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Study Shows Informally Managed Companies Make More Money, Cut Turnover

Let employees steer their own ship, and run the place like a family, and revenue, profit growth and turnover ALL may improve … in double-digits, says a new study Some employers might think the keys to getting maximum results from a business enterprise are tightly managed employee procedures, a “strictly business” atmosphere, and employees chosen primarily […]

HHS Auditions Benchmark Plans to Define Essential Health Benefits

How the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will identify benchmark plans that would set the standard for essential health benefits under health reform was described in a final rule issued July 23. This is important because policies sold on health insurance exchanges — for individuals and for small groups — must cover the […]

Funding Changes May Embolden Pension Investors to De-emphasize Risk

Many retirement plan sponsors and administrators are cheering the phase-in of reduced funding requirements that tie future company contributions to a 25-year average interest rate. Nonetheless, some experts predict that the changes may encourage investors in these plans to think less about hedging risk. A report Towers Watson issued, “The Implications of Funding Relief: What […]

Hot List: New York Times Bestselling Hardcover Business Books

The following is a list of the bestselling hardcover business books as ranked by the New York Times with data from Nielsen BookScan on August 28. 1. Reckless Endangerment: How Outsized Ambition, Greed, and Corruption Led to Economic Armageddon by Gretchen Morgenson and Joshua Rosner. This account of the Wall Street implosion highlights individuals who […]

Retaliation—Put a Ring on It!

Special from SHRM Employment Law and Legislative Conference Almost all lawsuits are preventable, says attorney JodyKatz Pritikin, and retaliation lawsuits are among the easiest to prevent. Katz, a featured speaker at SHRM’s Employment Law and Legislative Conference, going on this week in Washington, DC, is a trainer and investigator at proactivelawsuitsrevention.com. The “Put a ring […]

Workplace Lessons from Baseball’s Cal Ripkin Jr.

By BLR Editor, Elaine V. QuayleJust My E-pinion With the World Series starting next week, your workers will be watching baseball. But a BLR editor says they can also learn from baseball. As a human resources editor—and baseball fan—I wanted to write about the valuable lessons that HR professionals can glean from Cal Ripken Jr.’s […]

Proposed Health Plan Identifier Could Cost Plans More Than $1B

A standard health plan identifier proposed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) could cost health plans a total of up to $1.3 billion to implement. The proposed rules, released April 9, would establish a unique health plan identifier (HPID) for HIPAA-covered health plans (both group health plans and insurers), and an […]

Who Is Your Mentor?

“A trusted counselor or guide.”  That’s Webster’s definition of a mentor. Who do you have in your professional life that you can trust for sound counsel and guidance? It’s critical to your success and, likely, your emotional well-being to have people to whom you can turn when you’re struggling, need advice, or just want some […]

Disability-Related Questions And Medical Exams, Part 1: EEOC Releases Guidance On When You Can Get Health Information From Employees

Five years ago, the EEOC issued rules explaining which medical exams you could require and what health questions you could ask job applicants without running afoul of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Now, newly released guidance from the EEOC helps clear up some of the uncertainty employers face when these types of issues come up […]