After reading a recent article in Employee Benefit News we thought it would be important to highlight this subject in our blog. As an employer and as an employee it is important to stop and ask yourself the question, are you balancing work and life? Companies are doing many things to improve this balance in the work place and as an employer and an employee you need to be responsible for this balance, for both your mental and physical health.

As an employer it is important to look at the flexibility that you are offering your employees. This is a benefit you can give your employees as an employer that will help your employees find the balance between their work and personal lives. Things to consider include single-day vacations, tuition reimbursement for online courses, giving your employees the flexibility to set their own schedules, for example giving them from 7am to 6pm to set their 8-hour day. Another opportunity for giving your employees flexibility is summer hours, this allows employees with children in day camps more flexibility. Have you thought of offering unlimited sick days? And allowing these days to be for taking care of sick family members. One might think that these policies could be abused, however, research has shown that this is not the case.

Another subject to consider as an employee is “more time.” “Time” is the key word when you talk about the balance between work and life; there is just not enough time in anyone’s life to get everything accomplished. Something to consider for your employees that have worked for you for a certain amount of time, such as 5 or more years, is sabbaticals. This is an opportunity as an employer to give your employees time to catch up on life and help them create that work-life balance. Another work-life balance tool that companies are doing are allowing work associates to “gift” PTO time to fellow workers. If someone is going through a very difficult time and they need some days off to take care of their personal needs, someone in the office with accumulated PTO could give up a few days to a co-worker. This will allow the person struggling to find the balance of work and life and opportunity to take a few personal days. Personal days are another form of time balancing for employees. Many companies have found that given their employees two to five personal days a year helps employees with productivity in the workforce by allowing them to rejuvenate.

As companies find creative ways to help their employees and even themselves, the employers, have a healthy work-life balance, companies will see a difference in the productivity, morale, and ultimately lead to better retention within your company.

After reading an article about how one in every ten Americans have some sort of illness caused by food in the summer, we thought it would be helpful to give some summer safety food tips. As summer approaches people are spending more time outside having picnics, BBQ’s, and just eating outdoors. Here are ten tips to make sure you don’t get sick or more importantly your friends and family doesn’t get sick at your BBQ!

1. Always wash your hands. If you are outdoors bring antibacterial hand sanitizer to use before you start cooking.

2. Make sure you have enough coolers with ice or frozen packs to keep your perishable foods like meat, poultry, fish, eggs, and salad at 40 degrees F. You want to be sure to keep them refrigerator up until you pack them in the cooler if you are transporting them.

3. If you are having a picnic the trick is to keep your cooler in the shade under a tree so that your ice doesn’t melt.

4. Have a separate cooler for drinks so you are not continuously opening the cooler.

5. If you are BBQ’ing don’t get distracted by all the fun things going on and under cook the meat. You should grill raw poultry until the juices run clear and there is no pink.

6. There’s a two Hour Rule, don’t leave your perishable food un-refrigerated for more than two hours.

7. If your guests are running late be sure to keep track as to how long the food has been sitting on the buffet table, you never know the kids might come back from the pool and starting snacking on things that have been sitting our for more than two hours.

8. If you are having a dinner party or just in general don’t use the same platter and utensils for raw and cooked meat and poultry. Use one cutting board for raw meats, another for fruits and vegetables that won’t be cooked.

9. Be sure that you use a different plate for the un-cooked BBQ meat and the cooked meat. Have you ever brought the meat out from the kitchen cooked it and forgot to wash it before putting the meat on it? Hope not. Make sure you don’t do this.

10. If in doubt throw the food out. If you have any question in your mind about the freshness or safety of eating a food product, it is better to throw it out. It is better to be safe than sorry!

Enjoy eating outdoors and have fun at your picnics and BBQ’s, but make sure you follow these simple food safety tips.

To read the full article in Benefits Selling Magazine go to…

http://www.benefitssellingmag.com/Issues/2010/May/Pages/Broker-of-the-Year-Finalists.aspx

Is your Benefits Advisor or Broker’s services model reactive instead of proactive? Does your Broker of Record process all of your new hire applications and follow up with the carrier to ensure that terminations are processed correctly? What about helping with claim problems? Answering employees’ questions about how their plan works? Does your current advisor maintain a web page that has all of your companies benefits outlined clearly so that your employees can access benefits information anytime or anywhere?

Your agent is getting a commission every month from the insurance company to service your account! Are they really getting the service you deserve?

Your Benefits Advisor should be strategic! They also need to understand that there is no one size fits all and employees of small companies still have needs to those employees in large companies. A true Benefits Advisor helps the company deliver a comprehensive benefits program that is well designed, well communicated and well administered.

Your Benefits Advisor is also very well connected and is willing to have the tough conversations with the carries to ensure that your needs are met. They focus on the needs of your company but also look outside to stay on top of industry trends. They are active in HR/Benefits organizations and keep current on laws and regulations (Federal & State). They study all the latest products and they know what their peers are doing. Of course, they should be engage year-round and bring solutions to the table even before they’re asked for.

Your Benefits Advisor should look at the company’s entire benefits program. Benefits is a team sport and there are many players — insurance brokers, consultants, carriers, TPAs, 401(k) providers, each with unique roles, skills and contributions. Your Benefits Advisor should be invaluable to your company and be willing to earn your business each and every month!

Does your current Benefits Advisor fit this job description above? If not, then a “Broker of Record Letter” will replace that agent with a new one. No charges whatsoever will be incurred by you. Your plan will stay the same and the premium will stay the same. You can change agents at anytime and for any reason. If an agent does not follow through with their promise of providing better services, simply sign a new Broker of Record letter to someone who will.

Breaking up is actually easy to do!

We are excited to announce that Benefits Selling Magazine has selected 2 of 5 National Finalists from BayPoint Benefits.

Justin Roberts and Brian Hassan, two of our Managing Directors, are two of five finalists for the 2010 Benefits Selling Magazine Broker of the Year.

Denis Storey, Editor of Benefits Selling magazine said, “Among hundreds of submissions and two rounds of voting with our editorial board, their peers recognize them as among the best in the business.”

The winner of the 2010 Benefits Selling Magazine Broker of the Year will be announced tomorrow Tuesday, April 20, 2010. Stay tuned for more information on the winner.