All articles by Candid – Page 4

  • Article

    Confessions of a benefits manager: The invisible woman

    2009-11-02T10:43:45Z

    A new team member has arrived to lighten Candid's workload, but proves elusive, for an increasingly suspicious variety of reasonsWe have a new member in the team, whose name is Scarlet. At least I think we have, because today she isn't here. She was not here yesterday, either. And she ...

  • Article

    Confessions of a benefits manager: Cabinet of curiosity

    2009-09-28T11:23:33Z

    Candid sets out to detox her life, and decides that boosting her personal energy calls for a radical redistribution of office furnitureI am all fired up after reading a book about how to detox my life. Yes, that's right, my whole life. This book doesn't stop at mere diet and ...

  • Article

    Confessions of a benefits manager: Computer says no

    2009-09-07T14:11:31Z

    Finding herself locked out of her computer, Candid sets out on the epic journey to find the way back in with a new passwordThis morning, my computer refuses to speak to me. As in any long-term relationship, this happens every few months. I come in on a Monday morning, only ...

  • Article

    Confessions of a benefits manager: Parking predicament

    2009-08-03T11:05:20Z

    The daily battle to find a space in the office car park degenerates, until Candid decides some Machiavellian tactics are called for. However, the threat of more redundancies may not be entirely bad newsBig Bad Boss looks pointedly at his watch, then gives me a short lecture on punctuality. Fair ...

  • Article

    Confessions of a benefits manager: Thanks but no thanks

    2009-07-06T14:55:00Z

    The phone rings and I jump. It is getting to the point where I am afraid to answer. I take a deep breath and lift the receiver. “This is Mumble Somebody from Mumble Somebody Associates,” they say, so quickly that I can’t catch the name. I think it may be ...

  • Article

    Confessions of a benefits manager: Global domination

    2009-06-01T15:54:52Z

    A new US colleague called Anastasia appears to be taking on the guise of a James Bond villain in her international assignments role, says Candid, and intrigue over company pay cuts calls for retaliatory actionI have a new enemy in the workplace. The old one, Creepy Caroline, is probably still ...

  • Article

    Confessions of a benefits manager: Age concern

    2009-05-04T23:00:00Z

    An invitation to an actuaries' annual dinner promises an evening of boredom, albeit in luxurious surroundings, but ends up bringing Candid some unwanted attention from the older generationI don't know what came over me, but I have accepted a dinner invitation. Some people jump at the chance of a corporate ...

  • Article

    Confessions of a benefits manager: Change for the worse

    2009-04-08T10:56:38Z

    An attempt to re-broke the company's UK medical plan causes widespread palpitations, headaches and convulsions - and unearths the curious case of an unknown Mr Pipp, as Candid explainsMy colleagues at HQ know how to have a good time. Apparently, they have been talking to Smarmy Consulting about multinational insurance ...

  • Article

    Confessions of a benefits manager: Pensions palaver

    2009-03-01T11:22:17Z

    Orders to close the company's defined benefit pension scheme in a bid to save money call for some expert advice (in duplicate), but it all gets a bit too complicated for the powers that be, explains Candid.I have been asked to close the old defined benefit (DB) pension plan again. ...

  • Article

    Confessions of a Benefits Manager: predictions on pay lead to salary increase data

    2008-10-01T14:37:19Z

    A fruitless combination of guesswork and an over-reliance on other companies' predictions on pay add up to what passes for salary increase data, according to our frustrated number-cruncher, CandidIt is that time of year again, when we make up the budgets for merit planning. There may be some people who ...

  • Article

    Confessions of a Benefit Manager: Adequate reward for long-service?

    2008-08-04T10:30:00Z

    The prospect of receiving a pen and certificate to commemorate five years’ service has Candid consulting a US colleague on long-service recognition, after all, surely loyalty deserves a better reward than this?It is almost my anniversary. I can't quite believe it, but I have been here nearly five years. Five ...

  • Article

    Confessions of a Benefits Manager

    2008-07-07T08:59:55Z

    Candid: This place is like a ghost town: desks stand empty, the phones are quiet, and for once I don’t even need to queue at the coffee machine. The silence is broken only by a gentle rasp as Lazy Susan files her nails into little ovals. It would be quite ...

  • Article

    Confessions of a Benefits Manager

    2008-06-02T07:00:00Z

    Candid: It started as a pain in the neck. No, I am not talking about my colleague Lazy Susan; I mean the bit between my pounding head and my achingly-stiff shoulders.I have been battling away with the mother of all spreadsheets for a week, and now I've just locked up. ...

  • Article

    Confessions of a Benefits Manager

    2008-05-06T07:51:00Z

    Candid: Placing staff abroad is a minefield of local salary calculations, social taxes analyses and luxury apartment allocations, but the biggest issue for Candid is her colleague in international assignments won't helpThere is a new trend in the world of international mobility: immigrant returnees. Where once we had a huge ...

  • Article

    Confessions of a benefits manager

    2008-04-06T23:00:00Z

    Candid:There is a weird email in my inbox asking me to sign a confidentiality agreement relative to my work on Project 'Paradise'.Well, that would be all very well, but what exactly is Project Paradise?Once I sign on the dotted line, all is revealed. We are planning to buy a small ...