We have all hired the candidate who interviewed beautifully. The answers were polished. The panel was impressed. Someone wrote “great culture fit” on the rating sheet. Sixty days later, the same person avoids hard conversations, will not let go of decisions, and shuts down the first time resources run short. What happened? Odds are, nobody...
Inflation shows up in HR work every day. It shapes salary budgets and wage scales. It drives cost-of-living clauses in collective bargaining agreements. It affects what employees pay for health coverage and how far each paycheck goes. Employees feel rising prices long before the numbers are published, and many look to their employer for answers....
From Plan Design to Launch Day Part 1 of this series covered the 2027 calendar, the new figures, and how to review your benefits package. Part 2 covered enrollment rules: Section 125 requirements, active versus passive (evergreen) elections, and the risks of rolling elections forward. Part 3 is about execution. A well-negotiated renewal and...
Do You Understand Evergreen Enrollment Rules? Last week, in Preparing for Open Enrollment 2027, Part 1, we reviewed the 2027 cost outlook, the new IRS and ACA figures, how to build your enrollment calendar, and your full benefits package. Part 1 also noted that many employees take no action at all and simply roll...
Open enrollment is usually the only time all year employees give their benefits a second thought. Even then, they don’t think much about it. The latest EBRI/Greenwald Consumer Engagement in Health Care Survey shows that about half of privately insured adults spend less than an hour choosing a health plan. Plenty take no action...
Every fall, employers that offer prescription drug coverage must send a federal notice. Many miss it because it is small, it comes every year, and it is easy to assume a broker or carrier handled it. For the upcoming October 2026, it deserves a closer look. The deadline is only a few weeks away, and...
September 30th marks a critical compliance checkpoint for many organizations, though its significance depends entirely on your operational calendars: Calendar-Year Compliance: September 30 closes Quarter 3 (Q3)—the ideal window to prep for year-end reporting and tax filings. June 30 Fiscal-Year End Organizations: September 30 closes Quarter 1 (Q1)—the first true status check on budget alignment,...
Treat the Employee Lifecycle as a Connected System, Not Separate Checklists One of my clients is currently restructuring its central office and rethinking how all of its business functions are organized — including HR — at a point where no one is quite sure what HR is supposed to cover. That conversation kept circling...
Labor Day weekend has come and gone, signaling the end of summer and its short workweeks. It also marks the start of the final quarter’s high-stakes sprint: hitting annual targets, setting next year’s operational goals, and building the 2027 budget. Naturally, raises and compensation increases are top of mind. Recent employer surveys place 2027 salary...
One of my favorite things as an HR Director was sharing quick, engaging, meaningful, and sometimes just humorous “thoughts” with our employees once a week. It also helped support a strategy for “Microburst Learning.” Traditionally, employers have relied upon the day-long in-service or company training approach. But how effective is it? Not very, if...
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“Microburst Learning”: Boosting Employee… September 1, 2026 (23)
Media Spotlight – 11/03/2026 November 3, 2026 (22)
Great Interview, Disappointing Hire? November 10, 2026 (20)
Manager Burnout Is the Real Retention Crisis August 25, 2026 (20)
Human Resources in the Age of AI August 11, 2026 (20)
Communication Paralysis July 28, 2026 (20)
2027 Employee Benefit Expectations October 6, 2026 (19)
Is the Fruit Bowl Your Wellness Program? August 3, 2026 (17)
HR At Every Meeting? July 15, 2026 (16)