What is the first thing that you notice while reading a job ad? While you’re reviewing the qualifications and requirements of the job – you’re likely thinking to yourself, “does this role match up with what I’m looking for?” You’re…
Compensation & Benefits
Training the Ted Talk Way
TED Talks, the popular conference and video lecture series, has a cardinal rule that all presenters must follow: No talk can exceed 18 minutes. As TED curator Chris Anderson puts it, 18 minutes is “short enough to hold people’s attention,…
Stop Making Comp Offers Like a Car Buying Negotiation
In today’s incredibly tight labor market, it’s harder than ever to attract top notch talent. The majority of candidates are interviewing with (and receiving offers) from multiple companies. Counter-offers are more common, time to hire is increasing, and offer acceptance…
A Look Ahead at the Legal and Market Forces Affecting Employment
Almost two years into the new presidential administration, and with highly consequential and hotly debated mid-term elections around the corner, Littler’s Workforce Policy Institute’s Labor Day Report examines the state of the American workforce. The WPI offers this report to…
IRS Endorses Novel 401(K) Program for Student Loan Repayment
Last month the IRS issued a private letter ruling (PLR) on a request by an employer to use their 401(K) plan as a sort of a student loan repayment program. From a Forbes report, these are the details: Here’s a quick…
Comp Guide For a Small Company: Time Now to Standardize Practices
Note: This is the final article of a 4-part series on compensation practices for small companies. In this series Margaret O’Hanlon shows how a small company typically deals with compensation, discussing each of a few key practices and what problems…
Educate Employees About the Value of Benefits This Open Enrollment Season
Open enrollment is barreling down the tracks once again. It seems to be gaining speed each year. More benefits. More systems. Higher costs. Increased employee demands. We are tired just thinking about it. Before you dive into the review, comparison,…
How One Company Is Helping Employees Cope With Caregiving
As a parent, daughter and human resources director, payroll and benefits for Boston Private, I understand firsthand how difficult and stressful it is for employees to care for loved ones and still work effectively. Managing the special issues of children…
The 3 R’s of Open Enrollment Success
With open enrollment approaching, you’ve probably spent a lot of energy creating the right blend of benefits for employees. Naturally, you want to give your people a great employee experience by helping them understand their options and make the best…
Comp Guide for a Small Company: Why You Need a Salary Survey
Note: This is the second in a 4-part series on compensation practices for small companies. In this series Margaret O’Hanlon shows how a small company typically deals with compensation, discussing each of a few key practices and what problems these…
Discount Buying Program PerkSpot Gets Spotted $50 Million
As companies struggle to attract and retain talent, perks and benefits have become something of a recruiting arms race. As a result, vendors who help companies provide perks like saving money on services employees already use are hot. One popular…
A Small Company Guide to Growing a Healthy Compensation Program
Note: Today begins a 4-part series on compensation practices for small companies. Over the next four weeks, Margaret O’Hanlon will show how a small company typically deals with compensation, discussing each of a few key practices and what problems these…
Talent Competition Is Fueling Wellness Spending Increase
With historic lows in unemployment rates and a growing demand for high-quality, dedicated employees, a company’s benefits and culture have never been more paramount to success. This has raised the pressure on HR professionals to strategically invest in benefits packages…
The Pros and Cons of Unlimited PTO
Unlimited PTO has become a trendy perk for startups to offer their employees. Often, it’s implemented because founders think it will be less administrative work or will help them compete with bigger firms for talent. Those things can be true,…
What’s Your Real Pay? Hint: You’re Actually Losing Ground
The Q2 2018 PayScale Index showed wages declined 0.9% in comparison to Q1 2018. The PayScale Real Wage Index, which measure wage growth in relation to inflation, dropped 1.8% over the last quarter – the biggest decline in seven years….
Stop Using the Goodies, Gimmicks, and Gala Events Approach to Employee Retention
Imagine a male colleague of yours tells you his wife said she’s unhappy with their marriage. Last night she told him she doesn’t feel close to him; she doesn’t feel like they have an emotional connection. He then shares his…
Consider Value-Based Health Care as an Alternative to Wellness
In an evolving labor market where employees are expecting (and receiving) higher pay and better perks, employers often compete in the race for top talent by offering better and bolder benefits packages. And with the unemployment rate as low as…
When They Wear Two Hats, How Do You Decide Pay?
The competitive market pricing of jobs for an organization is relatively straightforward when looking at common benchmark roles – the ones that you can find in almost any organization. Administrative assistants, financial analysts, receptionists, help desk technicians, coordinators, etc. are…
Your Pay Program Has a Big Mouth
You have a not-so-silent partner in your compensation communication efforts. That partner? Your pay program itself. That’s because compensation itself is a powerful communication tool. In fact, everything we do in compensation is communication, so it’s critical that we consider the messages…
Look Beyond the Stereotypes When Considering Benefits
As employers try to figure out what employees want most, there can be a tendency to rely on gender and generational stereotypes that often don’t meet the individual needs of employees. Our recent survey of 2,200 employees shows what a…