Biz bits
By wire services
Published June 12, 2005
THE AGING OF AMERICA holds an important consequence for business as a lot of experienced talent will be lost to retirement. Many companies are taking steps to compensate for the impending loss, according to a survey sponsored by Robert Half International, a California staffing service for accounting, finance and IT professionals. Popular initiatives include enhanced succession-planning programs and increased employee recruitment and retention efforts. Some companies are asking retirees or future retirees to consider working as consultants or trainers.
WHEN RENTING A CAR, know what sort of credit card benefits and insurance coverage you already have, Consumer Reports' newsletter Money Adviser says. Visa cards and most American Express cards cover damage to rental cars, but they don't cover your liability. But if you already have an auto insurance policy, you should be covered. And your health insurance plan through your job or spouse should cover your injury claims.
PLANNING FOR A FUNERAL makes sense, but prepaying for it doesn't, Money Adviser from Consumer Reports says. With traditional funerals easily topping $10,000, the newsletter says Americans have put more than $25-billion into so-called preneed plans. But giving a funeral home thousands of dollars toward your service has pitfalls. Money Adviser says many contracts aren't transferable, so know any restrictions if you may want to be buried elsewhere. And funerals can have lots of extra costs that aren't covered. As an alternative, the newsletter suggests setting aside funds in your own interest-bearing account to pay for your funeral.
NEWLY MINTED business school graduates are having the most successful job-hunting year since 2001. Half of students finishing master's of business administration degrees this year had job offers by mid March, according to a survey of 5,829 students at 129 business schools by the Graduate Management Admission Council, an organization of business schools. Salary expectations also rose, with the average respondent expecting to earn $84,318 after graduation, compared with $76,147 a year ago.
HOW CAN YOU get companies to make things right after they disappoint you? Write a letter. "You are 100 times more likely to get results with a letter than with a phone call, fax or e-mail," says James Kramon, a Baltimore lawyer and author of You Don't Need a Lawyer, a book detailing how best to complain about poor service or defective products. Be sure to send the letter to the appropriate person, usually whoever handles complaints. Keep it concise and state clearly what you want the company to do.
Compiled from Times wires and Web sites.