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HR leaders at the nation's largest companies are taking steps to manage what has been identified as one of the top risks facing businesses: keeping top talent engaged, challenged and less likely to leave in a rebounding economy.

Some companies are encouraging multiple generations of employee families -- from grandparents to grandchildren -- to embrace healthy lifestyles. While most programs target employees' children, they are more of a strategic business decision than a warm and fuzzy benefit.

Contract disputes and mergers affecting the pharmacy-benefit-management sector -- combined with an increase in specialty biotech drugs and a plateauing of generic drugs coming into the market -- require plans sponsors and HR leaders to review the value and efficiency of their PBM relationships.

Too often, HR leaders purchase technology as a way to gather and incorporate analytics into their business planning processes. Instead, they should create and pursue the analytic processes before making such expenditures. Here are some straightforward steps that will enable HR's effective participation in the annual planning process.

HR shared-services organizations allow companies to reduce costs, while improving services and increasing customer satisfaction. To be most effective, however, HR leaders must develop broad and effective talent-management strategies and practices to identify opportunities for improvement, to maintain alignment with business objectives and to stay competitive in the market.

Adapting personalities, behaviors and work styles is crucial to effectively coaching and managing employees. HR leaders must include recognition and understanding of work styles in their organizations' coaching training, with the first step having managers become aware of their own work styles.

With some studies finding that up to 85 percent of employees are looking for new jobs, proactive HR leaders will educate their managers -- and be on the look out themselves -- for behavioral changes that may indicate retention problems.

Transitioning executives into previously nonexistent roles can be fraught with miscommunication and misaligned processes. HR leaders play a crucial role in reducing confusion and ensuring success for both the organization's goals -- and the new executive.

Organizations need employees who can help it think differently about the company and its strategic goals. That requires revamping the talent-evaluation and learning-and-development processes. It is up to the HR leader to lead this transformation process.

The Most Admired Companies for HR share a common drive to ensure their workforces are prepared to drive bottom-line business objectives in a recovering economy.

Amid employees' concerns and complaints, employers proceed with efforts to boost 401(k) participation.

To accelerate employee and organizational performance, companies need to create easily accessible "rich profiles" of their workers. Technology vendors are making it easier to create meaningful employee systems of record -- but HR leaders must push for the processes they need

As CHROs enter into a whole new strategic domain at the tops of organizations, learning how to build relationships with their executive teams becomes paramount. The key is to develop the business knowledge and interpersonal skills needed to be effective, while avoiding pitfalls and traps along the way.

According to a recent survey, two-thirds of respondents do not have any formal, non-occupational return-to-work program, but some companies are finding they can reduce costs and employee turnover by linking RTW programs with short-term disability programs.

To unleash the creative potential of teams, HR leaders must help set a solid foundation, provide insights so team members can successfully cope with differences and coach team leaders on positive ways to approach the collaboration so the team will be high-performing,