The title of this post also served as the subtitle of an Indiana Chamber study released earlier this year titled Indiana’s Adult Education and Workforce Skills Performance Report.

There are many Hoosiers with a vested interest in overcoming the challenges — such as 651,000 workers with no college education and earning less than a living wage.

Two names at the top of that list of interested parties are Thomas Snyder, president of Ivy Tech Community College, and Teresa Voors, commissioner of the Indiana Department of Workforce Development. Snyder and Voors, along with Mark Lawrance (a Chamber senior vice president who oversaw the study in his role as head of the Chamber Foundation) are taking the message around the state. Audiences in Bloomington, Evansville, Fort Wayne and South Bend have heard about the needs, what the state is already doing well and how public and private sector leaders are working together to craft additional solutions.

The Fort Wayne Journal Gazette and the South Bend Tribune report on the recent visits to their communities. Gary and Indianapolis are among the upcoming stops.

Contact Lawrance to learn about the study and what many are saying is the No. 1 long-term challenge facing our state.

It’s been estimated that employees now spend at least 100 hours each year commuting to work. Because of this, flexible work arrangements are becoming more popular among staff and are being utilized by more employers to lower turnover.

Be sure you have a policy in place to meet the needs, or at least "wants," of your staff. Page 129 of the Indiana Chamber’s Model Employee Policies for Indiana Employers addresses telecommuting policy, and the entire book also provides detailed sample policies that could work for your business.

Written by Bose McKinney & Evans, this book is designed to help employers understand the legal implications of an organization’s written policies and procedures, the costs and benefits of placing informal practices in an employee handbook and how to communicate an organization’s values and goals. It includes a compilation of legal commentary as well.

With so many rules governing hiring processes, it’s easy to unknowingly violate a law when discussing a job with a potential candidate. That notwithstanding, how you simply advertise the job requires strong consideration. The Interviewing Guide, written by the law firm Ogletree Deakins and published by the Indiana Chamber, provides an overview of state and federal laws and their applicability to the hiring process. It includes practical tips on avoiding employment litigation and handling the discipline, discharge and arbitration processes.

The book can also be purchased with a CD-ROM, which includes the entire text of the book in searchable format and gives you access to Microsoft Word versions of the included sample forms and letters. Additionally, don’t forget about the the Indiana Chamber’s Supervisor’s Kit. This kit includes several Chamber products that all supervisors should have on hand for quick answers to compliance-related questions.

The Indiana Chamber’s conferences team wants to help your HR staff be the best it can be:

In the ever-changing human resources field, it can sometimes feel as if you’re driving laps without a pit crew. Attend the 44th Annual HR Conference & Expo on May 6-7 at the Indianapolis Marriott East and accelerate your company to victory lane. Choose from over 20 educational sessions on topics including blogs and personal web pages, immigration, safety and HR, wellness, health plan cost-savings and more. Experts on the various state and federal rules and regulations will have you seeing that checkered flag.

To register, click here.

Can federal government agencies replace bureaucratic language with plain English?

They may be forced to try under legislation that is moving through Congress. The translation of documents into plain language could be a lengthy process and one that will not come easily.

In a 376-1 vote Monday, the House passed a measure (HR 3548) that would require the federal government to use plain English, understandable to ordinary Americans, in all communications that explain how to file taxes or obtain government benefits or services.

A report from Congressional Quarterly noted that the government has tried several steps over the past few decades to encourage agencies to issue documents in plain language. Former Presidents Richard M. Nixon, Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton all issued executive orders requiring various government documents to be written in plain English, and agencies have launched their own initiatives.

But readers trying to figure out what the bureaucrats are saying still complain about impenetrable wording. So freshman Rep. Bruce Braley, D-Iowa, is trying to goad government writers with a bill that would put the no-jargon requirement into law.

The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee approved its version of the measure (S 2291) on April 10. It was sponsored by Sen. Daniel K. Akaka, D-Hawaii.

“There’s no reason why the federal government can’t write forms, letters, and other public documents in a way we can all understand,” Braley said. “It’s a simple change that’ll make a big difference for anyone who’s ever filled out a tax return, applied for a passport, received a letter from the Veterans Administration, or read a government document.”

A Wednesday Indianapolis Star article in the Careers section highlighted a quintet of the Best Places to Work in Indiana companies for 2008. They — and the 61 other companies to be honored at the May 7 awards dinner – deserve the recognition.

But the actual rankings won’t be revealed until the May 7 Indiana Chamber event. The only clue is the late February press release that identified the companies (in alphabetical order).

It’s the third year of the Best Places to Work program. The biggest awards celebration and most special edition of BizVoice magazine (all dinner attendees will walk away with a copy in addition to the 15,000 regular recipients) will cap the program in 27 days.

There’s always next year. Applications will open in July. Stay tuned.