* See updates below. It’s not exactly a news flash that health care is expensive, so it won’t come as a big surprise to most that, despite all the noise … Read more
Weekly Wrap: Top Job Creators, a Deadly Employee, and “The Office” Goes to India
I know the calendar may not agree, but it’s easy see that the Fall season is finally here. Yes, it’s not officially Fall until September 21, but here in … Read more
Coping With Benefits: How to Help Employees Make Wise Choices
For many employers, the message is clear: health care reform is going to cost money. Removing lifetime limits, adding more dependents to your plan, … Read more
Mercer Survey: Employers Pushing to Keep 2011 Benefits Increase Under 6%
How much of an increase in benefit costs are employers willing to absorb next year? Would you believe it’s now up to 5.9 percent? A new survey … Read more
Survey: Family Health Premiums up 3%, but Workers’ Share Jumps 14%
The annual Kaiser Family Foundation Employer Benefits Survey is out, and to absolutely no one’s surprise, it shows that health care costs and coverage … Read more
When Wellness Sucks, We All Lose
As a crazy cynic (yet grudgingly a realist at times), there is a certain disdain I have for wellness programs. Could it be that “Big Brother” … Read more
SHRM Board Quietly (and Secretly) Votes to Hike Pay for Board Members
Shortly before the Society for Human Resources 62nd Annual Conference and Exhibition in San Diego this past June, the SHRM Board of Directors quietly voted … Read more
What You Can Do to Get Employees to Buy Into the Company 401 (k)
You’re doing more with less, like everyone else — reduced budgets that translate into decreased benefits, more work as layoffs happen, etc. The last … Read more
What’s Hard About Making Benefits Communications Easy to Understand?
A couple of months ago I was, just like many of your employees, trying to make sense of a benefits annual enrollment guide. This one was from my husband’s … Read more
Why It’s Always Easier (and Better) to Motivate Without Money
Money is the easiest and least personal way to motivate people (if you have money). If you don’t, you need to get down to the real business of making … Read more