Night shift cancer studies are being released from countries around the world. Most of this research is pointing to a link between night shift, or graveyard shift as it is sometimes called, and breast and colon cancer. Although reasons for elevated cancer levels in those working nights may have more to do with diet and exercise, the studies are shining a bright light on the health risks associated with shift work.
For Immediate Release – December 26, 2007
Core Practice Partners has announced new strategies to fight the potential risk of cancer on night shift. The two pronged approach consists of health and nutrition education for shift workers combined with schedules that minimize exposure to night shift hours. Considering night shifts are preferred over afternoon shifts almost 2 to 1 according to the Core Practice Partners benchmark database, finding a way to make them healthier should be a top priority.
According to Senior Partner John Frehse, “The studies on night shift have accelerated acceptance of what we already know. The fear of cancer is causing employers to take action now rather than waiting for the United States to confirm that night shift is indeed a cause for cancer. There is not one silver bullet that makes working a night shift unhealthy, but rather a list of over 100 factors that when combined create a debilitating experience for employees.”
To fight this health crisis, Core Practice Partners has created shift schedules that minimize exposure to working between the hours of 10pm and 6am, the most common hours shift workers would be sleeping if they weren’t working. On traditional 8 hour night shifts employee typically work between 10pm and 6am or 11pm to 7am. This accounts for 5 night shifts each week. Alternatives can bring night shift exposure down 30% without hurting the required business coverage in companies demanding maximum capital utilization.
Alternative schedules are only part of the solution. According to Core Practice Partners exercise, nutrition, and sleep strategies are also critical pieces of the equation. 64 ounce sodas and fast food burgers are common dietary staples of the night shift employee. Few options exist during the night shift hours and the 24 hour drive thru may be the most convenient. Coming off of night shifts, employees are typically exhausted but struggle to find quality sleep. Little education is provided for night shift employees on sleep strategies to improve their quality of life. With the exhaustion associated with poor diet and little sleep, exercise is an unlikely activity for the night shift worker.
The announcement by Core Practice Partners that a holistic approach is now available to improve the quality of life of the shift worker while not adversely impacting the business breaks new ground for companies that want the best for their employees but have aggressive goals for top and bottom line performance.
Learn more at http://www.corepractice.com
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Monday, December 17, 2007
Employee Schedules: The Top 10 U.S. Management Mistakes of 2007 Released By Core Practice Partners LLC
For Immediate Release: December 17, 2007
Every year Core Practice Partners releases its list of the top scheduling mistakes of the last 12 months. Educating the public has become a major part of the Core Practice mission. The workshops and seminars combined with ongoing project work with companies like Kraft Foods has made this firm a valuable labor strategy resource to the public.
This year’s list had a few newcomers, but most of the issues have stayed the same for the last five years - a real sign that adopting best practices is slow going here in the United States. This is an abbreviated summary of the Core Practice Partners top 10 list.
1. Copying a schedule from another facility
The three biggest issues are employee demographics are completely different and morale tanks, different business needs, and finally, the schedule may not have been successful where it was being used in the first place.
2. All schedules have one shift length, typically 8 hours
The one size fits all approach is heavily flawed, but widely accepted.
3. Weekend Warrior Crew
This crew typically has low skills, high costs, and high turnover. Both can severely damage your company
4. Keeping Overtime below 8 or 9%
Instead of focusing on idle time, the most expensive labor cost, management teams go after overtime – typically a very effective tool based on limited benefit costs after the first 40 hours.
5. Difficulty Flexing Up in High Season and Down in Low Season
Most companies have schedules that are only effective if the volumes don’t change. The problem is that volumes almost always change and flexibility is more important than ever.
6. No understanding of Health and Safety of Days on and Days Off
Many companies refuse to work 12 hour shifts because they feel they are unsafe, but don’t have as much of a problem working 7 shifts in a row (many work 13 shifts in a row during the busy season). This, in many cases, can be more detrimental.
7. Inflexible and Costly HR Policies
The HR manual may be the single greatest driver of labor productivity and cost savings if written and managed properly.
8. No Part time / Temporary worker Strategy
For those organizations with high seasonality and less need for skilled employees, not having a part time or temporary work strategy is a huge missed opportunity.
9. Inefficient Break and Lunch Relief
The small things add up and they add up quickly. If you have the wrong break and lunch structure, it may be a mistake you can’t correct.
10. Us vs. Them Mentality
The more shift workers know, the more bought in to the company vision they will be.
Core Practice Partners is the leading expert internationally in labor strategy for companies that don’t work traditional day shift schedules.
Every year Core Practice Partners releases its list of the top scheduling mistakes of the last 12 months. Educating the public has become a major part of the Core Practice mission. The workshops and seminars combined with ongoing project work with companies like Kraft Foods has made this firm a valuable labor strategy resource to the public.
This year’s list had a few newcomers, but most of the issues have stayed the same for the last five years - a real sign that adopting best practices is slow going here in the United States. This is an abbreviated summary of the Core Practice Partners top 10 list.
1. Copying a schedule from another facility
The three biggest issues are employee demographics are completely different and morale tanks, different business needs, and finally, the schedule may not have been successful where it was being used in the first place.
2. All schedules have one shift length, typically 8 hours
The one size fits all approach is heavily flawed, but widely accepted.
3. Weekend Warrior Crew
This crew typically has low skills, high costs, and high turnover. Both can severely damage your company
4. Keeping Overtime below 8 or 9%
Instead of focusing on idle time, the most expensive labor cost, management teams go after overtime – typically a very effective tool based on limited benefit costs after the first 40 hours.
5. Difficulty Flexing Up in High Season and Down in Low Season
Most companies have schedules that are only effective if the volumes don’t change. The problem is that volumes almost always change and flexibility is more important than ever.
6. No understanding of Health and Safety of Days on and Days Off
Many companies refuse to work 12 hour shifts because they feel they are unsafe, but don’t have as much of a problem working 7 shifts in a row (many work 13 shifts in a row during the busy season). This, in many cases, can be more detrimental.
7. Inflexible and Costly HR Policies
The HR manual may be the single greatest driver of labor productivity and cost savings if written and managed properly.
8. No Part time / Temporary worker Strategy
For those organizations with high seasonality and less need for skilled employees, not having a part time or temporary work strategy is a huge missed opportunity.
9. Inefficient Break and Lunch Relief
The small things add up and they add up quickly. If you have the wrong break and lunch structure, it may be a mistake you can’t correct.
10. Us vs. Them Mentality
The more shift workers know, the more bought in to the company vision they will be.
Core Practice Partners is the leading expert internationally in labor strategy for companies that don’t work traditional day shift schedules.
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Employee Schedules that Improve Morale and Save Money - Impossible?
For Immediate Release - December 13, 2007
With more companies forced to work weekends to improve capital utilization and reduce fixed costs per unit, employee morale is tanking across the country. Cancer as a health risk on night shift isn't making it any easier. Most firms have taken their widely accepted 8-hour, Monday – Friday schedules and adapted them to weekend work. In doing so, employees are often working seven shifts in a row, getting single days off, and working 75% of their weekends.
To counteract this trend, Core Practice Partners is working directly with employees and management teams to create better solutions. A recent implementation at a Fortune 500 companies manufacturing operations yielded schedules that gave the employees an extra 13 weeks off a year, half their weekends off (doubled from 25%), and they never worked more than 4 shifts in a row. The employee morale has gone through the roof. Three months after implementation 82% of the workforce said they are either satisfied or strongly satisfied with the new schedule compared to 27% before implementation.
How are these types of results possible? The Core Practice Partners methodology includes working directly with management and employees. First, business requirements are understood and a variety of strategies are formulated to maximize results. Next, employees are asked approximately 75 questions about their likes and dislikes to narrow the field of options. "By using real business data along with accurate employee feedback we can create schedules that truly serve both parts of the organization," stated Ethan Franklin, Senior Partner with the firm.
The extensive employee survey benchmarks enhance the experience by normalizing employee feedback and comparing it to similar industries and demographics. We can identify data points outside of normal ranges and head off employee morale issues before they happen and turnaround issues that are happening now.
About Core Practice Partners: Core Practice Partners, based in Chicago IL with offices in New York, South Carolina, and California, is the leading consulting firm internationally in Labor Management for companies that don’t work traditional “9 to 5” schedules - in other words, shift workers. Methodology includes analyzing low cost shift work scheduling options, improving employee morale, and using labor strategies to minimize costs in seasonal work environments. For more information contact Susan Satterfield at 212-534-0539 or 866-663-7056.
With more companies forced to work weekends to improve capital utilization and reduce fixed costs per unit, employee morale is tanking across the country. Cancer as a health risk on night shift isn't making it any easier. Most firms have taken their widely accepted 8-hour, Monday – Friday schedules and adapted them to weekend work. In doing so, employees are often working seven shifts in a row, getting single days off, and working 75% of their weekends.
To counteract this trend, Core Practice Partners is working directly with employees and management teams to create better solutions. A recent implementation at a Fortune 500 companies manufacturing operations yielded schedules that gave the employees an extra 13 weeks off a year, half their weekends off (doubled from 25%), and they never worked more than 4 shifts in a row. The employee morale has gone through the roof. Three months after implementation 82% of the workforce said they are either satisfied or strongly satisfied with the new schedule compared to 27% before implementation.
How are these types of results possible? The Core Practice Partners methodology includes working directly with management and employees. First, business requirements are understood and a variety of strategies are formulated to maximize results. Next, employees are asked approximately 75 questions about their likes and dislikes to narrow the field of options. "By using real business data along with accurate employee feedback we can create schedules that truly serve both parts of the organization," stated Ethan Franklin, Senior Partner with the firm.
The extensive employee survey benchmarks enhance the experience by normalizing employee feedback and comparing it to similar industries and demographics. We can identify data points outside of normal ranges and head off employee morale issues before they happen and turnaround issues that are happening now.
About Core Practice Partners: Core Practice Partners, based in Chicago IL with offices in New York, South Carolina, and California, is the leading consulting firm internationally in Labor Management for companies that don’t work traditional “9 to 5” schedules - in other words, shift workers. Methodology includes analyzing low cost shift work scheduling options, improving employee morale, and using labor strategies to minimize costs in seasonal work environments. For more information contact Susan Satterfield at 212-534-0539 or 866-663-7056.
Monday, December 10, 2007
Night Shift Link to Cancer Further Reinforces Need for Work Life Balancer
For Immediate Release – December 10, 2007.
With the recent news that the International Agency for Research on Cancer (the cancer arm of the World Health Organization) was adding overnight shift work as a probable carcinogen, shift workers around the world have been searching for more information. Regardless of what future studies show, few have argued that overnight shifts are healthy. Shift workers need tools to better manage the lifestyle challenges they face.
The Core Practice Partners Work Life Balancer is the tool. This innovative tool analyzes the actual schedules shift workers work and creates a plan to maximize health. The tool shows not just when employees should sleep and wake, but also outlines the best times for various types of exercise, when to enjoy protein or carbohydrate meals, and cautionary advice based on potential scheduling issues.
This low cost option empowers employees to make the right decisions. Employers can never control employee activities outside of work, but the education that is critical to make the right decisions is packed in this valuable tool.
Employees that have already taken advantage of the Work Life Balancer have called it both “eye opening” and “empowering”.
Let the Work Life Balancer help you manage the risks associated with poor health and fatigue. Empower your employees with advice that can both change their lives for the better and improve your bottom line.
Contact John Frehse at Core Practice Partners for more details at 1-866-663-7056 or email him at jfrehse@corepractice.com.
With the recent news that the International Agency for Research on Cancer (the cancer arm of the World Health Organization) was adding overnight shift work as a probable carcinogen, shift workers around the world have been searching for more information. Regardless of what future studies show, few have argued that overnight shifts are healthy. Shift workers need tools to better manage the lifestyle challenges they face.
The Core Practice Partners Work Life Balancer is the tool. This innovative tool analyzes the actual schedules shift workers work and creates a plan to maximize health. The tool shows not just when employees should sleep and wake, but also outlines the best times for various types of exercise, when to enjoy protein or carbohydrate meals, and cautionary advice based on potential scheduling issues.
This low cost option empowers employees to make the right decisions. Employers can never control employee activities outside of work, but the education that is critical to make the right decisions is packed in this valuable tool.
Employees that have already taken advantage of the Work Life Balancer have called it both “eye opening” and “empowering”.
Let the Work Life Balancer help you manage the risks associated with poor health and fatigue. Empower your employees with advice that can both change their lives for the better and improve your bottom line.
Contact John Frehse at Core Practice Partners for more details at 1-866-663-7056 or email him at jfrehse@corepractice.com.
Thursday, December 6, 2007
Core Practice Partners Pioneers Employee Morale and Employee Schedules
On December 4, 2008 Core Practice Partners announced the release of the new CPP Scheduling Database that includes both the top rated workforce schedules in the country, and responses to various employee morale issues.
Senior Partner John Frehse said, "The most recent results will allow our clients to avoid the frequent mistakes made when trying to improve OEE and productivity using labor schedules. Our clients can now accurately predict the success of their initiatives as well as formulate more powerful strategies that directly hit the bottom line."
Ethan Franklin of Core Practice Partners discussed the approach, "Our clients are often quick to talk about spending more money on new capital. We stress the need to review current asset utilization and performance before we can make any recommendations. In many cases we can delay expenditures by improving the current operation. This may include reducing idle time, identifying adverse costs, improving start ups and shut downs, and better matching the workforce to the changing needs of the customer. Flexibility and predictability are often opposing forces in the world of shift work. We have ways of succeeding in both categories at the same time.
"The new database is available starting December 6, 2008 and all advisory and change management services will be updated with this new information. The Core Practice Executive Workshops will also contain this new data.
About Core Practice Partners: Core Practice Partners, based in Chicago IL with offices in New York, South Carolina, and California is the leading consulting firm internationally in Labor Management for companies that don’t work traditional “9 to 5” schedules - in other words, shift workers. Methodology includes analyzing low cost shift work scheduling options, improving employee morale, and using labor strategies to minimize costs in seasonal work environments. For more information contact Susan Satterfield at 212-534-0539 or 866-663-7056.
Senior Partner John Frehse said, "The most recent results will allow our clients to avoid the frequent mistakes made when trying to improve OEE and productivity using labor schedules. Our clients can now accurately predict the success of their initiatives as well as formulate more powerful strategies that directly hit the bottom line."
Ethan Franklin of Core Practice Partners discussed the approach, "Our clients are often quick to talk about spending more money on new capital. We stress the need to review current asset utilization and performance before we can make any recommendations. In many cases we can delay expenditures by improving the current operation. This may include reducing idle time, identifying adverse costs, improving start ups and shut downs, and better matching the workforce to the changing needs of the customer. Flexibility and predictability are often opposing forces in the world of shift work. We have ways of succeeding in both categories at the same time.
"The new database is available starting December 6, 2008 and all advisory and change management services will be updated with this new information. The Core Practice Executive Workshops will also contain this new data.
About Core Practice Partners: Core Practice Partners, based in Chicago IL with offices in New York, South Carolina, and California is the leading consulting firm internationally in Labor Management for companies that don’t work traditional “9 to 5” schedules - in other words, shift workers. Methodology includes analyzing low cost shift work scheduling options, improving employee morale, and using labor strategies to minimize costs in seasonal work environments. For more information contact Susan Satterfield at 212-534-0539 or 866-663-7056.
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