How To Stop Low Morale From Spreading
Low morale can be infectious and it only takes one employee to poison an entire office. If left unchecked, it can actually cripple a company, regardless of its size. "The most common examples of morale issues are the hardest to discern and potentially the most dangerous," says Laura T. Kerekes, chief knowledge officer at human resources consulting company, Think HR. "It's where employees are physically present on the job but not engaged emotionally."

Going Against the Yahoo Grain: The Insurance Industry's Mobile Workforce
A small town insurer attracts big time talent by allowing employees to work remotely. That's been a huge benefit in terms of employees working from home, explains Shoenfelt, as it has become the insurer's primary internal communication tool as opposed to the telephone or email.

4 Things You Can Do Right Now to Help Keep Your Best Employees
The first quarter of the calendar year is the best time to consider employee retention efforts. Everyone is back from their holiday vacations, and work is in full swing. Your employees have had a little time off, and during that time your best employees have been assessing their careers, work, health/family issues and planning ahead.

Need Help With an HR Question? Then Maybe You Should Ask ThinkHR
If you've spent much time in the workplace, you know this is true: HR is the place managers and employees turn when they have workplace questions to be answered or problems to be resolved.

Why Giving Merit Raises Matters
Rewarding deserving employees with unscheduled pay raises or bonuses can go a long way in building loyalty, retaining top talent, and boosting morale. But, do it without a plan and it can yield the exact opposite results. The whole idea behind merit raises is to reward the most productive and the highest-performing workers, which in turn incents others to do better. If merit raises are doled out on a whim or there isn't a clear idea of how to outperform and get the raise, employees will be left confused and angry and, ultimately, less productive.

5 Rules Of Thumb To Keep In Mind Before Pursuing An Office Romance
It was in Act 1 of A Midsummer's Night Dream that William Shakespeare famously rhapsodized that "the course of true love never did run smooth." Clearly Billy Shakes was foreshadowing to love in the time of Facebook statuses, eHarmony profiles, and workplace romances circa 2013. Where a chance meeting by the water cooler in the break room at work could very well end with a trip down the aisle.

3 Tips for Managing Office Relationships
Office romances. What's an employer to do? Valentine's Day is this week and quite fittingly, we turn our thoughts to the ever sensitive subject of office romance. And whether or not it's company culture to frown on personal relationships in the workplace or to look the other way, they do happen.

ThinkHR and MyCorporation Announce Strategic Partnership to Deliver Small Business Solutions
PLEASANTON, CA, February 06, 2013 /24-7PressRelease/ -- ThinkHR (www.thinkhr.com) today announced a strategic partnership with MyCorporation (www.mycorporation.com) to make human resources solutions available to small business owners. The partnership provides affordable access to live support and resources to help grow and manage your workforce.

Are you thinking HR? You should be!
This column will feature questions about HR-related client issues that affect your business; answers will be provided by ThinkHR. Below are some actual questions submitted to my company by brokers and their clients. by Laura Kerekes, SPHR - Chief Knowledge Officer, ThinkHR

ThinkHR's Dan Riordan: Finding the Right Fit
One of Dan Riordan's most memorable realizations during 25-plus years in the technology business is the importance of finding the right fit. He employs a low-tech analogy to illustrate his point-the late-blooming success of Giants' second baseman Marco Scutaro. After churning through several teams over more than a decade, on being traded to San Francisco this summer Scutaro wound up with an MVP title and a World Series ring.

Section 127 Tax-Free Education Benefits at Risk
Among the many tax-related issues that Congress must resolve by Dec. 31, 2012, is the fate of Section 127 of the Internal Revenue Code. The key provision of Section 127 allows employers to provide tax-free reimbursement up to $5,250 for higher educational courses at the associate, undergraduate and graduate level. Congress has extended the provision 10 times since it was created in 1978, most recently in 2010. In some cases, the extension came after Section 127 expired, with the tax-free status of these benefits reinstated retroactively.

Need Affordable HR Advice? Rocket Lawyer and ThinkHR Help Businesses Hire and Grow
SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwire - Oct 29, 2012) - If you run a small business, people can be your biggest asset or potentially your greatest problem. Despite a hard year for small businesses, the economy is recovering and 38 percent of small and medium businesses are planning to hire in the next six months, according to a recent Rocket Lawyer survey.

ThinkHR exec offers advice for handling post-Sandy payroll, leave and work continuation
As several states and scores of employers begin the difficult task of rebuilding and/or restoring life and business after Hurricane/Superstorm Sandy's devastating effects, it seems trivial to ask questions about things like employee classification and FLSA rules.

Employers Divided on Dealing With Sandy-Stricken Workers
As businesses in the path of Hurricane Sandy's destruction look to get back on their feet, many are struggling with how to deal with their employees, millions of whom are still without power and still picking up the pieces in the storm's wake. While some companies are providing hot showers and hotel rooms to those employees in need, others are demanding employees return to work or risk facing the loss of vacation time.

Outside-The-Box Products
We all know the health insurance industry has been changing every year over the past 20 years. To compete in the changing marketplace in the old days, all you had to do was learn HMOs, PPOs or explain generic verses name brand and the advantages of a Section 125 plan. Much of my success in the early 90s was telling the clients and prospects, "We will act as your HR arm when it comes to benefits. Just forward all new hires to my staff and have employees call our office regarding claims questions."

Startup America Partnership Board Convenes, Announces New Partner Offerings at White House
Today at the White House, the Startup America Partnership convened its all-entrepreneur board and announced $475 million in new committed resources to help startups scale, pushing the total value of its partner offerings to over $1.2 billion.

Recession Causes Re-Alignment of HR Services - Agencies fill the gap
Do more with less--if you want to keep your job. That's the painful reality for many human resources management executives. Employee benefits agents and brokers hear the same sad tale every.