Briefly: "Small Business Uses Benefits to Retain Workers" and More of Tuesday's News
June 24, 2008 |
Staff
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A majority of small businesses—those with less than 500 employees—in the United States say workplace benefits play a very important role in employee retention, according to a survey.
However, many current benefits programs are not being utilized to their full retention potential. MetLife’s 6th annual Employee Benefits Trends Study, finds that 34% of workers at these smaller employers say the benefits they receive are a very important reason to remain with their employer, compared to 53% at larger firms.
Also, just 37% of employees at smaller companies say they are highly satisfied with their workplace benefits while 49% of employees at larger firms say they are highly satisfied.
The survey also reveals that a loyalty gap exists. Only 44% of workers at these smaller companies believe their employer has a very strong sense of loyalty to them. This, despite the fact that a higher percentage of smaller employers compared to larger employers are paying all of the costs for medical, dental, vision and prescription drug benefits.
For example, 36% of smaller firms pay the entire share of employees’ medical coverage and 29% pay all the cost of prescription drug coverage compared to only 15% and 13%, respectively, among employers with more than 500 workers.
Improved benefits communications is needed, says Robert Bucci, vice-president, MetLife Institutional Business. That, he adds, should help employees gain a greater appreciation of their workplace benefits.
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Talent Shortage Getting Worse: Survey
A survey reveals that a majority of Canadian companies are experiencing a talent shortage and most expect it to get much worse.
The Bedford Consulting Group survey finds that 70% of the country’s most senior business decision-makers say they are experiencing a talent shortage and 54% say it’s affecting their companies’ financial success.
Also, this situation is expected to worsen, according to 62% of respondents, a reflection of the impending baby boom from the workplace.
“Recruiting and retaining the best talent is an ongoing priority for many Canadian companies as the competition for talent remains strong,” says Bedford Consulting Group’s managing director, Steve Pezim.
C-suite executives and human resources leaders at 300 private and publicly traded companies across the country took part in the survey.
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Investment Managers Less Bullish
Investment managers are bracing themselves for a difficult slog through the remainder of 2008, believing neither that the U.S. economy is entirely out of the woods nor that a serious recession is inevitable, according to Russell Investments.
Its latest quarterly Investment Manager Outlook finds that manager bullishness fell for a majority of equity sectors and not one sector moved up five percentage points.
And money managers were less optimistic about two of the most defensive sectors: healthcare and consumer staples. Manager bullishness for the healthcare sector dropped 17 percentage points to 54% from the previous quarter while bullishness for the consumer staples sector dropped 10 percentage points to 37% over the same period.
“The signs point to a classic, persistent, mid-cycle slowdown,” says Erik Ristuben, Russell’s chief investment officer. “Relatively slow economic growth and muted corporate earnings have dampened manager enthusiasm for the near term, but they remain guardedly optimistic for an economic and market recovery.”
Managers identified a slowing economy as the most significant potential threat to market performance during the second half of 2008. While 46% had economic growth top of mind, 40% were watching inflation, and 38% thought both the credit markets and energy costs could still wreak havoc in the markets. Survey respondents were asked to select two factors they thought could negatively affect equity performance the second half of 2008.
More than 330 large- and small-cap equity managers as well as fixed-income managers participated in the survey.
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CalSTRS Searches for Director of Global Equities
The California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS) has launched a search for a director of global equities to oversee a portfolio valued at more than US$100 billion.
“This position requires a strategic thinker who can be both visionary and adroit at navigating a sophisticated global investment environment,” says CalSTRS chief investment officer Christopher J. Ailman. “The person holding this position will exercise a high level of independence and discretionary judgment over nearly two-thirds of the $170 billion CalSTRS investment portfolio.”
The incoming director follows Elleen Okada who took the reins as director of global equities 11 years ago. She arrived at CalSTRS 36 years ago as an accountant and rose through the investment ranks.
When Okada arrived at CalSTRS, investment assets totaled $2.4 billion and the pension plan was funded at about 30%, Ailman adds. Today, assets are nearly 71 times that value and the pension plan is funded at 87%.
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