Employee Benefits
Your Employee Communication Strategy is Lacking and Ideas on How to Fix it
Effective employee communication is a vital aspect of the employer-employee relationship. You have a strategy for many other aspects of your business, so why not have one for employee communication? Think about it for a second. At our core, we love to communicate. It’s why social networks are as popular as they are. It’s why people…
> Keep ReadingACA Q&A: Early Distribution of the Exchange Notice to New Hires
We’ve been receiving questions from employers who would like to stay ahead of the curve and distribute the Model Exchange Notice to their employees months before the 10/1/13 deadline. Once an employer starts giving out the notice to their current employees, are they then required to start distributing it to all new hires?
> Keep ReadingWhy You Should Stop Focusing on Satisfaction in your Employee Surveys
Many employee surveys focus on employee satisfaction, as it is assumed that satisfied, happy employees will be more productive and have higher retention rates. However, increasing research evidence has shown that a more telling determinant of productivity and performance is employee engagement. Engaged employees are more than just satisfied with their jobs; they are committed…
> Keep ReadingHR Q&A: Who is Governed by the HIPAA Privacy Rules?
The HIPAA Privacy Rules apply to Covered Entities. Covered Entities include: Health plans Health care clearinghouses Health care providers that conduct certain transactions electronically
> Keep ReadingYou Say HCR, I Say ACA: Common Health Care Reform Acronyms
There are a growing number of acronyms used in health care reform-related materials today. Here is a list of the most common acronyms and a definition for each.
> Keep ReadingTowers Watson Releases 2013 Health Care Cost Survey [Downloadable PDF]
The detailed, 38-page report features the results of a survey taken by over 500 of the nation’s top employers and outlines key trends in health care.
> Keep ReadingShould Your Company Choose a Defined Contribution Health Plan?
The heightened interest in defined contribution health plans is mainly due to the increasing costs of health coverage and changes made by the health care reform law, or the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
> Keep ReadingDOL Issues Highly-Anticipated Notice of Exchange Guidance
ACA requires employers to provide all new hires and current employees with a written notice about ACA’s Exchanges. On May 8, 2013, the Department of Labor released Technical Release 2013-02 to provide temporary guidance on the Exchange notice requirement.
> Keep ReadingIRS Provides Updated Guidance on Determining Minimum Value
On May 3, 2013, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released a proposed rule on the minimum value and affordability rules under the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
> Keep Reading2013 Study of Employee Benefits Trends
Employers are always looking for ways to better their benefits programs, particularly balancing cost management with employee satisfaction.
> Keep ReadingCommunicating Benefits to Employees using Social Media
Whether it’s promoting open enrollment, explaining plan changes or educating on how to use benefits, communicating benefits information to employees is a perennial challenge for employers. A fast-growing trend among leading companies is to include social media in their benefits communication strategy to extend their reach.
> Keep Reading20 Common, Costly Employee Benefits & HR Mistakes
Mistakes in employee benefits and human resources can be quite costly to employers, in the form of extra benefits, complaints, lawsuits, government assessed fines and penalties, and attorney fees, to name a few. Don’t learn the hard way what these mistakes are.
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