Officials also announced that the college will institute layoffs and a pay freeze as its endowment suffered a 25% loss in the last year, The Chattanoogan reported. Any increase in health care premiums in the coming year will be borne by employees, the school said.
In addition, the Presbyterian-affiliated college announced there will be no raises for any faculty or staff, except those minimal raises (less than 1% of salary) mandated by contract, and all senior administrators have taken a voluntary reduction in compensation.
“These adjustments are as distressing as they are necessary. It is important to us that in this process we are honoring all contracts,” said Covenant president Niel Nielson.
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Charles Schwab Launches Performance Management Tools for Advisers
To help independent investment advisory firms maximize employee efficiency and productivity, Charles Schwab announced a series of performance management tools for advisers available through its Human Capital offering.
The expanded resources for advisers include best practices and ready-to-use tools and templates across five key areas of human resources management, including setting employee goals and objectives, employee performance management, employee career path development, staff motivation and leadership, and firm work environment, according to a news release.
Charles Schwab said the tools are also designed to enable advisory firms to align their employees’ responsibilities and objectives to the firm’s compensation structure and overall goals for growth.
The newly added tools, resources, and content for advisers can be accessed through a variety of channels including personalized one-on-one consultations with Schwab business consultants and relationship managers, a series of events throughout 2009, and a comprehensive set of tools and resources available on Schwab’s Web site.
“We have heard loud and clear that it is critical right now for advisers to realize efficiencies in every aspect of their business, and employee performance management can be a powerful contributor,” said Kelli Cruz, director of adviser business consulting for Schwab Advisor Services, in the release. “The resources we have added will help firms create clearer roles, responsibilities, and objectives for their employees, enabling higher levels of staff efficiency and productivity, and ultimately helping firms to be in a good position to grow.”
Increasing Efficiency
According to a 2007 Schwab report, “Best-Managed Firms: Time Management and Organizational Effectiveness,” the cost of staff time is typically the most significant expenditure for an advisory firm, averaging about 70% of all expenditures. By managing personnel time effectively, firms can increase their efficiency, free up time for more strategic activities, and improve quality of work life for their employees, Charles Schwab suggested.
Schwab said it added five performance management areas to Schwab Human Capital, consisting of 15 guides and templates:
resources on creating staff performance objectives
a guide to addressing employee performance issues
talking points on discussing compensation with staff members
employee self-assessment guide templates
sample performance evaluations
tips for writing effective performance evaluations
guidance on developing career paths.
Schwab Human Capital also offers advisers with an interactive compensation benchmarking tool, sample job descriptions specifically designed for advisory firms, and on-demand access to Webcasts from Schwab’s SOLUTIONS Operations and Technology workshops series.
In addition to the new resources made available to advisers, Schwab will also be holding multiple educational sessions across the country throughout 2009 regarding retention and performance management best practices, including sessions at IMPACT 2009 and Schwab’s CONNECT and SOLUTIONS series of adviser practice management and technology events, the company said.