Recent Articles
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Strategies for acing payroll at year-end
Grace Ferguson Business Management, Services & Risk ManagementThe intensity of payroll tends to increase at year-end, which is known as the most hectic time of year for payroll professionals. Without proper planning, things can go off the rails, leaving you with a slew of problems in the new year. To avoid this dilemma, follow these steps. For example, considering the huge amount of work that comes with year-end payroll processing, it’s best to start as early as possible — ideally, no later than the beginning of October.
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Report: Many US healthcare employees receive no cybersecurity training
Scott E. Rupp Medical & Allied HealthcareThere's a healthcare data security problem in the U.S., and news reports suggest that insiders are not getting the amount of education they need to help keep hospital data safe. Per a new Kaspersky report, a massive number of the healthcare sector’s workforce does not receive the necessary training required to improve awareness of their organization’s policies, regulations, and rules. Nearly a quarter (24%) of U.S. healthcare employees have not received cybersecurity training, "but felt they should have," Health IT Security points out.
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Are fast-food meat replacement items actually safe for vegans, vegetarians?
Bambi Majumdar Food & BeverageAccording to Euromonitor, the meat substitutes market in the U.S. will grow to $2.5 billion by 2023. A similar study by Nielsen states that 98% of buyers of meat substitutes in the next five years will be flexitarians and meat-eaters looking to reduce their meat intake. Demand for meat alternatives is undoubtedly on the rise. Even fast-food chains have started introducing new items to cash in on the latest trend. In this context, Burger King's new plant-based burger is creating some controversy for the wrong reasons.
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5 tips for a greener school year
Sheilamary Koch EducationOn Sept. 20, around 4 million people took to the streets worldwide as part of the largest youth-led climate strike to date. Whether you were there or at work, here are five practical tips to help ride the momentum of this historic event to create a greener classroom, school building or entire district. "If you’re not sure where to start, look at what other schools are doing," says Robert Whiteman, field studies teacher at Costa Verde International School in Sayulita, Mexico.
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Why fooling yourself may be more harmful than you think
Roberta Matuson Business Management, Services & Risk ManagementPeople reach out to me daily asking for my advice. They tell me they want to fill jobs more rapidly or improve their retention rates, followed by all the reasons why no matter what they do, nothing will work. I even had one guy ask me, "Does what you do really work?" I replied, "I’ve had my consulting practice for 22 years. Do you think I’d still be in business if my clients weren’t better off having worked with me?" I then placed him on my list of people I will not be working with, as it was clear to me that no matter what I said or did, he’d never be happy.
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5 ways professional coaching can help hospital physicians
Lisa Mulcahy Healthcare AdministrationExternal coaching can be a valuable tool in helping members of your hospital’s staff navigate their tasks more effectively. You may have primarily used it to train IT or administrative workers — but did you know that outside professional coaching can help your physicians perform better, too? Here are five science-driven ways can coaching help your doctors feel and do better — and why it's well worth the economic cost.
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Recruiting, retention and the spouse factor
Catherine Iste Business Management, Services & Risk ManagementThe battle for highly skilled employees is tight. While tech companies and firms in large markets have used pay, amazing benefits and career growth to create magnetic workplaces; traditional and smaller companies have found other ways to compete. The recent increase in paid maternity leave, extended paternity leave and flexible work schedules and locations are all indicators of organizations’ desires to attract and keep their skilled workforce. Underlying all of this talent management is a critical component: the significant other. Here are a few tips for understanding and incorporating the spouse factor into hiring and retention.
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Study provides new insight into the decline of older brains
Dorothy L. Tengler Mental HealthcareAs people age, their ability to perform tasks may be impaired not just because they can’t remember but because they are unable to suppress other memories that are irrelevant. A recent study showed that some older adults who had no noticeable cognitive problems had a more difficult time separating irrelevant information from what they needed to do than younger people. According to Susan Courtney, a cognitive neuroscientist at Johns Hopkins, some memory problems are more a matter of retrieving the correct information at the right time to solve the problem at hand rather than a matter of specific memory.
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Want to improve your employees’ health? Lead by example
Terri Williams Business Management, Services & Risk ManagementMost employees spend at least eight of their 24 daily weekday hours at work. And whether companies want to assume responsibility or not, employees believe that their jobs play a role in their health. For example, a 2017 CareerBuilder survey found that 56% of Americans are overweight and they blame it on sitting at a desk most of the day; being too tired from work to exercise; having to skip meals because of time constraints; and having to engage in workplace celebrations. Employees, especially healthy employees, are the lifeblood of an organization.
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Drone delivery is coming, but don’t get too excited yet
Linchi Kwok RetailWalgreens is now working with Google parent company Alphabet's Wing service to test drone deliveries. Beginning in October, Walgreens' pilot program will use drones to deliver on-demand food, beverages, and over-the-counter non-prescription medications to customers within minutes. Currently, Wing's drones can deliver packages of about three pounds and within a six-mile radius. Walgreens is not the only retailer who wants to use drones in delivery.