When asked recently what HR's two primary challenges are, the issues that quickly come to mind as an HR practitioner and strategic thinker are navigating through the stormy sea of the Affordable Care Act, more commonly known as Obamacare, and talent management.

Employees are looking to HR professionals for direction. In fact, nearly 100% of employees expect to receive information and education related to healthcare reform from their employers. However, only 13% of companies think educating their employees about healthcare reform is an important issue. At the same time, executives are counting on HR to make informed decisions to drive business results. Together, these two challenges, healthcare and talent management, seem to be constantly intertwined and are enough to keep your HR people up at night.

The ACA is law with deadlines looming. This fundamental change is likely one of the biggest challenges we will face in our careers coupled with the fact that the employee benefits marketplace has become increasingly complex and competitive. The central questions that need to be addressed are, what is your organization's current strategic view of benefits and HR, what are today's human capital management priorities, what is the role of your benefits program, why do you spend money on benefits and what do you want to accomplish with your benefits program over the next 3–5 years?