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.

What Will the 401(k) Plan of the Future Look Like?

Financial security in retirement is one of our nation’s cornerstone principles when it comes to the way we have come to envision quality of life from cradle to grave. With this in mind, Social Security has long been considered the safety net for most Americans in retirement. In recent years, however, the perception of Social […]

Independent School Maintains Employee Benefits Despite Recession

Like so many other employers, The Bolles School grappled with how to cut expenses when the recession hit. The organization looked for ways to operate more efficiently and, in fact, cut many expenses. But it made a conscious decision not to reduce or cut certain coveted employee benefits, including 100% employer-paid medical insurance premiums, 100% […]

Targeted Communications Lower Costs, Improve Member Health

As rising healthcare costs eat away at an organization’s bottom line, benefits managers look to: (1) reduce the cost of employee benefits, and (2) drive healthy outcomes by influencing member behavior. Communications can play a vital role in reaching these goals. Communicating benefits is not merely sharing facts and figures, though. Instead, you should approach […]

Fridays-Off Policy Is Favorite Summertime Perk for Employees

One of Friedman, LLP’s best recruiting tools is a policy giving employees Fridays off during the summertime, according to Michael Gaines, Human Resources partner for the New York-based accounting, tax, and consulting services firm. From Memorial Day through Labor Day, all 325 staff members in Friedman’s (www.friedmanllp.com) four offices in New York City, New Jersey, […]

New Law Requires Time, Place for New Moms

Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) companies with more than 50 employees who haven’t already done so now need to accommodate the needs of the nursing mothers among their staff. We spoke with Gina Ciagne, a Certified Lactation Counselor and Director of Breastfeeding and Consumer Relations for Lansinoh Laboratories. She wants to […]

Twitter for Benefits Communication: A Powerful Addition

A fun, simple, and flexible way to get information out to your employees and families, Twitter™ can be a powerful addition to your benefits communication this year. But, understanding how this at-first perplexing platform can be used for benefits communication may not be obvious. Look a little closer, and Twitter is a great way to […]

‘Renewal Rodeo’ Helps Round Up Volunteers for HR Initiative

While donning cowboy hats, boots, and bandanas, and ringing cow bells and playing country music on boom boxes, managers walked through Benefitfocus® offices “rounding up” volunteers to provide support services during an upcoming Open Enrollment period. Business Objectives Met Benefitfocus (www.benefitfocus.com), a Charleston, South Carolina-based company that is the largest healthcare benefits software provider in […]

Healthcare Reform Leaves a Lot to the Imagination

Read any good books lately? Here’s a suggestion: You might want to read the 2,700+ page tome, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, commonly known as healthcare reform. Even better, part two—tentatively titled The Regulations—is likely to be released over the next several years, allowing you plenty of material to peruse as you relax […]

Behavioral Finance and Your 401(k) Plan

Ever made a poor financial decision? If you’re like the rest of us, you occasionally make a decision that baffles even you. You may sometimes wonder why your employees don’t do things, like participating in the 401(k) plan, that are obvious ways to improve their financial well-being. Sheri Fitts, director of Communications and Large Plan […]

Firm Aligns Its Benefits Program With Family-Friendly Culture

Healthpoint, Ltd., has created a family-friendly culture throughout the years by encouraging employees to bring their spouses to holiday parties, their families to an annual spring picnic, and their children to “Take Your Sons and Daughters to Work Day.”  “All of those things help build that overall culture,” says Micky Shepherd, manager, Compensation & Benefits, […]