Hillarious that they think people really want to "fill-in brackets" without some reward. Yeah that will get everyone to join in
NCAA
Organized pools could save firms money, study indicates
By Andy Gardiner, USA TODAY
NCAA office pools — disruption or diversion?
March Madness has yet to tip off, but the annual bracketfest began Monday as basketball fans, serious and casual, started selecting which four teams will be in San Antonio playing for the national title April 3-5.
Filling out a bracket can take hours of studying stats and scouting information. The impact of that pursuit on the workplace is the subject of yearly analysis. A recent study by a job placement consulting firm suggests that while interest in the tournament might cost more than $1.5 billion in lost productivity, an organized office pool might ease that financial blow.
Challenger, Gray & Christmas of Chicago estimated that workers spending 10 minutes a day talking about the tournament during its two-week run cost employers $1,525,500,000. That figure is based on an employee pool of more than 39 million earning an average of $15.56 an hour.
"By having some type of organized and sanctioned event or pool, companies might actually reduce the overall disruption to the workday," says CEO John Challenger. "Companies that can leverage employee interest in the tournament ... are going to have a more loyal and productive workforce."
That view dovetails with a 2002 online poll on betting pools conducted by the Washington-based Society for Human Resource Management. Out of about 9,800 replies in the human resource business, 30% said pools shouldn't be allowed, 14% said they should and 57% said they didn't worry about them.
"Pools create a sense of camaraderie and community," society spokesman Frank Scanlan says. "The challenge for organizations is not to marginalize employees who might have strong views against gambling."
No one has a stronger view against gambling than the NCAA, which prints a warning at the bottom of the tournament brackets available on its Web site against using the brackets for gambling purposes.
"We definitely support individuals filling the brackets and having contests," says Bill Saum of the NCAA's enforcement office. "The brackets are very much a part of the NCAA Tournament ... Just don't add money to the mixture."
NCAA
Organized pools could save firms money, study indicates
By Andy Gardiner, USA TODAY
NCAA office pools — disruption or diversion?
March Madness has yet to tip off, but the annual bracketfest began Monday as basketball fans, serious and casual, started selecting which four teams will be in San Antonio playing for the national title April 3-5.
Filling out a bracket can take hours of studying stats and scouting information. The impact of that pursuit on the workplace is the subject of yearly analysis. A recent study by a job placement consulting firm suggests that while interest in the tournament might cost more than $1.5 billion in lost productivity, an organized office pool might ease that financial blow.
Challenger, Gray & Christmas of Chicago estimated that workers spending 10 minutes a day talking about the tournament during its two-week run cost employers $1,525,500,000. That figure is based on an employee pool of more than 39 million earning an average of $15.56 an hour.
"By having some type of organized and sanctioned event or pool, companies might actually reduce the overall disruption to the workday," says CEO John Challenger. "Companies that can leverage employee interest in the tournament ... are going to have a more loyal and productive workforce."
That view dovetails with a 2002 online poll on betting pools conducted by the Washington-based Society for Human Resource Management. Out of about 9,800 replies in the human resource business, 30% said pools shouldn't be allowed, 14% said they should and 57% said they didn't worry about them.
"Pools create a sense of camaraderie and community," society spokesman Frank Scanlan says. "The challenge for organizations is not to marginalize employees who might have strong views against gambling."
No one has a stronger view against gambling than the NCAA, which prints a warning at the bottom of the tournament brackets available on its Web site against using the brackets for gambling purposes.
"We definitely support individuals filling the brackets and having contests," says Bill Saum of the NCAA's enforcement office. "The brackets are very much a part of the NCAA Tournament ... Just don't add money to the mixture."
