Ok, it is a cheeky title to this post, but I recently read this Inc.com article – Big Surprise: Most Workers Faking Sick Days (see, Inc.com started it).  In case you had any doubt:

…most workers who call in sick at the last minute aren’t really sick.

…

The real reasons for employee absenteeism range from family issues to personal needs and stress. Indeed, a majority of workers tend to call in “sick” on Mondays or Fridays, with similar patterns appearing around major holidays, the survey found.

So no surprises here but there is a very good point made towards the end of the article (emphasis mine):

Still, Wolf doesn’t blame people for taking the odd day off. She said most workers are forced to juggle increasing demands from the workplace, family, or other commitments, creating what she calls a “tug of war” for their time.

Wolf said employers stand to gain by building a better partnership with employees through work-life balance programs. According to the survey, the five most effective programs for reducing absenteeism were alternative work arrangements, telecommuting, a compressed work week, leave for school functions, and flu-shot programs.

There is a sea change occurring in these benefit areas, but we still see some hesitancy in the old guard when it comes to initiating these types of programs.

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We just lost a strong candidate at one of our customers this week because the company’s offer did not contain a well-defined benefits package.  That always hurts.  Now this morning I read the CareerJournal.com article titled Firms Increasingly Offer ‘Voluntary’ Benefits.  I haven’t heard of this trend, but it is most intriguing.

A growing number of businesses, large and small, are offering employees so-called voluntary benefits ranging from pet insurance to homeowners insurance to help with house closings and estate planning.

The signature character of these voluntary benefits is that employees pay for them, but at a discounted rate obtained by the employer.

Medical insurance will always be the top benefit for employees, but this offering is an excellent idea for creating a different package.  These items will stand out in a candidate’s mind even though they are employee paid benefits.

If I am already paying for some of these items and get get a better deal through my employer, I view that as a tangible, valuable asset.

Employees often don’t appreciate free benefits, Mr. Thompson said, especially if they are benefits they don’t use. However, workers “value having a whole shopping cart of benefits that they can select from,” he said.

I can foresee many small-sized companies taking advantage of this trend too.  In case you are looking for some ideas:

Some of the most popular benefits include supplemental life insurance, group homeowners insurance and auto insurance, and critical-illness insurance, which pays a lump sum when someone is diagnosed with a serious illness.

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This week’s sales management trait sports a word that I don’t particularly enjoy – “monitoring.” That isn’t a great description of this trait since it is far broader than that term. Nonetheless, in today’s world of remote salespeople, this trait will be in even greater demand in the near future.

Monitoring Others
This ability focuses on the actions and decisions of others in a practical, pragmatic way to identify both successes and mistakes. It is the ability to identify the causes of success and failure and to do so in an objective, accurate manner while not allowing personal feelings or biases to influence such decisions.

A sales manager with strength in this capacity will be able to accurately and effectively evaluate the performance of another. This objective evaluation is crucial in accurately leading, developing, and managing the salesperson being monitored.

A weakness in this area can indicate that the person does not place enough importance on systems and order. Therefore, they tend to discount the need to make systematic measurements in order to improve performance. They may allow too much subjectivity into their assessment and will instead tend to see what they €œthink€ the person is capable of as opposed to seeing how they are actually doing.

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