by Holley Maher
Is your business dealing with any of these challenges?
• Managing rising costs (specifically health care!)
• Complying with (and understanding) new government regulations
• Recruiting and retaining top talent
• Operating a lean or nonexistent HR department?
How is a business expected to address these challenges while managing employees, serving clients, and attempting to turn a profit? Your business has likely evolved over the years to respond to industry changes and the demands of your clients. The good news is that the Affordable Care Act is forcing more competition, which means employers are empowered to demand more resources in the areas they need them most (HR, compliance, cost, administrative support, etc.).
Insurance is a regulated industry, and carriers give brokers the same set of numbers; however, some employers are getting much lower levels of service from their benefits broker. Why is this? Most brokers (and employers) discuss only rates, not service. Today innovative brokers offer a suite of legal and compliance resources, new technologies and services to control costs and engage employees, and robust HR tools designed to support client needs.
A few weeks after renewal, identify key stakeholders at the company, possibly an owner, CFO, and HR department – or one person wearing all three hats. In 60 minutes or less, identify key priorities and turn those priorities into a broker assessment. Email the assessment to three or four broker consultants, interview those with the best responses, and select the consultant who offers the most robust suite of solutions to control costs, aide compliance efforts, and support HR and employee needs.
Holley Maher (hmaher@SmartBenefitsPlus.com) is a partner at Maher, Rosenheim, Comfort & Tabash LLC, specializing in group and individual insurance.
Submitted 9 years 25 days ago