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For most organizations employee benefits account for 20 - 30% of total compensation spend and studies have found that 60% of employees under value their benefits and money is left on the table.  Often, this is because employees don't know or understand their benefit offerings.  And what employees don't know can hurt them.  Employees do have responsibility for learning about their benefits but employers also have a responsibility to communicate effectively.  Many organizations are currently into annual open enrollment for their benefit programs.  Below are some best practices for benefit offerings, open enrollment and benefit communications.

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Top Stories: Lodging & Gaming
Casinos Report Drop In Revenue Across LA
State-licensed casinos in Louisiana won $182.2 million in September - nearly 9 percent less than a year earlier. The drop was nearly statewide and across all types of casinos, according to figures compiled by state police and released Wednesday by the Louisiana Gaming Control Board.  
(Kansas City Business)  Read the complete article
Hotel Management Agreement Termination Disputes: Is There Shelter From The Storm?
In the wake of Fairmont v. Turnberry and M Waikiki LLC v. Marriott Hotel Services in 2012, the hospitality industry was abuzz about the dramatic ousters of the hotel operators by the hotel owners. The sensational events attracted even non-lawyers to read about these cases.   
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Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia And Hyatt House Team Up To Help Guests Travel Like A Local
Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (NYSE: MSO) and Hyatt House, an upscale extended stay hotel brand located across the United States, are teaming up to help travelers and local residents support neighborhood businesses and craftsmen through MSLO's "American Made" program. 
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13 Most Popular Hotel Room Service Items
Room service is a luxury and a true hallmark of traveling. Having a piping-hot meal delivered right to your hotel room lets you know that you've arrived. It's comforting, nourishing and downright convenient. To find out what travelers were ordering, The Daily Meal reached out to hotel publicists across the country to see what dishes topped the list of in-room best sellers.
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Top Stories: Healthcare
Improving Health Care Quality
One of the American Medical Association's core strategic objectives is to advance health care delivery and payment models that enable high-quality, affordable care and restore and preserve physician satisfaction. Such changes could yield a more sustainable and effective health care system with highly motivated physicians, says a recent study conducted by a group of researchers from the RAND Corporation. 
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Why are health care consumers not making smart decisions?
Among other misassumptions in medicine, we apply standard economic principles to healthcare and often assume consumer rationality in the utility maximization of health care. So why have we seen so much "market failure" in healthcare? Why are consumers of health care not making "smart" decisions for health care as they do for their choice of hotels and restaurants? 
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Using Data and Analytics to Cut Healthcare Labor Costs at Ellis Medicine
Healthcare labor costs have been eating up hospital funds-they count for approximately 60 percent of hospital and health system operating budgets, according to recent reports.
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Top Stories: Human Resources
UBA 2013 Health Plan Survey Shows Big Differences in Health Benefits Across U.S.
Results recently released from the United Benefit Advisors (UBA) 2013 Health Plan Survey, the nation's largest health plan benchmarking survey, show drastic differences in employee health benefits cost and plan design across multiple regions of the United States. The size of UBA's survey, with nearly 11,000 employers responding,
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ACA Enrollment Numbers, by State
Although enrollment numbers for insurance exchanges set up in states by the federal government won't be available for several weeks, states operating their own health-care insurance exchanges under the Affordable Care Act, and the District of Columbia, have started to release enrollment data.
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Jersey City Mayor Signs Sick-Leave Legislation
Joining a movement that is gaining traction nationwide, Jersey City is now the first city in the state to require businesses to give employees sick time. The legislation goes into effect Jan. 24. It requires that all businesses with 10 or more employees allow workers to earn up to five paid sick days each year. 
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Survey: Human Resources Managers Cite Lack of Communication as Main Source of Low Employee
Poor communication may do the greatest harm to workplace morale, suggests a new Accountemps survey. One-third (33 percent) of human resources (HR) managers interviewed said a breakdown in communication is at the heart of most morale problems; almost one in five (18 percent) survey respondents pointed to micromanagement as the biggest factor. Communication also was cited by 38 percent of HR managers as the most effective way to counter low employee morale.
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WageWatch provides valuable compensation and salary surveys online across multiple industries and geographic markets to human resource professionals, hiring managers, associations, employers, and other executives at the best price. Our cost-effective online salary and compensation surveys and reports are designed to help employers with hiring employees, employee retention, employee pay and recognition, employee benefits, budget planning, market pricing jobs and salary range decisions.
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