Employers Resource Association Cincinnati: 1200 Edison Drive Cincinnati, OH 45216-2276 Phone: 513.679.4120 | Fax: 513.679.4139 Columbus: 300 East Broad Street, Suite 550 Columbus, OH 43215-3774 Phone: 614.538.9410 | Fax: 614.538.9420 Toll free: 888.237.9554 www.hrxperts.org

March 2 0 1 2

Inside this issue:

1 Post Recession Challenges 2 From the President 3 Survey Update 4 Proposed Amendments 5 HR Management II 6 Behavioral Interviewing 7 New Members 8 Member Highlights 9 Safety Spotlight

Special points

10 ERA Special Events 11 Dayton-Top Workplace

Recent reports inform us

that the unemployment rate

is down to just over 8%.

While this number is still

high, it is better than we’ve

seen in the past three years.

Improving employment num-

bers provide opportunities

and challenges for today’s

HR professional.

The issues and concerns that

plagued us in 2007 seem like

a distant memory now. Re-

call the time when organiza-

tions talked about talent

shortages due to an aging

population, imminent retire-

ments threatening to deplete

our nation’s critical skill

base, and a highly mobile

workforce driving high turn-

over in key areas by seeking

greater opportunities with

other employers?

In those pre-recession days

there was much discussion

on how we could act crea-

tively to hold on to our cur-

rent workers while investing

in training and education to

prepare for the needs of the

future. All of that might seem

quaint today; but even with

many still out of work, forward-

thinking organizations are start-

ing to plan for the stronger

economy to come.

HR can play a key role in help-

ing their organization to suc-

cessfully emerge into the new

post-recession environment. By

thinking strategically about how

to respond to this upcoming

challenge, HR professionals can

make a valuable contribution to

their organization’s future.

As leaders come to realize that

engaged and talented people

are crucial to their organiza-

tion’s success, HR can help cre-

ate the right mix of incentives

to attract, retain, and motivate

workers in a changing world.

To most people, “incentives”

mean money, and more specifi-

cally, “a good salary.” Base

salary is certainly important and

Meeting Post-Recession Challenges and Opportunities

(Continued on Page 11)

From the President

THE

BUSINESS

LEADERS

BEHIND

ERA

PAGE 2 March 2012 ©ERA

Jennifer Graft, SPHR Secretary of ERA’s Board

of Directors

As a Human Resources Consulting Organization, we rely greatly on the wisdom and experience of some of the area’s leading mem-bers of the business community. We are honored and grateful that so many individuals have donated their time and expertise by serv-ing on our board of directors. This year brings several changes to the board, and we would like to highlight our executive leaders. Please join me in congratulating them on their new roles. Board members serve a three year term with the option to renew and are replaced on a rolling basis. The 2012 Officers of the Board include:

• Lynn M. Mangan, Vice Presi-

dent, Client Services of Pay-cor, Inc., Chair

• Bill Thiemann, Executive Vice

President & Chief Customer Officer of LPK, Vice Chair

• Katharine C. Weber, Attorney

at Law, Jackson Lewis LLP, Treasurer

• Michael J. Kelley, Chairman &

CEO of Kelvest, Inc., Past Chairman

Directors: • Sharyl Gardner, Vice President,

HR of Midmark Corporation • Kelly Turley, Vice President of HR

of The W.W. Williams Co. • Mark Hausfeld, Vice President and

Chief Administrative Officer at C.W. Zumbiel Company

• Charles J. Aardema, Vice Presi-

dent, Human Resources for totes Isotoner

• Janet Collins, President at Ghent

Manufacturing, Inc. • Michelle Murcia, Vice President,

Finance & Administration and Chief Financial Officer at Tech-Columbus

• Tiffany White, CPA, Principal at

Clark, Schaefer, and Hackett • Peggy Zink, President of Cincinnati

Works Central Ohio members have already had the chance to meet some of our board members at the open house last month, and we hope to provide a similar opportunity for our Cincinnati, Dayton, Northern Kentucky, and Indi-ana members in the coming months. We look forward to working with our board this year to help keep you cur-rent, compliant, and competent!

Survey Update

PAGE 3 March 2012 ©ERA

The deadline for the 2012 Profes-

sional and Supervisory Survey has

been extended until Friday, April 6.

This comprehensive survey covers

salary data for 129 professional,

managerial, and supervisory re-

lated occupations in fields such as:

Accounting

Administrative

Human Resources

Customer Service

Marketing

Production

Also look for the 2012 Engineering

and Technical survey, which is

coming out on Friday, April 1.

Finally, make sure you participate

in the July-December 2011 Turn-

over/Layoff Survey. This short

survey covers monthly and annual

turnover for 2011, and can be ac-

cessed by clicking here.

Please do not hesitate to contact

the Survey Department at 513-679

-4120, toll free at 888-237-9554,

or e-mail Douglas C. Matthews at

dmatthews@hrxperts.org if you

have any questions about our sur-

vey processes or need assistance

with completing your survey ques-

tionnaires.

Here are the current survey deadlines:

Professional and Supervisory Ques-tionnaire has been extended to: Friday, April 6 The 2012 Health andWelfare Benefits Survey will be sent on: Wednesday, April 18

PAGE 4 March 2012 ©ERA

On August 30, 2011 the National La-bor Relations Board finalized a new regulation that requires all employers to post an Employee Rights notice informing employees of their rights under the National Labor Relations Act. The requirement applies to all employers that fall under the Board’s jurisdiction, which is extremely broad. The new requirement was met with immediate legal challenges. On March 2, 2012, a federal court in Washington, D.C., upheld the statu-tory authority of the National Labor Relations Board to require all employ-ers covered by the National Labor Relations Act to display a poster in-forming employees of their rights un-der the Act. Employers were handed a partial victory when the court struck down two of the penalty provisions included in the Board's final rule that failure to post the notice would be regarded as an unfair labor practice on its face. The Court also struck down a tolling provision that would have automatically tolled the 6- month statute of limitations for failure to post the notice. A challenge is still pending in South Carolina and the March 2nd decision has already been appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. Unless implementation of the Board's rule is again postponed by the NLRB, delayed by the D.C. appeal or other-wise impacted by a decision in the Federal Court case in South Carolina, the Employee Notice is to be posted by April 30.

The D.C. Federal Court struck the most serious consequence of fail-ing to post the notice- specifically that the failure to post the notice is an unfair labor practice. You should consult with your counsel regarding the risks of non-compliance. Until the legal challenges are re-solved, Employers Resource As-sociation will not have all-in-one posters that include the Em-ployee Rights notice. For the Employee Rights poster. Click here. The poster must be displayed in a conspicuous place, where other notifications of workplace rights and employer rules and policies are posted. Employers also should publish a link to the notice on an internal or external website if other personnel policies or workplace notices are posted there, according to the NLRB. The poster is required to be 11 x 17 inches, in color or in black-and-white. When printing to full size, be sure to set your printer output to 11 x 17. Or you may print the two 8.5 x 11 pages and tape them together. If you have any difficulty with the ERA link or you need other language ver-sions of the Notice, the NLRB website is www.nlrb.gov/poster.

NLRB Employee Rights Notice

PAGE 5 March 2012 ©ERA

This follow-up course builds upon HRM I and provides a deeper analysis of issues facing the HR professional. This pro-gram concentrates on applying sound management practices to the HR function. Participants will learn how to review prac-tices, policies, and procedures for consistency. The focus then shifts to the implementation of strategies for positive employee relations, including compensa-tion and benefit practices and employee relations develop-ments. Specific discussion will center on protecting the com-pany from agency challenges and charges and how to coach and counsel employees with behavior or performance prob-lems. Guidance for the formal performance evaluation process rounds out the program. Learning Objectives:

• Develop HR policies and procedures that do not vio-late federal and state em-ployment and labor rela-tions laws

• Improve employee relations and retention with goals and accountabilities for all lead-ers, including first-line su-pervisors

• Know what your company expects you to do when an agency pays you a visit

• Prepare for and improve chances of prevailing in an unemployment hearing

• Effectively deal with difficult coaching situations—for direct reports as well as when coach-ing other supervisors and man-agers

About your instructor… Monique Kahkonen, SPHR, HR Learning and Development Consult-ant, Monique graduated summa cum laude from Wright State University with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Rehabilitation Counseling. Monique’s primary training areas are HR and legal compliance as well as ERA’s core leadership and per-sonal development topics. By com-bining her career experiences and knowledge, participants are able to walk away with solid examples and inspiring messages to implement immediately upon returning to their office.

Human Resource Management II

Date: Wednesdays April 18, 25, May 2, 9, 16 & 23, 2012

Time: 8:30 am—12:00 pm

Location: ERA Cincinnati Office

1200 Edison Drive

Cincinnati, OH 45216

CEUs: 2.1

CPEs: 21 Management

PHR/SPHR.GPHR Recer-tification Credits: 21

Member Fee: $380.00

*Non-member Fee:

$530.00

Member Discount

Register three or more peo-

ple at least 14 business

days prior to the program to

qualify for a 5% Group Dis-

count

*Pre-payment is required

for non-members.

To register, e-mail

training@hrxperts.org

or call 513-679-4120

CANCELLATION POLICY:

Substitutions may be made at any time prior to the first class session. No

-shows or cancellations in writing within 2 full business days will be

charged.

Monique Kahkonen, SPHR

PAGE 6 March 2012 ©ERA

Date: Tuesday April 17, 2012

Time: 8:30 am—3:00 pm Lunch is included

Location: ERA Columbus Office

300 East Broad Street

Suite 500

Columbus, OH 43215

CEUs: 0.6

CPEs: 6 Management

PHR/SPHR/GPHR

Recertification Credits: 5.5

Member Fee: $155.00

*Non-member Fee: $215.00

Member Discount

Register three or more people

at least 14 business days prior

to the program to qualify for a

5% Group Discount

*Pre-payment is required for

non-members.

To register, e-mail

training@hrxperts.org

or call 614.538.9410

CANCELLATION POLICY:

Substitutions may be made at any time prior to the first class session. No-

shows or cancellations in writing within 2 full business days will be charged.

Interviewing and selection mis-takes are costly: increased turnover, lower productivity, morale problems, unemploy-ment, and litigation. These problems are caused or exac-erbated by well-intended op-erational personnel who have not been formally trained in the proper selection tech-niques. Teach your managers, supervisors, leads, and any other team members involved in the interviewing process to do this right.

Learning Objectives:

• Introduce the “behavioral” interviewing technique

• Analyze the job for critical success factors

• Develop better behavioral questions to uncover those critical success factors

• Avoid asking questions that potentially lead to dis-crimination charges

• Read applications/resumes with a critical eye, identify-ing red flags

• Follow an excellent 7-step interview process

• Interpret candidate an-swers to determine candi-date fitness for the job.

Behavioral Interviewing Techniques

About your instructor… Jessica Coleman, Associate Instructor, leads this informa-tive and valuable program. Jessica holds a B.A from As-bury College, and a M.A. in Training and Organizational Development from Ball State University. She also serves as adjunct faculty at Columbus State Community College in the Department of Communi-cations, and is a member of HRACO and Columbus Young Professionals.

Jessica Coleman

New Members

PAGE 7 March 2012 ©ERA

These companies

have recently

joined ERA:

Thank You!

Artworks is located in Cincinnati, Ohio. Ms. Tamara Harkary is the Di-

rector.

Bobcat Enterprises is located in Hamilton, Ohio. Mr. Thomas L. Trapp

is the President.

Collins Ink is located in Cincinnati, Ohio. Mr. Tim Ruppert is the COO.

Complete Interior Concerts is located in Columbus, Ohio. Ms. Gerald-

ine Dixon Speer is the President.

Freeman Enclosure Systems is located in Batavia, Ohio. Ms. Bonnie

Freeman is the COO.

Hyde’s Restaurant is located in Hamilton, Ohio. Ms. Ashley Hyde-Tuley is Co-Owner. Metal Resource Solutions, Inc. is located in West Chester, Ohio. Mr. Richard Tereba is the President. Mettler Toledo is located in Columbus, Ohio. Ms. Deborah Wasserman is Head of HR.

Parker Hannifin, Hybrid Drive Systems is located in Columbus, Ohio. Ms. Alyssa Peterson is the Human Resource Manager. Polymer Ohio is located in Westerville, Ohio. Mr. Joe Jacomet is Presi-dent. Recto Molded Products is located in Cincinnati, Ohio. Mr. Per Flem is the President. Source 1 Alloys, Inc. is located in Hamilton, Ohio. Mr. Glenn Grayson is the President. The Printing Plant is located in Cincinnati, Ohio. Mr. Tod Leonard is the Vice President.

Trustaff is located in Blue Ash, Ohio. Ms. Bethany Hoon is the HR Man-ager. Vargo Companies is located in Hilliard, Ohio. Mr. Mike Vargo is the President.

WesBanco Bank is located in Cincinnati, Ohio. Mr. Paul M. Limbert is

the President/CEO.

Member Highlights

PAGE 8 March 2012 ©ERA

Welcome, new

members to ERA!

Thank you for

your membership!

Parker Hannifin, Hybrid Drive

Systems

Parker Hannifin is the world’s larg-est leading diversified manufacturer of motion and control technologies and systems, providing precision engineered solutions for a wide va-riety of commercial, mobile, indus-trial and aerospace markets.

Polymer Ohio

Polymer Ohio is an Ohio Edison Technology Center focused on en-hancing Ohio’s Polymer industries global competitiveness and growth by providing companies with a broad range of value-added pro-grams and services. Mettler Toledo

Mettler Toledo is a global manufac-turer and markets of precision in-struments for use in laboratory, industrial and food retailing applica-tions. The focus on the high value added segments of their markets by providing innovative instruments that often integrate various tech-nologies including application-specific solutions for customers. The Company has a presence in Europe, the United States and China.

Vargo Companies

Vargo Companies is a team of lead-ing fulfillment and distribution center specialists with expertise in system integration, innovative software so-lutions and specialized equipment. Working with manufacturers, retails, wholesale or direct-to-consumer dis-tributors, they help companies move beyond today’s fulfillment and distri-bution standards to achieve peak performance metrics. WesBanco Bank

WesBanco, Inc. is a multi-state bank holding company with total assets of approximately $5.4 billion, operating through 112 branch locations and 124 WesBanco owned ATMs in West Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvania. WesBanco has network of 37,000 ATMs nationwide. Collins Ink

Collins Ink does one thing: they make inkjet inks. Their goal is to be the kind of company with which you would like to partner. Having this philosophy does two things: it in-spires a certain amount of customer loyalty and it makes it easier to come to work everyday.

PAGE 9 March 2012 ©ERA

Safety Spotlight

Group Retrospective Rating Program: An Alternative Savings Option

What is Group Retrospective Rating? Group Retrospective Rating is a program where BWC-certified group sponsors pool employers of like industry that meet their criteria for safety and claims management practices. As total future claim costs of the group stay under the group’s premiums paid, the group members receive up to three premium refunds of their individual premiums paid. CareWorks Consultants has cre-ated three tiers with different projected savings levels for each industry group. The three levels are: • Platinum (74% - 78% re-

fund) • Gold (56% - 61% refund) • Silver (30% - 34% refund) Considerations before Joining Employers who wish to take part in group retrospective rating must fully understand the risk involved. If the group’s claim costs exceed the group’s premi-ums paid, the entire group of employers will pay a premium assessment. This assessment is capped at a percentage of the employer’s individual annual premium. CareWorks Consultants thor-oughly reviews each group mem-ber’s safety program and claim history prior to acceptance into all CareWorks Consultants group retrospective rating programs we administer. CareWorks Consult-ants works aggressively and pro-

actively to help our group retro-spective rating clients prevent injuries and control costs to maximize the benefits of the program for all participants. Paying your Premiums Group retrospective rated em-ployers continue to pay their semi-annual premiums (at their individual rates) to BWC, as if they were not in a group. If new claim costs remain under the premiums paid for the group as a whole, rebates will be is-sued by BWC at 12, 24 and 36 month intervals after the policy year ends. Employers that maintain partici-pation in the group retrospective program for multiple years can continue to get multi-year rebates more ever. Deadlines to Enroll Interested employers must apply through a BWC-certified sponsor. Certified sponsors provide the application and determine whether to include employers in their group retrospective pro-gram. Deadlines for applying are: Private, state fund employers – Last business day of April. Public employer taxing districts – Last business day of October.

For further information about group retrospective rating, please contact CareWorks Con-sultants toll-free at, 1-800-837-3200.

PAGE 10 March 2012 ©ERA

Columbus Training

Communication Skills for Teamwork will take place on Wednesday, April 11, 8:30 am - 3:00 pm

Excellence in Leadership II will take place on Thursdays, April 12, 19, 26, May 3, 10 & 17 8:15 am — 12:15 pm

Behavioral Interviewing Techniques will take place on Tuesday, April 17, 8:30 am — 3:00 pm

Cincinnati Training

Making the Transition of Supervisor will take place on Tuesdays, April 3, 10, 17 & 24, 8:15 am — 12:15 pm

Managing to Preserve Your Union-Free Environment will take place on Tuesday, April 3, 8:30 am — 11:30 am

FMLA Essentials will take place on Wednesdays, April 4 & 11, 8:30 am — 11:30 am

Interpersonal Skills—Development Series will take place on Tuesdays, April 10, 17, 24 & May 1, 8:30 am — 11:30 am

ADA Essentials will take place on Thursday, April 12, 8:30 am — 11:30 am

Human Resource Management II will take place on Wednesdays, April 18, 25, May 2, 9, 16 & 23, 8:30 am — 12:00 pm

Affirmative Action Planning Requirements will take place on Tuesday, April 24 8:30 am — 5:00 pm

To register for classes, e-mail training@hrxperts.org or call 888.237.9554.

ERA Special Events Legal Breakfast Briefing Cincinnati

“What the Wage and Hour Investigator Wants to Talk to You About” Michael S. Glassman

Dinsmore & Shohl, LLP

Tuesday, April 17

8:30 am—9:30 am

ERA Cincinnati Office

Member Fee: $25.00

Non-Member Fee: $35.00

To Register...

Legal Breakfast Briefing Columbus

“Employment Contract Issues Including Non-Competition Agreements” William A. Nolan

Barnes & Thornburg LLP

Wednesday, April 25

8:30 am—9:30 am

ERA Columbus Office

Member-Fee: $25.00

Non-Member Fee: $35.00

To Register...

Ohio Labor Law Posters Are In! The postings on ERA’s Ohio Labor Law poster were revised 1/1/2012. If you

are in need of this updated Ohio Poster, please click here. Please note, the

Federal Poster latest update was November of 2009. We will let you know

when the Federal Poster is updated again.

PAGE 11 March 2012 ©ERA

ERA Staff Members

JIM CARTER

DAN CHANEY

BARBARA ENGLAND

JENNIFER GRAFT

PATTI GROGAN

LORI HALL

BRANDI HELTON

TERRY HENLEY

MONIQUE KAHKONEN

PETER LANDESMAN

JANIECE MASON

DOUGLAS C. MATTHEWS

RALPH NEAL

MIRANDA NEIKE

CAROLYN POTTER

CAROL REUBEL

APRIL RISEN

JERRY YINGLING

MONICA ZOERNER

Top Workplaces are organiza-tions that provide their employ-ees with a great place to work. It is about more than just perks. It's about a better way of doing business. Research has shown that employees want to be part of something meaning-ful, where they can contribute and give their best. Top Work-places recognize companies that have an inclusive ap-proach, meaning they can be more innovative, operate more ethically, and serve customers better. Chally has been recog-nized as employees and cus-tomers have attested and, as a result, has been named as one of the Top Workplaces in the Dayton Metro Area for 2012!

Congratulations!

Here are the workplace fac-tors by which Chally was measured:

Direction: Assessment of the company's values, leaders, and strategy. Execution: Assessment of the how the company communicates and gets work done. Career: Opportunity for training and progression. Conditions: Assessment of the working atmosphere and working conditions. Managers: Quality of the manag-ers and their managerial skills. Pay & Benefits: Assessment of employee compensation for the work done.

Chally Selected as One of the 2012 Top Workplaces in Dayton

base wages are well matched to and competitive with the market. It is especially important as the market returns, after years of wage freezes and reduced merit increases, to ensure that the organization’s salary program is still competitive. This can be accomplished with a formal wage structure that is regularly re-viewed and updated. Beyond base salary, many or-ganizations have learned that strong variable compensation can drive improved performance, provided a program is in place.

To be effective, organizational goals should be well defined and linked with team and individual goals. These goals should be aligned with a vibrant incentive rewards program that properly rewards the achievement of goals.

Beyond monetary rewards, or-ganizations are realizing the importance of other incentives. Progressive organizations plan their total rewards program around what employees want. An employee engagement sur-vey can be a powerful tool in helping to learn the value that employees put on certain re-wards and incentives including benefits, flexible scheduling, working remotely, opportunities for learning, training, and pro-fessional growth as well as other innovative rewards. As organizations move into the future they will continue to be challenged to respond to worker needs and wants to ensure they have the right quality and mix of talent to be successful. HR professionals can play a strong role by leading planning efforts to meet this challenge.

(Continued from Page 1)

Do you need more information about a service or program offered by ERA? Would you like to talk to one of our experts in a particular speciality?

Here’s a list of some of our most popular services, and the main contact person for each of them.

In Cincinnati, please call: 513.679.4120 | In Columbus, please call: 614.538.9410

PAGE 12 March 2012 ©ERA

Employers Resource Association

Cincinnati: 1200 Edison Drive

Cincinnati, OH 45216-2276

Phone: 513.679.4120 | Fax: 513.679.4139

Columbus: 300 East Broad Street, Suite 550

Columbus, OH 43215-3774

Phone: 614.538.9410 | Fax: 614.538.9420

Toll free: 888.237.9554

www.hrxperts.org

Register For Training Today! See Page 11 For Upcoming Classes.

Cincinnati Columbus

Hotline……………………………………. Dan Chaney Lori Hall / Barb England

Administration and Posters……….. April Risen April Risen

Compensation Services…………….. Terry Henley Terry Henley

Affirmative Action Plans……………. Carol Reubel Lori Hall

HR On-Site Services ……….……… Carol Reubel Lori Hall

360’s….…………………………………… Carol Reubel Lori Hall

Training & Development…………… Ralph Neal Ralph Neal

Assessments…………………………… Brandi Helton Brandi Helton

Compliance Issues…………………… Dan Chaney/Carolyn Potter Dan Chaney/Carolyn Potter

Reference Center……………………... Dan Chaney Lori Hall

Roundtables…………………………….. Dan Chaney Lori Hall / Barb England

Salary and Benefits Surveys………. Douglas C. Matthews Douglas C. Matthews

Custom Surveys……………………..… Douglas C. Matthews Douglas C. Matthews

Membership ………………...…………. Jim Carter Monica Zoerner

Peter Landesman Peter Landesman