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.

Innovative Online Total Comp and Benefits Statement Gets Rave Reviews

The pair laid out the approach Abbott used to develop a highly successful on-line portal that offers candidates and employees one-stop total compensation information. Senner is Division VP, Compensation, and Johansen, CBP, CCP, is Director International Compensation & Global Programs. They offered their tips at WorldatWork”s Total Rewards Conference and Exhibition, held recently in San […]

UnLeadership — The 4 Traits Managers Must Learn to Avoid

The other day a colleague passed along an article on leadership written by Michael Hyatt. The piece was titled, “The Five Characteristics of Weak Leaders” and focused on the leadership of General George B. McClellan, the first general-in-chief of the Union Army. It detailed the weaknesses McClellan exhibited as a leader and how they ultimately […]

UnLeadership — The 4 Traits Managers Must Learn to Avoid

Here’s Oswald’s take on the “F” Word: According to the article the writer analyzed 50 recent news releases announcing coaching changes in college football and basketball. Of the 50 releases reviewed, not a single one contained the word “fired” — zip, zilch, nada. “How can that be?” Well, while none of the coaches was fired, […]

DOL Clarifies Mental Health Parity’s Effect on Pre-Authorization

The effect of the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) on prior authorization practices and other “nonquantitative treatment limitations” was clarified Nov. 17 in guidance from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). The MHPAEA interim final rules issued in February 2010 imposed a detailed numerical formula for determining whether quantitative limits such as copayments […]

SPIFFs Turbo-Charge Your Salespeople? Experts Say ‘Yes”

Colletti is Managing partner of consulting firm Colletti-Fiss, LLC; Fiss is a partner. They shared their tips at the WorldatWork’s Total Rewards Conference and Exhibition, held recently in San Diego. What’s a SPIFF? Several phrases have been proposed as possible origins of the acronym SPIFF (e.g., “Sales Performance Incentive Fund,” and “Special Pay Incentives For […]

Turbo-Charge Your Sales Incentive Program

The three turbocharged techniques Coletti and Fiss suggest are: Fast Start Bonuses, OA incentives, and SPIFFs. Colletti is Managing partner of consulting firm Colletti-Fiss, LLC; Fiss is a partner. What Can You Expect from Turbo-Charging? Fast start bonuses are helpful to counter seasonality or cyclicality in buyer purchases, and to help realize more revenue sooner, […]

The Top 5 Reasons Employers Should Offer an FSA

Flexible spending accounts (FSAs) are a common feature of employee benefit plans. But why would an employer offer an FSA plan to its employees? Well, it’s extra money in your workers’ pockets that you and your employees probably don’t want to leave lying on the IRS’ table. Karen Kirkpatrick, senior compliance adviser for Infinisource, explained […]

Nifty HHS Site Enables Small Employers to Shop for Health Insurance

Are you shopping around for health insurance for your small company? The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) just unveiled a computerized search engine for health insurance policies, so you can search plans in much the same way the Medicare Part D program enables elderly folks to search prescription drug plans (or the way many […]

7 Must Read Comp Articles

The Top 5 Compensation Habits to Kick Most comp managers have a few bad habits, but they’re hard to break, say experts Stacey Lunches and Breaks—’Little’ Violations, But Fines Add Up Quickly In yesterday’s Advisor, we covered two of the most common wage/hour violations; today, more violations. Pay Never Goes Down? Another Bad Habit In […]