-
The ABC's of employee benefits, Part 2
Earlier this week, we brought you part one of Contributing Editor Ed Bray’s 2013 ABCs of employee benefits. Bray is director of employee benefits for a major transportation company in Hawaii. Here, he covers N to Z — everything from nondiscrimination rules to retirement readiness to top-notch employee communications. [Images: Shutterstock]
-
7-part plan to groom future company leaders
Although your company may have a sufficient number of individuals currently in leadership positions, what will your managerial ranks look like in five or seven years? There will always be turnover, expected and unanticipated. That's why it's essential that your company starts building a solid bench of future leaders now. The following plan from Robert Half International will allow you to identify the right candidates for leadership roles and groom them to someday step up and take the reins of your department or company. The world's first and largest specialized staffing firm presented these seven tips for implementing a robust succession plan on CareerBuilder.com. [Images: Shutterstock]
-
5 telecommuting tips for workers and employers
For most employees, busy schedules and mobile technology have blurred the traditional work-life boundaries. Employees who telecommute from a home office full-time or work remotely some of the time personify the changing workplace. Here are five teleworking tips for employers and employees considering remote work schedules from CareerBuilder.com and social media expert Lea Green. Learn more about how work-life balance offerings can fit specific workforce and business needs in the EBN magazine July issue when we spotlight Dow Chemical’s approach to workplace flexibility. [Images: Shutterstock]
-
Incentives for mobilizing a global workforce
Companies are expected to offer more international assignments to employees this year, as the world’s workforce continues to expand and disperse to meet the needs of our global economy. More than 70% of companies expect to increase short-term international assignments in 2013, according to Mercer’s Worldwide International Assignments Policies and Practices report. In addition, 55% of companies are looking to increase long-term assignments abroad In a new report, Mobilizing Talent: The Global Mobility Challenge, BDO, an international network of public accounting firms, asked employees which benefits or perks would incentivize them most to take a global position. Here are the top seven incentives for enticing employees to take international assignments. [Images: Shutterstock]
-
The ABC's of employee benefits, Part 1
School may be out for the summer but we know hardworking benefits professionals are always learning. In a special two-part slide show, Contributing Editor Ed Bray offers up his version of the 2013 ABCs of employee benefits. Here, he covers A to M. [Images: Shutterstock]
-
10 self-funding considerations
Sixty percent of workers covered by group health insurance are in a self-funded plan, according to statistics from the Kaiser Family Foundation. It’s a percentage that has gradually increased: The percentage of covered workers in a plan that is completely or partially self-funded has grown from 49% in 2000 to 54% in 2005. Shaun Snyder, a health care analyst for a major insurance carrier, outlines 10 things employers should consider before heading down the path to self-insurance. [Images: Shutterstock]
-
Comparing cost of care
Wildly different prices for the same medical procedures are reported across the nation: a knee MRI in Seattle can cost anywhere from $460 to $2,470; a hip replacement in New York runs $13,137 at Coney Island Hospital, or $38,588 at Lenox Hill. And those numbers don’t even take into account differences in quality of care. This month, UnitedHealthcare expanded the availability of its myHealthcare Cost Estimator to nearly all of its employer-sponsored health care plans. The tool, which is free to employers and plan participants, allows for comparison shopping of health care services online and through the Health4Me app. [Image: Shutterstock]
-
6 tips for managing the cost of cancer care
By 2030, we will see 2.3 million new cancer cases in the United States, a 45% increase over 2010, according to the American Cancer Society. As the number of new cancer cases has increased, so too has cancer survivorship. Advances in cancer research and technology have brought life-saving breakthroughs in the fight against cancer, but the rapidly evolving science has also resulted in greater cost as patients take advantage of new diagnostic tools and procedures. Optum executives offer 6 employer strategies for managing the high cost of cancer care, based on a recent Optum white paper. [Images: Shutterstock]
-
8 components of a health care exchange
As an employer, there’s a lot you need to know in order to decide whether or not to offer health care through a health insurance exchange. But before you make a decision, Karen McLeese, J.D., vice president of employee benefit regulatory affairs for CBIZ Benefits & Insurance Services, details the general functions of all exchanges, including state-based, federal, or state/federal partnerships. Here are the eight primary features of exchanges. [Images: Shutterstock]
-
Forecasting HR's future (Part Two)
Buck Consultants’ talent and HR solutions’ Scot Marcotte, managing director, Chicago; Barry Hall, principal and innovation leader, Boston; and Steve Coco, principal and northeast region leader, New York, offer their predictions for the human resources world of the future. What will HR look like 20 years from now? [Images: Shutterstock]
-
Forecasting HR's future (Part One)
Benefits managers and human resources professionals have, in many cases, been so frantically busy of late that they might not be thinking beyond 2014, or Oct. 1, or maybe even next week. But what will personnel management look like 10 or 20 years from now? How will the role of HR change? [Images: Shutterstock]
-
Top 10 causes of disability
For the past 12 years, Unum reports, the leading cause of its long-term disability claims is cancer. “Most people who have been diagnosed with cancer are very motivated to get back to work,” says Kristin Tugman, senior director of health and productivity at Unum. “It helps create a sense of normalcy and control at a time when people often feel understandably overwhelmed.” Cancer is also Unum’s No. 6 cause of short-term disability. May is Disability Awareness Month. Here are the top five LTD and STD causes according to 2012 claims data from Unum. [Images: Shutterstock]
-
Who calls EAP resource lines for assistance and why
Employees seek advice from EAP/work-life resource hot lines for myriad reasons ranging from professional and financial concerns to help with mental health issues and substance abuse problems. To give employers a better understanding of the issues their employees face and who is likeliest to make use of employee assistance program benefits, ComPsych Corporation, which fields millions of calls annually, recently analyzed gender, age and industry differences in millions of EAP/work-life calls over a 12-month period.
-
Top 5 uses of legal plans
Seventy-four percent of individuals reported experiencing at least one legal event in the past year, and a majority of those who did said it impacted their work, according to research from ARAG. Among those who went through some sort of legal event, 40% experienced four or more in the last year, up 20% from five years ago. Legal plan benefit offerings – free to employers, practical to wage earners – are growing in popularity for obvious reasons. [Images: Shutterstock]
-
Most wasteful states for prescription meds
The U.S. health care system wasted $418 billion on bad medication-related decisions in 2012. While the entire nation suffers from these costly decisions, they have a disproportionate effect on the poorest states. In fact, nine out of the 10 poorest states rank among the most wasteful, according to research from Express Scripts. Waste stems from using high-priced brand name medications instead of clinically equivalent generics, not taking medications as prescribed, and using more expensive pharmacies than necessary. Here are details on the most wasteful states, as well as the most frugal. How does your state stack up in prescription spending? [Images: Shutterstock]
-
Going global: 5 benefit plan considerations
With much of the world's purchasing power located outside of the U.S., the chances are your company will, at some point, expand into new countries. When looking at a benefit strategy outside of the U.S., it’s important to be flexible enough to accommodate local norms while maintaining regulatory compliance. EBN Contributing Editor Shana Sweeney offers five tips to get you started. [Images: Shutterstock]
-
5 tips for talking about stress
Americans believe discussing stress with their health care providers is important, yet many aren’t having the conversation, reports a recent study from the American Psychological Association. Richard Citrin, Ph.D., and president of Citrin Consulting, and Dr. David Ballard, assistant executive director for marketing and business development with the American Psychological Association, offer five suggestions for helping your employees start having those conversations. [Images: Shutterstock]
-
5 tips for achieving better work-life balance
“I used to be caught up in the spin cycle of thinking that net worth automatically afforded me life worth,” says Gary Kunath, an entrepreneur, speaker, former CEO and author of “Life ... Don't Miss It. I Almost Did: How I Learned To Live Life To The Fullest.” However, Kunath adds, “At a certain point you realize that money doesn't make you rich, it just allows you to buy more stuff.”
U.S. workers seem to have achieved a similar realization, as most employees prioritize satisfaction over salary and prize work-life balance. Kunath offers professionals five ways to achieve balance and improve their “life worth.”
[Images: Shutterstock]
-
5 things to consider when outsourcing benefits administration
Shrinking HR departments, coupled with increased regulatory complexities, are leading organizations like Hawaiian Airlines to outsource their benefits administration. Tim Clifford, president of ADP Benefit Services, shares five considerations employers need to think about when hiring a provider to handle their benefits administration. [Images: Shutterstock]
-
HR professionals: 7 tips to get attention from C-Suite
For many human-resources professionals, getting buy-in from the C-suite can be a challenge when top-level executives are strapped for time. Further, HR and C-suite representatives communicate in fundamentally different ways. In a CareerBuilder article, Beverly Flaxington, a certified professional behavioral analyst, shares her tried-and-true tips for HR professionals to effectively communicate with executives and gain leverage to achieve their goals. [Images: Shutterstock]
-
5 work-life winners
Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer may have banned working from home for her company but winners of this year’s Work-Life Rising Star recognition awards prove that teleworking and other flexible work programs are alive and well.
-
Top 10 questions asked by HR professionals
The Employers Resource Association receives more than 8,000 calls each year to its human resources hotline. For the third consecutive year, ERA data show, the highest demand for phone-in expertise was not about health care reform or retirement plans, but HR “staples” like performance management, fair labor issues and immigration. On ERA’s top 10 list of most-questioned topics, the Family and Medical Leave Act remains No. 1.
-
4 DOMA-related do's and don'ts
The Supreme Court in March hears oral arguments on the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act and the validity of California’s Proposition 8. In advance of an anticipated summer SCOTUS ruling on these same-sex marriage issues, Rich Stover, a principal at Buck Consultants offers four tips to help employers discern what they should be doing right now to prepare for same-sex marriage developments. [Images: Shutterstock]
-
Top 10 drugs to watch
Drug spending declined 1.5% last year, according to Express Scripts’ most recent drug trend report, fueled in part by the release of many lower-cost generic drugs. The cost of generic medications dropped last year by 24%, while the cost of the most-used brand name drugs increased by 12.5%, the widest disparity in the past five years, according to the pharmacy benefit manager. Here are 10 of the top brand-name drugs that lost their patents in 2012. [Images: Shutterstock]
-
The truth behind 6 wellness myths
Pressure is high on HR/benefits managers to keep health costs in line, and wellness program vendors promise to relieve that pressure — too many of them through “get well quick” schemes like the 6 outlined here. Knowledge is power, as the saying goes, and knowing the truth behind these common wellness myths could be the key to unlocking untold health cost savings. (Compiled by Linda K. Riddell, frequent EBN guest blogger and principal of Health Economy LLC.)
-
The best of the 401(k) Summit
More than 1,400 retirement plan advisers enjoyed three days of insights from their colleagues and leading retirement plan providers at the 2013 National Association of Plan Advisors/American Society of Pension Professionals and Actuaries 401(k) Summit. Here are some highlights. [Photos: © James Tkatch, 2013]
-
7 wealth destroying management styles
Whether you’re running a small business or a giant corporation, leaders — and even trained MBA’s — are making major mistakes when it comes to their management styles, says corporate turnaround executive Kathleen Brush, author of The Power of One. She provides the top seven mistakes. [Images: Thinkstock]
-
9 ways office food fuels employee satisfaction and productivity
Food can play an important role in motivating employees to spend more time in the office, work more effectively while there and generally view their workplace more positively, finds a nationwide survey of nearly 1,100 full-time professionals across more than a dozen different industries. The survey by Seamless, the leading service for ordering delivery and takeout from restaurants in the U.S. and U.K., also reveals the importance of food as a means for building and fostering relationships with clients.
Since the average employee works more than 40 hours a week, “food remains a relatively untapped perk that companies can use to measurably improve employee retention and happiness and show their appreciation, while separating themselves from competitors. Free food all the time is unrealistic for most companies, but the occasional pizza party or afternoon treat goes a long way,” says Nick Worswick, vice president and general manager of corporate at Seamless.
-
4 reasons unhealthy eating can be addictive
Health experts agree: exercise and physical activity can only get you so far. To a large extent, you are what you eat. So, with proper diet an integral part of any wellness program, why can it be so hard to eat healthy? One in three American adults and 20% of American children are now considered obese, says Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times journalist Michael Moss. Additionally, Moss says, 24 million people in the U.S. suffer from type 2 diabetes with another 79 million having pre-diabetes. [Images: Shutterstock]
-
How stressed is your city?
Regardless of where in the country they live, Americans have one thing in common when it comes to stress – they consistently report experiencing more stress than they believe to be healthy. They also report work as one of the top stressors in their lives. Here’s how stress levels vary in major cities across the country, according to the American Psychological Association’s Stress in America report. [Photos: Thinkstock]
-
Carriers are from Mars, employers from Venus: 4 responses to get the health information you need
If you want to lead your wellness program to success, prepare to charm and disarm your health plan administrator. To get useful and useable data may take some perseverance. It’s easy for them to throw around technical terms and intimidate you into surrender. Here are four scenarios offering common responses from plans and how to counter them. (Compiled by Linda K. Riddell, frequent EBN guest blogger and principal at Health Economy, LLC.) [Images: Shutterstock]
-
Relive the best of BF&E 2012!
Benefits professionals and advisers enjoyed three days of exciting keynotes, including Meghan McCain, and informative sessions, expansive networking, and a rockin’ 80s party in tranquil Phoenix, AZ last week at the 25th Annual Benefits Forum & Expo. Experience moments you may have missed or relive the best of them in this special slideshow.
-
7 keys to 401(k) engagement
Offering a 401(k) plan to employees is only half the benefit; sponsors need to design plan features to maximize enrollment and communicate the advantages of the plan. With strong plan construction and sound communication and financial education campaigns to support it, employers can help workers save and plan adequately for retirement.
-
2012 elections signal historic change for workplace benefits
The results of the November election will dramatically affect major employee benefits issues, most notably health care. No matter who wins the White House, the makeup of Congress after the elections could also significantly influence how employers manage their workplace benefits. Chantel Sheaks, a principal in government relations with Buck Consultants, outlines how the most likely scenarios could determine benefits strategy for plan sponsors.
-
HR and benefits professionals share their benefits communication pet peeves
Some HR terms and buzzwords are overused and ineffective to communicate benefits information to employees and report to executives. EBN readers shared benefits vocab or phrases they despise on our LinkedIn Group and on Twitter. What HR word or concept would you add to the list?
-
Plan ahead with Mercer's open enrollment checklist
Against the backdrop of health care reform, planning and prioritizing health benefit programs for 2013 is an immediate need for plan sponsors. Employers may find strategies and tactics for rolling out plans to be more complex. Based on key survey findings, Mercer has developed a short checklist to help ensure an efficient and effective open enrollment season.
-
Summer reading list for benefits professionals
This summer, enjoy some educational reading while relaxing by the beach or pool. Have you read these must-read books that bring insight to the HR and benefits profession?
-
10 major concerns for health care reform after Supreme Court ruling
Global consulting and actuarial firm Milliman identifies the major strategic considerations for plan sponsors, insurers, and advisers now that the Supreme Court has upheld the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
-
Top 5 locations for recruiting, retaining and relocating employees
Where does your city rank? Aon Hewitt’s 2012 People Risk Index measures the risks that organizations face with recruitment, employment and relocation in 131 cities worldwide by analyzing such factors as demographics, access to education, talent development, employment practices and government regulations. Here are the top five lowest risk cities -- in descending order -- in which to recruit, employ and relocate top talent. (Images: Thinkstock)
-
Financial Fitness Challenge
Retail salespeople, biomedical engineers, furniture makers and firefighters -- these and a host of other workers from around the country will face off this summer in The EBN-EBA Financial Fitness Challenge. Eighteen U.S. organizations will be giving their employees the opportunity to take a five-week online financial education course developed by our partner, The Educated Investor. The aggregated results of their efforts will be published by EBN and EBA. Here are 16 of the employers chosen for the first Financial Fitness Challenge.
-
7 tax-free benefits for employees
During tax season, employees are sharply reminded of how much cash Uncle Sam takes from their paychecks. Many workers already take advantage of benefits such as tax-exempt health savings accounts, group term-life insurance and even tax-deferred benefits in retirement plans. Some fringe benefits, however, are lesser known for their tax-exempt status. Here are seven tax-free benefits that keep cash in employees’ pockets, as well may provide attractive deductibles to companies.
-
5 winning vacation benefits and policies
Taking time away from the office has been shown to reduce stress and improve employee productivity. Here's 5 unique approaches to vacation benefits that encourage employees to unwind and return to work with renewed vigor.
-
Health care reform stirs protests at Supreme Court
In March 2012, the Supreme Court heard six hours of oral arguments over three days on the constitutionality of the individual mandate in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which would require nearly every person in the United States to purchase health insurance, whether through an employer, state exchanges, Medicare, Medicaid or private exchanges. The mandate, the most polarizing provision of the law, brought American from both sides of the issue to Washington, D.C., to converge on the Supreme Court steps to protest or advocate for PPACA.
-
6 tips to make sure your DC plan is successful
Defined contribution plans are becoming more and more the primary employer-sponsored retirement plan for most Americans. Yet, along with participants’ need for strong performance, plan sponsors must deal with increased regulatory activity, governance requirements and fiduciary concerns. Mercer’s Toni Brown and Bill McClain share how to make sure your plan is as successful as it can be. For more information on DC plans, visit Mercer.com.
-
12 Most bizarre excuses for employee sick days
It’s that time of year again when employees have trouble making it in to the office — and no, we don’t mean cold and flu season. Some employees, not quite ready to go back to the grind after extended holiday time off, may be looking for some extra time away. According to CareerBuilder, the highest period of employee absenteeism occurs between January and March, with 34% of employers noting that use of sick days peak in the first quarter of the year. Further, 29% of workers cite errands and plans with family and friends among the top reasons for calling in sick when they were well.
Starting the year on a light-hearted note, EBN selected a dozen from CareerBuilder’s list of some of the most outrageous excuses employees have used to call in sick. We hope they’ll help you maintain your sense of humor as you endure the absenteeism of the winter months.
-
Eight steps to a healthier holiday season
Kaiser Permanente recently launched "Maintain Don't Gain" campaign to help employer's wellness efforts through the holidays. Part of the KP campaign includes an eight-week guide to help employees avoid winter weight creep. As we approach the holiday season and the winter months share these tips with employees to encourage winter wellness.
-
5 holiday benefits and perks to thank employees
Spread some holiday cheer around your workplace this season with these creative and thoughtful end-of-year benefits and rewards to celebrate a workforce that has dutifully taken on extra work and stress during trying economic times. Whether it’s giving a small gift or throwing a holiday bash to show your care, employees will be thankful for your support and recognition. When they return to work in the New Year, make sure employees are listing “exercise more” and “eat fewer sweets” as their 2012 resolutions, not “find a new job.”
-
8 ways employees can use their flexible spending accounts before 2012
As 2011 comes to an end, it’s time for employees with health care and dependent care flexible spending accounts to use up their remaining balances before the end of their plan year, when any leftover money is forfeited. Here are eight ways your employees can spend down their FSAs before 2012, courtesy of Save Smart, Spend Healthy.
See how Purchasing Power can positively impact your employees – no cost or liability to you!
June 7, 2012 Watch this Video >>
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
About Us | Contact Us | Advertise with us | Privacy Policy | Site Map
© 2013 SourceMedia. All rights reserved.