Employer Strategies

It is becoming increasingly common to offer nontraditional benefits, or benefit "perks," to employees. As companies struggle with the cost of traditional benefits such as medical and dental plans, offering additional perk-type benefits are intended to boost employee morale.

Statistics show 96% of Americans use Facebook, and 46 million check their social media profiles daily. According to the Society for Human Resource Management, more than one-half (56%) of organizations currently use social networking websites when recruiting potential job candidates, a significant increase from 2008, when 34% did so. However, when it comes to in-house communications, most companies still use face-to-face or email to convey key HR/benefits messages and information.

At Children's Creative Learning Centers child care centers, we think quite a lot about company culture, our own and those of our clients. When discussing the ways our centers can reflect the values of the companies they reside within, we help clients uncover and distill the elements that define them as an organization and discover those they want to pass along to their children. In the larger world of work-life and family-friendly programs, we have found that company culture is one of the main factors that determines the success of these programs and that, in turn, work-life programs can be a tool for a real cultural revolution.

An Eastman Kodak employee filed a civil lawsuit against Kodak's board members and other fiduciaries of the photography companies' retirement plans, saying they breached their duties as the company was spiraling toward bankruptcy.

Benefits decision-making continues to gain importance in corporate America, with 40% of plan sponsors saying that the employee benefits decision-making process in their company has changed to some extent over the past five years, according to a recent study from Prudential.

Not only is it painful for an employee to hear the news that their loved one has suffered a heart attack, but the unforeseen costs of health care will soon take a physical, emotional and financial toll if they are not prepared.

While working for a benefits enrollment firm, I managed to get a coveted appointment with the senior vice president for voluntary benefits at a major regional brokerage. He started the meeting with an invitation to pitch: "We already work with several enrollment firms. Why should we work with you?"

Offering a retirement plan can be one of the most challenging - yet rewarding - decisions an employer can make. The employees participating in the plan, their beneficiaries, and the employer all may benefit when a retirement plan is in place. Administering a plan and managing its assets, however, requires certain actions and involves specific responsibilities governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

Though the 401(k) and defined contribution market gets lots of attention from all sectors of society and has a significant amount of assets, there are only about 110 national providers and advisory firms focused on this market.

Employees do not save enough for their eventual retirement needs, research shows. But, with tools, help and education from financial advisers that paradigm may shift - benefiting not only the employee but the employer and adviser.