Hiring the right employees for your organization is critical and using behavioral-based interview questions can improve your interview process. It’s important to assess candidates for the job as well as for overall fit with your organization’s culture. But did you know that 46% of companies are not using organizational or functional competencies to assess candidates? (2016 Willis Towers Watson Global Talent Management & Rewards Study – U.S.) Talk about a missed opportunity!

It’s no secret that in order to successfully attract and retain talent, employers must establish competitive and sustainable pay policies. But often, much attention goes towards determining “how much” and “who” without taking other facets of reward into consideration. In many markets around the world, getting pay right may also involve other aspects, such as “what” in terms of specific elements and sometimes even “when” they must be paid. Pay aspects such as these may be statutory obligations for employers, mandated by collective agreements or simply customary practice in specific markets. What’s more, local tax treatment may incentivize specific elements of pay but that’s helpful only if employers are aware of the programs and their benefits. For ‘new’ employers in a market, ignorance is not blissful. Rather, it’s often expensive, both in terms of controllable employment costs as well as employers’ long-term ability to retain staff.

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Does this sound familiar?

Each day you show up at work with good intentions of making great progress on key initiatives. Only to face the reality of getting bogged down in the details of the day to day.

We’ve all been there. Holiday shopping for friends, family and co-workers can be challenging. What mom likes is different from what little Timmy wants, which is again different from that new gadget your boss can’t stop talking about. Gifts also depend on the holiday: Birthday’s, Christmas, Anniversary’s, Valentine’s Day, the list goes on and on…

American companies expand overseas for a variety of reasons: proximity to new clients, possibilities to achieve new efficiencies, promises for better support for existing clients. The ultimate drivers are found in countless variables such as sector, business model and maturity, among others. But regardless of the initial reasons, sooner or later, the comparative cost of labor among countries will come up. While questions that usually arise seem simple on the surface, getting to the right answers requires digging into the details and scratching the surface. One particularly influential aspect can be statutory and mandatory costs that employers may be obliged to pay for social security and other employee benefit plans.

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More often than not, change initiatives fail. In fact, the brutal truth is that over 70% of change initiatives fail because they focus solely on rational aspects such as systems, processes and skills. Leaders often neglect to address the human elements that accompany major transitions, including the different emotional journeys people experience, multiple vested interests that are often present, and a whole diversity of perspectives on, and reactions to, any particular change.

Career advancement is important. Really important. In fact, both employees and companies rank career advancement opportunities among the top three drivers of attraction and retention (2016 Willis Towers Watson Global Workforce and Global Talent Management & Rewards Studies – U.S.).

Tax reform proposes big changes for businesses and individuals. As a business leader you may need to explain how tax reform impacts pay, pension and benefits. Julie Vickery, a Senior Actuary in retirement, summarizes 5 key points to help you plan your communications.

Growing your company internationally is an exciting opportunity. It enables your company to expand abroad into new markets and access resources which may not be available in the home country. At the same time it can be daunting to navigate through the process of establishing operations in another country where there are different work practices, cultural norms, languages and regulations.

Just as communication is critical to a happy marriage in personal relationships, having honest, frequent and pointed conversations about pay is similarly key to a successful employer-employee relationship.