We recently polled our readers about the biggest HR concerns for 2011, and here’s how you responded: healthcare challenges topped the list with about 80 percent of respondents voting, followed by increasing federal investigations at 45 percent. (Respondents were asked to vote for their top 3 choices.)
The survey was done in late December 2010. About 850 readers responded. Here are the detailed results:
Q1. Which HR issues concern you the most as an HR professional or manager in 2011? Please choose three of the topics listed below:
|
Answer Options |
Response Percent
|
Response Count
|
|
Healthcare costs and requirements |
79.80%
|
681
|
|
FMLA paid leave initiatives |
30.70%
|
262
|
|
Ethics (Dodd-Frank Act, SOX, etc.) |
11.00%
|
94
|
|
Social networking and blogging |
30.20%
|
258
|
|
Corporate social responsibility and the green movement |
5.20%
|
44
|
|
Increasing investigations by the DOL, EEOC, and IRS |
45.00%
|
384
|
|
Possible new FLSA recordkeeping requirements for exempt employees |
47.40%
|
404
|
|
Retirement of Baby Boomers |
16.40%
|
140
|
|
Issues concerning government contracts |
8.70%
|
74
|
|
Workplace wellness |
20.50%
|
175
|
Q2. Have you caught any of your employees negatively blogging about your company or mentioning it in an inappropriate manner on a social networking site?
| Answer Options |
Response Percent
|
Response Count
|
| Yes |
25.10%
|
213
|
| No |
74.90%
|
634
|
Q3. The DOL stated in its Spring 2010 Regulatory Analysis, that it would be proposing a new requirement that employers perform a written classification analysis on every exempt employee outlining why the employee is exempt. Employers would have to provide a copy of the analysis to each exempt employee and keep a copy in their records. How many exempt employees do you have (in other words, how many reports would your company have to write)?
| Answer Options |
Response Percent
|
Response Count
|
| Zero to 25 exempt employees |
37.40%
|
316
|
| 26 to 100 exempt employees |
31.60%
|
267
|
| 101 to 250 exempt employees |
12.50%
|
106
|
| 251 to 500 exempt employees |
6.70%
|
57
|
| 501 to 1000 exempt employees |
4.40%
|
37
|
| 100 to 5000 exempt employees |
5.40%
|
46
|
| Over 5000 exempt employees |
2.00%
|
17
|
Q4. Have you initiated any workplace wellness programs at your company in the last couple of years? Have these initiatives helped create a healthier workforce for your company?
| Answer Options |
Response Percent
|
Response Count
|
| Yes we have initiated workplace wellness programs, and the health of our workforce has improved. |
22.10%
|
187
|
| Yes we have initiated workplace wellness programs, but the health of our workforce has not improved. |
23.30%
|
197
|
| We have not initiated any workplace wellness programs at our company in the last couple of years. |
54.60%
|
461
|
Q5. Do you feel that the increasing investigations by the DOL, EEOC, and IRS will affect your company?
| Answer Options |
Response Percent
|
Response Count
|
| Yes |
33.70%
|
286
|
| No |
17.40%
|
148
|
| I don’t know |
48.90%
|
415
|
What’s your hot topic for 2011? Let us know and we’ll try to cover it in a future issue. E-mail me at mailto:sbruce@blr.com