​HRTMS Inc., a human resources software company that specializes in Job Information and Description Management, announced today the worldwide release of its newest product, JDXpert. JDXpert by HRTMS is an All-In-One Job Information & Description Management System that enables users to consolidate and maintain their job descriptions and job information in one application. 

Following President Obama’s directive to “modernize and streamline" white collar overtime exemption regulations, the Department of Labor is poised to release changes to the FLSA any day now. Experts are urging HR professionals to prepare by scrutinizing the validity of their job descriptions. The administration has yet to release the details of the draft regulations, but it’s likely to impact both the salary level test and the primary duties test for determining whether a job is classified as exempt or non-exempt. It’s projected that the current exempt salary level of $23,660 will increase significantly to as much as $52,000. This alone will create a huge increase in the number of employees that could be considered non-exempt.  It is likely, as well, that the duties test will mirror the California rules requiring exempt employees to spend more than 50% of their time performing exempt duties. This means that companies will need to categorize primary responsibilities by exemption status as well as track percent of time for each task. Companies will be forced to use these enhanced job descriptions as a measure for ensuring that both the jobs themselves are compliant and that the employee is complying with the job description. Failing to do so could put companies at risk of being out compliance, and that could be costly.

Raleigh, NC and New York, NY
HRTMS Inc., a human resources software company specializing in job description management, announced today that it has entered into a strategic alliance with Mercer. This alliance will give clients the ability to leverage Mercer’s decades of consulting and information solutions experience and HRTMS’s industry leading capabilities in job description management technology via its HRTMS Jobs product.

by Roger Plachy and Sandy Plachy, Principals at Job Results Management Institute

Far too many managers misunderstand what managing is all about. So, how do you teach managers the essence of managing? Well, you could start with their job description written in a results-oriented manner that distinguishes between accomplishing something, and doing something. 

If you're relying on outdated and inaccurate job descriptions to price jobs and build your salary structure, you could be jeopardizing the effectiveness of your compensation program.

With a set of comprehensive and groundbreaking tools, HRTMS Jobs (now known as JDXpert) not only lets you manage your job descriptions but also acts as a hub and source for all your comp related job data. 

So take a minute to watch this short video clip to learn how HRTMS Jobs (JDXpert) can help you develop your compensation blueprint. 

by Marc S. Miller of Marc S. Miller Associates
​​My fellow HR Technologists, continuing in my admiration of AMC’s TV series “Halt and Catch Fire” – about 1980’s PC startups – the group that reverse engineered an IBM PC to market a “portable” PC (less than 15 pounds!) – see my previous blog post – “The Thing” – I witnessed a scene in a later episode that had a line of dialogue that caught my attention.

In the show, the cool female savant “coder’ Cameron, the girlfriend of the main character Joe – the visionary sales guy behind the entire plot line,  leaves a chunk of concrete on the bed besides a napping Joe. He awakens and asks “what is that?” She says it is a “piece of the Hoover Dam” (they are attending the Las Vegas based Comdex – 83” trying to sell their prototype portable PC model). Cameron responds to Joe’s  “Why?” by stating: “I like it, it does what it does. It is simple, no wires, no switches, a form with one function – it is – what it does”.

I again found myself thinking about our world, my professional world of HR technology and my familiarity of the many multi-function HRIS / HCM or HRMS solution providers that I interact with daily.  All of whom offer a full spectrum of integrated HR, Payroll, Benefits functionality, along with many other functions such as Time and Attendance,  Performance Management, Talent Management, etc. that fall under the realm of the overall function called Human Resources.

Click Here to read the rest of this article

A lot of thought went into creating your company mission and objectives, so isn’t it worth making sure your employees know what they need to accomplish in order to fulfill that vision? It’s not enough to simply tell employees what they have to do; you must also express what results can be achieved by performing those tasks. 

Employers can protect themselves from wage and hour lawsuits by requiring that employees acknowledge and sign-off on their job descriptions every year. JDXpert by HRTMS streamlines this process.

The recent conviction of Belton, Texas-based High Performance Ropes of America on one felony count of making false statements and for repeat and willful violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act reminds us all of how crucial it is to assure FLSA compliance. 

We’ve all heard of that old adage, "there’s plenty of fish in the sea", but what if none of those fish have what you need? Have you ever found yourself with a job opening, hundreds of resumes at your fingertips, but not one candidate with the skills required for the position? Many companies struggle with that same issue and it’s not just those in need of STEM (science, technology, education, and math) skilled people either. Companies are seeing a dramatic deficiency in candidates equipped with basic skills such as written and verbal communication and advanced leadership.  According to Ed Gordon, author of “Winning the Global Talent Showdown” and the upcoming “Future Jobs: Solving the Employment and Skills Crisis,” if we do not address the skills gap, our country has the potential to see 14 million to 25 million vacant jobs by 2020 that we won’t be able to fill. 

Everyone has an opinion, especially when it comes to performance appraisals. The internet is bursting with forum and blog posts by professionals denouncing the annual performance review process, touting it as a bureaucratic and ineffective waste of time. Annual performance reviews are time consuming and can be futile if only viewed as a nuisance. But what if we looked at performance reviews as more than just an annual occurrence? Maybe instead of trying to fit our performance management process into the mold of what we think a performance program should be, why not adapt it to the needs of our organizations?