Employee health benefits plans in Canada have been adversely impacted to date by a slow uptake of e-health technology across the healthcare industry and inconsistencies in the technology infrastructure across provinces. An effective rollout of electronic health records (EHRs) and related e-health technologies will allow healthcare providers access to the data needed to optimize the […]
Given the past 18 months, it’s no surprise healthcare budgets haven’t increased. Employers are struggling to figure out how to stretch their limited resources to keep their employees healthy and productive. Working Well invited 11 experts to a round-table discussion to share their thoughts on how employers are facing these challenges. More specifically, they discussed […]
In Newfoundland and Labrador, about 40% of the 280 municipalities offer healthcare benefits to their employees, and only 20% offer any type of retirement or pension benefit. Terry Taylor knows this needs to change. He’s the general manager of the Newfoundland & Labrador Municipal Employee Benefits Inc., which is also known as Trio Benefits. “Within […]
As the Canadian economy sluggishly moves past the recent recession, employers will have to quickly pull their heads out of the sand when it comes to the impending demographic crunch. The rapid loss of skilled workers to retirement is a fundamental issue that many employers are still not prepared for. The issue was temporarily swept […]
Aging demographics. The economic boom. The financial meltdown. The economic recovery. Spiralling healthcare costs. Government off-loading. All of the buzzwords of the last five years have come together to create a benefits environment in which caution is the order of the day. Instead of attraction and retention or plan cutbacks, employers are now in a […]
A benefits program is an investment and as with all investments there are inherent risks. Risk that the expected return will not materialize. Risk that what you thought you “bought” will turn out to be different than what you go. Risk that the cost of managing the investment significantly reduces the return. But, like any investment, […]
As corporate merger and acquisition activity continues to increase, companies need to adjust how they leverage their compensation and benefits programs. The restructuring of these programs plays a critical role in retaining key talent during the transactions, according to a new survey by Hewitt Associates. Furthermore, findings from Hewitt’s M&A survey of 103 companies revealed […]
History has taught us that health policy decisions are not only emotional, but very political. Changes to public policy are frequently made in response to the concerns raised by any number of constituents and “special interest groups”, and governments are disinclined to take bold steps to reform the health system, as the measure of ‘bold’ […]
There has been no shortage of media coverage on the current economic times and the struggle for economic survival faced by many organizations. Even with some signs of recovery starting to show, it’s hard not to feel uneasy about how all this will ultimately turn out. There’s a new economic landscape forming before us. Where […]
The prognostications of how long this economic downturn will last are as varied as the number of economists who have dared to venture a guess, but popular opinion suggests that it is going to get worse before it gets better. The Canadian economy from coast to coast has been battening down the hatches—planning for the […]