By Bridget Quigg, PayScale.com

Happy Thanksgiving from everyone here at PayScale, and especially the Compensation Today team. When asked why everyone should be thankful for HR, PayScale's Director of Professional Services and Education, Stacey Carroll, said,

"You are the heart and soul of your organization, you keep everyone in line and you always do it with a smile on your face."

Reality Check: Why Non-Profits Need to Evaluate Their Pay Practices in Today’s Economy

The past few years have been tricky for many non-profits. Those that have weathered the recession have done so because they have had great financial advisors or have been really creative. While our private-sector counterparts may be starting to see the light at the end, many non-profits are still struggling.

Answers to 7 Holiday Pay Questions

Do you have to provide paid holidays? What about for new employees? And do you have to pay overtime to employees who have to work a holiday? We’re officially heading into the holiday season with Thanksgiving coming up next week and Christmas and the New Year just around the corner. If you are like most employers, you may be dealing with holiday pay issues. To help you out, here are the answers to seven common holiday pay questions.

The Difference Between Mean and Median

Midpoint, market ratio, mean, median, merit bonus - I don’t know what it is with “m” words in compensation, but there are a lot of them and it can get confusing. Let’s try to simplify things by breaking down the difference between two commonly confused words: mean and median.

Building an Entry-Level Talent Network

By Brian Heifferon, AfterCollege

Recruiting can be a thankless business. Recruiters know that the news headlines about historically high unemployment only tell a small part of the story. The fact is, it’s actually harder than ever to find highly qualified candidates in industries like high tech, engineering, accounting, science and healthcare. This shortage of in-demand talent is even more pronounced when you’re trying to identify top college students and recent graduates.

Compensation Quiz: Are You a Comp Whiz Kid?

By Bridget Quigg, PayScale.com

Becoming a compensation whiz can be an intimidating task, especially with all of the lingo you need to know. How strong is your compensation know-how? This compensation quiz is intended help you test yourself and fill in the gaps in your knowledge.

Terminating Older Employees: OWBPA Q&A

Release agreements can help prevent lawsuits when employees are terminated. But, if you want to protect against age discrimination claims, your release must meet eight specific criteria. The following question and answer transcript covers the basic issues you may run into when terminating older employees.

Why HR People Should Know Market Data

A lot of people assume that human resources professionals are all about the “fluffy stuff,” like employee morale, following up with benefits issues, making sure an employee gets leave for family emergency and other very human dilemmas. They aren’t usually relied upon for hard-hitting market data. But, they should be. HR pros should be the best resource for data about a company’s labor costs.