In a Harvard Business Review Analytic Services and Unum survey, human resources leaders said that as businesses recover from the recession, chief challenges will be demonstrating to employees their value as they deal with the effects of health care reform.

Other top challenges are managing benefit costs, boosting employee engagement and retaining quality employees.

Almost 40 percent of those surveyed said they witnessed changes in their company's medical benefits carrier or design during the difficult economy of the last two years. Among them, 35 percent saw a staff reduction of more than 10 percent. Thirty-six percent saw a transfer of benefits costs from employer to employee, and more than 25 percent saw a reduction in human resources staff.