Tips to select your employee benefits broker/consultant

Determining the right employee benefits broker/consultant for your company may seem daunting. Many brokers seem to say similar things that they think make them different but actually make them sound more similar. They wind up looking like varying shades of grey, making it difficult to decide which firm would be the best partner for your company.

To start your evaluation, you should have a strong understanding of your current employee benefit program offering and goals you are looking to accomplish with your program. Think back through what it has been like to manage your program and list out the things you've liked and disliked. Think through what "excellence" looks like.

I would recommend you visit with a few brokers to compare their approach, meet their people, and determine which group is the best fit for your organization. You can find these from online research, reviews, and referrals from people you trust. Make sure that you are visiting with brokers that have the tools and resources you need for your organization. This may vary based on your company size, complexity of your program, locations, budget, etc.

When you are visiting with these candidates, you should share information about your plan and have them present to your team of decision-makers how they can better help your organization. Pick the group that listened to you to understand your needs and has a plan tailored to help you reach your goals.

It is not always necessary to create a formal Request for Proposal (RFP) for this. Doing so often creates more work and time needed to devote for everyone involved, and you wind up getting back 50-100 pages of marketing collateral from each broker that includes a lot of fluff and doesn't really address your situation or needs.

Here are some things to ask about:

1. What is their experience working with companies like yours? It is important to ask about both the company and the team that you'd be working with.

2. Who will you be working with on an ongoing basis?

3. Does their philosophy on service match with your expectations?

4. What ideas or recommendations do they have for your company? Many brokers have many similar tools and resources, so the big differentiation is how they deploy those resources and the creativity in the solutions they bring to you.

5. What do they charge?

   1. Do they work on commissions or fees?

   2. Are their other sources of income they receive from vendors they may place your business with? How/when do they disclose this?

   3. What are the contract terms?

We use what we call our Playbook Process as a way to show value to prospects. In this process, we do a needs assessment to better understand your current situation and your goals. We then take that information and compile our observations, recommendations, and recommended services. This allows employers to "test-drive" us as their consultant and judge us based on our ideas and solutions we have to help them reach their goals. After receiving our Playbook, employers then have a clear understanding of what it is like to work with us and can choose to hire us if they like what they've heard. If we don't seem to be a fit at that point, we can part ways.

Let me know if you'd like to learn more about how our Playbook Process may be beneficial for you and your company.