Benefits
A New Concept in Benefits: Buying Power
You can’t click on a human resources web site or open a newsletter these days without confronting a significant issue in our line of work: employee morale isn’t where we’d like it to be. Sure, with the recent economic volatility it would be odd if sentiment was at an all time high. However, many surveys are indicating that if employers don’t do a better job of improving morale there will be a lot of employees hopping jobs once the market opens up again.
Could You Reduce Your Healthcare Costs with a Wellness Benefit?
You may remember a few years ago when news outlets began reporting on companies that were refusing to hire smokers. The concept was simple. Smokers were higher health risks and higher health risks increased a company’s insurance premiums. It may sound extreme, but in multiple states the employers’ decisions were upheld by the Supreme Court.
New Year, New Benefit
Well 2009 is officially behind us and it’s time to get into the swing of the New Year. Every year at this time companies are looking for ways to re-engage their workforce after the lengthy holiday break and get their team revved up to start the year with a bang. What better way to welcome your staff back and get things rolling positively than by giving them an added benefit for working for you: tax-free transportation.
ESS Implementation Increases the Need for Benefits Communication
Benefits communication and administration is a time consuming and costly duty most HR departments dislike. There seems to be little reward in providing round after round of training for employees during open enrollment and processing the resulting stacks of paperwork. That’s one reason Employee Self Service (ESS) portals are such a popular choice. Especially with the shift toward CDHPs and portability, it makes sense for individual workers to take more responsibility for handling their own benefits.
Is Your PTO Policy a Disaster Waiting to Happen?
Over the past few years many companies have gone from having separate sick and vacation policies to having just one, consolidated paid time off (PTO) program. While the flexibility of these programs can be attractive to employees and companies alike, there are also some serious consequences that can arise from a poorly planned PTO program. If you haven’t recently reviewed the potential legal impact of your current PTO system, here are a few topics to consider.
Time Off Policy Considerations For Small Businesses
Besides salary and medical insurance, vacation time is one of the most valuable incentives you can offer job candidates. There isn’t any legal requirement for you to give employees paid time off, but most workers consider this a basic necessity for any job. A generous time off policy does more than just show your commitment to promoting good work/life balance. It gives your employees time to recharge and return to work with a high level of productivity.
Tuition Reimbursement - Getting Your Money’s Worth
As an employer, you already spend a significant portion of your budget on total compensation for your workforce. Can you afford to invest in continuing education as well? If you do it right, the answer is probably yes. Many employees value tuition reimbursement programs. This type of benefit offers a way for workers to improve themselves and advance their careers. It also makes them feel that their employer believes in their abilities. However, you need to plan your program carefully to maximize your ROI.
Benefits Consultations for Terminally Ill Employees
If an employee is terminally ill, this can mean more than one thing. Sometimes, this prognosis simply means they aren’t going to get any better. Frequently, it means their health is going to deteriorate. Worst case scenario, they have been given less than 6 months to live.
Benefits/Employee Relations Considerations for Terminally Ill Workers
Human Resources professionals are used to handling all kinds of uncomfortable employee relations situations. They may be called in to deal with inappropriate workplace behavior, break up fights, or cope with the occasional “total meltdown”. However, even a seasoned HR manager and benefits specialist can find it challenging to handle one delicate situation: an employee who is dying - and still wants to work.
It’s That Time Again: Making the Most of Open Enrollment
Open enrollment for many human resources departments is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, technology advancements that allow an employee force to manage, select and enroll in their own benefit programs significantly cuts down on the red tape for HR managers. On the flip side, benefits are complicated and making sure you’ve informed and educated your staff to get through your open enrollment period without too many issues is a difficult task.
Prevent a Union Takeover
28:04 minutes (14.86 MB)
In this week’s podcast, Brenda Perkins interviews Tim Davis from the law offices of Constangy, Brooks, & Smith. Davis has been with this prestigious firm since 1992 and is considered one of the top 100 employee relations lawyers in the U.S. With the passage of some form of the Employee Free Choice Act likely in the near future, Tim’s expertise is invaluable. Here’s some of the advice he has for HR professionals and employers who want to remain union free in the upcoming years.
Creating A Wellness Mindset
38:17 minutes (19.09 MB)
In this upbeat interview with TCOY Wellness coach Lucy DelSarto, Brenda asks the question on every employer’s mind. Why should my company invest in worker wellness? DelSarto points to the high cost of disease-centered health care as a burden that is becoming untenable. Some of the largest industries in the U.S. actually spend more on health insurance for their workers than they spend on the raw materials to create their products. Imagine what your business could use those funds for if employees enjoyed excellent health through prevention rather than intervention!
Basics of HR Branding
22:19 minutes (11.28 MB)
Industry expert Deborah Thorne (president of Prism Creative), discusses the concept of HR branding in this interview with Brenda Perkins. This informative talk introduces the concept of developing a brand for Human Resources communications. Her remarks on perceived value and employee retention are of special interest. Most companies spend a significant portion of their yearly budget on workforce related expenses. It makes sense to create a polished, consistent presentation strategy for vital compensation and benefits information.
Free Online Tools For Employee Healthcare Management
As the recession continues, your workers need as much help as they can get to keep their medical costs under control. There has never been a better time to add value to the healthcare benefits your company offers. Putting employees in touch with free online resources is an affordable way to do this.
Health and Wellness - Managing Healthcare Outcomes
With healthcare costs at an all-time high, employees are struggling to pay their medical bills. Now more than ever, staying well and reducing unnecessary expenses are top priorities. As workers take on more responsibility for managing their healthcare, they need to know how to get the most for their money. You can make this job easier by promoting healthful choices as part of your workplace culture.
How To Improve Employee Retirement Benefits Planning
If there is one thing people dislike more than delaying instant gratification in favor of a future reward, it is spending time and effort on planning with no guarantee of success. This is one of the underlying reasons employees hate retirement planning. Workers look around and see older people unable to retire because their 401(k) plans have lost a staggering amount of value. This promotes a general feeling of helplessness and lack of control.
Helping Employees Cope With Consumer Driven Health Plans
If your company is following the trend toward providing consumer driven health plans (CDHPs), your workers are experiencing the burden of extra expenses right now. The shift in costs is no doubt placing a hardship on their finances.
This may leave your employees feeling like you don’t care about their wellbeing. You need to use new strategies to reconnect with workers on this topic. Here are some low cost ways to help your workforce regain a sense of control over their health and their budget.
Retirement Benefits - Why Employee 401(k) Plans Fail
Over the long term, employee 401(k) plans offer a decent way for the average working person to save money for retirement. However, there are a number of reasons these investments can underperform. Here are several examples of ways employees sabotage their retirement savings.
Work/Life Programs are Dodging the Axe
Our current economic downturn is dramatically worse that our last down cycle in the early part of the decade. Yet, already there are some significant differences in the ways that corporations are responding to the financial pressure. One of the most noteworthy differences is that many work/life balance programs are being retained or even upgraded when many other investment-based programs are being slashed.
Taking the Mystery Out of the New COBRA Rules
COBRA (or Consolidated Omnibus Budget & Reconciliation Act) is a program designed to provide individuals who would otherwise lose their insurance coverage (often through being unemployed) to extend their coverage through their employer, or previous employer, at group rates paid for at their own expense.
Making Sense of Work/Life Balance
For years the phrase “work life balance” has been making the rounds through HR and employee circles. While it isn’t a terribly difficult concept to understand, the phrase itself has become so pervasive that we often forget to consider why having a productive work life balance is so important.
Dependent Benefits Extended Under Michelle’s Law
As frequently happens, it has taken a tragedy for the government to address a problem with the health care system in the United States. In the case of Michelle Morse, the issue was not the availability of medical coverage, but the cost. Like many college students, Morse was covered by dependent benefits under her parents’ health insurance plan.
Benefit Communications - Consumer Driven Healthcare Pitfalls
Benefit communications can get a little tricky when it comes to consumer driven health plans. Explaining how each employee benefits from taking on more responsibility can be a tough sell. This is especially true if workers have heard about CDHPs through the rumor mill first. People are used to their medical insurance companies trying to weasel out of paying claims. There is naturally a lot of mistrust to overcome when making changes to how medical bills get paid.
Enrollment Communications - Shift Focus From Cost To Responsibility
A good enrollment communications strategy is difficult to formulate when price hikes keep hitting year after year. Employees dread sitting down at each medical benefits meeting. They know their payroll deductions are going up - they are just waiting to find out how much. Sure, you can explain that the company is paying more too. However, this doesn’t really make anyone feel better.
Flexible Spending Accounts - Employer Discretion Advised
Flexible spending accounts (FSAs) are designed to offer employees a way to pay for qualified medical expenses with pre-tax dollars. This begs the question - what are qualified expenses? The IRS publication 502 gives a complete list. However, employers can choose to limit the options available to employees when it comes to reimbursement from an FSA.
Paid Time Off Considerations
Paid time off (PTO) has advantages and disadvantages from the perspective of both employers and employees. However, it is often simpler to administer than traditional vacation/sick day/personal day programs. Calculating the amount of time accrued can be done using a single formula since there is just one type of time off being offered. It can also be easily adjusted so that long term employees accumulate PTO at a faster rate per year (or to incorporate other criteria).
Health And Welfare Benefits - HRA Offers Tax Break To Employers
Employers who are battling rising healthcare costs have the option of developing a health reimbursement account (HRA) program. Unlike a health savings account (HSA) which is funded by the employee, this type of plan is entirely employer funded. This lifts the limits on contribution amounts and gives companies more flexibility than a cafeteria plan. These contributions are tax deductible to the employer and are often used in conjunction with a high deductible plan.
Understanding Retirement Investments
Although 401(k) plans have taken a beating over the past few years, they are still one of the most popular options for company retirement programs. Of course, you may be one of the approximately 40% of small business owners who don’t yet provide this type of benefit. If so, you can use the implementation of such a savings and investment plan to show your employees that you value their current hard work and that you care about their future well being. If you do offer currently a 401(k), it is time to help your employees understand how to use it to their advantage.
Health and Welfare Benefits - Health Savings Account Overview
Health savings accounts are a fairly new type of health and welfare benefit (the option was first created as part of the 2003 Medicare bill). This type of employee-owned benefit is becoming more and more common as consumer-driven health plans continue to rise in popularity. Like flexible spending accounts, HSAs offer a tax break to workers who make contributions to a private medical expense account.
Employee Communication Essentials
You Risk Creating What You Fear . . .
When You Withhold Information
Most of us tend to withhold information when we feel we might anger someone or be rejected. But if you listed things people do that upset you most, you would probably include withholding information. It’s a bit of a paradox one of those unconscious dynamics where you end up creating what you want to avoid.
Withholding information can damage a personal relationship. As presented in the 6 Proven Results from Effective Communication mini-course, not saying the right thing to the right people at the right time can cost dollars and cents.
Making the connection between communication and the bottom line of a business is a first step. The next step is to learn specifically what communication is and how to use it to maximum advantage. Our Employee Communication Essentials package does that by giving you
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Transparency In Compensation & Benefits Communications
When HR is planning its compensation and benefits communication strategy, transparency should be a key priority. This means that information should be made as accessible as possible. Many employees feel intimidated by stacks of benefits brochures and lengthy plan “summaries” filled with fine print. While it is important from a legal standpoint to provide these details, it is not the only way to communicate. Many companies are now choosing to supplement their handbooks and other paper documents with web content.
Innovative Health Initiatives Can Boost Employee Satisfaction
The health and well being of your workforce is a major factor in overall morale. People who are stressed out, in poor physical shape, and nutritionally deprived are not going to be able to do their best at any job. Employers may think that lifestyle is about personal choices that have nothing to do with the workplace. However, full time employees often spend about half of their waking hours on the clock. This means that what they do at work is their lifestyle to a large extent. Wellness initiatives that boost physical and mental health aren’t a waste of resources.
Workplace Wellness - Creating A Strong Foundation
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is wrapping up its Healthy People 2010 initiative and getting ready to launch the 2020 version. One of its current goals is to expand participation to 75% of all employers and employees. Now, companies are more concerned than ever with healthcare costs. Such circumstances provide an important incentive for moving toward this target. If your workplace wellness program is currently stalled, this is a good time to jumpstart it.
Executive Benefits - Retirement
If your company is small to mid-sized, you probably aren’t offering your top employees “gold parachutes” as part of their executive benefits package. Chances are your corporate officers and company directors are working hard to earn their salaries. These people have years of experience that cannot be easily or cost effectively replaced. They appreciate having access to decent medical insurance and a reasonable amount of vacation time. Bonuses are an added incentive, but they don’t necessarily make or break a deal.
Benefit Education - Employee Transportation
The current plans to stimulate the economy are focused on allotting enormous sums to the major players like banks and big businesses. However, a little digging does reveal a few nuggets of interest to people in the lower income brackets. For example, the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act includes an increase in the dollar limit for transportation fringes under Section 132 of the IRS code. This program allows employees to pay for a portion of their commuting costs with pre-tax dollars.
Limiting Risks For Healthcare Flexible Spending Accounts
Flexible spending accounts are a great resource for employees when it comes to managing healthcare expenses. These accounts offer the opportunity to save a significant sum each year through pre-tax payroll deductions. However, for employers the administrative costs may seem to outweigh the value of offering this benefit. There are a couple of ways to offset the expense of handling FSAs. First, businesses are exempt from paying FICA taxes on employee income diverted into these accounts.
Explaining Flexible Spending Accounts For Dependent Care
Many of today’s parents are struggling to make ends meet on two incomes. One major expense is the care of dependents. Paying for childcare takes a big bite out of a weekly paycheck. The “sandwich generation” that is caring for children and aging parents at the same time is especially hard hit. Employees need to know that they may be able to pay for dependent care with pre-tax dollars. If your company offers flexible spending accounts, you will have the opportunity to explain these choices. FSAs aren’t for everyone, but they can make a significant difference for many workers.
Voluntary Benefits Can Add Value Without High Costs
At a time when many companies are looking for ways to reduce expenditures, voluntary benefits are becoming more popular. They offer employers a way to add value to their total rewards package without company paid contributions or high administrative costs.
Why Is Paid Time Off Controversial?
Paid time off (PTO) generally allows for fewer total days away from work than traditional vacation/sick day options. However, this time off can be taken at the employee’s discretion (with reasonable notice). The worker can choose to use these days for any purpose. Some companies find this type of program easy and cost effective to administer. Many employees enjoy the greater autonomy and personal choice it affords. On the other hand, there are businesses that find fault with this system.
Good Benefits Communication Aids Employee Retention
Employees who are thinking long term are more likely to stay with your company if they understand the advantages of doing so. The opportunity to build a strong foundation for retirement is one benefit that your company may offer through 401(k) plans, pension plans, profit sharing, and stock options. However, retirement is not the only eventuality workers should keep in mind when reviewing their benefits package. A disabling accident or illness, the need for long term care, and death are all possible outcomes for each individual.
Supplementing Compensation and Benefit Statements
By now, the advantage of providing compensation and benefit statements to workers is fairly well established. This practice offers employees an opportunity to investigate the entire value of the package they are offered by a company. If you haven’t yet put together a comprehensive overview of this information, now is a good time to start. For companies that already distribute these facts and figures as a matter of course, it may be time to make supplemental data more accessible via an intranet site.
Handling Compensation and Benefits Communication with Style
Delivering new information effectively hinges on what you say and how you say it. Setting the stage for receptivity on the part of employees can be simple if you think about how you would like to be treated. Put a little extra thought into your compensation and benefits communication and you will be pleased with the results. Here are some ways you can impress your workers and make them feel that you are addressing them respectfully.
Does Your Total Rewards Program Need an Overhaul?
In today’s rapidly evolving business environment, reviewing the entire compensation and benefits package your company offers employees is a good idea. The current economic climate will no doubt impact the options you decide to make available. However, it is crucial to avoid stop gap measures that can negatively affect the long term viability and productivity of your corporate model. Below are two areas that are sometimes overlooked in the discussion of total rewards. You may wish to revisit them now.
Paid Time Off – Points To Consider
If your company is considering switching to a paid time off (PTO) system from a vacation days/sick days one, there are a few things to keep in mind. As with any policy change, you need to explain the ramifications to all affected employees. The first topic to address is what happens to accumulated time off. Workers will need to be reassured that they are not losing any vacation time they are owed.
Human Resources Departments Can Now Access New COBRA Letters
Human Resources professionals all over the U.S. are engaging in a hasty scramble to comply with the COBRA subsidy regulations recently signed into law. The intent of this temporary relief is to make healthcare more accessible in these difficult times. Since most Americans have health insurance through their employer, loss of a job can have disastrous consequences. The high premiums for continued coverage are simply out of reach for many people - especially once they lose their primary income source.
Guidelines For Wellness Programs
Starting a wellness program in the workplace is a worthy endeavor. However, this employee benefit is so new that the rules are still being hammered out. There are several overlapping government regulations that deal with these initiatives. It is important to understand the impact each one has on your planning and implementation. Here are some of the DOL and related HIPAA guidelines you should be aware of before you start structuring a health awareness program.
Top 7 Employee Wellness Initiatives
Many corporations are getting on board with wellness programs designed to keep employees healthy and happy. The success of these initiatives depends on appropriate planning, funding, and implementation. During the planning phase, employers have to decide what the focus will be. If the budget is limited, it is especially important to select the most effective and beneficial ideas. Below are several areas that can have the greatest positive impact for workers.
Benefits Pros and Cons - Flexible Spending Accounts
A Medical Flexible Spending Account is one of those benefits that can end up being complicated to explain. In the simplest terms, an employee authorizes pre-tax payroll deductions to be set aside in an account administered by the employer. These funds may be used by the employee for medical, dental, and vision related expenses.
How Clarity Can Turn Your Business Around
Consider some of the challenges that organizations face today. Economic fears and rapid change have pushed many businesses to the breaking point, and the media has rebranded corporations as the enemy – while employee trust is at an all-time low.
All of this uncertainty and anguish can cultivate a negative working environment, and the impact of low morale and reduced productivity can damage even the most stable organization.
The good news is that there is a way to prevent this from happening to your company.
