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If you are a manager, HR professional or anyone with a hand in the payroll process, you probably already know that altering employee payroll sheets can land an organization in a heap of litigation. According to a new ruling, even your personal assets can be targeted if you are found guilty.

I find myself having a love-hate relationship with New Year’s resolutions. Was I not good enough in 2014? Then I remember, each year is a blank, 365-page book, and we have the opportunity to rewrite our own story. It is a chance to restart and redefine who we are as people, as leaders and as businesses. A wise man once said, “I always wonder why birds stay in the same place when they can fly anywhere on earth, then I ask myself the same question.”

When it comes to company wellness programs, 88 percent of employees feel their employer has no significant impact on their overall well-being. “But wait,” an employer might say, “we have a company gym to promote wellness, right?” Unfortunately, the Field of Dreams line of “If you build it, they will come” doesn’t apply here. Well-being includes elements other than the physical kind.

The time has arrived for employers impacted by the eligibility reporting requirements of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), as the IRS officially released the 2014 versions of the final forms and instructions on Feb. 8. Posted were the following forms, which fulfill the reporting requirements under ACA sections 6055 and 6056:

You've made up your mind to start a mentorship program at work, the research is clear and the boss approves … now what?

Ross Perot, Andy Grove, Kobun Chino Otogowa, Regis McKenna… what do all these names have in common? They were all mentors to Steve Jobs. Jobs knew that having the support of a network of seasoned individuals was instrumental in growing his business. In fact, Otogowa is credited with advising Jobs to start Apple rather than become a Zen monk. Without the advice and support from strong mentors, Apple may have looked very different.

Recently, Illinois became the first state to break ground on what could be the next big trend affecting organizations and their employees preparing for retirement. Signed into law on Jan. 4, the Illinois Secure Choice Savings Program Act requires companies to automatically enroll their employees in – or give them access to –personal Individual Retirement Accounts (IRA) funded through payroll deductions.

Every job candidate hopes to hear these words from prospective employers: “Opportunity is bountiful here.” If your organization makes such a claim, but cannot live up to it, you’ll find yourself stuck in a revolving door of turnover.

Last year, one major home-improvement chain made national news when it announced it would introduce a new sales associate, OSHbot, a customer-service robot that assists shoppers in finding the products they’re looking for in stores. The announcement prompted HBO’s Last Week Tonight show, hosted by John Oliver, to produce a segment on the importance of real, human sales assistants in home-improvement stores. Oliver’s argument was that sales assistants are not there to help people buy things; they’re there to “stop couples from tearing each other apart.”

Some employers believe they know everything about the company, but we believe your employees would disagree. And it’s not entirely your fault. As businesses scale from small start-ups to large enterprises, the lines of communication between management and the rest of the workforce begin to blur, making it all the more challenging to remain in tune with all parts of your organization.

With each passing day, technology advances, allowing us to not only do more, but do so faster and easier. To keep up with that quickened pace, businesses must tap into their most visionary people, which is why developing leaders of your workforce is so crucial.

Human resources managers will take on a much more prominent role in the near future, acting as a business adviser and strategic partner. The days of entering new-hire data into multiple systems is long gone, as centralized human capital management technology has freed HR personnel from the daunting administrative processes, allowing them the time to be more strategic.