Pinch Me. Is This Real?

How’re we all doing after Thanksgiving?

Many of you kicked off the Thanksgiving week with us with some Blue Sparkles, so now we’re coming back around with a two-word check-in: How are you feeling after the big holiday week?

We’re feeling grateful and energized to close out the year strong with you all. But we’re also a little shocked that it’s already December. Whew!

Let us know your two words in the comments!

Let’s give ourselves some grace as we ease back into our workweeks and our inboxes for the rest of the year.

Here’s what we’re covering:

• Not to burst your post-Thanksgiving bubble, but you’ve got some compliance to-dos you need to get started on
• Employee appreciation has bigger impact on your bottom line than you think
• Curious about how Businessolver got our name? Jon Shanahan shares a bit of pre-Businessolver lore
• Where do you dream of working? Did we make your list?

Plus, news you might have missed.

Let’s dive in.

3 compliance items our lawyers are watching (and you should, too)

Are you making a list and checking it twice?

While not as exciting or delighting as holiday gift-giving, benefits compliance still has several end-of-year and January deadlines that need tending to. Plus, with a new administration taking office in 2025, there are several topics that may be shifting.

Here are the three hot topics you should keep an eye on:

1. Mental health parity and HIPAA privacy final rulings
2. Emergency relief for hurricane victims
3. Fiduciary governance in welfare (don’t worry, we break this down in plain language on the blog below)

Our compliance experts broke down your need-to-knows and must-dos in our December 3 compliance webinar. Check out our recap or the on-demand recording if you couldn’t make it to the live event. Plus, we’ve outlined some of your most important due dates for 2025.

We can help you future-proof your compliance strategy

No one wants an office pizza party

“We’re not in a world anymore where it’s just a case of someone shows up for work, does their few hours, goes home again and we just give them pay and pension. We’ve got to think about people far more broadly and so how do we develop people so they can grow and thrive in their career? How do we recognize and reward people for the great work that they do? How do we support their wellbeing as a person from physical, mental, emotional and financial support in terms of wellbeing?” – @Nebel Crowhurst

According to research from Reward Gateway , employee appreciation can improve business performance by up to 7%.

That’s because when people feel like they belong and add value to their organization, they’re more productive and more likely to stay. Nebel Crowhurst , Chief Appreciation Officer at Reward Gateway spoke with Erin Woods , VP of Administration (and perhaps Businessolver’s own Chief Appreciation Officer) to share how Reward Gateway has transformed the concept of employee appreciation into an organizational pillar.

Hear more from Nebel and Erin on why empathy needs to be a pillar of your appreciation strategy

What does "Businessolver" mean, anyway?

Once upon a time, benefits enrollment used to be 100% manual.

That’s right—a team of people would key in, or in some cases write in, your benefit elections and send it off to the carrier to process it. Employees would have to do extra math to calculate how much insurance they would need and figure out their payroll deductions.

And if any of you are like this newsletter editor, math is not our strong suit.

Honestly, sounds like a nightmare.

Jon Shanahan , Businessolver’s founder, president, and CEO, joined William Tincup and Ryan Leary at WRKdefined on the Inside the C-Suite podcast to share how we got our name and, more importantly, what inspired him and his business partners to charge head-first into transforming benefits administration as we once knew it.

Listen to the full conversation here:

Are you still stuck in the nightmare of manual enrollment? We’d love to help you transform your operations so you can invest your focus back into your people.

See how we’re helping people like you solve business.

We dream of a great place to work

And those dreams came true.

We’re thrilled to be named one of America’s Dream Employers for 2025 by Forbes -Statista. This is really a testament to our Solvers who make our culture what it is: Empathetic, creative, innovative, thoughtful, and so much more.

Forbes’ list of Dream Employers is curated through an independent survey of employees across criteria including pay, benefits, workplace flexibility, and workplace culture.

Check out the full list here.

Plus, news you might have missed

Critical illness insurance can offer more benefits than you expect

Your benefits emails can boost ROI

Here’s why you need to pay attention to employee feedback

How to reduce cyber risk with the right security policies