www.b2billinois.
com The Weekly Business-to-Business Forum
Workplace Equity:
How to Manage Employees Who are Also Family Caregivers
Steve Bell | B2B contributor
With a growing number of Americans providing care for a loved
one at home, businesses need to address this growing trend in a way
that’s equitable for employees and employers alike.
Today, more than 50 million Americans are “family caregivers”—
the primary caregiver for a sick, disabled or elderly family member.
Since nearly half of all family caregivers also hold full-time jobs,
employers need to be aware of the stress and emotional aspects that
come with a caregiving situation.
As the average life span continues to rise, more employees will
take on family caregiving roles. Fortunately, there are ways to create
an effective work environment that enables the employee to be pro-
ductive and continue to contribute to the company’s goals despite
caregiving responsibilities. The following suggestions will help.
Is Goal Setting Holding You Back?
Douglas Vermeeren | B2B contributor
Have you ever set a goal and wondered why you couldn’t accom-
plish it? You are not the first person to feel this way. In fact, studies
show that more than 86 percent of people who set goals fail. And, of
those who do succeed, a surprising 30 percent find they are not able
to maintain the newly acquired success in the long term. So, why
even set goals?
The traditional goal-setting method is no longer effective even
though most teachers, books, trainers, coaches and schools are still
teaching it. You have no doubt heard this method many times: write
it down, set a date, make an action plan, and build the steps back-
wards from success. Unfortunately, this is NOT the correct formula
for success. The world’s top achievers—the best of the best—achieve
success by doing things a bit differently.
Why top achievers don’t use traditional goal setting.
The traditional goal-setting method was developed in the late
1800s in the manufacturing industry; if you wanted to produce X
number of units at the end of the assembly line you would need to
do A, B, C, and D and presto—you would get X number of units.
NACM’s August Credit Manager’s Index
Still Creeping Toward Neutral Point
Payments Beyond Terms Are Increasing
Daniel North | B2B contributor
The seasonally adjusted Credit Manager’s Index has inched even
closer to the neutral economic expansion/contraction point of 50
percent, creeping down 0.2 percent to hover at 50.7 percent. The
manufacturing sector index slipped a full percentage point to 50.4
percent, as only four of its 10 components rose. The service sector
index fared better, gaining half a percentage point, rounding out at
51.0 percent as six of its 10 components rose. All three indexes
have six components at or below the 50 percent level.
Overall, there were no dramatic changes from July’s report. How-
ever, in both manufacturing and service, dollar collections and the
dollar amount beyond terms worsened. The data suggest that tough
economic conditions are strangling buyers’ cash flow. Buyers are
stretching their payment terms beyond normal and even after that,
it appears that they still cannot pay their bills.
The seasonally adjusted manufacturing sector index slipped 1.0
percent in August, leaving six of its 10 components below 50 per-
cent. Prices seem to be less of an issue this month in terms of hurt-
ing business, but instead they are inflating credit limits and sales.
Slow pay seems to be the biggest problem. A manufacturer of valves
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1. Get to Know Your Staff
As an employer or manager, it’s helpful to be aware of your
employees’ individual situations and how they may affect job per-
formance. You can do this by spending time with them in an infor-
mal setting, such as a break room over coffee, a quarterly lunch out
or simply chatting during a slow time. The more you know about
your employees, the better you’ll be at managing them through any
challenge—just be cautious to not overstep boundaries. Check with
your human resources professional to make sure you are following
all company rules and national/state employment laws before you
start discussing issues like this with your staff.
2. Examine Your Hours of Operation
Most businesses have core hours of operation during which staff
attendance is mandatory. Identify those core hours for your compa-
ny. Chances are they add up to only 20 to 30 hours of an
employee’s weekly schedule. Use the other 10 to 20 hours to
offer flexible work hours to your entire staff—not just those
who are caregivers.
The key is creativity. For example, you may allow an
employee to come in two hours later than usual, but stay two
hours later at night. Or maybe someone takes a longer lunch
break and makes up the hours later in the day. If possible, con-
sider four 10-hour days rather than five 8-hour days. Remem-
ber, the goal is not reducing someone’s hours; it is being flexi-
ble in meeting coverage needs during core and non-core hours.
3. Make Information Available
Many companies offer benefits for employees who care for a
family member. These benefits may include employee assis-
tance programs, personal leaves of absence, and the Family
Medical Leave Act (FMLA). However, don’t assume all employ-
ees are aware of the types of programs offered by your compa-
ny. You can help by making available the information that
addresses a variety of employee needs. Post pamphlets in break
rooms for local service providers of elder care, childcare,
respite care and the Local Area on Aging office, as well as infor-
mation on the company’s various assistance programs. Making
the information readily available increases the likelihood of
employees reading it.
The problem is this system only takes the process into account,
not the participant. We are human “BEings” not human “DOings.”
This common formula teaches what we can DO but not what we can
BE. Without a significant change in our thinking, behavior and expec-
tations, we can never develop a habit of success—one that develops
regardless of the process we use. If you want long-term success, being
the right person is just as important as doing the right things.
Top achievers get clarity on why they are going.
Many goal-setting coaches encourage their students to gain clari-
ty on where they want to go in order to get there. While this idea is
accurate, most people fail to define what clarity really is.
Many describe clarity as a description of the final destination—
where do you see yourself in 10 years? Anyone who has tried to
define clarity this way has found that it’s extremely difficult to
describe where he is going if he have never been there before. There-
fore, this definition of clarity is incomplete when used in the context
of goal achievement.
Clarity is strongest when it focuses on an “inward now,” instead of
looking at a “geographical location.” Clarity has more to do with why
you want something than with what you want.
and pipes reported, “Customers are looking for ways to slow pay-
ments.” A plastics producer replied, “We are having to exert more
effort to get payment for receivables,” while a sheet metal firm
reported, “We have some of the bigger customers attempting to
extend terms.” On the flip side, international business seems
strong, probably due to the weaker dollar, which makes U.S. goods
more competitive abroad. A food manufacturer responded that
“international sales are increasing very fast,” a furniture manufac-
turer noted, “Our sales are up on the international side,” while a
producer of carpeting reported, “sales to Latin and South America
have increased.”
The seasonally adjusted service sector inched up 0.5 percent to
51 percent as six of its 10 components rose. However, the fact that
six components are still at or below the critical 50 percent value
seems to explain the more negative tone of the participants.
Providers of HVAC and electrical equipment services noted that
they are seeing more NSF checks than ever before. Other survey
responses that stood out include a supplier of transportation serv-
ices that said, “Customers that have never been a problem are going
beyond terms.” A repair service stated, “Many customers are
expecting us to be their bank!” And reflecting on the “credit
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A Win/Win Scenario for All
With today’s weakening economy and shrinking talent pool,
employee retention is important. Doing all you can to educate
employees about resources available and staying flexible will help
you develop a win/win proposition that benefits you, your employees
and their families.
Steve Bell is executive director of the Kankakee Coun-
ty Red Cross. For more information on family caregiv-
ing, visit www.RedCross.org. For more information on
caring for loved ones, you can visit the Chapter office
at 1432 S. Fourth Ave., Kankakee, or call 815.933.2286.
The more personal you can make this goal, the more power and
motivation you will have to get it. Make your “why” strong, and keep
digging deeper with questions until you have a burning desire to
attain it. Most of the reasons why people fail to achieve a specific
goal can be traced right back to this one point. Without a reason
“why,” no one really cares about the destination of “what.”
Top achievers don’t think of success as crossing a fin-
ish line, they think in terms of running the race.
Top achievers understand that success is a continual process, and
the successes and failures of today are used to build the powerful
experiences of tomorrow. Every opportunity today is contributing to
an opportunity tomorrow. Every experience contributes to learning.
Look for ways to continue to grow and expand, and uncover ways
to build each success upon the next opportunity. Top achievers set
their goals differently, and that is why they achieve successes that
others only dream about.
Douglas Vermeeren has conducted extensive
research into the lives of more than 400 of the world’s
top achievers. Doug is also the creator and producer
of the hit personal-development film “The Opus.”
More information about Doug and “The Opus” is
available at www.DouglasVermeeren.com and
www.TheOpusMovie.com.
crunch,” a participant in the plastics industry reported, “We are
seeing more companies close due to lack of bank funding.”
On a seasonally adjusted basis, the year-over-year comparisons
for both the manufacturing and service sector indexes show a defin-
itive downward trend, reflecting the deterioration in the overall
economy. All 10 of the components in the manufacturing sector
index fell, pushing the index down 4.6 percent to 50.4 percent. The
service sector hardly fared better as all 10 components fell, driving
the index down 4.2 percent to 51.0 percent. Both indexes hover just
above the 50 percent dividing line between economic expansion
and contraction.
The CMI survey asks credit managers to rate favorable and
unfavorable factors in their monthly business cycle. Favorable
factors include sales, new credit applications, dollar collections
and amount of credit extended. Unfavorable factors include rejec-
tions of credit applications, accounts placed for collections, dollar
amounts of receivables beyond terms and filings for bankruptcies.
A complete index including results from the manufacturing and
service sectors, along with the methodology, can be viewed at
http://web.nacm.org/cmi/pdf/CMI_current.pdf. CMI archives may
be viewed at http://web.nacm.org/cmi/cmi.asp.
Daniel North is chief economist for credit insurer Euler Hermes ACI,
who evaluates the data and prepares the report for the National
Association of Credit Management. The National Association of
Credit Management (NACM) supports more than 19,000 business
credit and financial professionals worldwide with premier industry
services, tools and information. More information is available at
www.nacm.org.
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