Welcome to HR Benefits Alert! When it comes to employee benefits and compensation in our country, there are three different languages spoken.

There’s consultant-speak, filled with buzzwords like presenteeism, consumer-driven health care, and employee self-service.

There’s legalese, bogged down in interpreting the dense language and nuances of ERISA, FMLA, COBRA and other laws.

And then there’s the everyday language of the HR and benefits managers who have the difficult, often thankless administrative responsibilities for of their organizations’ various formal benefits plans and informal programs.

We created HRbenefitsalert.com with the last group in mind. It’s our aim to tie benefits trends and legal issues in with the daily concerns of HR and benefits pros, while cutting through the jargon. We understand the constraints on your benefits and compensation budget — and your own time.

Of course, we’ll cover the need-to-know legislative and legal issues and benchmarking info. More than that, though, we’ll offer one-of-kind features such as:

“My best management idea.” – In our daily dealings with benefits managers, we’ve learned of many of the clever ways your colleagues have come up with low-cost and no-cost programs employees love, while saving money for the company and time for themselves. We think you’ll see, in those stories, some solutions that you can apply in your own workplace.

“Who won the case?” – We will lay out the facts of an actual benefits or compensation lawsuit. Just for fun, we will give you a chance to decide who won in court. We will then reveal the outcome and suggest ways you can avoid some of the problems that led to the lawsuit if a similar situation arises at your company.

“What benefits managers told us.” – You’ll get the results of our exclusive opinion surveys on topics ranging from paperwork issues to health costs. It’s a great way to spot the trends in HR and see what your colleagues are thinking and doing.

Stick around and have a look, and please come back again. If there’s something you have a question about or you’d like to make a suggestion, let us know at hrbenefitsalert@pbp.com.

Bill Meltzer

Editor, HR Benefits Alert