Just as you think about all the hard work of whether or not you are going to change the plan design and/or carriers and what the employee/employer premium split is going to be is done, it is time to communicate those decisions to employees. This step is not one that should be overlooked. Communication is just as important as the actual decisions. This is your time to not only let employees know they have the opportunity to make changes to their elections, but to let them know how much you care about them personally through the benefit packages you have designed for them. You have to carefully craft each communication so while ensuring they understand the plan changes and what is available to them they also feel like an individual and not just a number.

Did you happen to hear the news story last week about the young man who was applying for a job with Staples via the web and was shocked to have received a questionnaire offering him the opportunity to disclose if he is an individual with a disability? As a Human Resource professional with a background in government contracting compliance I knew exactly why the opportunity to disclose was given to the applicant, and quite frankly I was not at all surprised the applicant was not aware of the new requirements in place for government contractors. But I began to wonder how many of the employees working for government contractors are unaware of these new regulations.

With the dawn of health care reform and the increased focus on regulation and cost control, it has never been more important for employers to have a good insurance broker to help navigate the logistics and best practices surrounding benefits administration. But, not all brokers are created equal.

Have you ever given feedback to someone and questioned why you needed to re-state what you thought should have been obvious in the first place? The reality is our employees are all individuals working as part of our larger team. What may seem obvious to us is not always clear to others.

You just called Bill to come to your office to discuss a deadline that was missed…and here he comes. While he’s on the way, you get anxious…your palms sweat, you feel a little “queasy” and you know that no matter what you say, he either won’t get it or will get defensive. HELP! What’s a leader to do?

Did you know there are five generations in today's modern workforce? Now, if we could just get everyone to all work together! Let's take a quick review of each generation and their traits before we delve into the common problems we see our clients face...