Reveille & Hyperbole
Job.travel, employment site for the travel and hospitality industry, announces free job and resume postings. For a limited time only, job.travel is extending an invitation to all in the travel and tourism industry to take advantage of a new, efficient job site for effectively matching qualified job seekers with employers.

Onward Search Inc., a nationwide provider of search marketing professionals, has announced a joint partnership with the Search Engine Marketing Professionals Organization (SEMPO). Through this partnership, both companies will work together to develop initiatives to introduce search marketing as a career choice for new entrants to the industry as well as develop additional training and education opportunities for those professionals already in the workforce.

Recruitment consultancy Michael Page International, opens a new office in Paramus, NJ. Richard Vickers, East Coast Managing Director at Michael Page, will oversee the development and daily operations of that area.

Reports State
According to a report by The Conference Board, a small but growing number of companies are demonstrating the impact HR policies can have in meeting overall business goals. Evidence-Based HR in Action, provides an overview of the EBHR approach. The report highlights case studies of several leading organizations that are pioneers in this field, including Hewlett-Packard, Capital One and Harvard University.

Reuters reports that tech companies once dominated the U.S. IPO calendar, but not anymore. However, social network sites may bring a glimmer of hope.

Survey Says
Health care costs are expected to increase on average 10.6 percent in the next 12 months, according to human capital consulting organization Aon Consulting Worldwide. From surveying more than 70 leading health care insurers, representing more than 100 million insured individuals, the survey finds that health care costs are projected to increase by 10.6 percent for HMOs, 10.5 percent for POS plans, 10.7 percent for PPOs and 10.5 percent for CDH plans. These represent the lowest trend rate increases since the study began in 2001, and are slightly lower than one year ago, when HMO cost increases were 10.9 percent, 10.8 percent for POS plans, 11.2 percent for PPOs and 10.7 percent for CDH plans.

Human resource and benefits consulting firms Buck Consultants survey, Understanding Your Strategies for Coping with the Changing Pharmacy Benefit Landscape, was conducted in the first quarter of 2008 with the goal of identifying strategies employers are using to manage their prescription drug benefits and costs. The study found that essentially all (99%) respondents provide prescription drug coverage as part of their health care program for active employees. The two reasons given as most important for providing this coverage are the health of employees and business competitiveness; 51% of respondents use employee cost sharing as a utilization management tool. The most common cost-sharing range is 21 percent to 30 percent (used by 44 percent of respondents); and when asked about the strengths and weaknesses of their current pharmacy benefit programs, the respondents cited "easy pharmacy network access" and "comprehensive formulary" as the top strengths, and "complete disclosure of manufacturer revenue" and "complete disclosure of all costs" as major weaknesses.