Returning Value Blog

Many, if not most, employers today use some form of an “at-will” employment contract when hiring. The arrangement is theoretically simple: The employer can terminate the employee at any time, for any cause — with or without notice. But is that what at-will employment really means? Not necessarily.

Motivation. It’s a relatively simple word, but encouraging it among your employees can be a challenge. Maybe that’s because, fundamentally, enthusiasm must come from within. It’s not something you can implant in someone externally. For this reason, employers sometimes need to get back to the basics of employee motivation to identify the right ways to inspire their workforces.

A bad hire can lead to more than just disappointment. Disgruntled employees may draw bad publicity; file complicated, expensive lawsuits; and even disclose or destroy sensitive data. Many employers are adding background checks to their hiring processes for these reasons. If you’re thinking about joining them, here are some dos and don’ts to follow.

The U.S. population is aging and, as it does, the need for long-term support and services will only grow. According to a 2017 fact sheet from the AARP Public Policy Institute, on average, 52% of people who turn 65 today will develop a severe disability that will require long-term care (LTC) at some point. For this reason, among others, employers should consider offering LTC insurance as a fringe benefit.

Every year, when baseball season finally ends, a most valuable player (MVP) is named in each league. Not everyone agrees on the choice; in fact, it’s something fans love to argue about. But eventually the two players receive their awards and their names go into the record books.

Many years ago, “performance management” was a supervisor giving orders to an employee and the employee trying to follow them. But as the workplace has evolved and employers have sought to get a greater return on investment in human resources, the concept of performance management has become much more complex.

Roth 401(k) accounts have been around for quite a while. But many employers still don’t offer them and many employees still don’t understand them. As the name implies, these plans are a hybrid — taking some characteristics from Roth IRAs and some from traditional employer-sponsored 401(k)s. When considering (or reconsidering) your retirement plan options, look into whether a Roth 401(k) would suit your employees.

Many employers routinely watch key financial metrics, such as current ratio and gross profit. But these aren’t the only measures you should consider monitoring. Recent years have seen the emergence of vital human resource (HR) metrics. These measures can help your organization make better-informed decisions about human capital, operations, and overall strategy. Here are three examples of critical HR metrics:

If you’re an employer that sponsors a health care plan, you may worry about inadvertently violating the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act — commonly known as HIPAA. But you should also bear in mind that there is a formal requirement for ensuring electronic data security. Specifically, sponsors of most plans must do a risk analysis to comply with what’s called the HIPAA security rule.

When a supervisory position opens up, your immediate reaction as an employer may be to post a job opening to the general public. But don’t underestimate the value, efficiency and cost savings of an internal hire from your nonmanager ranks.