IQcatalyst

Overweight workers...

...cost their bosses more in injury claims than their lean colleagues, suggests a study (based on eight years of data from 11,728 people employed by Duke and its health system) that found the heaviest employees had twice the rate of workers' compensation claims as their fit co-workers.

Obesity experts said they hope the study will convince employers to invest in programs to help fight obesity. One employment attorney warned companies that treating fat workers differently could lead to discrimination complaints.

Duke University researchers also found that the fattest workers had 13 times more lost workdays due to work-related injuries, and their medical claims for those injuries were seven times higher than their fit co-workers.

Overweight workers were more likely to have claims involving injuries to the back, wrist, arm, neck, shoulder, hip, knee and foot than other employees. Researchers found that workers with higher body mass indexes, or BMIs, had higher rates of workers' compensation claims.

The most obese workers — those with BMIs of 40 or higher — had the highest rates of claims and lost workdays. BMI is a measure of height and weight. A 6-foot, 300-pound person, for example, has a BMI of just over 40.

Managers will pay attention to the findings because injuries mean more immediate financial losses than the future health-care costs of diabetes and heart disease. But there isn't enough good information about employer-sponsored programs that work. Employers don't know whether paying for nutrition counseling, obesity surgery or anti-obesity drugs through health insurance makes economic sense, he said.

It's now apparent that obesity is a big problem, but the research isn't there to know where to get biggest bang for the buck. BMI does not distinguish muscle from fat and can equate a buff body builder to a couch potato. Although BMI, a measure of height and weight, is used in most obesity research, research has found that blacks are particularly likely to be misclassified as obese by BMI.

Source(s): Internal Medicine, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

Secova to open up in India

Secova, a California-headquartered HR and benefits management services company, will set up a new 400-seater knowledge center in Chennai, India, which will be functional by October 2007. The offshore facility aims to support the company’s increasing HR and benefits management services business.

Source(s): Secova

CSC to acquire Covansys

The board of information technology company Covansys Corp. has agreed to a $1.3 billion ($34 in cash per share) takeover by Computer Sciences Corporation. The deal, which requires approval by Convansys stockholders, the boards of both companies have approved the takeover and said it should be completed in 2008.

Covansys is headquartered in the Detroit suburb of Farmington Hills. It has about 9,000 employees, with its main operations in India. It reported 2006 revenues of $455.5 million.

The information technology company Computer Sciences is headquartered in El Segundo, Calif., and has about 77,000 employees in 80 countries. It reported revenues of $14.7 billion in the 12 months ending Dec. 29.

Source(s): CSC

No concern of for an aging workforce

Although U.S. employers are struggling to fill jobs in the midst of talent shortages, most do not have specialized retention and recruiting strategies targeting the largest available workforce segment - those over age 50 - according to new research.

In the study of 1,000 U.S. employers, 78% indicated they were not concerned that an aging workforce might hamper their ability to recruit and retain talented workers. Additional findings support this sentiment, including the fact that only 28% of survey respondents reported having a strategy to retain workers past retirement age while just 18% have a strategy to recruit older workers.

There is a real contradiction occurring in hiring trends right now. Employers acknowledge that they are having trouble finding qualified candidates to fill open positions, but we are learning that they need help implementing programs that are tailored to older workers. With the first wave of Baby Boomers on the cusp of traditional retirement age, there is still time to engage a generation that is willing and able to continue working.

Employers do perceive roadblocks when it comes to hiring older workers, primarily cost and productivity issues. Business savvy employers are right to consider the time and money that goes into establishing retention and recruiting programs aimed at older workers. However, to make a fully informed decision, the business impact of unfilled positions and the value of the knowledge and productivity that mature professionals offer must also be weighed. Even though it may require extra effort, employers are likely to come out ahead in the return on investment.

Employers that explicitly include older workers as part of their talent strategy have found success with programs that appeal to the wants and needs of the workers themselves. Companies considering retention and recruiting programs that appeal to older workers should explore some of these successful practices:

• Training programs - Mature workers are lifelong learners, and programs that build skills and increase employment opportunities will positively impact employee engagement
• Flexible scheduling options - Studies confirm that non-traditional schedules are one of the top priorities for older workers. Policies that offer part-time, flextime, job sharing, project work or generous time-off plans allow those in their retirement years to have ample time for work and personal pursuits
• Job redesigns - While mature employees want to work, many would elect to bring value to an organization in a different capacity. Whether it's less travel, fewer responsibilities or a decrease in physical demands, consider job accomodatios in order to retain the institutional knowledge and skills of the most experienced employees
• Targeted recruiting strategies - As with any hiring plan, employers should consider how to reach people in the demographics that meet their needs, and older workers are no exception. Look to professional organizations, company-sponsored alumni groups and online communities for possible candidates

Employers who respond to the aging workforce will fare better in the competition for talent and find that they benefit from a richer, more diverse workforce. The key is to start planning now for future talent needs.

The U.S. findings were part of a global study which surveyed more than 28,000 employers across 25 countries and territories in November 2006. The study found that 14% of employers worldwide have strategies in place to recruit older workers and 21% have implemented plans to keep them participating in the workplace.

Source(s): Manpower

Outsourcing market experiencing an adjustment

With 88% of their advisors citing up or flat market demand in 1Q07, and 97% of service providers citing a similar or sequentially-up new deal pipeline for the quarter, demand for outsourcing continues to grow, albeit at a slower pace than in previous quarters and years. Although outsourcing demand is increasing, additional research and discussions with service providers and clients revealed that different types of deals – including those for more “knowledge-based” processes – and smaller dollar value deals are becoming more prevalent.

The outsourcing market is experiencing an adjustment phase, spurred by a maturing marketplace and a more sophisticated buyer community. Characteristics of this reshaping include:

• A greater number of organizations are evaluating their global footprint
• Organizations are increasingly utilizing a combination of shared services and outsourcing
• When using outsourcing, it is typically on a smaller scale and often with multiple “best of breed” providers
• Service providers are being forced to retool their sales and delivery models

Supporting this smaller deal/market adjustment finding are the responses from the advisors and service providers to a survey question on deal “scope size,"defined as the number of processes, users, geographies, etc. included in an outsourcing engagement. Eighty six percent cited decreased or similar deal scope, as did 63% of service providers. Importantly, service providers shared anecdotally that while deal scope is decreasing or holding steady, their pipelines are robust for the second half of 2007.

Stan Lepeak, said, “smaller deal scope can be advantageous for both buyers and providers. Buyers may feel less risk going with multiple providers, keeping the scope small or delivering some processes internally. To accommodate this changing market, service providers must adjust their sales and delivery models to accelerate time-to-deal profitability. If they are successful, it will improve their overall financial margins.”

Lepeak added, “Within our own client base we are seeing an increase in smaller deals in emerging areas including knowledge process outsourcing, pharmacovigilance, clinical data trial management, and other industry-specific areas, as well as in more newly-emerging offshore locations such as Latin America and Eastern Europe.”

Source(s): EquaTerra

Human resource management agenda

An extensive review of recent research prepared by a variety of consulting firms and academic, governmental and other relevant institutions. The focus of our review was the identification of the primary business challenges from mostly publicly held, multinational organizations are facing.

The survey identified seven key challenges:

1. Changing Workforce Demographics - Increasing pressure from aging employee populations on leadership succession, workforce productivity, the financing of retirement and health care programs, and intergenerational knowledge transfer
2. Continuously Improving Processes - Better, faster, cheaper…all management and administration processes are under scrutiny, none more so than HR administration and the growing pressure to outsource or offshore employee services
3. Controlling Costs and Managing Risk - Reducing organizational costs and liabilities in order to meet earnings targets and to protect the investment dollars needed to generate growth; reducing the possibility of unanticipated events that may negatively impact business performance
4. Engaging Employees - The impact of employees’ changing commitment to the organization, due to reduced or eliminated investments in long-term employee development and tenure, such that employees have developed more of a “free agent” mentality to career development and organizational loyalty
5. Generating Top-Line Revenue Growth - Enhancing top-line revenue growth and market share through product innovation, increasing sales to existing customers, and identifying and securing new markets
6. Globalizing Business Operations - Acquiring, organizing and strategically deploying global resources, identifying and securing new markets, meeting the needs of global customers, and creating global alliances and partnerships
7. Responding to Emerging Skills Shortages - Attracting and retaining the talent needed to support a successful business model in an environment where key resources are increasingly difficult to identify as a result of changing education standards and rapidly changing organizational needs

Each of these challenges has significant implications for the management of human resources. It furthered our view that it is the way in which an organization manages its human capital and, in particular, how well it aligns its human capital with business strategy that is the difference between organizational success and mediocrity.

Source(s): Mercer's 2006 Global Business Challenges Survey

ISG to acquire TPI

Information Services Group, Inc. announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire TPI, the sourcing advisory firm. Under the agreement, ISG will acquire TPI for $280m in cash. TPI's founder and members of management will invest 30% of their proceeds from the transaction in ISG stock at closing. In addition, ISG intends to repurchase up to $40m of its common stock and/or warrants after closing. The acquisition is subject to customary regulatory and ISG shareholder approvals and is expected to be concluded in the fourth quarter of 2007.

Founded in 1989 and privately held, TPI was an earlt entrant in the market for advisory services, guiding enterprises through their realignment of support functions. TPI had 2006 revenues of $147m and 2007 revenue growth estimated at nearly 15%. During the past five years, it is estimated to have generated over 20% compounded annual growth.

TPI claims to having performed over 2,100 engagements for its clients. Among those engagements, the company has supported over 590 outsourcing transactions, estimated at $250b in total contract value (TCV). It derives over 25% of its revenue from outside the United States.

ISG raised $258m through a public offering on February 1, 2007 and is listed on the American Stock Exchange. It is led by team from The Nielsen Company (formerly VNU). ISG has stated a plan to repurchase shares and/or warrants to fund growth initiatives.

TPI has 430 employees with industry experience in areas including Information Technology, Enterprise Service Delivery Strategies, Human Resources, Finance & Accounting, Financial Services, Customer Relationship Management and Procurement Service Management.

TPI's client base includes industry leaders in Energy, Financial Services, Healthcare, Manufacturers, Pharmaceuticals, Restaurants and Retail, Telecommunications, Travel, Transportation and Hospitality. Major clients include such companies as: AT&T, Bombardier, ChevronTexaco, Diageo, Goodyear, P&G, Pfizer, PS&G, Singapore Airlines and Volvo.

Evercore Partners acted as financial advisor to ISG and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett served as ISG's legal advisor. Deutsche Bank Securities acted as financial advisor to TPI and Ropes & Gray served as legal advisor.

Source(s): Information Services Group

The INtelligence Network open house

For those who haven't yet - it's not too late to make your job easier and your outsourcing more successful. Members of the IN open house get access to outsourcing best practices, tools, networking, career development opportunities and more. There are 16 days remaining to test drive IN so, get your open house pass now.

Below are IN community highlights that may be of interest:

• Publish or perish - do you have an outsourcing related article, white paper, case study, research piece or you would like to share with others on this network? Go to the Self publishing area under the thought leadership command bar. This is a great opportunity to showcase your thought leadership
• Join the discussion - Real outsourcing people are having real discussions and debates at this very moment on the IN discussion forums. This is a great opportunity to network, get questions answered or simply observe the banter. Topics include Governance, Offshoring, Benchmarking, ITO, BPO, Call Center and many more
• OI's first ever outsourcing Yellow Pages - outsourcing vendors, consultants, attorneys and all service providers can post their profile here. This is will quickly build to be the global 'go to' directory
• Outsourcing Tools - there are tools designed to help you determine your outsourcing ROI, assess your BPO benefits, ensure Governance best practices, with more to come

If you are looking to network, learn, partner, transact, buy or sell in the outsourcing space then there are 16 days of benefits that you can receive - at no charge - Get your IN open house pass today.

Source(s): The Outsourcing Institute

Beyond cost shifting (2 of 2)

Consumer-centric plan designs and programs—such as account-based designs, pay-for-performance programs and evidence-based medicine—are still new and emerging concepts for most employers. However, the survey shows a significant number of companies plan to look toward these initiatives in the future, as they explore leading-edge approaches that control near-term costs while influencing the patient-provider relationship for longer-term outcomes.

According to the survey, companies are exploring several different options to help influence the patient-provider relationship:

Account-Based Plan Designs: More than 20% of companies offer or plan to offer a high-deductible health plan with a health savings account (HSA) by the end of 2007, and almost half are considering offering one at a future date. And while just 3% of employees elected these plans last year, most companies anticipate that enrollment will grow to 20% in five years. When health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs) are considered, companies anticipate enrollment in either an HSA or HRA to grow to 31 percent.

Quality Performance Information: While only 11% of employers currently require health plans and providers to disclose quality performance information to employees today, more than 75% of companies plan to do so in the future.

Evidence-Based Medicine: Nineteen percent of companies include or plan to include, by the end of the year, benefit designs based on evidence-based medicine and appropriate care protocols, such as waiving copayments for prescription drugs that are proved to be effective and appropriate to treat certain diseases. Another 60% are considering implementing them at a future date.

Pay-for-Performance Programs: Nine percent of companies require or plan to require health plans to have pay-for-performance programs in place by the end of the year, and another 56%  are considering it at a future date. There are still barriers to effective pay-for-performance strategies, including the cost of the ‘rewards’ to higher-performing providers, as well as the measurement that defines performance.

According to the survey, companies that plan to take a more active role in the health of their employees report being more focused on health care quality than other employers and are more likely to select plans based on accreditation by organizations such as the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA). They also tend to participate in initiatives such as Leapfrog and Bridges to Excellence, and use high-performance networks.

This enthusiasm also generated interest in a number of other initiatives driven by data and health IT. While 72% of companies do not anticipate investing time or resources in implementing health IT programs this year, most plan to consider adopting programs such as computerized order entry and computerized clinical decision support tools in the future. In addition, 43% believe health plans should provide employees and dependents with portable electronic health records as part of their standard services.

Source(s): Hewitt Associates

Nasscom has eye on BPO

Nasscom will increase its focus on the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry, considering its prospects for growth. The $8.3b domestic BPO sector grew at a compound annual growth rate of 32% during 2006-07.

“All along, we were concentrating on the IT sector, since BPO was still a small industry. But with a newer executive council that has more membership from the BPO industry, clearly the emphasis will be on BPO as well,” said the recently appointed chairman of Nasscom, Lakshmi Narayanan, vice-chairman, Cognizent.

Narayanan said the BPO industry had been quick to realign its business strategy in order to retain growth. “The industry is also realigning and transforming and moving away from activities that are not going to be productive or give high margins and move to better value added segments,” he said.

The search for a president for the software sector lobby group is still going on. Narayanan’s present concerns at Nasscom include getting sufficient talent to meet the demand of the fast growing industry both for the IT and BPO segments, promoting innovative and secure environment. “Security will be a prime focus. Apart from educating the organisation on the need to have global standards, we plan to create some institutional infrastructure or a self regulatory body in order to make sure that the issue remains on the agenda for a longer time,” said Narayanan.

As for the talent crunch he believes that the three-pronged approach that Nasscom has started will continue. The first among the three is to encourage creative collaboration between the academic institutes within the industry so that relevant curriculum are incorporated in the courses. Second is to continue with the initiative of finishing schools and create a new ecoptd>

Source(s): Business Standard, NASSCOM