-time Telephone Seminars - Training Resources

Understanding the Apportionment Rules for Service-Based Businesses BenefitsApportionment of income for state tax purposes is 'where the rubber meets the road.' That is to say, the complex and varied rules for determining a taxpayer's state income tax apportionment percentage can provide opportunities - with careful planning - for state tax minimization or create traps - without such planning - that lead to multiple taxation. Service-based businesses face  more...

ConsensusDOCS Contract Fundamentals BenefitsIn the fall of 2007, the Associated General Contractors of American and the Construction Owners of America folded their AGC contract documents program into a new organization and issued a new series of contracts called the ConsensusDOCS. These forms, some revised and some entirely new, were issued at nearly the same time as the American Institute of Architects' 2007 revision of the AIA  more...

Keys to Understanding and Writing Purchasing Contracts BenefitsThis teleconference is an introductory course in understanding and documenting the purchasing process in a business environment. It will provide you with an understanding of how to negotiate and document agreements between business entities for goods and services - and the problems that develop when the purchasing contract fails to adequately address critical terms. It will also cover  more...

Estate Planning for the Final Years of Life BenefitsEmpirical evidence and directed studies indicate that the majority of Americans fail to plan for their final years of life. Ironically, this is the time when many people are confronted with their greatest challenges and most stressful experiences. This teleconference will cover why people need to plan, what they need to plan for and how to apply proven strategies for dealing with the final  more...

Best Practices in Nursing Documentation: Writing Effective and Legal Proof Notes BenefitsLong gone are the days that nurses and other health care providers hand-wrote cryptic notes on essay paper-like chart pages that rarely were ever looked at again. Long gone, also, are the days that physicians would only look at labs, reports and other physician's notes, expecting the nurse to call to the physician's attention anything important about the patient so they didn't have to read  more...

Conflicts With Additional Insured Coverage BenefitsStandard form contracts and purchase orders often require contract counterparties to add one another as additional insureds to general liability, property and other insurance policies. Relying upon another parties' insurance coverage can offer important benefits to the additional insured, whose own insurance coverage may not be implicated in the event of a claim. At the same time, relying  more...

How to Sell to the U.S. Government BenefitsMany businesses want to sell their services and products to the federal government, but find the process confusing and filled with dead ends and frustration. They see competitors winning contracts but cannot seem to get through to decision makers, or they waste time and resources responding to bids that they never win. This teleconference demystifies the federal contracting process and  more...

Legal Ethical Issues BenefitsEthical issues present themselves in all aspects of an attorney's professional life. Knowledge of these ethical standards will assist you in properly representing a client and at the same time protect you from the adverse consequences of a violation of the ethical standards. This teleconference will provide an overview of typical ethical issues affecting the various areas of the practice  more...

Public/Private Partnerships and Major Infrastructure Construction BenefitsThe term public/private partnership (P3) has recently emerged as one of the latest buzz words in the development area. States and local governments are struggling with resource limitations and ever-increasing demands of infrastructure. The involvement of the private sector offers an enticing solution for meeting massive infrastructure needs. At the same time P3s provide an opportunity for  more...

Strategies in Representing Clients Before the IRS BenefitsThis teleconference is designed to summarize the important strategies to keep in mind when representing clients before the Internal Revenue Service. Tax exams are an every day occurrence. It is important to conduct them professionally and efficiently while at the same time presenting the taxpayer's position in the best possible way. Accountants, CPAs, attorneys, tax professionals, CFOs,  more...

How to Succeed at Selling to Difficult Customers BenefitsCustomers today are more demanding than ever. Some will bully you to get price concessions. Others will put off decisions until you cave in. A few will even embellish the truth. Many won't think twice to take their business elsewhere if you can't acquiesce to their demands. Learn how to pro-actively manage your most difficult customer relationships and turn them into thriving and  more...

Medical Records Releases, Retention and Confidentiality Requirements BenefitsMedical providers and others (health plans, vendors, etc.) who retain medical or health records are often subjected to complex and conflicting requirements to maintain the confidentiality and restrict the disclosure of the information. Complex and overlapping rules and regulations impose rigid requirements that must be met before information is released, and require medical record  more...

HR Time Lines: The Complex Integration of FMLA, WC, Disability and COBRA BenefitsHow do worker's compensation, FMLA, disability and COBRA laws work - together, independently or concurrently? What can run together? What cannot? When can we cancel the health plan, for what reason and is it a COBRA qualifying event? We will pull all of these together to explain the employer's liability. When can coverage be canceled? What laws protect employee benefits? Many times all  more...

Access Management Design and Development BenefitsAccess management is a critical element of every private and public roadway or site development project. As a transportation engineer and/or planner, understanding the basics of access design and access development is crucial in delivering a successful project to your client. Driveway access to a site can have positive or negative consequences on the amount of potential business a retail  more...

De-Escalation Tactics When Responding to Individuals with Mental Illnesses BenefitsBecause officers have to protect their own safety as well as the safety of others, they often have limited time in which to establish a communication mode that minimizes risk of violence. Agitated individuals can often be directed away from violence by specific communication skills. Verbal de-escalation techniques are geared to 'set up' those being contained so that physical control  more...

Strengthening Self-Esteem, Resilience and Body Image in Adolescents BenefitsAdolescence is a time of heightened self-consciousness and anxiety about 'measuring up' in relation to schoolwork, appearance and social life. Today's culture promotes unrealistic and narrow standards of what is acceptable and attractive, increasing stress that can all too often undermine self-esteem and encourage feelings of inadequacy. This teleconference will look at some of the  more...

White-Collar Defense Strategies and Developments BenefitsWhite-collar criminal defense is very different from the defense of other criminal cases. It must be approached uniquely from the time an attorney first learns of a client's target status in an investigation through trial. Failure to understand these differences and nuances can be fatal. This teleconference will examine some of these most important distinctions, and discuss the proper  more...

Wage and Hour Update: Overtime Concerns With Mobile Devices BenefitsEmployer expectations for 24/7 access to employees is now the norm for many industries as new technologies allow work to be done virtually anywhere at any time. Serious questions have emerged about how employers should limit, monitor and compensate remote work hours. Recent litigation trends also show that compensation for time worked away from the office during nontraditional hours is  more...

Employee Wages: Administration of Caps, Freezes, Reductions and Furloughs BenefitsEmployers continue to search for ways to control payroll costs in response to economic uncertainty. Layoffs and force reductions have pared many workforces to the bone, but the pressure to manage costs is relentless. Adjustments to compensation and to working time can be viable alternatives to job cuts, but they are not without legal risk. This teleconference will address the legal and  more...

Updated Best Practices for Legal Holds In Civil, Criminal & Business Contexts BenefitsThis teleconference will teach you how to avoid the devastating problems that your clients may face if they do not plan for effective legal holds in anticipation of legal proceedings. Specifically, you will learn how courts and government investigators are interpreting the basic requirement to preserve information in 'reasonable anticipation' of litigation or other formal proceedings. You  more...

Recognizing and Addressing COBRA BenefitsCOBRA - It has CHANGED AGAIN! But it wasn't actually the COBRA law that changed - you must track other laws to be sure you are in compliance. You have heard about the stimulus package but what has it done to our COBRA? The stimulus package now states that employees involuntarily losing their job between September 1, 2008, and December 31, 2009, will have special COBRA privileges including  more...

Microsoft Outlook 2007 Tips and Tricks BenefitsOutlook is a powerful, feature-filled personal information manager but many users are overwhelmed by the features and options available and never take full advantage of the potential it offers for managing email, calendar and contacts. They don't discover the time-saving shortcuts Outlook provides or utilize the many options included in Outlook. This teleconference offers a quick course in  more...

Low Quality Asphalt: How to Avoid Problems Down the Road BenefitsLow quality asphalt is a facility owner's or manager's nightmare. How to turn it into a high quality asset can be a difficult question. That's what this teleconference is about. Reconstruction of asphalt pavements, whether a roadway, commercial parking lot or large distribution center, can be time consuming and very expensive. Costs associated with loss of use can easily exceed costs of  more...

15- Minute Expert Adult Patient Assessments: Practical Strategies, Tips, and Updates for Health Care Professionals BenefitsEverything seems to move faster these days and patient care is no exception. The patient's clinical acuities and complexities are increasing and the amount of available time to be hands-on with each patient seems to be decreasing. That is why every health care professional needs to be proficient in assessment skills. This teleconference, '15-Minute Expert Adult Patient Assessments:  more...

Determining Meaningful Use for Electronic Health Records BenefitsThe 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act stimulus package allotted nearly $20 billion in direct funding and incentives for health care providers to implement health information technology provided they demonstrate 'meaningful use' of a 'certified' electronic health record. This teleconference is intended to provide you with a timely update on the federal government's requirements  more...

The UCC Article 9 Update BenefitsThe revisions to Article 9, which generally became effective in 2001, substantially changed the law. Now, with a few years of experience, the case law is beginning to emerge and develop, and practitioners are beginning to identify issues not contemplated by the drafting committee. The changes to the Article 9 filing system were significant and the prevalence of filing cases suggests that  more...

Jeopardizing Exempt Status: Top 10 Mistakes Employers Make and How to Avoid Them BenefitsOnce exempt under the Fair Labor Standards Act, employees do not necessarily remain exempt for the duration of their employment. Actions taken (or not taken) by employers can and do jeopardize the exemptions claimed, leading unknowing employers down the path to potentially ruinous liability for unpaid minimum wages and overtime. This teleconference is designed to help you identify issues  more...

Basic Principles of Construction Insurance BenefitsThis popular teleconference offers an overview of basic insurance coverage used for construction projects. The presenters are experienced construction and insurance coverage attorneys who will discuss how to secure appropriate insurance coverage at a project's inception and what to do when claims arise during construction or after project completion. Builder's risk, CGL and other common  more...

Emerging Trends in Infrastructure Finance - The Stimulus and Beyond BenefitsOur nation's competitiveness has long relied on an efficient, effective and affordable infrastructure network. Over time, both private and public sector investors have played roles in developing our infrastructure. Unfortunately, as the era of government-led and government-financed infrastructure comes to an end because of diminishing resources, alternatives must be explored. Governments  more...

Advanced Microsoft Excel Formulas and Functions: Master Your Usage of Excel's More Powerful Formulas and Functions BenefitsEven if you are fairly comfortable with building formulas and functions in Excel , you might still be missing out by having overlooked some powerful functions or just not be aware of special capabilities, like array formulas. There's no question that Excel's 300+ functions give you tremendous capabilities to tackle a myriad of statistical, mathematical and financial challenges, not to  more...

Pricing and Cost Analysis in Purchasing BenefitsOne of the most important and complex decisions a business or organization has to make is how much to pay for its items or services. The buying professional should be able to easily detect prices that are too high. Thus pricing decisions must be given careful consideration when buying industrial products and services. The price of a product or service should be expected to cover cost of  more...

Current Issues in CEQA BenefitsWhile others chose to fight over the reality of climate change, those of us who work on new development or projects in California only have time to fight to keep up with the enormous changes in California law and jurisprudence concerning climate change. This teleconference will provide an update on the proposed changes to the California Environmental Quality Act guidelines for mitigation  more...

Commercial Foreclosure Due Diligence Checklist: What to Do Before, During and After Foreclosure BenefitsWhen a commercial mortgage loan becomes troubled, even before it goes into default, the parties must quickly confront a number of issues. For the lender, it is imperative that it conduct a due diligence review of its file, the loan and the collateral as soon as possible. Should the default not be cured or the parties not be able to restructure the loan, the lender faces the options of  more...

Subleasing Issues In A Down and Recovering Market BenefitsBrokers and property owners agree: The subprime mortgage meltdown has finally reached the office market, bringing with it a flood of subleases as the economy continues its downward trend, and even as it recovers. It is time to dust off the practices and procedures lessons first learned in 1991 and 1992 when the savings and loan industry collapsed, and then again in 2000 and 2001 when the  more...

Employer's HIPAA Privacy and Security Responsibilities Benefits strong New Mandates Under HIPAA and State Laws Create Obligations for Employers /strong Personal and company confidential data, exceedingly valuable assets, are under siege. Organizations across the country and locally have experienced significant data breaches resulting in unauthorized access to a vast amount of personal and company confidential information. At the same time,  more...

Working With Challenging Parents: Strategies and Techniques BenefitsProblem: Professionals are often confronted with parents who seem to resist our best efforts to help their children. When tensions between you and a parent escalate and are not resolved, all parties lose out. Valuable time, resources and reputations can be snagged in a spiraling power struggle or in seemingly endless efforts to engage the demanding or avoidant parent. Staff can become  more...

Fundamentals of SBA Lending: Documenting, Closing and Funding the SBA Loan BenefitsSBA lending affords banks and other lending institutions with the opportunity to finance commercial loans to small businesses and, at the same time, secure a 50 to 90 percent loan guarantee from the federal government. While the program can be quite profitable, it's not without its risks. Compliance with SBA regulations is mandatory to ensure success and profitability. With seismic changes  more...

Collective Bargaining and Construction Labor Contracts BenefitsThe construction industry is rife with contractors who sign collective bargaining agreements and later find out that the agreements do not accurately represent the verbal understandings they had reached with the union. Many of these contractors soon learn they are bound to the collective bargaining agreements for longer periods of time than expected and that the agreements cover all  more...

How to Legally Handle Travel Pay BenefitsMany companies do not understand how to compensate an employee properly for time spent traveling to destinations other than a regular work site. Many companies send employees to conferences and other work sites using commercial travel and personal vehicles. This teleconference will enable you to understand how and when to compensate an employee for travel time away from a work site. You'll  more...

Current Issues in Cell Tower Leases BenefitsThe wireless industry has built more than 220,000 cell sites in the United States in the past 20 years. But many more cell sites are needed as the wireless industry expands coverage and extends the capabilities of cell phones and wireless devices into data, email, computer and video applications. New cell sites and significant modifications to existing cell sites will also be needed to  more...

The Dilemma of Dealing With Bad Plans and Specs: Key Legal Concepts and Tips for Pro-actively Managing Design Errors, Omissions BenefitsPlans and specifications are, without question, critical to the success of any construction project. When the plans and specifications are clear and without significant errors or omissions, the project is much more likely to be on time and within budget. But what happens when plans are riddled with errors, conflicts or omissions? This teleconference will provide you with valuable tips for  more...

Clean Air Act Update BenefitsU.S. businesses are facing unprecedented uncertainty as to future requirements under the Clean Air Act and an array of new programs addressing stationary and mobile emission sources. The Obama Administration and Congress are poised to usher in a new era of greenhouse gas and energy regulation. At the same time, the Obama EPA is confronting a bewildering array of court-ordered regulatory  more...

Funding Trusts in Estate Planning BenefitsIt is all too common for clients who go through the time and expense of creating a revocable trust to not properly fund the trust. Failing to fund a revocable trust will often defeat the very purpose for creating such a trust, i.e., avoiding probate and the public disclosure of assets. This teleconference will provide an overview of the mechanics of contributing property to revocable  more...

Cash Is King: Effective Cash Flow Management BenefitsA balance sheet is often described as a snapshot of your financial situation at a single point in time. (Think of it as the balance in your personal checking account.) An income statement summarizes revenue, expenses and net income for the entire year or other period of time. Both of these financial statements are important tools to measure the success of your business but do little to  more...

Excel Formulas and Functions De-Mystified: Manage Your Excel Worksheets With Power and Confidence as You Master Formulas and Fun BenefitsAnyone using Excel invariably needs to create and understand how to use formulas and functions. For some Excel users, it is the centerpiece of what they do on daily basis. Many Excel formulas involve simple mathematical constructions using addition, subtraction, multiplication and division, but sometimes you need more complex formulas to reach an answer. Excel has more than 300 built-in  more...

Effective Job Rotation Programs: Development and Implementation BenefitsThere is little argument that job rotations, stretch assignments and on-the-job development projects are some of the most effective development tools in the talent management arsenal today. However, the design of many programs currently in operation date back to a time when the speed of organizational change was much slower than it is today, when the pressures of global competition were  more...

Product Development Metrics for Manufacturers: Measuring Your Productivity BenefitsR D and product development organizations are behind transaction processing and operations functions in their understanding of measurement and its place in the organization. Six Sigma and Lean initiatives have facilitated great improvements in corporations without significantly benefiting most marketing, R D and product development organizations. Inventive professionals resist measurement  more...

Metadata Scrubbing and Mining - Legal, Ethical and Practical Implications ...ogy issues; but it will also consist in large part of real-time demonstrations of metadata cleaning and analysis software, proper use of tracked changes, and some do's and don'ts of electronic redaction. This teleconference will be displayed for attendees via GoToWebinar's interactive component, as to which Lorman will provide access and installation instructions in advance. This program is  more...

Valuation and Reporting of Gifts and Service Donations BenefitsAs not-for-profits continue to face challenges related to raising money, they are becoming more creative in soliciting donations, resulting in more donations of noncash assets and greater restrictions on contributions received. This is occurring at the same time that there is a higher focus on the definition of fair value. Contributions of gifts and services should be measured at the fair  more...

New Regulations for the Credit Card Industry: Prepare Now and Avoid Penalties BenefitsOn May 22, 2009, President Obama signed the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009 to regulate several aspects of the credit card industry. This is one of the most sweeping changes to hit the industry for quite some time. This new legislation amends the Truth in Lending Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act and the Federal Trade Commission Act, and places a  more...

Don't Bet the Company: Understanding and Avoiding Class Actions in Labor and Employment Law! BenefitsYou have all seen in the news media reports of companies settling employment-related class actions for many millions of dollars. The horror of class actions is that a small claim among a few employees can mushroom into a huge claim worth millions of dollars once some ferocious plaintiff's lawyers get their teeth into it and add hundreds of additional claims through the simple process of  more...

Managing External Health Information BenefitsMany health care providers remain frustrated and uncertain about how to handle external health information. This information may come in the form of unsolicited health information - i.e., information that is volunteered by patients or by other health care providers, either at the time the patient arrives for treatment or thereafter - and in some cases even after the patient has been  more...

Collection Techniques for Landlords BenefitsFor many commercial landlords, consistent receipt of rent and other tenant charges is the key to their business. However, as a result of the recent economic downturn, fewer commercial tenants are making these payments on time and in full. Most leases specifically outline collection techniques and security mechanisms (such as security deposits and guaranties), but landlords are finding that  more...

Best Practices to Manage Your Multistate Payroll BenefitsPayroll personnel are continually faced with legal and practical challenges associated with employee benefits, overtime, nonexempt employee requirements, employee bonus payments, confusing payroll forms, etc. Not only do you have to know your own state laws but often times neighboring state laws if you have employees across state lines. The taxability of employee benefits is confusing and  more...

Surface Parking Lots Development and Design BenefitsThis teleconference will be of great benefit to architects, engineers, developers and contractors. You will learn how to acquire a potential property, how to design and maintain surface parking lots. This teleconference will not only devote time to surface features, such as pavements, drainage and striping, it will also discuss the importance of paying attention to soil preparation and  more...

Introduction to New ICD-10 Coding: Preparing for Implementation nThe International Classification of Disease and Operations, Ninth Edition has out-lived its usefulness for capturing morbidity and mortality amongst the world population. Most developed nations transitioned to ICD-10 several years ago, but because of the tie of ICD-9-CM to payments in the United States there have been a series of delays in the US implementation. As the US moves a lightening speed  more...

Statement on Auditing Standards No. 104 - No. 111 Risk Assessment Standards nThis teleconference will provide experienced and inexperienced auditors a concise summary of the risk assessment standards. In addition, this will provide auditors recommendations on how to become more efficient and effective in their application of these standards leading to less time required to implement the standards and a greater realization on audits. Since the majority of auditors may be  more...

Voir Dire: Effective Techniques for Getting and Using the Information You Need nVoir dire is one of the most important phases of a jury trial. However, the rules and procedures governing the jury selection process are often informal, subject to the broad discretion of the trial court, and can vary widely between jurisdictions, judges and even different cases before the same judge. A trial lawyer's strike decisions are some of the most important strategic decisions made in  more...

Staying Compliant with the Medicare Incident-To Rules nAt a time when every medical practice dollar counts, the Medicare incident-to billing rules can enable physicians to capture revenue from common services performed by office staff. The incident-to rules, while simple on their face, can be complex in their application and failing to follow each element of the rules can result in overpayments and even false claims liability. Knowing the rules and  more...

Preventing Workers' Compensation Abuse nNationwide, workers' compensation abuse costs the insurance industry billions of dollars each year. It is sometimes called "The Hidden Tax" because each of us absorbs these monies in the costs of goods and services each year. This teleconference will give you a better understanding of workers' compensation abuse, keys to a successful investigation and how to avoid claim pitfalls. This  more...

Developing an Effective Property Management Plan nThe world of real estate and finance has changed dramatically. Are you interested in making more money? Having more free time? Living life with less stress? If you are a professional HOA property or community manager, or if you are thinking of becoming a HOA property manager, you will want to know what's new in property management. Become acquainted with the newest technology and how you can  more...

Presenteeism: Measurement and Intervention Issues for Employers and Health Plans nProductivity is fast becoming an even more vital issue to the business world. Presenteeism, or work loss due to underlying health conditions when individuals remain at work, is one important facet of productivity. One study found that approximately 6 percent of a global company's total compensation (salaries, wages and all benefit costs) were lost due to presenteeism. Work site wellness programs  more...

Brownfield Redevelopment and LEED. in 2009 - What Happens When You Mix Green and Brown? nThis teleconference will help you understand the contributing factors to ROI of the maturing green building practices on brownfields. Many professionals in the real estate investment business have witnessed how the redevelopment of brownfields has increased over time due to the market realizing the ability to make a return on investment on contaminated properties. In effect, the value of a  more...

Understanding the New GFE and HUD-1/IA Settlement Statements nEffective January 1, 2010, all residential mortgage loan originators will have to change their loan origination forms and procedures to comply with a new rule recently adopted by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The new rule dramatically changes both the Good Faith Estimate and the HUD-1 and HUD-1A Uniform Settlement Statements required by the federal Real Estate Settlement  more...

More Affordable and Sustainable Communities: The Role of Good Design for Workforce Housing nYou will see at least three dozen case studies of completed affordable workforce housing developments which were well-received by their neighbors and residents. These will be explained using images of plans and photos of the completed developments. This teleconference will help you understand how to successfully organize a community to engage rationally and creatively in the design of new housing  more...

Preparing for the International Financial Reporting Standard nOn November 14, 2008, the SEC released its proposed road map for the adoption of IFRS in the United States. At about the same time, leaders from the G20 countries at a financial summit in the United States issued a statement which, among other things, confirmed the leaders' support for developing a single set of high-quality global accounting standards. n nBoth of these events represent progress  more...

Payment Fraud nAs a business owner, how do you know your customers are who they say they are? How do you know if the payments they are making to you, using credit cards or ACH, are good? Fraud is on the rise, with a tough economy and the abundance of malware in the market today, it is only a matter of time before your company becomes a target. As a business owner you need to understand the signs to look for  more...

Preparing for and Properly Reacting To Legal and Illegal Drug and Alcohol Use in the Workplace nDrug and alcohol abuse continues to have a huge impact on employee productivity and safety. At the same time, recognizing drug and alcohol abuse is outside the expertise of most managers and human resource personnel, while dealing with the problem improperly can lead to significant liability under federal and law, including the Americans With Disabilities Act and employee privacy laws. This  more...

Handling Federal Garnishments from Receipt to Termination nNearly every employer at one time or another has received a garnishment, whether for taxes, child support or general creditors. Failing to follow garnishment laws can be very costly for employers, and thus it is critical to carefully follow the requirements of any garnishment. This teleconference will explain the different kinds of garnishments under federal law and their use and limitations. It  more...

Stemming the Tide: 10 Best Practices for Litigation Expense Management nNew rules governing e-discovery, a continued increase in corporate reliance on electronic data and growing sophistication of plaintiffs' counsel have all combined to result in skyrocketing litigation costs with no end to this growth in sight. This comes at a time when pressure from business clients to reduce the cost of legal services is at an all time high. This teleconference will suggest 10  more...

Optimize Your Workforce Scheduling nFor many companies, scheduling the workforce can become a nightmare. Because labor is a significant cost of production, management is often under pressure to keep their workforce lean and flexible. The aim of workforce scheduling is to balance constraints to ensure that the right people with the right skills are in the right place at the right time. Workforce planning provides a systematic  more...

Effective Fundraising Techniques for Nonprofit Organizations nNonprofit organizations always need to diversify their revenue from earned income, government grants with philanthropic fundraising. Now, in tough economic times, you must determine how to maximize the effectiveness of your fundraising program. This teleconference will cover the basic elements of a complete fundraising program for annual operating support as well as ways every organization can  more...

Effective Exit Interviews nMost employers are always looking for ways to improve employee relations, attract new employees and retain the ones they have. But how do you know what to do to improve if you don't know what employees are looking for or why they are leaving? n nImplemented properly, a good exit interview program can provide an employer with a host of valuable information that can be used to improve its employee  more...

Workplace Flexibility: Innovative Strategies for an Evolving Workforce nOver the last three decades, the needs of the American workforce have changed dramatically. In response, many businesses have turned to workplace flexibility in order to recruit and retain the best workers, boost productivity and increase their competitive advantage. At the same time, policymakers in Washington have been exploring various approaches for increasing access to workplace flexibility  more...

Estate Planning Opportunities in an Uncertain Environment nMotivate the reluctant client; freeze the estate value to reduce the estate tax load. How many of us have clients waiting on the sidelines to decide what to do after experiencing 2008? The uncertain times and uncertain market have actually created the perfect time to use some of the advanced planning tools in the estate planner's arsenal. Depressed values for good assets open up the opportunity  more...

Form W4: Impact on Payroll nThis teleconference will clear up questions on the effects of filing status and exemption on payroll checks, how to handle exempt forms, time allowance for making changes, where to locate new forms, how frequently the employees should complete forms and how long employers must retain them. We will include a quick review of Form W-4P, W4-SP and W-4S and discuss which states accept Form W-4 for  more...

Hot Topics for 501(c)(3) Organizations nThere has been a lot of talk about the revised Form 990 and it's finally here! Whether you love it or loathe it, you can't put it off any longer. We will spend a majority of the time talking about some of the hot-button issues that the new form raises both in terms of simple compliance and in communicating with and involving your board. But wait, there's more! After this teleconference, you'll  more...

Lease vs. Buy: Choosing the Best Option nThe decision to finance business equipment through lease programs or by purchases is one of the most difficult and important decisions faced by businesses every day. Making the wrong choice can not only result in economic loss but significant disruption of business, loss of time and opportunity. This teleconference will provide you with a comparison of the benefits and pitfalls of financing  more...

How to Get Your Prospect to Move From "I ll Think It Over" to Yes! nDoes it drive you crazy when you hear the following responses from customers: "I'll think it over" or "Get back with me" or "Let me get back with you on this?" n nOften these phrases can be the kiss of death to your deal or project. Let's face the truth - when you hear someone give those replies, most of the time they're not moving in a positive direction. This teleconference will tell you  more...

Investing IRAs and Qualified Plan Rollovers in Real Estate, Franchises, Start-Ups and Other Private Investments - Techniques and nA growing number of IRA owners and recipients of qualified plan rollovers have sought to take control of their own investments by investing directly in real estate and small businesses that they may intend to manage or otherwise be personally involved in. This trend has accelerated in recent years as syndicators, entrepreneurs, private fund managers and franchisors have come to view IRAs and  more...

What the New Ledbetter Pay Act Means for Employers nOn January 29, 2009, President Obama signed into law the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009, effectively changing the landscape of the statute of limitations for equal pay discrimination claims. The act greatly expands the amount of time that employees have to bring claims of discriminatory pay practices, which could have a substantial impact on employers. This teleconference will help the  more...

Compliance With the PCI/CISP Credit Card Security Standards nThe Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard is now in its third year of existence and iteration. Derived from the original VISA Cardholder Information Security Program and MasterCard Site Data Protection program, PCI-DSS's now 245 distinct requirements have troubled merchants and financial institutions alike for years. This teleconference will help you understand how PCI-DSS applies to your  more...

Green Contracting: the Federal Government's Procurement Policies nMany federal contractors will have questions regarding the effective implementation of the OFPP policy and will further be concerned as to whether its costs will impact their competitiveness or ability to perform economically. Additionally, the monitoring and reporting that the government will require will have an impact on time and costs and one wonders if contractual sanctions will be imposed  more...

Preparing a Winning Closing Argument n"Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, we will now hear closing arguments." Even the most experienced trial lawyer may inwardly quake when the judge utters these fateful words. But what makes for an effective closing? Do closings even matter? When should you object? Should you really start preparing your closing the day you get a new case? These are questions that are not addressed in law school, and  more...

Payroll Recordkeeping: What You Need to Know nIn recent years there has been an explosion in the number of lawsuits and claims for overtime and unpaid wages under the Fair Labor Standards Act. Did you realize that liability for FLSA violations can be enormous? Recent reports estimate that over the last few years companies have collectively paid out more than $1 billion annually to resolve FLSA claims! Learn the role of the FLSA and its  more...

Overcome Your Competition: Stand Out in a Crowded Marketplace nYear in and year out, sales professionals invest their time and their organizations' money along with leveraging high-priced resources in sales pursuits, but walk away with no fruit for their labor. This percentage varies from company to company, but on average the percentage of opportunities pursued and not closed is well over 50 percent! Extensive studies have proven this excessively high  more...

Reclamation and Rehabilitation of Vacant Properties nDistressed real estate is easy to find in this market. To come out of the recession, just waiting for the economic cycle to change for the better may not be enough. Coming out of the recession will require new techniques. The sprawl model is dying and not just because of swings in energy prices. Consumers increasingly enjoy urban settings and lifestyles. This is driven by demographics and  more...

Pitfalls with Lean Implementation nAre you (or about to be) in the 90% lean failure group? In implementing lean, the cards are stacked against your success. The sad truth is this: eight or nine organizations of 10 who embark on implementing an improvement initiative like lean, Six Sigma or Lean Six Sigma FAIL to get the benefits they should. This wastes time and money, and disenfranchises the workforce. In extreme cases, it can  more...

Advanced Records Management: The Intersection of Good Records Management and eDiscovery Preparedness nEffective records management can have an enormous impact on e-discovery preparedness and a corporation's bottom line. While many corporations have established policies related to paper records, many of those same corporations have failed to update those policies to account for their rapidly increasing volumes of electronically stored information. No form of ESI demonstrates these complex issues  more...

Answers to Top 10 Common Payroll Questions nEvery week, unsuspecting employers throughout the country are hit with wage/house lawsuits, resulting in protracted litigation, business interruptions and costly settlements. Employers are often shocked to learn that their payroll practices, which may be entirely compliant under federal regulations, do not comply with differing state laws and regulations. Register for this teleconference and  more...

Controlling Purchasing Card Risk nPurchasing cards are used by many corporate and governmental organizations to acquire low-value goods and services from suppliers in a cost-effective and timely manner. Purchasing cards expedite payment to suppliers and reduce or eliminate the paperwork associated with requisitions, purchase orders, invoices and checks. Estimates of cost savings by use of purchasing cards are commonly estimated  more...

Mortgage Cocktail: Lessons From the Credit Crisis and What May Be Next nJoin us at this teleconference and you'll gain perspective on the massive forces moving within the credit markets - the genesis of their movements, their direction and their likely consequences. We'll spend some time describing less obvious contributors to the arc of the credit bubble. During the majority of the teleconference, you'll hear about fiscal and monetary solutions to the crisis and the  more...

Return on Investment for Wellness Programs nMounting evidence indicates that worksite wellness should be part of every strategic health plan. These plans can offer a valuable tool for employers to promote a fit and health-conscious work force that will save employers money by keeping health insurance premiums down, reducing workers' compensation costs, and by increasing productivity and decreasing lost time. Implementing a plan takes time,  more...

From Contact to Contract: The Ladder Approach to Managing a Sale nMost salespeople follow a chaos theory of managing a sale - whatever happens, happens. Consequently, after leaving an initial meeting with a prospect they wonder how, when and why they should reconnect with the prospect. Not only does this lead to lost opportunities, even with prospects who do become clients the process is difficult, fraught with worry and uncertainty, and wastes a great deal of  more...

Construction Project Closeout: Is Your Customer Satisfied? nMake sure your customer is satisfied at project completion - register for this thorough teleconference today. You'll learn the proactive strategies you need to make sure project closeout goes smoothly and you're not spending the final days dealing with claims and complaints. n nOur expert will give you tips on establishing a bulletproof closeout checklist, handling move coordination and dealing  more...

Successful PTO Programs Benefits This teleconference will explore the various options that you face regarding time off issues, including vacations and absences due to illness. The legal obligations that such policies implicate will be explored. You will come away with an understanding of the kinds of programs that have proved successful, how to design one that meets your needs and satisfies your legal obligations, and  more...