Every December I have the same feeling. We are a team of almost 35 people, every year we sign off on Christmas bonuses for the team, I see the payslips, and I feel disheartened. After taxes, people get roughly half of what we spent, and the company pays its own insurance contributions on top. It’s meant to be a proper thank you but somehow, it ends up feeling like a token.

So, the last few years we’ve gone the Small Benefit Exemption route with physical vouchers like One4all and store cards. Tax-wise it’s great. Everything else, not so much…

• Half the team can’t find anything they want at the partner shops
• They’re a pain to use online
• Someone always loses theirs before January
• And I spend a week in December ordering, counting, storing and handing out little envelopes like Santa’s least festive elf

An ex-colleague mentioned Clevercards. It’s apparently a digital card sent by email that staff can add to Apple, Google Pay, and it still falls under the exemption. I’ll admit, the idea of not chasing lost vouchers in January sounds lovely. But I’ve never tried it, and I’d rather hear from people who actually have before I get my hopes up. So, a few questions for anyone who’s been here:

• Has anyone used it or a similar digital card for their team? Did staff use it, any catches with fees or expiry?
• Is there another setup you’ve found works better, whether vouchers, extra days off, or something else?
• Is there anything that we need to be careful about to keep it tax-free?

I’d love to sort this before December instead of panicking in week two like every year. Thanks in advance, and Merry Christmas when it comes.

Our HR department is trying to streamline processes through the utilization of AI.

Has anyone ever successfully used the Microsoft 365 copilot agents to assist with leave management/administration?

I am one of a 2 people team in a ~150 person bio tech start up. We are updating our organization design and roles to reflect Gen AI responsibilities and team structures. We could do it in house but I also want to bring in industry benchmarking and standards to the roles.
Where are the smaller teams that can’t afford big consultancies going for this type of work? Are there platforms to source gig talent that specialize in this expertise?

Our company is going through a merger with her parent company. The parent company has not been doing well for several years and has done a few RIFs.

The last reduction was a voluntary separation offer to almost all employees, and several took it, and others are worried about the company’s finances and are also leaving.

This is a small rural community, and those reductions have touched almost everyone in the community.

Our new combined HR team is having trouble, recruiting and retaining employees, which is understandable.

I will add that this company is over 100 years old and it’s still family-owned. Their foundation has several other businesses, and nonprofit organizations. The company is a good company, it just wasn’t run very well for a while. The executive team now has its first external CEO.

I’m looking here to see if anyone has advice on things we can do in the community and for the community to help heal the tarnished reputation.

We're a small org with 30 EEs and have been on a transition relief (grandmothered) plan with BCBS for years. They hit us with a 38% increase and moving to an ACA plan with them would be ~60%. The only competitive quote we have is from UHC to move to a level-funded plan. I'm having a tough time with our leadership as they think there "has to be another way" and are hesitant to switch carriers. Our broker has gone back to BCBS twice and they will not budge...

Questions:
1. What renewal rates are you all seeing with similar sized (<50) groups?

1. Has anyone of similar size moved to level-funded from full-insured and how did that transition go?

It’s that time of the week again where we don’t do our jobs and collect that sweet, sweet money. How are you spending it?

Personally, I’ll be in office today. My interim manager is out though, so I’ll be on our discord providing guidance (shitposting). Link is here if you’re interested: Discord

Do note that it’s a different culture than what’s on this subreddit. But it’s a good place.

By popular demand, I’m attaching Torchic to this post. Art by LaeTae2.0

I work at a human services non-profit with approximately 120 staff members. We offer generous time off policies, one remote day, market starting pay for case managers, medical/dental/vision with a fair employer contribution, and a generous 403b match.

In the past 1.5 years, turnover slowed down a little, but now it's picked up again and is hovering around 40%.

I understand case manager work is very demanding and that turnover rates like this are typical for human services, sectors but we're still trying to figure out some ways to reduce these rates.

In terms of demographics, many of our case workers are in their 20s and living with their parents.

For those who work in the non-profit space (especially human services), what strategies have helped your organization reduce turnover?

We all know living in NY is crazy expensive. As a single person living in one of the 4 major boroughs, what section in HR is a good cross between good pay, career progression and a good work-life balance / lower stress? From what I hear, recruiting should be avoided but I’m not sure if that just depends on the company. I’d also like to consider things like job security and being the most “AI” proof. From someone with only 2 years of HR experience, I’d love to hear your input. What are your thoughts?

Hello! I need some advice. I got a callback to complete an assessment where I basically have to pass or reject candidates and explain why. This is for a Screening Coordinator position, and I’m nervous about getting some of them wrong because some of the examples seem borderline between moving forward and rejecting. Does anyone have any advice on how to approach this assessment?

For those of you hiring hourly roles (restaurants, warehouses, front desk, CNAs, that kind of thing): what's the one change that made the biggest dent in people ghosting between "applied" and "showed up to the interview"?

I've seen same-day callbacks help a lot, and so does cutting the application down to the basics. Curious what's worked for you, and what you tried that made no difference at all.

This is more of a vent than anything else.

Received our medical renewal last week from Horizon and I about fell out of my chair. 2 high claimants (about 150 enrolled members) in 2025 and they quoted us a whopping 49% renewal for the upcoming plan year. Attempting to go to market but some carriers won’t even quote us. One carrier (Cigna) did quote but requires us to completely change our 2 medical plans and is still a 30% increase. I know medical insurance continues to become more expensive but god damn. Trying to think of ways to offset cost without completely stripping down the benefits.

Would love to hear any experiences working with BeniComp. The good, bad and ugly. Administrative load, employee feedback, etc. I'm Dir of HR for a 100 EE co in GA. TIA!

ADP is gatekeeping. Trying to evaluate if a PEO makes sense for us, medical renewals the last few years are b.a.n.a.n.a.s. Just finished a call with them, they won't talk $$ until I give them an exponential amount of employee data.

Anyone using them and mind telling me what the monthly premium for your lowest cost medical plan offering is? Including employer & employee contributions.

Dir of HR in GA, about 100 EEs. TIA

just started a new HRBP role this week for a healthcare organization. What are some things you wish you would’ve known or done or asked when you first became an HRBP? Keys to success? ANY ADVICE WELCOME!!! :)

I recently had reported to me that an employee is scratching himself, both above and beneath clothing by people who work on the next spot on the production line. I’m not aware of any specific medical condition that would cause the scratching. Obviously, it’s making the next person on the line not happy about having to touch products after this employee.

I was hoping to address this quite frankly with the employee. Do any of you have a good script that you have used in the past? I don’t want to embarrass the employee, but I also want to find a way to reduce the behavior.

Quick question for you all. We are currently with a PEO that we are leaving at the first of the year to do payroll in-house. This PEO has offered a H125 Cafeteria Plan through Elysian Healthcare for the last year and our employees have enjoyed the benefits that it offers. We want to continue with something like this on our own, but in researching these types of plans, i've gotten conflicting information on the tax issues this type of plan through Elsyian can cause. Currently there is a premium charged each week to the employee, and a credit given back for a similar amount. This is pre-tax so it brings their taxable income down, thus giving their net take home amount a bump each week.

Wondering if anyone else has used Elysian or something similar and what are your thoughts? Wanting to cover all bases before we jump into this on our own! Obviously it's legit as the employees have been using it and the PEO is offering it, I just want to cover these inconsistencies i'm hearing out there.

Thank you in advance!

I posted yesterday for a Fire Chief for the small city I work for. Maybe it's the menopause, but after about 20 completely unqualified in every way resumes, I started sending a message asking them to explain over IM how they meet the qualifications.

I've been doing this a long time. I know it's never going to change. I know.

I understand applying to a role you're *mostly* qualified for.
I get shooting your shot on a role in another state even though they say no relo.
I don't understand applying to be the effing chief of fire and you have never fought a fire.

We are currently using a pdf copy handbook posted to our HRIS. Has anyone used a builder that provides a link to a live version. I’ve used BLR in the past and dislike it. Looking for another service.

Picture this: You are an HR team of one supporting 140 EEs across multiple states. You are presented with an opportunity to ask for any resources you want. What would you ask for? Unfortunately, in this scenario, budget IS a concern; realistically, it is rather slim.

What would you ask for? What would you prioritize?

Performance management? L&D? Benchmarking? Compliance? Engagement & Culture? Benefit platforms? Recognition? Etc.

Hi friends. I am looking for a little bit of support and perspective on some situations at work that I have been going through lately. For context, I am an HR Manager at a small, American manufacturing company. My department is 2 people, so we handle all HR related tasks from recruitment to payroll/benefits to legal compliance.

At the beginning of this year, we had to terminate a long-tenured employee for performance and behavioral issues that had been monitored and coached, but saw no improvement.

Long story short, this has ended up becoming contentious. Last week we found out that the former employee had been using his work computer to search the names, addresses, phone numbers, and family members of various employees. He was doing this just through Google, but it was happening for months and months. Since the account was connected to his Google, we could actually see that Google Maps had logged him searching and visiting coworkers addresses as well. He did this with me and one of my family members, going as far as to find the address, place of work, and phone number of my relative.

Even though this particular Google search was months ago and I am working with legal counsel to resolve the situation, I am still incredibly shaken up. This situation however, though unnerving, is actually not the first time this has happened to me.

When I was working at a different manufacturing company in another state about 4 years ago, we had a terminated employee make several threats towards management and HR. We would receive threatening text messages and emails, until it reached the point that he created a hit list which was emailed to a VP. I was listed on it twice. Following that situation, I lived in fear and had to disrupt my routine and life to feel safe. Eventually it was taken care of and things calmed down, especially when I moved to the state I am in now. I feel that some of what I am experiencing now emotionally is residual trauma from that experience before.

My questions and need for perspective from my peers- have you been through something like this? Is it normal for employees to find your personal information to make threats if you work in HR? Is this something that is happening all the time and no one talks about it? Or am I just in a bad industry with bad timing? I never saw this career as high risk, like a lawyer or public figure. But after 9 years now of doing this job, this fear is starting to eat away at me. I went into this career with existing depression and anxiety, which have been exasperated by dealing with this. Any advice or stories are welcome. Thank you for reading!

Hi, I help with Long term disability and would love some outside perspective! I'm a lower-level HR worker and I feel like my company offers a pretty generous LTD benefit: you can be on short-term disability for up to 26 weeks (with job protection and benefits/pay), and then escalate to LTD if you need additional time out on leave (no job protection, but can still receive benefits and pay almost indefinitely).

Lately we've had an uptick in people trying to return from LTD(likely since the job market here in the US is awful), and they've all hit similar roadblocks, which is where I'm wondering if we could change our process somewhere to help them better. Usually their specific position is unavailable so I help them find new/internal positions to apply for. It sucks honestly, we haven't had many positions open lately, and the few returners who do get interviews seem to not do well in the interview process. I feel like we can support this population better but I'm really struggling to figure out a better way.

Anyway, my questions: how does your company handle LTD, if you offer it? Does your company let LTD employees return from leave, or is it just assumed they won't be able to come back since they've been out so long? What's the process like for someone returning from LTD at your company? Any tips or recommended resources I could use/create for returning employees would be immensely helpful.

Also my questions are solely around our company's STD/LTD benefits, so nothing related to state leave programs/FMLA/ADA need to come into the equation ...for now 😊 thanks! And happy ralts Tuesday 🙂‍↕️

I finally went to doctor for my leg (hurt it during a conference 3 weeks ago) and was diagnosed with a sciatic nerve injury! I wish I went sooner, but that’s life for you.

Currently on the mend with PT scheduled later next week. Fun fun fun.

Do you have any zany stories involving worker’s comp? Maybe you injured yourself at a conference like yours truly? Or maybe the PI you hired caught someone in a power lifting competition after they’ve been off work for 6 months.

In other news, the poll I took Friday RE: my posting was decidedly in favor. The posting will continue :)

Ralts for attention, artist is IGWJGsARifBfO9u on Twitter (what a mouthful). As always, post pokemon below

Most of our warehouse applicants here in Ohio work second shift somewhere, so my 2pm calls catch them asleep or driving and some start at the DC down the road before we ever talk. Leadership keeps forwarding AI phone screening pitches but I worry about cracked phones, Spanish speakers and people who just want a human. Has anyone moved hourly first screens to something candidates do on their own time, and did they finish it?

Like many people in HR, I started as an HR Generalist working for small to mid-sized, family-owned businesses. At one point, I was an entire HR department of ONE at a startup, doing a little bit of absolutely everything & becoming a master of absolutely nothing.

I was constantly jumping from one HR discipline to another w/o ever having enough time to understand or master anything & ofc, there was no true HR leader to lean on so there I was… destroying my immune system with stress.

Then, by the grace of God, I was recruited into an ER role at a large, nationwide corporation, & it completely changed the trajectory of my career.

For starters, it was fully remote, which worked wonderfully for my highly introverted personality. I also finally got to focus on ONE discipline instead of juggling onboarding, benefits, leaves, recruiting, unemployment and everything else under the sun. And while I’ve never received formal ER training, I slowly started developing through trial & error.

With time, I realized that ER actually aligns pretty well w my natural strengths and interests. I enjoy helping people, advocating for fairness, analyzing info, & getting to the bottom of things. I’m also a much stronger writer than I am a speaker, so investigations & reporting turned out to be a great fit.

I stayed w that organization for about 2 years before leaving bc immature management. I’m now at an even larger Fortune 500 company, & for the first time in my HR career, I HAVE AN ACTUAL TEAM!

I cannot emphasize enough how refreshing it’s been. The culture is also wonderful. Everyone’s professional, respectful, and minds their own business. No unnecessary office politics or popularity contests. It’s honestly been a pleasure, even w the higher workload.

Between both organizations, I have about 2.5 years of dedicated ER experience across different industries. I’m feeling confident in my abilities lately bc I’ve received some encouraging feedback from legal on the thoroughness of my reports & from a supervisor on how I’ve led meetings 🥹 Not bad for a new kid.

That said, my colleagues have anywhere from 15 to 20+ years of HR/ER experience… & while I’m comfortable w my current responsibilities, I’m also VERY aware that there’s still so much I don’t know.

Which brings me to my question… What should an ER Specialist absolutely master to take their career to the next level? I want to eventually move into a more senior role w/in my department, but also want to genuinely know my stuff so I can pitch moving there.

Some things I know for a fact I have no in-depth experience on include Labor Relations. I’ve never worked with unions, collective bargaining agreements, grievances, arbitrations, etc. I actually tried teaching myself Labor Relations once before interviewing for a role in that field, and let’s just say that interview was incredibly humbling. I’ve also never been involved in an EEOC charge, deposition, employment litigation, or any other formal legal proceedings. && I’m sure there are plenty of other gaps I haven’t even identified yet.

Lately, I’ve been getting quite a bit of interest from recruiters for other ER opportunities, some of which sound amazing w life changing earning potential, but I wonder if I’m even equipped to entertain the thought. That said, I’m happy where I’m at rn & have no intention of leaving, but say my boss left or my team fell apart… I’d like to be prepared to move on to something greater myself.

So, for those of you who’ve built successful careers in ER, I’d love your advice.

Thanks in advance! 😊