Here are two tactics you can use to help employees bolster their retirement savings:

1. Restructure your match. The average 401(k) match gives employees around 50 cents for every dollar they contribute up to the first 4% of their pay.

But at that rate, most workers probably won’t save enough to retire comfortably. Another option: Make the match lower when workers start saving, then raise it every time they bump up their contribution rates. This will give employees an incentive to sock away more money.

3. Show projected outcomes in terms of monthly retirement income. Many employers encourage workers to save by telling them, “You’ll have $1 million in savings if …” The problem is that amount represents everything they will have to live off of for the rest of their lives. And most people don’t have a clue how that number translates into monthly income.

To give workers a clear picture, offer financial calculators that project both the total account balance and the monthly income that’ll result from their current savings rates.

A poll from Right Management asked close to 800 workers in North America the following question: “How would you rate your manager’s performance?”

The poll show that most workers viewed their boss as capable. Specifically:

• Very competent (28%)
• Competent (22%), and
• Somewhat competent (17%).

However, 13% said their supervisor was “somewhat incompetent” and an alarming 20% summer up their manager’s performance in one simple word: “incompetent.”

If employees don’t view their managers as competent and capable, their commitment to the job can plummet.

Readers, it’s your turn. How would you rate your manager’s performance? Let us know in the Comments section.

It may not be the 200,000 jobs a month required to pull the economy into a sustained recovery, but many of your peers expect to do their part to increase headcount ASAP. Will you benefit?

Check out the finding of the just-released Robert Half Professional Employment Report to see. It breaks down execs’ hiring predictions for the fourth quarter of this year.

And it’s a lot rosier than it’s been in a long time. There’s a net 6% hiring increase predicted for the remainder of 2010. That’s up three points from the third quarter.

No matter what side of the desk you’re on – the hiring manager or the potential hiree – you want to know where the competition’s tightest. Here’s a little intel to help you do just that.

Here’s where they’re hiring

If your business is located in any of these states, you’re going to have some stiff competition for new staffers:

• Delaware
• Florida
• Georgia
• Maryland
• North Carolina
• South Carolina
• Virginia
• West Virginia, plus
• Washington DC.

The South Atlantic states are predicting the biggest jump in hiring next quarter – a net 9% increase.

And in what industries

There may be an even more heated race for the best-of-the best no matter where you’re located if you are in the business services industry. That sector is preparing for a major jump in headcount, predicting a net 16% increase in hiring for the coming quarter.

The complete report can be found here.

The hesitant manager
The biggest hurdle to hiring overqualified workers may be under-qualified managers. Perhaps they’ll feel threatened by top talent gunning for their jobs. Or maybe they are not confident in their own abilities. However, these managers must realize that when their team succeeds, it is reflective of their leadership abilities – and may even get them promoted.

What job-seekers are saying
Many studies indicate that overqualified employees report low job satisfaction and high rates of turnover. But the biggest complaint of job seekers is that they’re often rejected for lower-level jobs they desperately want. The kicker? Those same studies report that overqualified candidates outperform their counterparts anyway – whether satisfied with their jobs or not.

Now what?
In the past, myths about overqualified workers may have been true – but the recent recession has drastically change the job market.

Don’t screen candidates based on an assumption that they’re overqualified. Instead, use the interview process to discover their personalities and motivations.

And if you post the salary range on the job description, all candidates who apply know what the expect, regardless of their experience or education level.

Remember, if you do hire overqualified candidates, mitigate the negative aspects by giving them autonomy and making them feel valued.

There are several things to watch out for. Violations of state regs in the following areas are most likely to get your company in legal trouble:

• acceptable pay period lengths
• acceptable pay methods
• the timeframe in which employees must be paid
• “wages” that are considered protected, and
• how your company is required to treat vacation pay.

While all types of companies can be affected by this wave of lawsuits, multi-state employers are the most vulnerable. Keeping track of the various pay requirements from several states increases the chance for error by the Payroll department.

Readers, what steps does your Payroll department take to safeguard the company from state pay violations? Share them with us in the Comments section.

Reason: New York and 11 other states are considering legislation that would protect workers from abusive bosses and co-workers.

To prevent workplace bullying, employers should be well-versed in all its forms. Aside from physical intimidation, here are five of the most common forms of workplace bullying to look out for:

1. Verbal insults of employees. This type of bullying is one of the most common forms — i.e., Bob calls Sean “stupid” because of a mistake, etc.
2. Slandering a co-worker’s name. Telling people that Marnie’s sleeping around too much, or Lloyd has a drinking problem.
3. Excluding certain workers. Being excluded from the majority of departmental activities can have an extremely negative effect on workers.
4. Unwelcome physical contact. It’s obvious that excessive touching is completely unacceptable, but staring at employees in a lewd manner also falls into this category.
5. Unreasonable management. This takes place when a supervisor saddles a co-worker with an inordinate amount of work or a disciplinary action is unwarranted.

Readers, are we missing any? Share them with us in the Comments section.

A vast majority of companies say they plan to shift more healthcare costs to employees in 2011 — according to a recent Aon Consulting study.

The study found that:

• 65% of employers plan to bump up cost-sharing by increasing employees’ deductibles, co-pays, co-insurance or out-of-pocket limits, and
• 57% of employers expect to increase the portion of healthcare premiums paid by employees.

In response to how much their healthcare plans went up:

• Around 34% of employers said costs went up at least 5% — but less than 10%
• 24% of employers said their healthcare increases were less than 5%
• 18% of employers said costs increased at least 10% — but less than 15%, and
• 5% of companies said increases were at least 15% — but less than 20%.

If you have increase employees’ healthcare costs significantly, showing them just how much your company’s overall costs went up may help to lessen the blow.

All health plans with new plan years beginning on or after September 23 must begin complying with several reform changes in a month’s time.

Here’s are some of the major changes you’ll want to make sure your Benefits department is in compliance with:

Employers must extend dependent coverage to all dependent children (even married ones) up to age 26.

Lifetime limits on the dollar value of healthcare coverage (how much an individual’s healthcare coverage pays out to cover claim) is prohibited.

Health plans can’t deny children coverage because of a pre-existing condition. (But your plan can require workers to sign up their children only during open enrollment to ensure they don’t wait until their child is sick to purchase healthcare coverage.)

One exception: Grandfathered health plans. If your plan has a grandfathered status (a health plan that existed as of March 23, 2010 — the day the reform law went into effect), you don’t have to comply with these changes.

Here is a more detailed list of the Sept. 23 changes.

Recently, a human resources attorney wrote a column about this exact issue.

She concludes that employees should have no expectations of privacy if they post information in a public forum. So if their Facebook pages or Twitter feeds are publicly available, you can use that information to investigate an employee or justify a termination.

On the other hand, if an employee protects their online information from public view, you cannot use it to justify employment decisions.

Of course, if an employee explicitly grants you or your company permission (by adding you as a friend or allowing you to follow them on Twitter), then all info is fair game.

Recently, there’s been a spike in employee lawsuits over excessive 401(k) fees. The scary part: If you can’t prove that your company did its best to negotiate lower fees from your 401(k) provider, courts are likely to rule against you.

A good example is the case of Edison International. Employees sued Edison, claiming the company did “substantial” harm to them by failing to negotiate lower 401(k) fees.

And a federal judge ruled in favor of Edison’s employees. According to the judge, Edison could have easily brokered a better deal on three of the mutual funds in its plan – but it didn’t even try.

Here’s one way to gauge if your company’s 401(k) fees could be considered excessive: Ask your provider to disclose all of the fees your 401(k) plan includes.

If your total fee level is greater than 2% of the total assets in the plan, then you’ll probably will want to see if you can negotiate lower fees.