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The Department of Labor's New Timekeeping App

Last week, the Department of Labor released a free app for the iPhone that allows employees to keep track of their hours independently from their employer, and determine what they should be getting paid. Called "Timesheet," the app has only simple functionality, and is neither the first nor the most complex app of its kind to be availble on the iPhone. It is, however, the first one to be endorsed by the Departement of Labor.

The offical press release

The official app page

The press release says, in part, that "This new technology is significant because, instead of relying on their employers' records, workers now can keep their own records. This information could prove invaluable during a Wage and Hour Division investigation when an employer has failed to maintain accurate employment records." One feature of the app is the ability to take the employee’s punches, figure out what their pay should be given a base wage rate and OT and let the employee send an email straight from the app with the data as an attachment.

Again, similar apps already exist, but the DOL's endorsement of this particular app will probably increase its weight in any labor dispute that uses its data. Now more than ever, it is important for employeers to make sure they record accurate records of employees' hours. "I am pleased that my department is able to leverage increasingly popular and available technology to ensure that workers receive the wages to which they are entitled," said Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis. "This app will help empower workers to understand and stand up for their rights when employers have denied their hard-earned pay."

An Upcoming Educational Webinar From Sage

The National Labor Relations Board has heavily been in the news recently - a Google News search through the past week as of this posting turns up over 1,500 hits. But while the NLRB is suing states and companies like Boeing, it may not seem that your small to midsized business could be affected by these large-scale actions, but you may be more affected than you think. This free Sage webinar is a great chance to learn what about the current state of the NLRB and what the implications are for small & midsized businesses. The webinar will offered May 24th (Tuesday), 25th (Wednesday), and 26th (Thursday), giving plenty of options to fit into your schedule.

NLRB - Should You Be Concerned?

This live webcast will introduce you the changes taking place within the National Labor Relations Board. Small to mid-size employers are more likely than ever to be affected by the board's actions and the growing labor movement in the U.S. Participants will learn: What legal actions the NLRB is currently taking that may affect your company How the NLRB is actively affecting employees' access to unions through newly proposed regulations What actions companies should be engaging in now before a union targets your workforce This webcast has been approved for 1.00 (General) recertification credit hours toward PHR, SPHR, and GPHR recertification through the HR Certification Institute (www.hrci.org).

May 24 & 25, 2011 2:00PM - 3:00PM Eastern Time 11:00AM - 12:00PM Pacific Time

May 26, 2011 1:00PM - 2:00PM Eastern Time 10:00AM - 11:00PM Pacific Time

Click here to sign up for any of the three sessions

Sage Webcast On Tuesday For Compliance

Sage is hosting a webinar on Tuesday, May 10th at 2PM EST on how to have an HR system that meets all compliance requirements. This webinar is of intrest to both current Abra users and people who want to learn more about compliance. If you are already using Sage Abra, join us to learn best practices for compliance. Cost-Effective Compliance: What It Consists Of and How to Achieve It

 

Compliance -- the very thought of implementing an HR "compliance system" typically strikes terror in the minds of HR managers and IT professionals alike. Attend this live webcast and learn what an HR "best practice" compliance system consists of, its benefits to your HR organization, and how to achieve it cost-effectively.

May 10, 2011 11:00AM - 12:00PM Pacific Time 2:00PM - 3:00PM Eastern Time Click here to sign up

Upcoming Sage Webcast on HR Metrics

Sage is running a webcast next week on the topic of HR Metrics. The hour long live webcast will focus on providing HR professionals with the tools to effectively communicate with C-level executives.  You’ll learn how to speak the language of business through metrics for staffing, compensation, and benefits to effectively evaluate and improve performance within the HR function. For those of you who already use Sage Abra HRMS, this is a great chance for a refresher on the powerful functionality of the HR tools that you use every day.

Here's what Sage has to say about HR metrics:

A company is only as good as its human resources management but sometimes businesses and managers may not see it that way. Thanks to HR metrics however, human resources professionals can show their direct impact on a business and its profitability.

Having metrics in place is like finally using a scale when on a diet. Sure, it looks like you’ve lost weight and all of your efforts seem to be having an effect on your waist line, but there’s no way to be sure of the exact impact without a clear way to measure it. Hop on a scale and your weight loss goes from “I look great” to “I lost 10 pounds!”

Metrics for HR allow businesses to see tangible evidence of where staffing, compensation and benefit policies are working and where there is room for improvement. Areas that are often measured include turnover, open positions, employee engagement, cost per hire, cost per healthcare plan and customer feedback scores.

Human resource planning is essential to a business’s success, and metrics allow companies to have a more accurate way to measure HR success. Before, HR departments were mostly measured on how long it took to fill a vacant position, but today, we have so many more ways to weigh success.

There are three possible times you can participate in this webcast: March 29^th, at 2:00pm (EST); March 30th, at 1:00pm (EST); and March 31st, at 2:00pm (EST).

Follow this link to sign up for Measuring Up: Using Metrics to Meet and Exceed Expectations. 

 

Last Chance For Year-End Sage Abra Payroll Training

Dundee Group is offering a full day, year-end payroll training course for Sage Abra Payroll in Albany, NY on Thursday, December 2nd. We have only one seat left, and registration ends on Wednesday, November 24th.

This live classroom course is designed for the Sage Abra Suite Payroll user responsible for Year-End Payroll closing and preparing for the New Year payroll processing. By attending and participating in this course, you will gain the skills and knowledge to successfully follow pre-closing procedures, closing procedures, print forms, produce electronic files, and complete the New Year payroll processing procedures. Eligible for 6 CPE (NASBA) credits.

Register for training through our website, or email us for more information!

Busting Myths of Online Fundraising: Myth 5

Dundee Group is now equiped to help non-profits bring in money as well as slow the outward flow. Sage Fundraising Online, a new software solution from Sage North America, will give organizations the tools to quickly, professionally, and inexpensively raise money using the internet.

We're going to be discussing all that you can do with Sage Fundraising Online in the next couple of weeks, but first we want to address some myths that you may have heard about fundraising on the internet. Check back every day this week for the truth about online fundraising!

Myth #5: Raising 10 percent of all gifts online is a great goal.
In January 2008, the Barack Obama campaign raised $28 million online—88 percent of the total funds raised. In fact, on one day that same month, the campaign raised $525,000 online in one hour. Many political campaigns, like most fundraising organizations, consider raising five to 10 percent of all funds online to be a success. But the incredible results of the Obama campaign should force many fundraisers to rethink those expectations.

Granted, most organizations don’t have the marketing power of a presidential candidate, or the deep financial and staff resources. But, there are two things the Obama campaign does that any organization can do: first, any organization can commit to making the Internet a major point of engagement with supporters; and second, any organization can commit to offering a variety of messages and giving options.

As a final thought, consider this year as an opportunity. The vast social shift happening online will create winners and losers. Organizations that set high goals and truly commit to online fundraising will reach and retain more donors in the coming years. Be one of the winners.

You can read all five myths in a PDF on our website, or learn more about Sage Fundraising Online! Keep reading next week for information about this new software and what it can do for your non-profit organization.

Busting Myths of Online Fundraising: Myth 4

Dundee Group is now equiped to help non-profits bring in money as well as slow the outward flow. Sage Fundraising Online, a new software solution from Sage North America, will give organizations the tools to quickly, professionally, and inexpensively raise money using the internet.

We're going to be discussing all that you can do with Sage Fundraising Online in the next couple of weeks, but first we want to address some myths that you may have heard about fundraising on the internet. Check back every day this week for the truth about online fundraising!

Myth #4: Technology is not the problem.
Most online fundraising tools have a few things in common: they’re expensive, they’re difficult to deploy, it’s hard to change anything once deployed, and they only work on a single website. Because of this, many nonprofits have extremely limited online efforts. As discussed earlier, organizations then mistakenly “blame” poor results on their marketing programs, or even on the donors themselves.

The truth is that online giving is often limited by online fundraising technology. Cost and complexity have led many nonprofits to focus on only a few, or even just one, online fundraising program.

The good news is that a new generation of online fundraising solutions are available today that don’t have the limitations of prevalent software of the past. Such next-generation tools are significantly less expensive and much easier to deploy and modify. One major benefit is that the flexibility of these tools allows experimentation with different strategies and tactics for online fundraising. This means it will be easier for you to create an online program for every marketing effort, and give donors more opportunities to support your organization.

You can read more about Sage Fundraising Online at our website.

Busting Myths of Online Fundraising: Myth 3

Dundee Group is now equiped to help non-profits bring in money as well as slow the outward flow. Sage Fundraising Online, a new software solution from Sage North America, will give organizations the tools to quickly, professionally, and inexpensively raise money using the internet.

We're going to be discussing all that you can do with Sage Fundraising Online in the next couple of weeks, but first we want to address some myths that you may have heard about fundraising on the internet. Check back every day this week for the truth about online fundraising!

Myth #3: Online fundraising means raising money through my organization’s website.
The standard model of online fundraising is to divert people from wherever they are on the Internet to a central donation form on an organization’s website. But the massive, untapped potential for your organization to raise more money isn’t on your website—it is on all the other websites that your donors and supporters frequently visit.

If we look at the places individuals visit online everyday, their favorite charity is probably not among them. However, they do visit their employers’ websites and they might take action for a nonprofit their company supports. They likely edit their personal pages or blogs everyday, and they’ll even publish about a cause that inspires them. They also visit their friends’ blogs and personal pages, and may post, email, chat, or tweet about their favorite charity.

The individuals engaged in these conversations include some of your strongest, most vocal advocates, and each of them is willing to evangelize your organization’s mission. They have established bonds of trust with their personal networks. Why, then, would you ask them to leave a site they trust and go donate on yours? If they are willing to evangelize for you, they also might be willing to host a donation form for you. So, why not take the donation form to where the conversation is already happening?

Airline ticket sales provide a helpful reference for this point. It is possible to buy tickets on an airline’s website, but it is more common to buy them from one of many “portals,” such as Expedia.com. Millions of people buy their tickets on travel sites because they have an existing affinity for those specific sites. Airlines don’t care where people buy their tickets, so long as they’re being sold.

Similarly, you can reach out to your network of supporting organizations, partners, or even the personal sites of individual advocates and turn them into donation engines for your organization. This is an opportune time to look beyond your website and consider how you can more effectively leverage the broader web to build new relationships and increase online giving.

You can read more about Sage Fundraising Online at our website.

Busting Myths of Online Fundraising: Myth 2

Dundee Group is now equiped to help non-profits bring in money as well as slow the outward flow. Sage Fundraising Online, a new software solution from Sage North America, will give organizations the tools to quickly, professionally, and inexpensively raise money using the internet.

We're going to be discussing all that you can do with Sage Fundraising Online in the next couple of weeks, but first we want to address some myths that you may have heard about fundraising on the internet. Check back every day this week for the truth about online fundraising!

Myth #2: People won’t give online.
Americans gave an estimated $300 billion in individual gifts to nonprofit organizations in 2008. About four percent of this amount—$12 billion—came online. That means that people give billions upon billions of dollars a year over the phone, in the mail, or by other means. The important question is, what is holding people back from giving more online?

One widely held belief is that donors choose to give offline because of security and privacy concerns. Some nonprofits even believe that their donors prefer to transact offline. But this is countered by evidence from the broader marketplace. A 2008 Nielsen Company survey showed that 94 percent of Internet users in the U.S. have shopped online. In 2007, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, Americans spent more than $136 billion buying merchandise over the Internet.

Clearly, there is little reluctance within the general population to make purchases online. So, what is holding people back from giving online? The answer has a lot to do with the options donors are given. If online giving software is complex, cumbersome, and unrewarding for a nonprofit, it is almost certainly complex, cumbersome, and unrewarding for a donor, too. A donation is an extremely important social interaction, but once someone is committed to a gift, it is simply another transaction; and the more steps a donor is asked to take, the less likely he or she is to complete that transaction. Creating multiple giving opportunities for each of your programs and streamlining the donation process are simple changes that can increase online giving and strengthen donor satisfaction.

You can read more about Sage Fundraising Online at our website.