Author: Denise Rand

Yes, We Surveyed It—Highlights from BLR’s 2013 Survey Series

You name it in HR and compensation and we surveyed it in 2013. Here is your roundup of the most interesting survey data on benefits, pay budgets, policies, HR departments, and more. Special thanks to all readers who participated in our surveys in 2013! (2014 surveys start soon.) Benefits: Health Insurance Preferred provider organization (PPO) […]

Yes, We Surveyed It—Highlights from BLR’s 2013 Survey Series

Special thanks to all readers who participated in our surveys in 2013! (2014 surveys start soon.) Benefits: Health Insurance Preferred provider organization (PPO) plans are offered by 68% of survey participants, and health maintenance organization (HMO) plans are offered by 31%. High-deductible plans are a benefit for 35%, and point-of-service (POS) plans are available for […]

5 Key Training Trends for the New Year

Laura DiFlorio and Kerrie Main, regional sales directors for Nobscot Corporation (www.nobscot.com), identified these five trends for the coming year on HR.BLR.com: 1. Experiential Training With its emphasis on games and activities, experiential training is expected to be increasingly popular, says DiFlorio. Experiential training is especially effective with younger workers, who she says tend to […]

IRS Gives Plans More Time to Amend for Roth Accounts

Plan sponsors have been waiting for details on rollovers within retirement plans to designated after-tax Roth accounts, and on Dec. 11, IRS issued new guidance that may prove beneficial. Among the clarifications and changes in Notice 2013-74 was an extension of the deadline for amending plans to incorporate in-plan Roth accounts. Now plans have until […]

Supervisory Sin 7: Making Wage/Hour Blunders

[Go here for sins 1 through 6.] Sin #7. Making wagehour blunders We’re out of overtime. Can you clock out and then set up for tomorrow? You’ll be working alongside our regular employees, but you new recruits are all independent contractors. Tracy, make sure you stay close to the phone during lunch. Sandy, keep your […]

Equip Trainers to Give Effective Environmental Training

The material in today’s Advisor comes from our sister publication, Environmental Daily Advisor®. In an ideal world, training will always be successful. There are ways that training can go wrong, however, and forewarned is forearmed. Here are several training pitfalls—and we give you ways to avoid them. There are several possible problems that can lead […]

4 More Sins Your Supervisors and Managers Are Guilty of

In yesterday’s Advisor, we featured the first six sins of supervisors. Today, sins 7 through 10, plus an introduction to the all-things-HR-in-one website, HR.BLR.com®.   [Go here for sins 1 through 6.] Sin #7. Not Knowing and Not Enforcing Policies We’re busy now. Talk to me about that harassment business next week. If you think […]

10 Sins of Well-Meaning Supervisors

Sin #1. Making Unlawful Preemployment Inquiries That’s an interesting accent you have. Where were you born? Do you have any children? If so, will you have any daycare problems? By the way, we’re all about diversity here. Inappropriate questions during interviews and other preemployment contacts are a primary source for claims of discrimination. The courts […]

Do Your Environmental Trainers Have Stage Fright?

Each trainer has different qualifications, experience, expertise, and methodology of training. Even trainers who are intimately familiar with a subject must properly prepare for the training session. The following guidelines are designed to review the basics of preparing trainers for learning sessions. Practice Makes Perfect Practice your presentation. The best instructors always do at least […]