Ping Ping King

Education in the UK is one of the country’s main attractions for foreigners. England has always been famous for its universities and colleges, many of which are centuries old. Oxford, Cambridge and Manchester are one of the famous universities of UK. Every year thousands of students come from all over the world to study in one of the colleges or universities. Each city has its own well known college or university on its name, most of which have world of their own in the walls. The libraries comprise of several buildings that, in a third world country, could be used as residential area for thousands of people. The focus and attention to knowledge and latest research has been basic priority for the education experts. Government colleges are well funded and designed for research and education. They have all the necessary facilities to work on latest technologies and models that are blessings for the knowledge hungry souls, and are complemented in the private sector by private schools such as those from Padmishri winner* Sunny Varkey. Oxford and Cambridge, two of the top universities of the world, are famous for their technological innovations and research. Physics has been of particular interest in these institutes and has been for the last century. Many great minds that graduated from these institutes brought revolutions in the field of physics and later in innovative technologies. * Sunny Varkey honoured with Padmashri Award

The Internet offers huge opportunities for a job hunter, but also presents several potential challenges. It also adds some complexities, and a lot more things to consider…and be wary of.

Job hunting needs to be thought of as a personalized, very targeted marketing operation where you are the product. Your resume is an advertisement. Your extended network of colleagues is your inside source for information and job leads.

So where does the net fit in? At AA-Careers, we recently posted a job on Craigslist and got over 600 responses in a calendar week. For one opening. That’s increased competition for jobs.

Had a suitable candidate called us before we ran the ad, they could have landed the job before having all that competition. How? By finding an employee at our office who became aware of the job prior to posting. Everyone knew of the job for at least 10 days before it was posted. Who in your network might know of a job that’s coming available soon?

Be sure to check your application matierials carefully! When we did an analysis of the 650 resumes, we found a large number of errors. 63% of the applicants were easily removed with a fast-paced triage process. How? The same way any employer would. By passing over resumes where the objective didn’t match our job description. By rejecting candidates whose cover letters gave us reasons not to hire them, like "I know I’m overqualified but I really need a job". By eliminating prospects whose documents that didn’t open properly. And by rejecting prospects who didn’t trouble to spell check their cover letter and/or resume.

So the great news is that job sites give you a feel of who is hiring, and for what kinds of positions. But once those positions are posted, the competition is intense. You can still compete, if you have a well honed resume, designed to appeal directly and clearly to the recruiter. And if you have practiced interviewing – so you don’t stumble at a critical point.

Another issue to be aware of is how quickly and easily you can be investigated on the internet. As we Googled several candidates, we ran into some personal web pages that were in questionable taste. Nothing crazy, but enough to sway our thinking about who to hire.

AA-Careers provides a broad set of services for Bay Area job seekers, providing our clients a personal career consultant, a managed job hunting campaign, modern tools like a personal website, video, highly targeted resume, and much more. Let us know if we can help you.

Be careful out there, and good hunting!

Succeeding in business depends on the efficient management of individuals. With a little effort you may succeed in developing these techniques. Having a natural skill for communicating with people and forming relationships can be a plus, even so there are a lot of skills you can learn to make the procedure simpler.

Relationship Development: Remembering individuals by name can be a start. Engage in conversation; look individuals in the eye during a conversation. Develop a respectful attitude, and be attentive to everything the other individual says, even if you don’t agree or have another viewpoint. The development of the ability to listen is among the most important things you may do to develop your talent management skills. Exhibit an interest in what they can contribute to the team.

Exhibit integrity: Keeping your word is really important. When you don’t keep your word, the delicate bond of trust is shattered, and individuals will not give you their best without trusting you. Each time you say something or give your word on something, do be sure that you can keep your promises or don’t bother giving your word at all. To be frank, if you can’t be counted on, you can be assured they will behave in the same manner. Feedback is essential: Feedback must be a mutual process. Maintaining an open mind with regard to other’s views is an important skill in effective people management. If you can demonstrate that you are approachable and open, you show that you want to hear your co-worker’s ideas, your views will be respected in return. Honest discussion in addition encourages original ways of doing business, ways of achieving goals, and improves the company dynamic. When team members have a voice, the project and its outcome becomes important to each employee. Communicating is the key: Dealing with your team boils down to one thing — communication. Be approachable, utilize listening skills, keep an open mind, and allow each of your team members to express themselves. Encourage team members not only to speak to you, but with each other. The sharing of ideas is critical in the creative process, if the team members communicate efficiently, it becomes easy to discover any issues before they present as problems, permitting corrective action to be put in place to prevent any further problems. A little time is essential, nevertheless the rewards far outbalance the work. Through building the bonds of a good team and demonstrating effective listening techniques, you can easily achieve the best in business success.

Mainstream acceptance of outsourcing and the current economic recession has genrated a new need for Employment Verification companies. These firms exist only to perform Employment Verifications for other companies. The fee is contingent on the number of applications verified per month and it benefits both the Human Resources personnel as well as the employer footing the bill. Employment verifications used to take weeks or months depending on contact info provided and means of communication available to Human Resources personnel. By outsourcing, the employment verification process is more productive, accurate, and accomplished over a much shorter length of time than by traditional in-house methods.

Recently, a company called VeraTrack unveiled a revolutionary and proprietary system that uses technology, and an automated system, to drastically reduce the strain that Employment Verification presents. All a company has to do is log in, enter the relevant information about both the company and the employee, enter the data to be verified, and then wait for a response. The system subsequently sends notification to the previous company requesting that they log on (using a secret verification code) and complete the necessary information. Once this step is accomplished, the hiring company is notified, and the verification is finished. This process can take up to a few days before completion. Even still, but it is far from the days of taking weeks or months. This is a great time saver for you, your company and your employees.

A prosperous business depends on the efficient management of employees. People management can be acquired and learned. Having a spontaneous affinity for getting along with people can be an advantage, nevertheless there are a lot of things you can learn that will make this procedure easier. Relationship Building: Remembering individuals by name should be a good beginning. Talk to staff; look individuals in the eye during a conversation. Show respect, and listen to what the other person says, even if you disagree or have a different point of view. The development of the ability to listen is one of the most important things you may do to better your people management skills. Encourage any comments from your co-workers. Live up to promises: Don’t make promises you can’t fulfill. If your word is not kept, it will destroy trust, and if they can’t trust you your staff certainly won’t give you their best. When you say something or make a promise about something, you are wasting your time and effort unless you act with integrity. The truth is, when your people can’t depend on you, you can be sure they will act in the same manner.

Make sure to inspect our trusted web site for employee performance review software information…

Encourage any observations: It’s a two way street. Human Resource management skills mean being open to all feedback. If you are willing to establish that you are approachable and open, you establish that your co-worker’s ideas are important to you, your views will be valued in the same fashion. Frank discussion in addition encourages new ideas, new methods of accomplishing goals, and develops the company in general. By giving the team an input, every employee invests in the project’s outcome.

Communication is the key: Your people management skills come down to the same concept — communication. Be accessible, listen attentively to other people’s opinions, remember to welcome all sorts of feedback, and encourage all your team to express their views. Encourage staff not just to speak with you, but also with each other. The creative process relies to a great extent on the open exchange of opinions, and if the staff communicate well, it becomes much simpler to spot issues before they may present a problem, and corrective measures can be applied before things get out of hand.

This may require some work, still the dividends achieved far outbalance the work. By encouraging a good team dynamic and demonstrating effective listening techniques, a thriving business can be accomplished.

Effective human resource management techniques are very important for business success. People management can be developed and studied. It may be a plus to have a intuitive affinity for people, but there are numerous skills you can do that will make the procedure simpler.

Relationship Development: Remembering people by name should be a great start. Engage in conversation; get eye contact during a conversation. Develop a respectful attitude, in addition pay attention to what the other person has to say, regardless of whether you are in agreement with them. Developing the ability to listen is among the most effective things you can do to better your human resources management skills. Welcome any comments from your co-workers.

Keep your word: Don’t give promises you will not keep. When your word is broken, it will ruin trust, and without trust employees won’t perform at their best. Each time you make a statement or give your word on something, ensure you can follow through or it would really be more sensible not to give your word at all. To be honest, if you can’t be counted upon, your employees won’t be there when they are most needed.

Be open to feedback: Feedback must be a two-way process. People management skills mean having an open mind to all feedback. Being accessible and open demonstrates that your co-worker’s opinions matter to you, your opinions will be appreciated in return. Bona Fide discussion in addition furthers creative problem solving, ways of accomplishing the goals of the company, and develops the team dynamic. By allowing the team some input, each team member invests in the outcome of the project. Promote communication: Your people management techniques boil down to the same thing - good communication. Be accessible, listen closely to your co-workers, welcome staff to express their ideas, and encourage all your team members to express their opinions. Inspire staff not just to speak to you, but to speak to each other. The growth of a business depends a great deal on the open exchange of ideas, and through listening to each other, it is easy to recognize any problems promptly, permitting corrective action to be implemented to prevent any further problems. This can require time, all the same the rewards are worth it. By encouraging a good team dynamic and demonstrating good listening techniques, a flourishing business can be achieved.

Numerous human resource managers think that, by providing staff with training in occupational health and safety, they now have everything needed to prevent an incident. The truth is that, regardless of the industry you’re in, basic training in health and safety regulations and risk asessment simply isn’t adequate. You must provide your employees with a great supervisor, not to mention equip them properly and give them the chance to practice. Your employees need a capable supervisor to keep an eye on the work area, however this individual must also take another function in the business. Any supervisor you employ must realise the necessity of health and safety education and have the ability to get other employees feeling enthusiastic about it.

As well as enforcing all of the rules and regulations, a supervisory role includes overseeing employee performance levels as well. Naturally it isn’t easy to achieve all this at once. In-depth product knowledge is a requirement for a supervisory role not to mention an advanced comprehension of up-to-date legislation involving safety, risk appraisal and first aid. Just having basic training in health and safety actually isn’t sufficient for your employees. To successfully spot a risk to their safety they must have to put their new-found knowledge to the test. Employees must know how to eliminate problems and also how to manage if something goes wrong. Not until these procedures have become automatic are staff properly trained.

Training is ineffective without safety equipment. When they are lacking the items they need, or even determine that items are not working correctly only after a crisis has happened, then all the safety training your staff have undergone will have been wasted. Frequent maintanence of your apparatus is a good idea. Should you have a fault with your equipment, make certain that it’s mended as quickly as is feasible and put it back in the proper location. Your staff have to have appropriate health & safety education, however they need good quality gear, frequent practise sessions, and a supervisor who can motivate your staff. If you implement these steps you should see that health and safety legislation will be a part of the staff’s working habits instead of an inconvenience for everyone to remember.

A thriving business depends on the efficient management of staff. You may succeed in improving in these skills. It may be a plus to have a intuitive affinity for people, nevertheless you can do many things to help the process. Build relationships: Begin by memorizing staff’s names. Engage in conversation; look individuals in the eye as you are speaking. Show respect, and be sure to listen to what the other individual says, even if you don’t agree or have a different viewpoint. Listening to what others say is one of the most important people management skills you can learn. Show an interest in what they can contribute to the team. Live up to your word: Do not give promises you can’t fulfill. When a promise is broken, it can ruin trust, and if they can’t trust you your staff will not give you their best. Each time you give a commitment or give a promise, ensure you can follow through or don’t bother giving your word at all. The truth is, when your people can’t depend on you, your team can’t be relied on to be there when you really need them. Feedback is essential: Feedback must be a reciprocal process. Maintaining an open mind with regard to other people’s ideas is an important skill in effective people management. If you are willing to show approachability and openness, you prove that you want to hear other’s ideas, your ideas will be valued in the same fashion. Promoting discussion in addition furthers evolution of fresh ways of doing business, innovative ways of fulfilling the mission of the company, and strengthens the team. When team members have a voice, the project and the outcome becomes important to every employee.

Encourage communication: Good communication is the key to dealing with employees effectively. Be accessible, listen closely to people, be open minded, and allow all your team to express themselves. Employees must be inspired to talk to each other not just with you. The exchange of thoughts is necessary in the creative process, and in listening to one another, it is easy to discover issues before they could present problems, allowing corrective measures to be implemented to prevent further problems. A little time is needed, however the payoff is worthwhile. By establishing the bonds of a good team and demonstrating effective listening skills, a successful business will be yours.

Somewhere in the world is a person who wants to see their provisioning/user management systems get a sorely needed upgrade. But they seem to be getting nowhere.

The technical requirements are unarticulated. Key decisionmakers in the company are not aware this is needed. And the “project” is funded and without resources. How can someone who has the responsibility but not the authority get this upgrade to the next level?

This article will provide practical guidelines on how to build awareness and get funding for a provisioning/user management upgrade. Upgrade is meant to include new hardware and software and also the supporting environment of business processes, roles, organizations, business rules, etc. This discussion will include techniques for overcoming the approval and implementation obstacles detailed in the previous article.

1. Know What You Are In For

Congratulations, you just signed up to become a change agent. They are easy to recognize because they have the arrows in their back! Usually they find their own rewards - pride of having improving their company’s infrastructure against all odds, making new acquaintances along the way, and satisfaction of a job well done.

Note it may take longer that you expected. There will be times of great progress and others of utter despair. Just keep at it and you will achieve your goal. And don’t forget to have fun while you are doing it.

2. Document the “AS-IS” Environment

This should include not only the environment but also current metrics for id creation, deletion, changes across business units, and special cases. Great care should be taken in identifying gaps and risks in the current environment.

3. Document the “TO-BE” Environment

Create your own network identity roadmap if one does not exist. Base it on a combination of your own and colleague’s ideas, existing company policies and procedures, best practices, consulting think tank recommendations, and whatever else makes sense. Revise it as organizational and vendor realities change. By “setting a line in the sand” with your network identity vision, you will force other to either agree with you or identify their own assumptions, risks, and implementation next steps.

4. Communicate Often

You can never communicate enough about IT infrastructure needs! Use a variety of mechanisms to tell the story such as electronic/printed newsletters, bulletin boards (physical and electronic), web site, blogs, face to face, speaking at department meetings, in-house seminars etc.

There are many things you can communicate - stories about the unsung heroes and heroines of provisioning and user management, current metrics, appropriate external meetings, webinars, and seminars, the “AS-IS” and “TO-BE” environments, successes at other companies, the unsung heroes and heroines of provisioning and user management, and of course stories illustrating user pain thresholds. Keep the information interesting, educational, and continuous.

5. Leverage Off of Other Company Success Stories

This may some work. Continuously scan the trade magazines and the web for other company success stories. Get the technical and management contact names if possible.

Try to get hold of them. See if both types of contacts are willing to share their key documents with you and how they measured success. Even better, see if you can get them to speak to the corresponding folks at your company (Especially the management contact talking with your management.)

6. Use Vendors and Outside Consultants

Use them to educate your management and technical decisionmakers through webinars, seminars, and on-site meetings. Webinars are appealing because they are usually free, relatively short (typically one hour), can be done from your desktop, provide an opportunity for asking questions and also saving a copy of the presentation.

Outside consultants may be helpful by coming on-site and reinforcing your efforts. This may include a talk on the state of network identity, evaluating your current provisioning/user management strategy, discussing current and future vendor releases etc.

7. Know Your Company’s Resources

Once you underway with your effort, you will see people fit into these categories:

• Allies — These are temporary and permanent employees who approve your general framework of problem diagnosis and proposed resolution. Keep these people best informed of all three categories through informal e-mails, 1 on 1 conversation, “brown bag lunches” and brainstorming sessions. Use them to spread the word when appropriate. Possible candidates are those actually doing provisioning/user management, data management, security, HR, IT, and remote/roaming users.

• Potential Allies - This type of employees may take some convincing. But once convinced, they are on your side forever. They may need to be convinced through webinars, vendor talks, interfacing with their peers in other companies who have successfully implemented a provisioning/user management system, attending a conference etc. Find out what their objections are and work on overcoming them. Constantly communicate to them about user pain, successes in other companies especially metrics before and after implementation.

• Challenges - This employee will need the most convincing because of education, financial, emotional, and political concerns. Unfortunately, they are probably your approvers and will likely give you the least amount of time and attention. Your encounters need to be well planned and timed. You should have reached a broad level of consensus and awareness on this issue. The problem and remedy should be clearly defined and documented. It could prove invaluable to read several books or take a course on relationship selling.

Conclusion

You can succeed at getting a provisioning/user management upgrade at your company. It will take a combination of great timing, targeted communications, both “hard” and “soft” skills, and the right people backing you up. Good luck and please write to me about your progress along the way.

For Further Information

Abridean “15 Rules for a Successful User Management and Provisioning Project”

http://www.abridean.com/SubPage.php?parent=experience&child=WhitePapers&grandchild=15Rules

German, Hallett “Project Management for Small/Medium Businesses” (3 articles)

http://mysite.verizon.net/hrgerman/hal/Publications.htm

Heiman, Stephen, Sanchez, Diane, and Tad Tuleja The New Strategic Selling 1998 Warner Book

Microsoft “The Provisioning Challenge” http://www.microsoft.com/serviceproviders/mps/challenge.asp

About The Author

Hallett German (hallett.german@alessea.com) is president of Alessea Consulting (www.alessea.com) specializing in Identity Management, Project Management, and Business Development. Copyright 2004 Alessea Consulting All Rights Reserved

Cutting out the managed care middleman and contracting directly with medical providers may seem like a drastic solution for reducing health plan costs. Yet for employers who’ve been whipsawed by relentless cost increases, it may be the only solution that actually works. The profit-bloated managed care industry, with much to lose, has propagated many myths about why this sensible approach won’t work. But their solutions haven’t worked. Costs continue to surge and employers are desperately seeking relief. It’s time to debunk the myths about direct provider contracting and shed some light on this ingenious, innovative cost-containment strategy.

Myth 1: Employers cannot negotiate as good a deal with medical providers as can managed care companies. The truth is employers can often negotiate just as good a deal, or better. Providers welcome direct agreements for the very reason that they are not like conventional managed care contracts. Physicians have complained for years about adversarial agreements and poor reimbursements forced upon them by HMOs and PPOs. This negative perception has created a strong willingness among medical providers to do business directly with employers. These “win-win” agreements ultimately save employers money without shortchanging the providers. Unlike managed care companies, direct agreements disclose all contractual details so both employer and provider know the deal they’re getting and nothing can be hidden by a middleman’s “cut.”

Myth 2: You need large numbers of employees to negotiate direct provider contracts. The truth is physicians and hospitals will often contract with employers for limited numbers of employees. When a direct agreement is fair and reimbursement terms are reasonable, providers quickly realize it’s a smart business decision to work with employers in their own community. A local employer, regardless of size, represents an established group of existing lives as prospective patients, ready to use the direct network providers. Direct networks have been successfully developed in areas where the employer had as few as 30 employees.

Myth 3: Direct contracting won’t work in areas where other PPO networks are available. The truth is doctors are sick of disadvantageous agreements and miserable reimbursements forced upon them by managed care companies. They actually welcome the opportunity to contract directly with employers. For many doctors, the very fact it’s an agreement with the employer, and not a managed care company, is reason enough to participate in a direct network. A direct agreement establishes a true business relationship between provider and employer, one that promises the provider quicker reimbursements, better benefit payment levels, and easier access to the ultimate payer (the employer). It’s also a gesture of good community relations for any physician, medical group, or hospital to demonstrate.

Myth 4: Direct networks create more administrative burdens and higher costs. The truth is once direct networks are developed, the advantages of “owning” a network quickly outweigh “leasing” one from a managed care company. There are no recurring network access fees; less physician attrition; fewer employee complaints; simpler self-renewing contracts; better provider relationships; straightforward plan design features; and the ability to choose the best contractors for utilization review, case management, claims processing, and other administrative tasks. Managed care companies have failed to contain employer medical cost increases, despite all their so-called network management efforts. Ironically, and coincidentally, managed care industry profits are at an all-time high while employers continue to suffer.

Myth 5: Direct contracting exposes employers to greater liability. The truth is direct contracting poses no greater risk of litigation than any other benefit program component and may actually offer greater protection against it. Direct contracting is intended only for self-insured employers whose plans are governed by ERISA, which offers built-in protection against liability. ERISA preempts state tort laws and limits the employee’s ability to hold an ERISA plan liable for malpractice under state laws, which govern malpractice, not ERISA. Because direct provider agreements state the employer is not providing/directing medical care and has no role whatsoever in any medical decision, the protection offered by ERISA’s preemption is safely maintained.

Myth 6: Managed care companies can’t (or won’t) process claims for direct networks.
The truth is that processing claims and administering benefits for employer-owned provider networks are well within the technical capabilities of managed care companies. Their feigned inability to process direct network claims is one of many ways that managed care companies hold their employer-clients hostage in networks that are owned, leased, or arranged by the managed care companies themselves. If an existing managed care company cannot or will not administer direct network claims, there are plenty of third party administrators (TPAs) than can handle it, usually at a lower cost per employee. For employers that want direct networks in select locations (but want to keep commercial networks elsewhere), using a TPA is a convenient and cost-effective way to get the job done.

Myth 7: Managed care companies do a better job containing costs and saving employers money. If that was true, employer medical plan costs would be falling instead of rising. The truth is employers who have implemented direct provider contracting are experiencing lower costs and higher savings. One national employer with 20,000 employees has used direct networks to keep their health plan cost trend flat for the past five years. Another major employer reduced its health plan costs by more than 20% without reducing benefits or shifting costs to employees.

Bottom Line: Cutting out the managed care middleman and contracting directly with medical providers can help savvy employers reduce benefit costs and regain control over their corporate health care plans.

Howard “A.J.” Lester is president of A.J. Lester & Associates, Inc., a leading employee benefits consulting firm based in Houston, TX that helps major employers reduce health plan costs by developing directly contracted medical provider networks as an alternative to commercial PPOs. Since 1994, A.J. Lester has developed direct provider networks for well-known national employers across 35 states, negotiating agreements with nearly 80,000 physicians and over 800 hospitals on behalf of clients. A.J. Lester & Associates has helped its clients save tens of millions of dollars on their health benefit programs.

Read the Case Studies of employers who have reduced costs through direct provider contracting.