Texas economy defies abortion politics with business rewards
Despite passing one of the most restrictive abortion laws, Texas has the highest number of Fortune 500 company headquarters in the country.
Practice management
Half of new U.S. entrepreneurs are women, leading a creation boom
A new survey found that women and minorities are fueling the entrepreneurial boom since the pandemic.
Benefits Think Why collaboration is independent brokers’ secret weapon
As national houses sail downstream after smaller groups, collaborative independents are swimming upstream to take larger groups from bigger shops.
Entrepreneurs thrive in pandemic that was supposed to crush them
Some of the COVID-era entrepreneurship may have been born of necessity, as people who lost their job in the initial wave of lockdowns set up their own businesses in an effort to make ends meet.
More than half of the working day is soaked up by nonessential tasks
Only about a third of the workday is spent doing what we were actually hired to do, and that hasn’t changed much since 2019.
Benefits Think Making your workplace drug-free and recovery friendly can help support people with addictions
Recovery friendly workplaces understand that stable employment is an essential component of long-term recovery.
Cheryl Brown Merriwether
ICARE
Long story short: Your to-do list for retaining top employees
Employers are experimenting with internal job fairs, a new definition of flexibility and more in our top stories from this week.
Benefits Think Ready to liven up client benefits? Suggest a shopping spree
Stale offerings that no one actually uses won’t move the needle on talent management, but earmarking an allowance for expanded options will spark interest and manage costs.
Eric Silverman
Voluntary Benefits
If managers have an MBA, employees might end up earning less money
Executives with a business degree are more likely to oversee declining pay at the businesses they run, yet tend not to deliver an increase in profits or sales.
Cyber stress: This is why employees are more worried about their virtual security
Over half of remote workers use a personal device to access work data, leading to an uptick in cyber attacks.
Going green: This startup is bringing sustainability to retirement plans
More than half of workers agreed that they would invest in greener funds if their employer offered them.
Corporate America adopted the NFL’s ‘Rooney Rule’ to increase C-suite diversity. Has it succeeded?
Companies that adopt the rule pledge to add at least one candidate to their interview slate to increase gender and racial diversity.
Women don’t feel comfortable at work. Here’s how to fix your culture
Female employees are twice as likely than men to call their workplace unsustainable — and it’ll cost employers.
Benefits Think Do you need a separate CRM from your agency system?
Advisers who are ready to get serious about their prospecting and marketing efforts are probably ready to consider a separate system to help manage those activities.
Wendy Keneipp
Q4intelligence
Getting employees to quit smoking is the latest wellness initiative for employers
The pandemic negatively impacted tobacco usage for almost half of employees, prompting 96% of them to smoke while on the job.
10 Fortune 500 companies with the biggest wage gaps between employees and CEOs
Compensation of the top CEOs has increased 1,322.2% between 1978 to 2020.
Benefits Think To become highly effective producers, advisers should put service before the sale
Landing a prospective customer is a lot like dating. Remember that patience in growing relationships is the key to lasting success.
Kim Eckelbarger
ARCW Leavitt Insurance
To get women back to work, throw out your resume requirements
Of candidates hired into senior roles following a more skills-based interview, more than half were women.
Wall Street bankers are returning to offices remade to fit hybrid work
As return-to-office plans accelerate — with hopes they will stick this time — many bosses are embracing new setups and perks meant to evoke the comforts of home.
Why the stigma surrounding career breaks is harmful to women
Despite half of hiring managers believing that career breaks are becoming more common, one in five would decline an applicant if they had an extended gap on their resume.
