human resources consulting

Another benefits firm, Mercer Human Resources Consulting, publishes a broad-based survey later in the year that includes smaller employers.

"In 2003 we will see higher premiums, co-pays and deductibles," said Blaine Bos, a principal at Mercer Human Resources Consulting.

According to a 2007 report by Mercer Human Resources Consulting, the average employee took about five sick days in 2006, even though most companies offered eight or nine, on average.

The consultant employed by North Fork, going back to at least 1998, has been Mercer Human Resources Consulting, a unit of Marsh & McLennan Companies.

But some are creating and refining other, less expensive benefits as a way to attract and retain workers, said Barry Schilmeister, a principal at Mercer Human Resources Consulting.

Zurich, Berne and Geneva are all ranked in the top ten cities of the world according to the Mercer Human Resources Consulting Quality of Living survey 2010.

Human Resources Consulting: Personality Assessments, Competency-based Interviewing, Performance Appraisal, Salary Information, Career Counselling & Planning, Outplacement.

The other business dealings the adviser, Mercer Human Resources Consulting, has had with North Fork raise questions among corporate governance experts about the pay recommendations it made to the bank's board, which has a duty to company shareholders, not to management.

That is half the average price in Paris and less than a third the cost of renting in London and New York, according to Mercer Human Resources Consulting, which helps clients around the world find housing for expatriate employees.

Paul Strella, a partner at Mercer Human Resources Consulting in New York City, said, "Anybody looking at plan design is going to at least look at whether cash balance and pension equity are right for them."

In 2006, Mercer Human Resources Consulting named Moscow the world's most expensive city for expatriate employees, ahead of perennial winner Tokyo, due to the stable Russian ruble as well as increasing housing prices within the city.

And by taking this step in advance, said Scott Tucker, a benefits lawyer with Mercer Human Resources Consulting in Washington, "you've got the benefit before you otherwise have to find out if it's going to be reduced" by the agency's restrictions.

"Price transparency is an emerging issue and employers are paying attention to it," said Debbie Martin, head of pharmacy consulting at Mercer Human Resources Consulting, a benefits firm that is working with seven employers' buying groups that spend a total of $1.2 billion annually on drugs.