Wish you were here

Last week was the official "Take your dog to work day" sponsored by PetSitters International. The holiday itself was aimed at encouraging pet adoption, but we here at Employee Benefit News took it a different way.

In today's increasingly cash-strapped economy, it becomes more important than ever to offer benefits to employees. They're feeling the pressure of high gas prices, soaring health care costs, and are growing increasingly fearful that they haven't saved enough for retirement.

Employers of any size can offer low-to-no-cost benefits to their employees to improve morale, which in turn can translate to increased retention rates and higher productivity while in the office.

We'll be doing a full article come September, so look for the photo spread. But in the meantime, check out these great pieces we've recently run about low-to-no-cost benefits that can really help your business make a difference.

• Benefits to protect-- and add-- during economic downturns
• Sour economy presents compensation challenges
• Keep them at the table: Effective retention strategies depend on the generation

--McLean Robbins

A child is born!

Welcome to the newest baby of the Benefits Group, the Employee Benefit News blog "Daily Diversion."

We've got high hopes for this latest addition to the family. Our ambitious team of editors plans to showcase regular tidbits of benefit information throughout the day. You'll get to know us better, and in turn, we'll get to know you, our loyal readers.

You'll hear each day from our intrepid Editor in Chief, Kelley Butler, plus get regular posts from our staffers as well.

Each week, we'll ask you, our readers, to do something we know you'll love: brag. Send in a photo of your business and a short paragraph about what makes you so awesome. We'll post it in our new postcard series, "Wish you were here," each Friday.

Excited? We sure are. But that's not where it ends.

Check out a sneak peek at some of the series we've got coming:

News you can use: the latest benefits info, all in one place
News you can't use ... but want to know anyway: Think of this as 'news of the weird,' benefits style.
Tip of the Day: We're hoping you get this one without explanation
Cool Quotes: It doesn't have to come from Ghandi to be profound. Real benefit manager talk, straight from the horse's mouth.
Overheard At ...: Our favorite podcast picks

And most of all, we want this to be something you, our loyal readers, love. So we're also adding useful links (send us your own great blogs to post!) and including quick links to our other great content like "Five Minutes With..." and Employee Benefit Adviser's Raw Bar series.

So RSS us, click over a few times each day (hence that whole 'diversion' part) and of course, send comments.

We're still in toddling stages here, but hope we'll be off and running full steam soon.

'Till next time,
The Employee Benefit News team (that's us, below!)