IRS announces 2010 mileage reimbursement rates

From the Worldwide ERC

The new rates, which the IRS said reflect lower costs of operating vehicles compared to a year ago, are 50 cents per mile for business use (down from 55 cents per mile in 2009), and 16.5 cents per mile for moving (down from 24 cents per mile in 2009).  The reduction in the rate for moving is particularly large, and results in the lowest such rate since 2005.

Worldwide ERC® Tax Counsel Peter K. Scott noted that “Companies are reminded that if they reimburse transferees for use of an automobile in moving at a higher rate than 16.5 cents per mile in 2010, they will need to include the excess in the employees’ wages."

Where has civility gone?

The other day I was involved in a discussion with a fellow professional who was lamenting on the loss of civility int he marketplace. Specifically he was referring to corporations not responding to phone calls or letters. The real question here is not what is happening to the job seekers (who are the ones who complaint the most), but to business as a whole. Have we gotten so comfortable into our own worlds that we have forgotten the simple courtesies of personal relations? What happened to the concepts that are parents taught us on how to involve ourselves with those around us? Dr. Tony Alessanadra in his Platinum Rule concept exhorts us to "treat others as THEY would like to be treated." Have we forgotten how we would feel if the same kind of treatment was given to us? Let me know your thoughts.

What Did You Search For in 2009?

Search engines announces their list of the top searches for the past year. The list included the following
Yahoo

1. Michael Jackson
2. Twilight
3. WWE
4. Megan Fox
5. Britney Spears
6. Naruto
7. American Idol
8. Kim Kardashian
9. NASCAR
10. Runescape  

Google

1. michael jackson
2. facebook
3. tuenti
4. twitter
5. sanalika
6. new moon
7. lady gaga
8. windows 7
9. dantri.com.vn
10. torpedo gratis

Did these agree with your personal choices. Feel free to let us know how close your searches were.

Holiday wishes

To clients and other HR professionals who read this blog we extend our best wishes for the beginning of the holiday season with Thanksgiving tomorrow. I hope each and every one of you and your families enjoy the meals and family time. I would also would like to share with you a new video from Simple Truths which provides us some thoughts for these tough times we find ourselves in:

http://www.bestwayout.com/

Relocation Announcement

With the purchase of Vitality Beverages, Nestle Professional is moving it's corporate headquarters from Glendale, CA to Tampa, FL.

Relocation announcement

According to Automobile Magazine and the Bloomberg Report, Toyota over the next several months will complete the decision process to move its accounting, product planning and travel and data centers to either Kentucky or Michigan. The move would place the departments closer to the company's North American engineering and assembly sites and cut their overall operating costs.

Relocation Announcement

Cell phone handset maker Sony Ericsson will move its North American headquarters from North Carolina to Atlanta and close a half-dozen sites worldwide as it retrenches against what it expects will be a tighter market and cuts about 1,600 jobs globally.

Relocation Announcements

Dover Corporation moving it's corporate headquarters from New York City to Downers Grove, IL

Mega Merger Announcement

The principals of GMAC Real Estate and Real Living have announced that they have agreed to merge the two organizations in to a single organization. The new organization will use the name Real Living with Harley Rouda Jr assuming the position of President of the new operations. The combined organizations will consist of 30,000 agents across North America.

Are we really getting the message across?

I recently entered into a discussion with Michael Vandervort (http://www.thehumanracehorses.com) regarding the fact that we need to get across to management that HR people are the smartest people in the room. My question in return was why doesn't management believe us..to which Michael stated that we are not telling the message loud enough. We are the ones who know how to utilize the human capital to the best advantage of the organization. The problem is that in most corporations the human capital experts --US-- are considered nothing more than an expense item. Therefore when times get tough, we all know that we are among the first ones to be cut.

The goal that we need to look at is how to demonstrate in constructive ways that we have more to offer to the organization then a bottom line number. We are the ones who can identify lapses in the way people assets are assigned, utilized and developed. we are the ones who can show how to engage the workforce in the change process to make the organization stronger.

So my question is how are you getting the message across to management? If you are not getting the message across why not? What could you do differently to change the perception of what you do?

Relocation announcement

the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Arthropod-Borne Animal Disease Research Laboratory is moving to Manhattan, KS from Laramie, Wyo.

Ineo Promotion Announcement

 Ineo Relocation Technologies announced that Mary B. Reilly has joined the company in the newly created position of Senior Vice President of Global Business Development. In this role, Mary will oversee Ineo Relocation Technologies sales, marketing and client relations efforts and will work with the technology team to represent the "voice of the client."

Microsoft changes Relocation Policy

According to Afro Press, Microsoft Corporation has changed its Relocation Policy to extend the payback agreement for those transferees who leave the company. Going forward if an employee joins the Microsoft Corporation, they will be asked to sign a payback agreement that calls for repayment of relocation expenses to the corporation if they leave prior to 24 months. This is in part due to the housing market conditions.

DBAI creates Social Media 2.0 Presence

In addition to our presence here on Blogger you can now find information about our services on LinkedIn, Plaxo, Facebook and Twitter. You are invited to visit one or all of the sites for the latest news from our marketplace.

Thank you for your continued business.

Do You Really Know Your Hiring Practice?

Over the past year I have had the opportunity to look at a wide range of employment applications and a fairly common characteristic is that employers have not truly looked at the information that they have generated with their Applicant Tracking Systems. Now with the introduction of the Genetic Identification Non Discrimination Act it become even more critical that we review the information you are gathering. Your key should be is whether the information you are requesting is truly a valid indicator of whether the candidate can perform the duties of the position for which they are applying for.

Let me give you some recent examples I have come across:

A) An employer on the application, right at the top asked for who to contact in case of an emergency and the candidates social security number

B) An employer asked ,with a must answer stipulation, the date the candidate graduated from college

C) A government agency asked for required dates of your education. When questioned about the reasons for asking for the information, stated that the State AG had said it was okay.

With the dramatic increase in the number of discrimination suits and increased enforcement by the EEOC of these issues, it is to the detriment of your organization if you don't ensure that your application is asking questions which are bona-fide occupational qualification questions. Failure to do so can mean that financially you might be in worst shape.
While we are discussing your applications it is also critical that you check the system used by your outsourced applicant tracking system. They maybe asking questions which you are unaware of. The fact that you did not know the question was being asked is no excuse for asking questions that could lead to discriminatory practices in your talent management program.

Relocation Announcement

From Twitter was this notice:

Premier Inc., a health care purchasing and data company, announced Wednesday it's moving its headquarters from California to Charlotte while increasing its work in North Carolina's largest city by 300 jobs. A state economic incentives panel approved an agreement with Premier that could pay the company $4.1 million over the next nine years if it creates the jobs over the next five, keeps them through 2018 and meets investment targets. Premier, with 750 of its 1,250 workers already based out of Charlotte, will shift its headquarters from San Diego to Charlotte in part because many executive team members and its three divisions already are there, company spokesman Alven Weil said.

Relocation Announcement

Lennox Hearth Products has announced plans to relocate the headquarters and Research and Development operations of its Orange, Calif.-based hearth products company to Nashville and to consolidate both customer and technical service departments to Union City.

Stiefel Laboratories Inc. has announced it will shutter its 200-plus employee operation in Duluth, Ga. and move the work to Research Triangle Park, where it owns a 155,000-square-foot research and development facility.

Can We Run Our Relocation Program Faster, Cheaper and Better?

Daniel Bloom authored an article appearing in the October issue of Mobility Magazine regarding how to remove the wastes from the processes. Read the full text of the article at http://bit.ly/aqgXq
It applies the basics of the six-sigma methodology to the relocation process. Have other ways to improve the way we operate, let's talk about it.

20th Annual CRP Review Seminar Dates Announced

2010 Edition of Our CRP Review Seminar is set for May 16-18 in Orlando. The registration for the class is now open and further information can be obtained by emailing dan@dbaiconsulting.com.

What Do We Do?

In the course of my reading and travels, I am constantly hearing professionals with a number of questions about what they do with this thing we call Social Media. First let's be clear, it is here to stay, it is not a fad. But that still leaves the begging question about how we handle social media 2.0 in the workplace. The Wharton School published an intriguing Article covering this topic in their weekly knowledge@wharton blog. The whole article can be read at
http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article.cfm?articleid=2349

Despite what we think about this new frontier, we need to recognize both its benefits and its drawbacks. At the same time we need to develop strategies for the use of the medium both to the outside world and internally to our operations.