Category: Benefits and Compensation

This topic provides guidance on how to handle compensation issues in a way that attracts and retains the best talent and advances the strategic goals of your business. You get news and tips on what’s going on nationally and in the states, and updates on changes in regulations, possible governmental action, and emerging compensation trends.

Do You Have an Employee Wellness Plan?

Employee wellness plans have been gaining popularity in recent years, and with good reason: they can benefit both employees and employers. An employee wellness program is simply a program that intends to promote the health and well-being of employees. This can be accomplished in a variety of ways, but the key is that the program […]

More Pay? No, Better Recruiting

Case Study: Company Situation A large high-tech firm was experiencing a significant amount of annual turnover by their sales reps, says DiMisa, who is senior vice president and the head of the Sales Force Effectiveness Practice at Sibson Consulting. Initial analysis showed that the cost associated with the company’s turnover was more than $50 million […]

$2 Million Mistake—Hiring the Wrong Salesperson

And it’s not just dollars, adds DiMisa, who is senior vice president and the head of the Sales Force Effectiveness Practice at Sibson Consulting. Your salespeople are the company’s ambassadors, the conduit to the customer, usually the first impression, and maybe the only impression. You don’t want the wrong people in those roles, DiMisa says. […]

Employers and Health Plans: Panelists Don’t See ACA Exodus

The jury’s still out on the impact of health care reform on employment‐based health benefits, but predictions of mass instability are certainly not materializing, reform experts said May 15 at a policy forum sponsored by the Employee Benefits Research Institute in Washington, D.C. The Affordable Care Act will not trigger a rapid exodus from employer-sponsored […]

Friending, Unfriending, and Linking In on Social Media

Casual References Casual references on LinkedIn or other professional social media sites pose legal risks: Defamation (if they are negative and untrue). Misrepresentation (if they are positive and untrue). Evidence of pretext in an EEO claim (if you terminate for poor performance but you’ve written a glowing recommendation on LinkedIn). Segal’s recommendation: Make clear to […]

Telecommuting and Dress Codes (Survey of 2,000 HR Pros)

In yesterday’s Advisor, we featured survey results (from 2032 participants) on standard and nonstandard perks. Today, data on telecommuting and dress codes, plus demographic data concerning survey participants. [For the beginning of the survey report, go here.] Telecommuting Formal telecommuting guidelines are in place and employees are required to sign a formal agreement for 23.8%. […]

Performance Appraisals—What’s Really Happening?

Please participate in our brief survey and see how what you are doing stacks up against what other successful companies are doing. We’ll get answers to these questions and more: How often are appraisals conducted? What specific characteristics/abilities/behaviors do you measure? If you use software, which software program do you use? How is your performance […]

Benefits and Perks Survey Says … How Do You Compare?

Benefits often make a real difference in attraction and retention. Here’s how you compare on perks from health insurance to stock options to paid vacation. Highlights of our 2014 Perks Survey of over 2,000 employers: The number one perk is paid holidays. Also in the top five: life insurance, LTD, STD, and paid vacation. For […]