PHR & SPHR vs. SHRM-CP & SHRM-SCP: What's the Difference Between these HR Certifications? In several industries, professionals have the option to obtain certifications in their area of expertise. Many companies require certifications as insurance that their employees have the knowledge necessary to perform the job they were hired for. In the HR world, having certification credentials is no different.

It’s the middle of autumn and you just received notification that the new compensation surveys have been released and are now available so you can start benchmarking your jobs.

I’ve recently been noticing something interesting when I tell people in social situations that I work for an HR consulting company. Instead of asking whether I help organizations 'run payroll and fire people', I’ve been hearing individuals say a lot of things like, 'so, you work with new things other than pay to make employees happy, right?'

While on client site, sitting in Leadership meetings, attending training, there is always one key initiative all companies are talking about right now: How do we attract top talent and, how do we get those people to stay?

Q: Does an employer’s cash-out option (i.e., cash-in-lieu of benefits) have any impact on the coverage’s affordability under the employer mandate? A: Yes. As background, under the employer mandate, the employer must offer at least one affordable, minimum value plan to all full-time employees, or risk a penalty. Affordability is based on the cost to the full-time employee for single-only coverage. Generally speaking, coverage is affordable if the cost of single-only coverage does not exceed 9.5 percent of that employee’s W2 wages or 9.5 percent of that employee’s rate-of-pay. (There is also a way to determine affordability based on the federal poverty line.)