% of the directors said their boards were "highly effective" in managing and developing their executive talent."

A New Boss From Outside Costs More ... a Lot More. [Financial Week - Jeff Nash]

Workforce Vision * Post: Bill Inman * Human Capital * Contingent Workforce * Globalization * Trends * Outsourcing