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4 Things New Generation Benefits Consultants Don’t Do

You shouldn’t have to push your broker to deliver innovative thinking—they should be pushing you to adopt it—and our consultants do. Nearly every time a new client joins us we learn that their prior broker relationship felt stale, they weren’t being pushed to learn more about benefit trends, their broker didn’t seem to relish their role—in short—they weren’t showing up in the way that a new generation, OneDigital consultant would.

You shouldn’t have to push your broker to deliver innovative thinking—they should be pushing you to adopt it—and our consultants do.

Is it time to take the new generation OneDigital broker litmus test? Take a moment to review the following four “broker don’t’s.” If you would check YES to any of these four items below, then your broker relationship needs to be reimagined—TODAY.

  1. New generation benefits partners don’t visit once a year.

Our consultants are known across your organization because they put themselves in it on a regular basis—from enrollment meetings, mid-year renewals and strategy conversations to consulting onsite with your benefits team, participating in fundraising eventsclient appreciation experiences and celebrations.

Mike Garner, a principal in the Hartford OneDigital office recently asked, “They [your current broker] resolve issues when you ask and are glad to come out and see you once or twice a year. But is that enough? Are they really adding value to your business and to your employees?”  Read more in his post, Evaluating Your Broker Relationship: 5 Important Questions to Ask.

We don’t think it’s enough to breeze in and out. We know your name, the names of your employees, your biggest challenges, and what success looks like for you. We’re a team of people who put one thing and one thing only first—YOU.

  1. New generation benefits partners don’t cost shift.

If your broker seems fixated on just shifting plan costs around every year, it’s time to experience the way we drive long-term, strategic plans that ultimately lower costs. Our benefits consultants approach benefit strategies holistically—it’s one of the core differences between our approach and others in the industry.

“Failure to proactively explore new ideas can result in skyrocketing cost, last-minute decisions, disgruntled employees and high turnover, “says Holley Maher, Managing Principal in the OneDigital St. Louis office. She regularly finds that understanding the strategic goals of the client—outside the number they want to spend on their benefits each year—gives her an opportunity to view benefit plan design more strategically than her competition might—and to offer fresh thinking. Read more in her recent post, Keeping Operational Aspects in Sync: How HR and Finance Work Together.

  1. New generation benefits partners don’t think a promotional key chain will win your business.

Our consultants think that digging in by your side, rolling up our sleeves and owning your business results like you do will win—and keep it. Don’t worry, we have some pretty great swag too.

James Blazek, an education director in our Chicago OneDigital office shares a great example of how digging in by your side to own your results, in his case as it related to benefits education—is an “often overlooked key area to providing a business advantage over your rivals in the race to profitability.”

Blazek’s recent post, Top 5 Business Advantages to a Benefits Education Strategy is an excellent example of how our consultants are just as concerned with your long term profitability as they are with your benefits plan design year-to-year.

  1. New generation benefits partners don’t look like they hate their jobs.

Our team members drive into the parking lot every day invigorated by being a part of one of the top benefits-only companies in the nation. It’s no wonder we’ve been recognized as a top place to work by two national organizations, and named to Inc. 5000’s list of America’s fastest-growing companies for the tenth consecutive year.

The accolades continue at the local office level, as well. When the Richmond, Virginia OneDigital office won the Best Places to Work in Virginia Award for the second consecutive year, Regional Managing Principal Chris Mullins said, “The growth and success of our company is a direct result of the environment our colleagues have established, through their collaboration, energy, and engagement forming the foundation of our culture. This award is a tribute to our colleagues and the wonderful clients we serve.” Read more about the Richmond office win.

We love what we do, and we’re more than employee benefits consultants. We are strategists, enthusiasts, humanitarians, and detectives—a dynamic group who all share a passion for helping people. Does your broker show up in the same way?

These four “broker don’ts” are a few of the most highly stated reasons—outside of building benefit plans that just aren’t effective—why our newest clients have joined us. Did any of these resonate with how you are experiencing your current broker relationship? If so, it might be time to reimagine what could be—with a new generation OneDigital relationship.

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