Benefit management

Research suggests that a slow but steady decline in employee morale from 2008 levels presents an opportunity to improve employee engagement during the upcoming benefits enrollment season.

New York City stands accused of unlawfully excluding bonus payments involving overtime and night differentials from pension benefit calculations for police officers who served in the military since the September 11 attacks.

Are cost-containment strategies and employee satisfaction mutually exclusive when it comes to retention?

U.S. companies hired more workers than expected in July, but continued weakness in the manufacturing sector pointed to sluggish economic growth.

Ask a roomful of HR leaders to name their biggest stressors and some interesting answers float up – sometimes literally. A new social experiment by Impact Group suggests that, as the economy recovers, these practitioners are engaging in some big-picture thinking, and their worries may only be ballooning.

Even under the best employment conditions, hiring the wrong employee can drag down a company's bottom line and dampen workforce productivity and morale. However, the national skills gap and ongoing economic concerns make finding the right candidate crucial the first time around.

"The current generation has stumbled on an incredibly powerful and important model for changing the world and the workplace: the network."

United Continental Holdings Inc’s quarterly profit slid 37%, hit by higher fuel bills and labor costs from its messy and long merger of United and Continental airlines.

Detroit’s mayor recently imposed 10% pay cuts on city workers and found other savings from benefits in a bid to save the city’s cash-strapped coffers $102 million a year.

Public pension funds are expected to report poor annual returns in the coming weeks, results that are likely to increase calls for more realistic retirement promises for teachers, police officers and other public workers.

Although most multinationals anticipate major global mobility challenges over the next two to three years, a new survey from Towers Watson and Worldwide ERC found that nearly half of them expect to increase traditional international assignments over the same period.

Pennsylvania is joining a growing movement across U.S. states to overhaul public pensions, but even while the state’s governor says the need for reform is urgent, he advocates action only after great deliberation.

The aggregate deficit in pension plans sponsored by S&P 1500 companies grew $59 billion in the first half of 2012 to $543 billion, according to new figures from Mercer Investment Consulting, Inc. This deficit corresponds to an aggregate funded ratio of 74% as of June 30, 2012 compared to a funded ratio of 75% as of December 31, 2011, at which point the aggregate deficit was $484 billion.

Recognizing an employee for a job well done can be a big morale booster and doesn’t have to cost a lot.

Education and health care retirement plans are using more target date funds and Roth features in their plans, according to the latest 403(b) plan sponsor survey from the Plan Sponsor Council of America (PSCA).

If the latest jobs data could sing, the song would be “Summertime Blues.”

The growing trend among employers to enforce companywide social media policies has sparked the birth of the Password Protection Act of 2012. The new legislation prevents companies from requiring employees to provide access to their personal social networking accounts. While many companies may create a social media policy to protect their corporate reputation, a new Workplace Options and Public Policy Polling survey of American workers shows that companies who scrutinize their employees' personal accounts and social media activity may be doing more harm than good.

Executive leadership must relate to employees and communicate clearly how each person contributes to company success

Employers have experienced dramatic increases in engagement by tapping into employees' innate competitive and social drives. By using social challenges to entice employee interest in wellness initiatives, employers not only build participation, they are more likely to inspire long-term behavior changes.

Nearly 60% of HR and recruiting executives, directors and managers in a nationwide survey consider social media networks like LinkedIn and Facebook the next big wave in reaching a greater number of qualified candidates.