Those HR organizations in the top quartile in effectiveness and efficiency spend 25 percent less than the typical HR department listed in its peer group, and the best require 30 percent fewer staff.

While the use of contract workers has been on the rise for more than a decade, the trend has particularly accelerated in recent years as both organizations and individuals that see significant benefits. Where is it growing fastest?

The cost of home-based care has been rising the past several years due to an increase in labor costs, caused by a shortage of caregivers, increases in minimum wages in some states and new health insurance and overtime requirements.

Within organizations, HR departments are coordinating with their IT teams, who are increasingly looking at identity protection as an important line of defense against potential security data breaches.

Anthem says it would behoove both employers and insurance brokers to educate their millennial workforce on the benefits of life insurance.

The JPMorgan Chase Institute analyzed health care-related expenditures of 2.3 million Chase Bank customers to determine how much they are paying out of pocket for health care.

The employee experience becomes more personalized when individuals can access scheduling, time tracking, pay and other people oriented information at their fingertips.

The more-personalized and holistic approaches to managing conditions such as diabetes, COPD and depression could help lower health care costs.