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6 Innovative 401(k) Options to Consider that Support Employees’ Holistic Financial Wellbeing

401(k) plans have been a staple of employee benefits offerings for decades and are a way for employees to save money for retirement by deferring taxation on contributions. One of the most attractive aspects of a 401(k) is the employer match, which averages around 4.7% of employees’ salaries in the United States and adds substantially to employees’ retirement […]

Coaching Underperforming Employees–4 Vital Steps

In a study conducted by the Center for America Progress, the cost of losing employees reaches hundreds of thousands of dollars every year, sometimes even millions for larger companies. One way to decrease high turnover costs is to begin coaching employees who are underperforming. Below are four vital steps you must take when coaching underperforming […]

Hiring Refugees Boosts Diversity and Makes Your Company Stronger

Yesterday we published our interview with Gideon Maltz, executive director of Tent—an organization dedicated to aiding the men, women, and children of the world who have been forcibly displaced from their home countries. Today we’ll explore some of the common issues with refugees, and how to address them.

Union Card Checks and Neutrality Agreements

by Robert Vercruysse and Gary Fealk Labor unions may be on the decline, but they’re once again ramping up organizing efforts, especially in stronghold states. More and more unions are seeking to avoid the traditional National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) election process and are requesting employers to enter into card-check and neutrality agreements. HR Guide […]

Encouraging PTO to Avoid Burnout in 2023

In today’s workplace, work-life balance, flexibility, psychological safety, and advocacy for mental health and well-being are all signs of a positive culture. With employee burnout at a record high, organizations are looking for new ways to keep their employees productive, happy, and stress-free. Fortunately, organizations already a tool they can utilize: paid time off (PTO). […]

Agility

3 Must-Have Qualities to Be an Agile HR Professional

If you work in a company of any scale you’ve undoubtedly heard of Agile. Originally conceived as a software development process, “agile” is being applied broadly across entire organizations. This is forcing traditionally non-tech practices, like HR, to rethink how they operate. While agile practices offer many tactical practices for teams to undertake, it is […]

When Is an Employee Protected from Retaliation?

When Is an Employee Protected from Retaliation? Retaliation should never be a motivating factor for employers. While this statement may seem obvious, it’s all too easy for emotions and frustrations to cloud employers’ (and individual supervisors’ and managers’) judgment when something goes awry at the workplace. Unfortunately, it’s also easy to inadvertently appear to act […]

Are You Paying for Ineligible Dependents?

According to Michael Smith, CEO of ConSova, the three areas of your health plan with the greatest potential for cost containment are: well-chosen provider networks; employee cost-sharing strategies like premiums, copays, coinsurance, and deductibles; and coverage for ineligibles. BLR spoke with him recently to address this last area. ConSova (www.consova.com) helps clients with dependent audits […]

workplace

Rumors, Innuendo Lead Wyoming Highway Patrol to Face Sexual Harassment Trial

Most people know overtly sexual comments are likely to violate their employer’s rules and could lead to sexual harassment claims. But many don’t understand the comments are a problem not just because they’re sexual. That’s because the sexual content can be used as evidence to show other nonsexual negative treatment was motivated by discriminatory intent. […]