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Wednesday, 13 August 2014 08:15

Growing Companies Need Dynamic Benefits: A Case Study

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As a company grows and wants to attract the best workforce, their benefits strategy needs to change with them.  While a smaller start-up company may offer the bare-bones benefits, a larger company may need to offer a very comprehensive benefits package to suit the needs of all employees, along with a creative strategy to make it affordable. We thought we’d share a case study to demonstrate how active the evolution of benefits needs to be.

 

Fall River has worked with a rapidly-growing Denver software consulting firm for about eight years.  They started with us with just three employees on the benefits, and offered a fully-insured traditional medical plan, as well as dental, vision, and basic life insurance.  

 

Within just a few years they had grown to have dozens of employees all over the country, and discovered that they needed a richer benefits package to attract the specialized talent they were looking for.  They also found themselves at the mercy of their small group renewals, even though their demographics were better than average.

 

We started by implementing a creative plan design strategy, allowing the company to offer richer benefits at a lower cost.  Since they had almost as many locations as employees, we helped them conduct all their enrollment meetings via Web Conference. At this point we suggested adding more extensive Life insurance coverage and Disability policies that fit the needs of their high-end, growing workforce. We also helped them identify global benefit resources for their employees outside the United States.

 

By moving the group to a partially self-funded plan a few years later, we were able to take advantage of their good demographics and save them even more money.  Under this strategy, they also received claims data that they never had before, allowing us to help them to target their employee education and wellness incentives.  This laser-sharp focus enabled them to keep their renewals under control, thus allowing for the continuation of their extremely rich benefit plan.  As this company continues to grow and is now approximately 100 employees, their robust benefits package continues to be a significant part of their recruiting success.

 

This year, this dynamic firm has successfully completed a sale to a private equity firm that will enable them to make significant equity payouts to the employee owners of the company, and to enter into a new phase of growth.  We’re in the strange position of being both humbled by the amazing accomplishments of these leaders, who have become our friends, yet also feeling like proud parents sending their kids off to college as we wish this fabulous client success in the next stage of their journey!

 

There are many other considerations for companies that are growing quickly.  If this is your situation, we’d be happy to provide additional guidance as you navigate the rapids of change. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

 

Read 5893 times Last modified on Monday, 14 September 2020 20:27
Kristen Russell

Kristen founded Fall River Employee Benefits as the culmination of her insurance industry career as an actuary, underwriting executive & consultant. As an Assistant Vice President at Great-West Healthcare (now part of CIGNA), she managed a $1 Billion block of health insurance. She also worked as a Senior Consultant at Reden & Anders, consulting to insurance companies and large employers throughout the country. Ms. Russell received a Bachelor of Science, Business Administration in Actuarial Science, is a member of the American Academy of Actuaries and achieved Fellowship in the Society of Actuaries through a rigorous nine-year series of exams.

Kristen grew up in Iowa but has lived in Colorado since 1993, currently living near our office in the Lower Highlands neighborhood near downtown Denver.  She enjoys bicycling, hiking, traveling and has a special passion for non-profit volunteering. She is married to an incredibly talented photojournalist, has two adult stepdaughters and an adorable Border Collie/Lab mix named Chaco.