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Vol. 24, No. 8 • August, 2006
You can find this newsletter and some past issues on the web @ www.Freeman-Spicer.com
Time Wasted
Time wasted by employees at work is down from 2005, but it is still costing companies billions in 2006. According to the 2nd annual survey by America Online and Salary.com, the average worker admits to squandering 1.86 hours per 8-hour workday, not including lunch and scheduled break-time, which is down from 2.09 hours in 2005. As a matter of practice, companies assume a certain amount of wasted time when determining employee pay. However, the 2nd installment of the survey indicates that employees are continuing to waste about twice as much time as their employers expect. Salary.com calculates that employers spend $544 billion per year on salaries for which real work is expected, but none is done.
Top Time-Wasting Activities (%)
1. Surfing Internet (personal use) 52.0% 5. Making personal phone calls 3.9%
2. Socializing with co-workers 26.3% 6. Arriving late / Leaving early 2.9%
3. Running errands off-premises 7.6% 7. Applying for other jobs .7%
4. Spacing out 6.6%
CATS VS. MICE: Are workers really expected to work 8 hours per day, non-stop? According to a Salary.com follow-up survey of Human Resource managers, companies assume that employees will waste 0.94 hours per day. They take this into account when they do their compensation planning. However, those managers privately suspect that employees waste 1.6 hours per day. In fact, employees admit to wasting 1.86 hours per day. Thus, the gap between what HR suspects and actual time wasted at work is narrowing from 2005 to 2006. Some employees told us different ways they waste their time at work, such as sleeping, reading, or writing poetry. Other employees bring crossword puzzles to the office. However, staring blankly at the computer screen remains to be quite a popular choice. (AOL)
IRS
The IRS is drilling deeper in audits of executive pay practices. The Service is also perusing the records of rank-and-file workers to ensure firms are reporting and withholding on noncash fringe benefits. These perks are in the spotlight: Spousal travel to meetings. Personal use of company-supplied cars, cell phones and home computers. Stock options, both qualified and nonqualified. Educational assistance. Relocation expenses. Prizes and awards. And country club memberships.
Good news for firms and workers on next year’s FICA wage base. It may be lower than previously expected because the wage index used to set the ceiling didn’t rise as much as originally forecast. Government actuaries now project the wage base will be $98,100. (Kiplinger’s Washington Newsletter)
Finally a reason to go to meetings........................ Do you keep falling asleep in meetings and seminars? What about those long and boring conference calls? Here’s a way to change all of that. Before (or during) your next meeting, seminar, or conference call, prepare yourself by drawing a square. You’ll find that 5" X 5" is a good size. Divide the card into columns - five across and five down. This will give you 25 one-inch blocks. Write one of the following words/phases in each block: * synergy * strategic fit * core competencies * best practice * bottom line * revisit * expeditious * 24/7 * out of the loop * benchmark * value-added * pro-active * win-win * think outside the box * fast track * result-driven * empower (or empowerment) * knowledge-based * at the end of the day * touch base * mind-set * client focused * paradigm * game plan * leverage *. . . or add your own phase. Check off the appropriate block when you hear one of those words / phrases. When you get five blocks horizontally, vertically, or diagonally, stand up and shout Bingo - well maybe just keep it to yourself or sign your fellow meeting participant. (K. Nutty)
Marketing........................ Evidence suggest slogans fare better when it comes to customer recall if they incorporate the company / product name. Wolf Group New York, an ad agency, tested consumer recognition of 19 tag lines that were part of successful, long-running advertising campaigns backed by hundreds of millions of dollars. Each of the top-five brands in the survey included the product or advertiser’s name, while none of the bottom 10 did. For example, Visa’s slogan, “It’s everywhere you want to be” was familiar to 70 percent of respondents, but only 15 percent could correctly identify who the advertiser was. On the other hand, the tag line “Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there” experienced practically universal recognition. (Entrepreneur)
By the Numbers / Banking Business ...........................What’s most important to small businesses when doing their banking? As in real estate, it’s location, location, location. Although technology makes it easier to do banking business from a distance, being physically close to the bank topped the list of bank attributes that small owners considered “very important,” at 62%, in a survey conducted by the National Federation of Independent Business. One of the reasons, the NFIB report suggests, may be that many small businesses, especially retailers, have a lot of cash deposits to make, so they consider proximity to the bank an advantage. Another reason: Small firms have been slow to jump into technological options. Following location, owners ranked “knows you and your business” at 58%, slightly higher than being “a reliable source of credit” (57%). Speed of decision making is considered important by 53%, and the survey suggests that may small firms are more concerned with bank help on immediate problems rather than long-term plans. Half the small-business owners polled cited “easy access to a loan officer” as very important, and 46% see a wide range of services as something they want. At the bottom of the list of bank qualities deemed important: “social contact with a loan officer” (37%), “has a customer friendly Web site” (35%), and “knows your industry” (33%). (Richard Breeden, Wall Street Journal)
Money ............................. Answers to questions are at the bottom: 1) A bat and ball cost $1.10 in total. The bat costs $1.00 more than the ball. How much does the ball cost? 2) It takes 5 machines 5 minutes to make 5 widgets. How long would it take 100 machines to make 100 widgets? 3) In a lake there is a lily pad patch. Every day the patch doubles in size. If it takes 48 days for the patch to cover the entire lake, how long would it take for the patch to cover half the lake? This Cognitive Reflection Test by S. Frederick seems to predict if you’re good at things like managing money. ● five cents, ● five minutes, ● 47 days. (Smart Money)
NEW WAY TO DO CAR JACKINGS (NOT A JOKE).......................You walk across the parking lot, unlock your car and get inside. You start the engine and shift into Reverse, and when you look into the rearview mirror to back out of your parking space, you notice a piece of paper stuck to the middle of the rear window. So, you shift into Park, unlock your doors and jump out of your car to remove that paper (or whatever it is) that is obstructing your view. When you reach the back of your car, that is when the car jackers appear out of nowhere, jump into your car and take off. They practically mow you down as they speed off in your car. And guess what, ladies? I bet your purse is still in the car, and if they see your home address and have your keys, your home is now compromised! BEWARE OF THIS NEW SCHEME THAT IS NOW BEING USED. If you see a piece of paper stuck to your back window, just drive away, remove the paper later. (Lopatin)
What you need to know about Air Travel ......................... 1. The aisle seat you thought you had? Gone. Your seat assignment isn’t a done deal until you’re holding a boarding pass, even it you selected a seat when you bought your ticket. (One exception: Northwest Airlines is testing guaranteed reservation for aisle and exit-row seats for a fee of $15 for each leg of the flight.) Boost your odds of receiving your preferred seat by checking in online. Most airline Web sites allow you to check in within 24 hours of your flight’s departure. 2. Try saying “pretty please.” Airlines give their airport agents discretion to assign seats and make other decisions. Use them. Last year, five months before Ken and Kari Dilloo were set to take an Alaska Airlines flight to Zihuatanejo, Mexico, they visited the Seattle airport counter of Alaska Airlines, and asked for seats with extra legroom. Says Kari: “It was completely worth it for the more-than-six-hour flight on our honeymoon.” 3. If they bump you, make them pay. Hold out for the best deal. Last year 47,774 confirmed passengers were bumped from their flights against their will. Every major airline with large aircraft, except for JetBlue, denied boarding to some passengers. If your airline bumps you, it must rebook you on a later flight and compensate you with up to $400 in cash or its equivalent, according to federal rules. The gate agent may offer you a voucher for a free or discounted future flight instead of cash. But many vouchers come with restrictions, such as a one-year expiration, so cash is usually the better deal. If, however, a gate agent asks for passengers to give up their seats voluntarily, note that the agent could up the voucher ante to as much as $1,000. 4. Stretching your legs is a luxury. Most airlines offer seats in economy class with only 31 inches of legroom. An exception is JetBlue, whose seats often provide 34 inches of legroom. Barry Rogers of Evanston, Ill., a business traveler who is 6 feet 3 inches, offers this tip: Determine the legroom and quirks of a seat before you book by visiting SeatGuru.com, a site that details the seating on planes flown by 29 airlines. 5. They could run out of peanuts while you’re waiting to take off. On average, one out of five planes was delayed last year, and the percentage of delayed planes has increased over the past few years. To avoid sitting on the runway, book on of the first flights of the day. A flight that originates at the airport has a sporting chance of departing on time. 6. B.Y.O.B. - blankie, that is. Today’s Greyhounds of the skies are even skimping on blankets. In a recent test, American Eagle charged $5 for a pillow-and-blanket kit. So consider toting the following items to add to your comfort: The Cabin Cuddler blanket ($35; www.cabincuddler.com) boasts a unique shape that is easier to wrap around your body than an ordinary, rectangular blanket. (Says David Rowell, who writes the online newsletter The Travel Insider, “It’s my favorite blanket.”) The Hedbed inflatable travel pillow ($10 at Campmor.com) is comfy but small enough for easy packing. And Beyond BodiHeat’s self-adhesive heating pads will soothe your muscles for hours (ten pads for $10 at Drugstore.com). (Kiplinger’s)
Sincerely,
Edward C. Levy
President