HR Insights

Incentive Pay is a perk sometimes offered to managers, providing they take more risks and lead their company to greater success. 

One new study suggests that Incentive Pay only works in specific circumstances, and when certain kinds of managers are involved.

Everybody knows that the costs of healthcare soared in 2015, due in large part to the continuing rollout of the Affordable Care Act.

Many businesses and employees believe that the ACA is not aptly named, as costs will likely continue to rise in 2016.

There are many ramifications for this new reality, but what does this mean for America's largest employers?

Employment culture is evolving fast on a global scale. Employee benefits technology is just one facet among many, but it's one that 41% of companies will be spending more money on in 2016.

With so many possible technologies to spend money on, how can a business be sure that a piece of benefits tech will be worth the investment?

Perhaps the best way to increase profitability is not an endless search for great talent, but to develop the talent you already have onhand.

Employee coaching is a relevant pursuit in today's business world, and more HR departments are employing independent talent coaches to take individual employees to the next level.

Wellness programming has been one of the big HR conversations of 2015. Everybody agrees that a healthy workforce is more productive and less costly.

But no one seems able to agree about how this is best achieved. Lots of strategies have been rolled out in recent years: from wearable tech to financial incentives to healthy snacking at the office.

Now that we know a lot of ways for employees to improve health, experts are calling for an emphasis on Customization and Flexibility.

A new wave of employees feel differently than previous generations about employer benefits. With health insurance now available from more than one source, this benefit no longer tops the list of those most important to America's youngest workers.

However, financial benefits are as important as ever, and some major American employers are offering a new option: student loan debt repayment.

It's Flu season, and HR knows what this can mean for employees working in close proximity to each other. It's important for a company's illness policy to be clearly understood by all.

When an employee knows the rules, the day she wakes up sick will be much easier to maneuver. HR can institute a variety of stay-home/telecommute options that will get individuals on the mend, and keep everyone else from catching the bug!

The conversation surrounding "healthy work-life balance" is more relevant than ever before. 

Surveys show that Millennials would rather have work flexibility than high pay or prestige.

HR does best when they craft a culture where employees can create individual solutions.

Explicit discussion about who gets paid what is typically discouraged in the workplace.

Many employers have policies against revealing one's salary to a coworker.

Some of these policies aren't actually legal, but this doesn't mean that a worker speaking of personal compensation matters will be well-received, by a coworker or by management.

Employers are bending over backwards to keep from hitting the "Cadillac Tax" on premium benefits programs during the 2016 open enrollment season. In many cases, this is passing on more healthcare costs to employees.

Copays and deductibles are increasing – and more parts of day-to-day healthcare are coming out of pocket. This shouldn't be news to anyone who reads this blog, but there may be many ways that employees can save if they know what to look for.