Just care: A Q&A with Braden Monaco
Branden Monaco reflects on what it takes to be a successful broker in the hard-nosed Boston area.
Braden Monaco is a managing partner at Blue Horizon Benefits, a concierge-style consulting firm based near Boston.
Paul Wilson: How did you get started in the industry?
About 10 years ago, I was working as a claims adjuster for a larger national insurance company.
I told a buddy I was looking for change. He was a personal trainer and one of his clients owned an benefits agency and was looking for someone he could train in business development. I quickly fell in love with helping companies find solutions, educating and engaging employees and working as a consultant for clients. I was there for about eight years, and just over two years ago, we opened Blue Horizon.
PW: You started right when the ACA was entering the scene; how did that impact you and your career?
Massachusetts had health care reform before that, so we’d already seen a lot of those changes. I took the stance, “OK, the ACA is coming into play, a major recession is happening. What opportunities are available? There’s light at the end of every tunnel. So how do you get there?”
Many were intimidated by the ACA’s complications, but I was new, so everything was complicated. It was no different to me; work your ass off and get rewarded. I benefited because I just didn’t know any different. I didn’t know what the good old days were.
PW: How did you evolve and move to Blue Horizon?
You look in the mirror one day and ask yourself, what will my future look like? Not just mine, but the future of my clients, what I’m delivering and my ability to be nimble, proactive and creative.
I think the service side of our industry is not rewarded in the same ways as the sales side. So a big thing for me was looking at the old model and saying, these people are overworked and they’re underpaid. Where’s that money going? Well, we all know where it was going. There was a point where we said, “There has to be something better.”
One of my partners, Chris, has been in benefits tech for 20-plus years. He’s polar opposite of me, very detail-oriented. My other partner, Andrea, was an account manager for close to 15 years. We have a skill set between the three of us where we all do something different, we all work well together and I think we can build something that’s different than what most brokers are providing.
PW: What are some things you and the firm have strived to do differently?
We look at is a concierge-style partnership. Obviously HRAs and other creative solutions helped me gain business, but I think my book for the most part has grown based on my sincerity and my approach of being real with people.
And our partnership, the three of us, I think that’s the piece that has made us so incredibly successful in our two years of growth.
PW: Sincerity would resonate anywhere, but do you think especially so in Boston and with some of your blue-collar clients?
A lot of brokers ask “How did you grow your business?” and I say, “Frankly, I just care.”
You might be right, here in the Boston area where it’s sometimes hard-nosed and competitive and vindictive, it might resonate more. I’m not saying brokers here don’t care or aren’t trustworthy, but I think there’s sometimes a complacent approach.
PW: What challenges do you face with so many demands facing you?
Trying to catch up with some of the folks around the country who are doing reference-based pricing and self-funding is a challenge. But in our area, a lot of it is conversational right now and more about strategic planning versus current-day execution. We have large employers where we’re working on self-funding and solutions in that realm, but there’s a lot of employers with 100 to 150 employees who have never even had the self-funding conversation. So there’s a roadmap to follow to get them where they’d ideally like to be.
PW: Are there any unique challenges you face in your part of the country or with your clientele?
Some clients will say, “I don’t know if our employees will enroll with technology.” In those cases, we’ve invested in small desktops and put them in warehouses. It only goes to one website, where they enroll. We’ll also sit one-on-one with employees, or have a line where they can call and we’ll help them enroll. But I think the days of anyone saying they don’t have a computer or internet access are ending. Manufacturing is still a little behind, but construction has come so far in the last 10 years. People are so in tune with technology now.
One of our keys is empowering employees. We have to find ways to change people. Change their utilization and habits and help them see things differently. Five years ago, I’d get pushback on voluntary: “I don’t think my employees want that.” Now I tell employers, “No need to make that decision anymore. You need to offer a robust benefits package; you don’t know what’s going on in their lives. Let them choose—give them opportunity, give them the benefits that are available.In some cases, it’s such a relief for employers.
These types of conversations, combined with technology, have worked tremendously for us, even in construction and manufacturing. Participation rates have skyrocketed.
PW: You mentioned Romneycare, and we still hear buzz about reform and single-payer. How much attention do you pay?
These big stories are in our faces all the time, whether it’s Amazon, single-payer or what Trump wants to do. Everything in our industry, on the surface, seems like a great idea or solution: why wouldn’t I do that? But let’s think through the complexities and the impact it will have on our business, on our people, on our society.
If we worried about every possibility, none of us would ever leave our houses.
I love that Amazon is trying to make some changes. Do I think they’re going to uproot the entire industry overnight? Absolutely not. Is what they’re doing any different than what a number of brokers around the country are already doing for small employers? No. But they have volume.
I look at it and say, what’s in front of us today? Next week? Next year? What can we do today to put us in the best position for tomorrow? If I sit back and worry about single-payer or what Amazon is doing, then I’m not focusing on my clients’ needs and wants today.
PW: What are your favorite things about your job?
When I can provide personal care to someone, when you can provide solutions in a way that’s genuine, that’s what drives me. It sounds so simple on the surface, but I think our industry has been complacent and jaded for so long because of how the revenue is driven and how the increases have come. It’s become, in many cases, so transactional. I look at every client and say this is someone’s livelihood; this is someone’s business that provides for them, their families and their employees’ families. Every decision we make or extra hour we spend reading or researching make a difference in someone’s life.
PW: What are your sources of inspiration and innovation?
Just over three years ago, I opened a CrossFit gym with my dad and brother. It’s a labor of love, a place where anyone can feel accepted and welcomed. I love the community, the determination and grit, the hard work, the camaraderie. Whether you’re a CEO or a construction worker, middle-aged and weighing 350 pounds or 15 and in really good shape, you’re all working for the same goals and supporting each other. I get inspiration from how hard they work, their dedication; from watching people’s lives change and having an impact on others.
PW: Finish this sentence. The key to success in this industry going forward is…
Perseverance. Put your head down and focus on the task at hand.
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