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HAWAII
The search is on for exporter of the year

Nominations are being accepted through Sept. 30 as part of the search for Hawaii's best exporters during 2004.

Winners will be selected in six categories, from which an overall winner will be named Exporter of the Year and recognized at an awards ceremony by Gov. Linda Lingle.

The exporter categories are fresh commodities, professional services, the arts, manufactured products, and high technology , as well "new exporter," for companies that started exporting during 2004.

There also will be an "outstanding contributor to exporting" award, given to an individual or organization that has been especially helpful in promoting exports from Hawaii.

Nominees must be sponsored by a group or business that will submit the application to the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, which is co-sponsoring the awards with the state Department of Agriculture.

For more information about the awards, call DBEDT at 587-2584.

NATION
Many firms monitor Internet use

How much do you think people spend each day on the job with non work-related Internet use?

A national staffing firm posed that question to 150 senior executives and got an average response of 56 minutes per day. And many employees forget that companies routinely monitor what you're sending and viewing on their computers.

Nearly a quarter, 23 percent, said their company monitors Internet activity "very closely," and 41 percent said "somewhat closely."

The data were compiled by Accountemps, a financial temp-staffing firm based in Menlo Park, Calif.

"Employees are representatives of their firms, and all communication -- including e-mail and instant messaging -- should be professional," said Max Messmer, Accountemps' chairman.

Quick recruiting has its rewards

Good recruiting practices directly affect financial performance, according to a new study.

Companies that filled positions within two weeks provided total return to shareholders of 59 percent between 2002 and 2004 versus 11 percent at companies that required at least seven weeks to fill positions. And companies that typically fill a position after just one offer was made had a three-year shareholder return of 44 percent versus 32 percent for companies that had to make two or more offers to fill an opening.

The "human capital index" study was released Tuesday by Watson Wyatt Worldwide, a unit of Watson Wyatt & Co. Holdings.

The study was drawn from an analysis of human resource practices at 147 North American companies with a track record of at least three years of shareholder returns, 1,000 or more employees and a minimum of $100 million in revenue or market value.