Pay Linx Corp. has developed an affordable, accessible and contemporary payment-processing service that integrates seamlessly into the Interac and MasterCard financial networks in North America. The company has initiated a number of pilot projects in which the service has showed success as a method of paying out benefits.

Pay Linx instant issuing services allow corporations to issue and fund a prepaid Interac or MasterCard in real time, allowing the beneficiary to select their own PIN number using a Pay Linx PIN and cardactivation terminal. This allows the beneficiary to have instant access to funds that can be reloaded by the corporation.

Pay Linx recently signed an agreement with the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) to provide prepaid debit card services through an electronic benefit payment card. The RBC QuickLinx Prepaid Benefit Card is designed for government agencies as an alternative to issuing paper cheques.

Pay Linx, which is 25 per cent owned by RBC, has been working with RBC to develop and deliver a benefit-payment card and related services. RBC enlisted Pay Linx to provide back-end services, processing, and customer support for ts QuickLinx cardholders as it implements a prepaid platform for consumers.

"Governments have been trying to move away from paper to electronic payments for years, because it costs them about $80 to issue a [paper] cheque," says Ian McNeill, president and CEO of Pay Linx. "The QuickLinx card provides them with an alternative, for fraction of the cost.

"We’ve been running a very successful pilot project since March of 2006 with the Alberta Employment, Immigration and Industry Department, which enabled us to secure our agreement with RBC. Our benefit-payment card is unique: it provides cost benefits to RBC and allows them to provide better service to their customers."

The department, he adds, has been waiting for this solution to walk through its doors for a decade, because prepaid debit cards offer a level of control not available with a cheque. "Prepaid debit cards," he says, "can be configured to allow for authorization or restriction, at either a point-of-sale terminal, such as at a store, or at an ATM machine."

Prepaid debit cards can be issued by any type of organization that wans to convert paper cheques, vouchers, and even cash transactions to real-time secure electronic payments.

Insurance companies can, for example, allocate funds for specific purposes. "The card," McNeill says, "can be configured to pay for dental work, eyeglasses, chiropractors, and other paramedical services." It can also, he says, be used to set limits for services.

The system itself is very sophisticated, but the prepaid debit card is not a chip-based smart card. All the processing is done on the back end, using existing financial networks such as Interac or MasterCard.

The Pay Linx system, McNeill adds, complies with all the industry security regulations, including privacy and anti-money laundering. "It even monitors for unusual activity," he says.

"The beauty is that merchants do not need to add any additional equipment to accept a prepaid debit card. It runs on the same network as Interac and Visa."

Pay Linx has also reached an agreement with a Canadian insurer to pilot a payment card to manage the real-time payment of health benefits provided under what is commonly known by insurance companies as a health-care spending account (HCSA).

An HCSA can form part of a group benefit plan an  allows plan members to be reimbursed for health-related expenses using pre-federal tax dollars. It can operate like a bank account: plan members start each plan year with a certain number of dollar credits in their HCSA; throughout the year, those credits may be used to pay for certain medical, vision, and dental expenses. The credits can be used, for example, to top up existing group coverage by covering residual amounts on prescription drugs, eyeglasses, and hearing aids, or to pay for medical, vision, and dental expenses that otherwise may not be covered under the group benefit plan.

The pilot project will involve the use of payment cards to be provided to pilot participants in the processing and payment of their health claims. Pay Linx will provide its payment card, issued by a sponsor bank, as a solution for the issuance, loading, and authorization of payment cards using existing financial networks, including support services. During the pilot, Pay Linx will issue a maximum of 100 cards to participants  nd the insurer will enrol a minimum of 1000 health-care providers located in three Canadian cities. Under the pilot agreement, the insurer will pay half the development costs up to a specified limit.

"Health-care spending accounts hold excellent potential for the application of our payment-processing solution," says McNeill. "The pilot is intended to enable the integration of real-time payments of benefits for health-care organizations. This could lead to additional program offerings to streamline the payments of health-care benefits, providing better services to the consumer."

For more information, visit www.paylinx.ca.

Montreal-based financial services firm Standard Life invested in a mass notification system last year in a bid to strengthen its business continuity and emergency response program.

It's back-to-school time, but teachers aren't the only ones with lesson plans on their minds this fall. Human resources (HR) departments also are focused on continuing education for workers, suggests a new OfficeTeam survey. More than four in 10 (41 per cent) HR managers interviewed said their greatest staffing concern is employee training and development. Recruiting new employees came in second, with 27 per cent of the response.

The survey was developed by OfficeTeam, a leading staffing service specializing in the placement of highly skilled administrative professionals. It was conducted by an independent research firm and is based on telephone interviews with more than 150 HR managers at companies with 20 or more employees.

HR managers were asked, "Which of the following is your greatest staffing concern as a human resources professional?" Their responses:

Training and developing employees ........................  41%  
Recruiting new employees ........................................  27%  
Retaining top-performing employees ...............................  23%  
None/doesn't apply ..........................................................  9%  

"As workers take on expanded responsibilities, it becomes more important for companies to offer professional development to help their teams keep up," says OfficeTeam executive director Robert Hosking. "Training programs boost job satisfaction for employees by enabling them to build new skills and take on more challenging roles."

Workplace Redefined, a recent Robert Half study that examined the attitudes of multiple generations of workers, showed that professionals of all ages value ongoing education. "Job security is on everyone's minds, and having up-to-date skills is the key to staying relevant and marketable," notes Hosking. "By providing training opportunities, companies demonstrate they're committed to their employees' long-term career growth, and this can help with their retention efforts."

OfficeTeam is a leading staffing service specializing in the temporary placement of highly skilled office and administrative support professionals. The company has more than 320 locations worldwide and offers online job search services at www.officeteam.com. 

The vast majority of Canadian executives at large and mid-sized organizations say that social media has the potential to impact their corporate brand and as a result are placing more importance on its use. One in six says that social media is the most important means for their organization to engage the public about their brand; while 31 per cent say it plays a major role and 43 per cent say it plays a limited role. Just 10 per cent of organizations don't bother engaging in social media. These are some of the findings of a SAS/Leger Marketing survey of more than 1,000 Canadian executives conducted earlier this year.

Provincially, Alberta and Ontario, and Quebec executives are more on board than those in Atlantic Canada; with about one in five executives (20, 19, and 15 per cent respectively) saying social media is their most important means of communicating with the public. Just six per cent of Atlantic Canada's executives feel this way.

In the public versus private debate, public sector executives are more likely then private sector executives (21 per cent to 14) to say social media is their most important means of public engagement.

"Our research is showing that governments in Canada are increasingly embracing social media," says Dr. Alison Brooks, director of public sector research for IDC Canada. "Deployment costs are low, participatory gains high, and the ease and immediacy of impact make the technologies hard to ignore. Add this to the fact that much of the fear-mongering about the risks to privacy, security and information management posed by social media have been dispelled and you have a recipe for forward thinking government organizations intent on leveraging social media channels."

At the industry level, which represents respondents from both the public and private sector, finance and banking leads the way with 28 per cent saying social media is the most important means of communicating with the public about their brand. One in five advertising, media, and communication companies (21 per cent) say the same, while only six per cent of the health services/pharmaceutical industry say it is their most important avenue for public engagement. Nationally, 16 per cent of respondents say this.

"Our research has found that the public sector has some of the most aggressive social media strategies of any market segment," says Tim Hickernell, lead research analyst with London-based Info-Tech Research Group. "Social networks are the new citizen meeting places, where government can quickly survey the needs of the citizenry. Social channels are also proving to be extremely effective for government outreach and education, because social sharing spreads the desired messages much further than traditional media channels."

Social media a waste of time for some
Nationally, 10 per cent of executives interviewed say social media is a waste of time. From an industry perspective, 15 per cent of construction, manufacturing, real estate and legal executives say it is a waste of time. Less than half as many, seven per cent, of retail execs agree. The private sector was also more sceptical than the public sector with 12 per cent (versus seven per cent) saying it is a waste of time.

"Consumers are now, more than ever, keeping a close eye on our brands as they continue to engage with social media channels at unprecedented rates," says Lori Bieda, SAS consultant and former marketing executive.  "With corporate trust at the lowest it's been in several years, consumers are relying on social media and their social networks to shape their buying decisions, making social media a powerful medium that businesses can't ignore.

Ontario, for all of its leading edge social media commitment, is also the most sceptical province when it comes to social media in general, with 14 per cent saying it is a passing fancy that will be gone in a few years, this compared to just three per cent in Atlantic Canada, Manitoba and Saskatchewan, and five per cent in Quebec.  On the industry side, the  advertising and communications communities are more likely than the construction/ engineering/ manufacturing or food/ retail industries to say it will all be gone in a few years (21 per cent versus 6 per cent each, respectively)   Nationally, 9 per cent say social media is a passing fancy.

"The true sentiment of brands is 'out there'- in a more public form than ever before - and delivered at speeds that can make or break brands," added Ms. Bieda. "Mining social media data well will empower marketers, PR professionals, researchers and customer experience experts to drive business forward."    

Some additional stats:

• 60 per cent of execs say their organization often or sometimes monitors social media channels for mentions about their business.
• 20 per cent rarely monitor social media and 12 per cent never do it.
• 12 per cent of public sector execs say people who use social media are a vocal minority whose opinions don't matter much.
• 6 per cent of private sector executives feel the same. Nationally 8 per cent say this.
• 51 per cent of construction, engineering and manufacturing executives say social media has no impact on their business.
• 14 per cent of health services / pharmaceutical executives feel this way.
• 50 per cent of executives say they don't have the resources to monitor social media.

The online survey was conducted for SAS Canada by Leger Marketing, between March 3rd and March 26th, 2010, with a representative sample of 1,022 senior-level business decision makers. This method simulates a probability sample which would yield a maximum margin of error of +/-3.1%, 19 times out of 20.

SAS is the leader in business analytics software and services, and the largest independent vendor in the business intelligence market. Through innovative solutions delivered within an integrated framework, SAS helps customers at more than 45,000 sites improve performance and deliver value by making better decisions faster. Since 1976 SAS has been giving customers around the world THE POWER TO KNOW®.

In 2005, the Ontario Legislature passed the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act to improve accessibility across the province. The disability community saw the legislation as a milestone in the government’s commitment to creating a level playing field for all Ontarians. But many businesses and municipalities across the province responded with skepticism, believing the act would result in increased costs and result in few benefits.

However, a new study by the Martin Prosperity Institute at the Rotman School of Management, the Institute for Competitiveness and Prosperity and the Adaptive Technology Resource Centre, titled Releasing Constraints: Projecting the Economic Impacts of Increased Accessibility in Ontario, finds that improving inclusivity and accessibility in Ontario provides both economic opportunity and benefits, which could increase the size of the provincial economy by almost $5 billion.

The need to improve accessibility is becoming more pronounced in Ontario as the population ages and the labour force shrinks. Between 2001 and 2006, the percentage of Ontarians with a disability grew from 13.5 per cent to 15.4 per cent, and more than half of this increase is directly attributable to the aging population. Disability tends to increase with age, with the highest incidence occurring among individuals 45 and older.

As Ontario’s economy comes out of recession, the demand for educated and skilled workers will increase. The looming labour shortage from retirements in Ontario, with a predicted shortage of over 1 million workers by the year 2030, is adding additional pressure to ensure that skilled workers will be available to meet this demand. Improving the accessibility of education for individuals with a disability, and improving their skills to meet the demands of the emerging knowledge economy, can help to overcome part of this labour shortage, say the report authors, Kevin Stolarick of the Martin Prosperity Institute, Alison Kemper, a PhD student at the Rotman School, Jutta Treviranus of the Adaptive Technology Resource Centre, and James Milway of The Institute for Competitiveness and Prosperity.

Currently, persons with disabilities tend to have lower labour force participation rates than persons without a disability. In addition, the average employment income for persons 15 years of age and older with disabilities is lower than persons without disabilities and has declined between 2001 and 2006. The report finds that the participation rate of individuals with a disability could increase anywhere from between 2 per cent to 15 per cent, thanks to improvements in accessibility. The report also finds that the increased productivity could increase the province’s per capita GDP anywhere from $49 to $653 as a result of these changes. In fact, increasing employment among individuals with a disability could result in a total increase in employment income of up to $4.8 billion per year.

Click here to read the complete report. 

About a third of the workforce is routinely unhappy with their work. Of these, a handful choose to fight (in the form of a blow-up or argument at work), while a larger number choose flight (in the form of an exit to another job, even if it pays less), says Alexander Hiam, author of Business Innovation For Dummies (Wiley, May 2010) as well as the authoritative American Management Association textbook Motivational Management.

What are your thoughts on safety accountability?

Half of employed Canadians (47 per cent) identify themselves as very or somewhat vacation deprived – the highest reported level in four years – despite receiving an average of 19.68 vacation days from their employer. The likely reason? The eighth annual Expedia.ca(TM) Vacation Deprivation(TM) survey by Harris/Decima reveals that one-quarter of Canadians (24 per cent) are not taking all of their vacation time, giving back an average of 2.17 unused vacation days to their employer. This translates into nearly 36.5 million unused days in Canada overall, and an overwhelming $6.02 billion (CDN) in wages handed back to employers.  

"Despite an upswing in the Canadian economy, Vacation Deprivation continues to pervade the Canadian workforce - in fact, it has reached its highest level this year," says Beverly Beuermann-King, stress and wellness expert. "Investing in our jobs is important, but so is investing in our physical and mental health, too. The vacation time is there – we just need to use it!"  

Unlike 2009, the economy isn't as much of a concern this year for Canadians looking to take vacation time.* Among all Canadians, just one quarter (25 per cent) feel that it's more important to put funds into savings than spend money on vacations. Just 13 per cent of Canadians feel they need a vacation now more than ever because of stress from the current economy, down from 18 per cent last year. Guilt over taking vacations due to the economic climate is down too, with just 14 per cent of Canadians reporting this as a concern, compared with 17 per cent last year.  

So if the economic storm has cleared, what's preventing us from taking the time we've earned?   Barriers to vacations  While almost all employed Canadians have vacation days (90 per cent), half (46 per cent) say there are a variety of reasons why they wouldn't use them all, including:  

• Not scheduling vacation time far enough in advance to be able to take all of their vacation days (14 per cent);.
• Work is their life and they're too busy to get away (12 per cent).
• Their significant other is unable to get away from their job (10 per cent).

Work-related concerns even cause interruptions to vacations that are already planned. One-third of Canadians say they've checked their work messages while on vacation (30 per cent) and one-quarter have even cancelled or postponed vacation plans in the past because of work (22 per cent).  

Technology: love it or leave it? 
The ease of checking messages can be both a blessing and a curse, especially when it comes to vacation time. For one-third (34 per cent) of all Canadians, technological advances make it difficult to fully disconnect from the stresses of home/work life while on vacation. However, 42 per cent of Canadians say technological advances make it easier to go on vacation because they can still be connected to home and/or work.  

Similarly, while 23 per cent of Canadians say they prefer to stay active on social media sites like Twitter or Facebook because it helps them feel connected on vacation, 60 per cent say that in order to fully enjoy their vacations, they need to 'take a vacation' from social media overload. 

The life list 
Even if they aren't planning on travelling there this year, most Canadians do have a list of dream destinations they'd like to visit at some point in their lifetime (76 per cent). Half (49 per cent) of Canadians say visiting those destinations is a priority, yet barriers such as money (75 per cent) and time and scheduling (44 per cent) are preventing them from achieving their travel dreams.  

The majority of both men and women have a "life list" of dream vacations (79 per cent and 73 per cent respectively) while young Canadians (aged 18-24) are more likely to put a priority on actually visiting their fantasy locales (67 per cent).  

More vacation revelations 

-  One week or two? When they do use their vacation time, most employed Canadians plan to take at least one vacation this year that lasts up to one (33 per cent) or two (38 per cent) full weeks.
- Getting there is half the fun - More than half of Canadians (62 per cent) say they enjoy the planning and anticipation aspect before a vacation almost as much or as much as taking a vacation itself.
-  In sickness and in health - Canadians are taking an average of three sick days each year, consistent with 2009 results. Women continue to take more sick days than men (3.42 vs. 2.63) while older Canadians age 55+ usually take fewer sick days than their younger counterparts (1.89 vs. 3.27)
- Reality check - After a vacation, half of Canadians (53 per cent) come back feeling rested, rejuvenated and connected to their personal life, and two-in-five (39 per cent) feel better about their job and feel more productive.
- Vacation Envy - Half (48 per cent) of Canadians experience vacation envy, or feelings of jealousy when a co-worker or friend goes on vacation. Women are more likely than men to experience this (54 per cent vs. 41 per cent), as are younger Canadians 18-34 vs. older Canadians 55+ (66 per cent vs. 33 per cent). 

And the most vacation-deprived province is ... Ontario!   Half (50 per cent) of Ontarians identify themselves as vacation deprived, followed by British Columbians (46 per cent), Manitoba/Saskatchewan, Quebec, and Atlantic Canada (45 per cent), and Alberta (44 per cent).  

Harris/Decima completed 2,006 online surveys among a random sample of Harris/Decima panel members aged 18 and older, among which 1,271 are employed. The study was conducted between April 14th to April 19th, 2010. 

Expedia, Inc. operates Canada's most visited full-service online travel service, Expedia.ca(TM). To learn more, visit www.expedia.ca.  

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*Comparison of findings prior to 2009 should be interpreted with caution because of the change in survey supplier. However, every effort has been made to maintain the same methodology and market research standards. 

Eighty-two per cent of Canadian executives believe that a response to climate change is imperative today and plan immediate increases on spending for climate change initiatives, according to the new report Action amid uncertainty: the business response to climate change, based on a survey from Ernst & Young.

"The willingness of corporations to invest in climate change initiatives despite the uncertain regulatory environment is extremely encouraging," says Melanie Steiner, Americas Market Leader for Ernst & Young's Climate Change and Sustainability Services practice. "Corporate leaders understand that there are a range of market drivers, such as evolving customer demands and equity analysts' growing interest in climate change performance, that are motivating action."

Steiner notes that more than 90 per cent of executives surveyed globally indicate that climate change governance rests with C-suite executives or board members. This reflects the growing strategic importance of climate change for many organizations who understand that climate change is not just a risk area but also an opportunity to reduce costs, increase revenue and gain competitive advantage.

Canadian participants in the survey agree, with 71 per cent of Canadian respondents indicating that their company already has an enterprise-wide climate change program targeting key business drivers, and another 11 per cent planning for implementation in the next 12 months.

Canadian respondents also compare impressively with their global counterparts; while globally, 70 per cent of those surveyed expect their companies' spending on climate change initiatives to increase over the next two years, Canadians ranked 12 per cent higher in this regard. And the investment will be significant, with nearly half of Canadian respondents planning to spend between 0.5 per cent to more than 5 per cent of their revenue on climate change initiatives. For a US$1 billion company, this represents an anticipated spend of US$5 million to US$50 million annually.

Canadian companies are taking a comprehensive approach, expanding their climate change efforts beyond the enterprise, through their entire supply chain. Forty-three per cent of respondents say they are working directly with their suppliers to help them reduce their carbon footprint, while another 29 per cent say they have begun such discussions.

Globally, the survey findings are predominantly consistent in all participating countries, with some additional trends emerging across all countries surveyed:

• Energy efficiency is a top global priority, with 82 per cent of respondents planning to invest in energy efficiency initiatives over the next 12 months.
• Customer demand is driving investment. Changing customer demands are driving corporate climate change activities according to 89 per cent of respondents. As a result, 65 per cent per cent of executives intend to focus their climate change investments on new products and services to respond to changing customer demands.
• Equity analysts are incorporating climate change initiatives into company valuations. Forty-three per cent of the senior executives surveyed believe that equity analysts currently include climate change-related factors in company valuations.
• Climate change is generating new revenue opportunities, such as developing more efficient products, building a portfolio of carbon assets, investing in clean development mechanism projects, clean technologies and innovative IT solutions.
• Government policies strongly influence climate change strategies. Ninety-four per cent of global respondents see national policies as important or very important in shaping their climate change strategies, with 81 per cent recognizing the importance of global or international policies.

The report is based on a survey of 300 global corporate executives across 16 countries. Ernst & Young commissioned the survey to provide a status update on corporate responses to climate change issues in 2010, the half-way point in the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol.

Ernst & Young is a global leader in assurance, tax, transaction and advisory services. For more information, please visit ey.com/ca.

[Source: CNW]

By now, all employers in Ontario should have been busy conducting their workplace violence risk assessments, ready to post  their workplace violence and harassment policies in “a conspicuous place in the workplace”, as well as preparing their workplace violence and harassment programs. Certainly the government, as well as scores of advisors and experts, have made both the requirements and the timelines perfectly clear for months. But what happens if your workplace is not in compliance with these Bill 168 requirements by June 15?