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Forget The Walking Dead. You should be worried about the Walking Disengaged.

Should a zombie apocalypse take over, would your documents be safe? According to research by the University of Texas, “Only six percent of companies suffering from a catastrophic loss survive, while 43 percent never reopen and 51 percent close within two years.” Don’t fall prey to these ghoulish stats; have a survival plan ready to go in case any “creepy crawlies” come lurking around your business.

How will you survive the zombie apocalypse that is open enrollment? We all know that the undead don’t need braces, but could breaks in how you administer your benefits leave zombies on your company’s paid benefits? Research shows that the complexity of open enrollment is the top concern for employers and employees. Such intricacy can cause errors, additional costs, long processing time and an overall drain on your HR department. Don’t fall victim to this terrifying task; prepare yourself and your employees for survival.

Imagine this: You walk into work and no one is there. No, it’s not Saturday; it’s the beginning of the HR Zombie Apocalypse and no one bothered to tell you! What do you do now? Go cry in the corner? Or start an awesome new team of people to get the job done? I’m going to go with the latter. According to Webrecruit, “Companies that have formal candidate relationship processes (such as through software), and track all their applicant communications, are 40 percent more likely to be ‘best in class.’” If a zombie apocalypse comes around, don’t be trapped with no way out; have a way to find the best individuals to help you and your company survive.

Innovation; without it we’d still be staring up at the moon wondering what it’s like up there? Innovation is transformative, it turns ideas into possibilities. Take Walt Disney for example, through innovative thinking he was able to turn a blank canvas of land into what many would recall today as a magical escape. Innovation doesn’t have to be groundbreaking, although it’s always exciting when it is. To keep it simple, innovation in your organization can mean building upon products, implementing new campaign ideas and the list goes on and on. Embracing innovation could potentially advance your organization to new heights.

Early October marked a turning point for same-sex couples, as The Supreme Court let lower court rulings stand that overturned bans on same-sex marriage in five states. This decision granted same-sex spouses equal state tax treatment for employer-provided benefits. The court declined to review decisions from three federal appeals courts, therefore legalizing same-sex marriage in Indiana, Oklahoma, Utah, Virginia and Wisconsin.

After a magical first meeting, Betty was sure she had found “the one.” All the bells and whistles looked amazing as the sales rep showed off the product on his personal computer. The reports were pre-populated for her to view, and at that moment, everything just felt right. Now it’s almost payday and Betty is racking her brain because the numbers just aren’t adding up. She’s called customer support three times, but no one seems to be available. Where are they when you really need them? Despite the magic of that first encounter, Betty was beginning to have second thoughts.

Anyone who has worked in the restaurant industry knows it is not always a picnic. I speak from experience! At the age of 14, I had to get a job and start paying all of my bills, minus room and board (thankfully, the bills were few because $5.25 an hour only goes so far). Surprisingly enough, running up and down a food line adding more lettuce and pickles was not as fun as it sounds. To succeed in such an industry takes many things, but one you simply cannot leave behind is enthusiasm.

California employers already have a myriad of employment laws to comply with, so what’s one more? California Gov. Jerry Brown recently signed into state law the Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2014. Effective July 1, 2015, all employers — no matter the size — must provide paid sick time to their employees, including part-time and seasonal workers who have worked at least 30 days in a year.

Every successful company knows the key to employee retention is engagement, yet according to a study by Dale Carnegie & Associates, 71 percent of all employees are not fully engaged. That means nearly three-quarters of the workforce are not performing to their best ability, which negatively affects revenue and morale.

If you’re like me then you are a Fantasy Football gamer. Your Sundays are consumed with NFL RedZone, checking your phone for score updates, watching the injury report and monitoring for the latest potential waiver wire pickups. But as you are probably also aware, Fantasy Football bleeds over into the workweek, creating a source of comradery between coworkers but ultimately costing employers big bucks.

If you could choose any job in the world, what would it be? King of Cashola, Prince of Payroll, Master of Awesome? This is exactly what one nonprofit allowed their employees to do and it resulted in an overwhelmingly positive response. Can it work for you?