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1. FEATURE STORY:
MANY EMPLOYERS GROWING LESS GENEROUS IN OFFERING TIME OFF

Is less better or is more merrier? Seems many employers are choosing the former when it comes to the amount of time off they offer to new hires.

According to AHI's 2007 Survey Of Traditional Time Off And PTO Program Practices, over the last three years, employers have become less generous with the amount of time off they're granting employees, especially new hires. Doesn't matter whether employers use a paid time off (PTO) program, which tracks sick, personal, and vacation leave collectively and deducts time from one combined time-off bank, or a Traditional program, which tracks sick, personal, and vacation leave independently and deducts time from distinct banks.

In 2005 and 2006, most PTO responders tagged 11-15 days as the number of days granted to new employees (i.e., those without a full year of service completed). The top response dropped to five or fewer days in 2007.

Employers using a Traditional program started to grow less generous back in 2006, when the top amount of vacation days offered to new hires dropped to five or fewer days from 6-10 days in 2005; five or fewer days remained the top response in 2007.

So why the change of time-off heart? One possible reason employers might decide to reduce the amount of PTO or vacation time for new hires is the nomadic job-searching nature of younger employees. According to a survey by the Segmentation Company, a division of the marketing consultant Yankelovich, 65% of 24- to 35-year-olds prefer to "look for a job in the place that I would like to live," rather than "look for the best job I can find, the place where I live is secondary." The survey postulates that living in the city of their dreams increases the likelihood of younger workers job-hopping to get there.

While there is nothing you can do about the attractiveness of the city in which your organization is located, you can try to hang on to new hires by ensuring that your organization is competitive in the number of days off given to employees.

For example, AHI's survey found that after completing five years of service, the top PTO day range was 16-20 days, while the top vacation day range was 11-15 days. Gain a retention edge by either exceeding those day ranges or making sure your organization is on the high-end of those ranges. To find out how your organization stacks up against companies in the same industry or of the same size when it comes to giving time off, click here to get highlights of AHI's 2007 Survey Of Traditional Time Off And PTO Program Practices ...free.

2. CATHIE'S CORNER:
CAN YOU TAKE BACK A TERMINATION DECISION?

You can. But you shouldn't.

You should never, ever tell employees that they will be terminated if you are not prepared to follow through. By threatening termination and backing down, you are teaching them that there are no repercussions other than maybe another lecture or a piece of paper in their file, and they can continue to follow their own path as long as they like. So if you're not prepared to actually terminate, don't tell employees that they will be.

Let's say you have employees who have a problem with attendance. Let's also say, for the sake of simplicity, that the absences and tardies are not protected by law (e.g., Family and Medical Leave Act, Americans with Disabilities Act).

You've talked to the employees and you've told them that their attendance is not satisfactory. You've documented their file and they are on official notice that if they are again tardy/absent/a no show, their employment will be terminated.

Then, they're tardy/absent/a no show again.

But your circumstances have changed and firing them will create staffing problems. Depending on the employee, you might feel comfortable with saying, "You were told that the next time you were [absent/tardy/a no show], you would be terminated. Because of the [RIF/change in reporting structure/Mary's quitting/whatever the reason for the changed circumstance], you're being given one more chance. But make no mistake, the next time it happens you are terminated, even if it happens tomorrow." If you say this, though, you must follow through with it, even if it does happen tomorrow, or else you will lose all credibility.

However, unless the employee's position will be extremely difficult to fill, I would recommend going ahead with the termination and looking at other options. Are there employees who would be willing or able to work additional hours? Can you contact a temporary agency to supply you with workers while you look for replacements? Can you call previous applicants whose résumés you still have on file?

(Note: If you have a constant problem with turnover due to attendance-related terminations, your problem may be in your original hiring process. You might want to take a closer look at your hiring requirements.)

The bottom line is, if you are not prepared to terminate, do not tell an employee that their job is on the line.

Catherine Bannon is the President of HR by Request, Inc., in Marshfield, MA (catherine.bannon@gmail.com). Bannon worked for 10 years in HR management before starting her consulting firm.

CLEARING THE AIR OVER HEAVY PERSONAL FRAGRANCES IN THE WORKPLACE

When an employee has an extreme sensitivity to fragrances, resolving the issue is made more difficult by the fact that, in order to help him/her, you must typically ask for other staff members' cooperation...View the full story on our website.

Kick back, relax, and take a few minutes to check out the HR Soapbox, "The Workplace Contains The Biggest Threats To Your Health," in which an editor is inspired by Stephen Colbert's "ThreatDown" to warn you about hidden health hazards in the workplace.