Prolonged job vacancies in high skill positions are taking a toll on employee morale and the bottom line, says a recent CareerBuilder’s study; despite high unemployment rates, 38 percent of employers reported they currently have positions for which they can’t find qualified candidates; 34 percent reported that job vacancies have resulted in a lower quality of work due to employees being overworked, and 23 percent cited a loss in revenue. Read more

With successful deal implementation a core priority for many companies engaged in mergers and acquisitions, the ability to retain the right people can be a make-or-break element in the deal, says Towers Watson spokesperson Mary Cianni, and while the vast majority of companies involved in mergers and acquisitions use retention agreements to retain key talent, a new Towers Watson survey shows that companies that are more successful at retention begin the process early — identifying people and tactics — and don’t rely solely on money. Read more

National Labor Relations Board Acting General Counsel Lafe Solomon has issued a third report on social media cases brought to the agency, this time focusing exclusively on policies governing the use of social media by employees. Read more

Graduation dinners for all attendees, valet parking, or payments for travel or hotel accommodations for graduating apprentices or guests would not likely be viewed as permissible plan asset expenses for an apprenticeship and training plan, the U.S. Department of Labor indicates in a Field Assistance Bulletin looking at the use of plan assets to pay for graduation ceremonies and for advertising expenses. Read more

The U.S. Small Business Association has a webpage focusing on encouraging entrepreneurship, including the five ways to get a federal contract, how to establish a board of directors for a small business, and how small business contractors and service companies that want to become more competitive and bid on projects requiring surety bonds, can look to SBA for the help they need to step up to that next level of business success. Read more

The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights is recommending that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission withdraw its guidance on English-only policies in the workplace and instead tell employers that such policies are prohibited only when a “preponderance of evidence” shows that the policy was adopted for the purpose of harassing, embarrassing or excluding applicants or employees because of their national origin. Read more

A WorldatWork survey reveals a growing imbalance between what employers say about work-life balance and what they actually do. Read more

Outsourcing payroll duties to third-party service providers can streamline business operations, but the Internal Revenue Service reminds employers that they are ultimately responsible for paying federal tax liabilities and cautions employers who outsource the payroll function to be aware of three areas. Read more

While companies have been slashing payrolls in recent years, a new study finds that they haven’t been trimming their severance packages; these have survived the recession fairly intact, according to WorldatWork, an HR consulting company. Read more

Companies need to incorporate risks from workforce and people-management issues more fully into their overall risk-management structures, according to a new report released by The Conference Board. Read more

One in five (22 percent) respondents to an Office Team survey revealed that the practice of not offering a salary increase along with a promotion is somewhat common at their companies, but the survey also showed that 55 percent of workers polled said they would be willing to accept a promotion that doesn't include a raise. Read more

Topping the list of 12 revolutionary and evolutionary trends that Deloitte says will “transform and dominate” the future human capital agenda are HR and talent in emerging markets, workforce analytics and HR technology in the cloud, particularly software as a solution. Read more

When managers give an explanation for decisions that have caused loss—such as a layoff, departmental changes, or organization-wide policy changes—they need to be more specific in addressing the concerns of employees and the reasons behind their decisions; being vague or dismissive can actually make things worse, according to Terry Cobb, Associate Professor of Management at Virginia Tech. Read more

For people with friends and family living in regions affected by earthquakes and or tsunamis, watching news coverage of the devastation can be very distressing, particularly if there is no news on their safety and well-being, and even for those without personal connections to the country, the news coverage can be overwhelming. Read more

The number of people working virtually is expected to rise during the next 12 months, according to a Right Management survey. It finds that three out of four organizations already have people who work remotely, and of those employers nearly half expect their number to increase or significantly increase during the year ahead. Read more