Experts: Reform, economy vexing HR pros

Sweeping health care reform and the stagnant economy continue to provide sleepless nights for human resources professionals, a panel of experts told suburban business executives Thursday at the Daily Herald Business Ledger Newsmakers Forum on Human Resources, Insurance and Benefits.

The professionals advised the audience at Belvedere Banquets in Elk Grove Village to keep their policies and employee manuals current, as well as maintain a long-term strategy that includes developing and keeping employees.

The health care reform program approved by Congress last year continues to confuse businesses, primarily because many parts of the program have been delayed as those responsible try to figure out how best to implement and enforce the new rules, according to Liz Smith, executive vice president, employee practice leader at Assurance Agency Ltd. in Schaumburg.

“This is unfortunate, but the reality,” Smith said. “Until 2014, when the bulk of the law is supposed to go into effect, there will still be a lot of confusion around it.”

Jerry Arnold, vice president, sales manager of Associated Financial Group, noted the confusion is already leading some businesses to think about taking the tax penalty rather than pay for employee health insurance. However, he warned that could be detrimental when it comes to competing against other companies for top employees.

“Are they going to hire the best of the best because they have a better benefit package?” he said.

Arnold and Smith predicted health care reform will lead to more small and mid-sized companies going to a self-funding program, or a type of exchange program run by insurance companies.

The stagnant economy and the ‘jobless recovery’ have led to an increase in discrimination charges being filed by employees, according to Ross Molho, a partner with Clingen, Callow & McLean in Wheaton. In the past three years, Molho said, discrimination claims have risen nationally from 80,000 to 95,000 annually. Most claims are over national origin, religion and age.

“A job is very precious and people are fighting hard to keep the job, or when they don’t get the job, they are filing these charges,” Molho said. “We have arrived at a new economy where we will see a continued increase in charges, which is why you want an effective handbook and you want to handle social media events properly.”

Gayle Nicholas, managing director and vice president of Tandem HR in Oak Brook, recommended businesses review and revise their employee handbook, especially in five policies: no solicitation, electronic communications and monitoring, social media, employee accommodations, and discrimination.

Nicholas also warned businesses to keep close tabs on their rules compliance, as government agencies are stepping up audit procedures as a revenue generator, and they should review state unemployment charges to look for errors in calculations.

”In the last two quarters, we’ve found $300,000 worth of erroneous benefit charges that have been reversed,” she said. “And in midyear we’ve got a tax decrease, which is pretty rare.”

All the panelists agrees that the best long-term investment a company can make is in its employees, especially in hiring, developing and retaining talent.

“A good HR professional is going to bring in top quality talent, they’re going to keep that talent through training and development, and they’re going to prevent that talent from leaving,” Molho said.

Presenting sponsors for the Newsmakers Forum are Associated Bank, Tandem HR, Assurance Agency Ltd and Clingen, Callow & McLean. Corporate sponsors are Comcast Business Class and Humana. Marketing partners are the Greater O’Hare Association, Human Resources Management Association of Chicago, and the Illinois State Chamber of Commerce.