Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
Have you asked your doctor or dentist to see his fee schedule? When I did so once, a dentist refused, saying in effect: “my prices are higher, but that’s what you need to get my quality advantage.” What’s a consumer to do? A similar relation exists between large employers and institutional providers (hospitals.) The lack […]
By Jane Meacham Many employers match a percentage of employees’ contributions to their retirement funds. But what impact does that match have? A new academic study found that participation and contributions in U.S. employer-sponsored retirement plans increase when a matching contribution is offered but that the match’s impact on savings is less significant than other […]
Employers wanting to get an early start on providing a required notice to employees of coverage options under health insurance exchanges just got some help from the federal government. On May 8, the U.S. Department of Labor issued a model notice for employers may use now — but must use beginning Oct. 1, 2013. The […]
When Cigna Corporation concluded its Preventive Care Survey of insured employees, there were a few results that were surprising and concerning. Perhaps the most shocking was that only 45% of respondents knew that they should have an annual checkup—but 85% knew that their pets should!
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) observed the 20th anniversary of the signing of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) on February 4 by releasing a survey on its use and impact. The survey, conducted in 2012, follows previous assessments in 1995 and 2000. Both employees and worksites were surveyed. Here are some of […]
A bipartisan accord to fund the federal government until Jan. 15 and raise the government’s debt ceiling until Feb. 7, was reached by leaders in the U.S. Senate on Oct. 16, but the final agreement did virtually nothing to change the health care reform law. The only part of the compromise affecting health care reform […]
Many employers cite employees for violations of “unwritten” company policies that are enforced but not clearly set out in an employee handbook or other well-publicized document. This can be a big mistake. Your supervisors may feel comfortable telling employees that “this is a long-standing unwritten rule” or “just the way things have always been done,” […]
Survey says … more companies are using e-mail to deliver bad news. That’s going to result in a lot of disgruntled ex-employees forever spewing negative opinions about your company. U.S. workers may want to think twice before opening that e-mail from the boss—it might be a termination notice, says a recent poll conducted for the […]
Each January, HR Hero conducts an online survey about health insurance and retirement benefits offered by our readers’ organizations. Most of the questions are similar each year and provide a good comparison to previous years. The one thing that changes is the essay question. And this year, boy did we hit a nerve with that […]
In critical HR discussions with employees, some of your managers will do best working from a script. When it comes to HR-related actions, do your line managers suffer from “wingtip in mouth disease?” You know the symptoms: They over-promise or ask inappropriate or even illegal questions during job interviews. Their performance appraisal meetings with employees […]