Diary of a bad year
This chaotic year has challenged benefits professionals to get creative and adopt new ideas that will carry them into the future.
Silver linings
I know that COVID-19 has had a personal and professional impact on friends around the country. Thankfully, for my own firm and business and those of our clients, we have been largely untouched by it. Instead, my team has responded to each challenge by stepping up and creating the next iteration of our business and adopting WFH strategies that have become true sources of pleasure and productivity in our business. We’ve been able to spend more time with family, perform some focused self-care, work hard on meaningful projects and think a lot about the future and where we go from here. I wouldn’t choose it, but I do choose to make the most of it.
Trey Taylor, CEO, Taylor Insurance Services
A matter of timing?
2020 was the largest “risk event” of our lifetime. Every business around the globe had some sort of disruption and our timing to launch a new business could not have been any more challenging.
However, it proved to be very rewarding, as most brokers were not aware of the benefits of the new individual coverage HRAs. We were able to leapfrog the largest brokers in the country and are running hard today to stay in front. We have never opened up so many conversations.
Brad O’Neill, co-founder, Golden Bee Advisors
Moving forward
COVID-19 has caused unspeakable pain (health, economic and psychological) for millions of American workers and hundreds of thousands of their loved ones. I think great pain creates the opportunity for great reflection and hope. Given the tragedies of 2020, as I look ahead to 2021, I most look forward to these three items:
1. Digital health adoption – While Dr. Eric Topol has been advocating the virtues of digital health for years, services like telehealth remained foreign to most Americans before the pandemic. The idea of managing one’s musculoskeletal condition at home wasn’t mainstream, nor was utilizing an app to manage mental or behavioral health. Fast forward to today and COVID has forced some aspects of health care to transition to home care. As the CEO of Teladoc recently noted, COVID-19 accelerated the Livongo acquisition by years. Companies like Curai are even working on post-telehealth/post-COVID solutions to democratize PCP care for everyone using AI and machine learning. 2020 drove this adoption.
2. Caregiving – The need for offering childcare and/or eldercare services also accelerated in 2020. It transitioned from a “nice to have” benefit that was typically referenced in conjunction with the phrase “sandwich generation” to a critical benefit for employers to offer their workforce. Companies like Wellthy, Cariloop, Sagacity and others expanded to keep up with the demand while continuing to educate employers about the vicious cycle (employees’ inability to focus on work leading to depression and anxiety and leading to higher medical costs) employers experience when they don’t offer caregiving.
3. Mental health – There are a number of terrific digital health companies supporting mental and behavioral health. However, I would note that 2020 was a breakthrough year in which male athletes like Dak Prescott, Paul George, Kelly Oubre and Kevin Love openly spoke about depression, anxiety and recommending that men obtain help. This was an enormous step forward in men attempting to remove the stigma associated with the disease, and my hope is that companies like Ginger, Meru Health and others can utilize this opportunity to offer the help needed to address.
Jeffrey Oldham, Owner, Informed Consulting
Collaboration and resiliency
My biggest challenge this year wasn’t so much business operations, but more getting a sense of employee engagement. This year, our company experienced a lot of growth, and we were prepared to work remotely, but we weren’t prepared to lose all forms of in-person contact with our teammates (I don’t think anyone was). We continue to look for new and different ways to engage the team while we remain completely or partially remote.
My biggest lessons learned are that compassion and empathy can go a long way. Understanding that each individual on your team may be going through something uniquely challenging is important. Additionally, as we chart the path back to normalcy, collaboration and resiliency will be crucial. We’ll have to continue to work together to find innovative and new ways to succeed.
Rachel Lyubovitzky, CEO, EverythingBenefits
A matter of perspective
2020 has brought some unique challenges to the table for our company, as COVID-19 significantly affected our day-to-day operations. Our biggest challenge as a company was not one individual obstacle, but rather our ability to see these obstacles as opportunities, not setbacks. When faced with a challenge, you have two choices: either spend your time wishing it didn’t happen, or figure out how it can make you stronger.
We chose to dive headfirst into our challenges and discover new, better ways to run our business. Rather than letting these challenges impede our duty to our clients, we took the time to listen, observe, and implement new strategies that allow us to better serve them.
We don’t know what 2021 will look like, or what new challenges we may face, but we have learned that if we address these challenges head-on and spend enough time to develop the right solutions to these challenges, we put ourselves in a position to better serve our clients. Life is all about perspective. Staying positive will take us a long way.
David Hurlock, CEO, PES Enrollments
A shift in mindset
We all experiencing a time like no other; you don’t need me to tell you that. Navigating the health insurance industry has never been boring. It seems we have always faced one change after another, but this past year has proven that our knowledge as health care professionals has never been more essential.
In California, we recently saw an open enrollment season that never has truly ended, with the pandemic, job losses, wildfire disasters and protests. All of these changes have created a constant flow of concerned clients seeking help. I can feel and sense the energy of loss all over. I can hear the heartbeat of every client and I can sense the fear that is currently influencing so many decisions. We have found ourselves navigating new and challenging situations that constantly change in real time, including COVID, diagnostic testing that should be covered, that sometimes get denied, and I have fought by my team on behalf of our clients.
We have been serving the majority of our clients remotely, thanks to my incredible, dedicated team who were able to smoothly transition to working from home. It became clear early on in the pandemic that we needed to be super-efficient, consistent, and creative at a time when our clients were suffering loss all around. We try to bring conscious culture, technology, and solutions to our employers’ benefits options, serving them frequently either remotely or, as restrictions slowly lift, in a hybrid working model. There is a huge need for a compassionate, empowering way to heal, and we feel the need to provide clients with stronger health care plans that can remind us how can we go back to being whole, to being healed.
Additionally, I must share that even though the amount of travel has decreased dramatically, travel insurance has never been in more demand. Cancellation, trip extension, and most importantly, COVID coverage while abroad, is an absolute must. We are seeing quite an increase in inquiries from agents and clients for complex inbound and outbound policies as a result of the U.S. being restricted from foreign travel policies. I believe that savvy travelers will continue to incorporate such policies well into the future.
I found the key to succeeding in the face of change, anxiety and uncertainty many years ago, and believe that it is actually essential to us all in the “new now” – a regular meditation practice. I have continued leading virtual meditation and stress reduction sessions to as many stakeholders as possible, to encourage the adoption of mindfulness practices by employers and leaders from all professions and industries. Opening the virtual door and allowing teaching, sharing and maintaining our connections, even remotely, has been a lifesaver in this insane year.
Naama O. Pozniak, founder & CEO, A+ Insurance Service
Self-reflection
Everything is about relationship building or separation. If we are not growing, we are taking steps backward. Since March, I have been on a personal journey to discover myself; listening to how I respond to adversity and change, being attentive and empathetic to the journeys of those around me, and conscious of my priorities in life.
I took time to reflect in the mirror and not walk away until clearly articulating who I am. I thrive in adversity and in fact embrace and am energized by change and opportunity. I know this. The lesson for me is that we all go through change differently and my role as a leader in my company, community and family is to influence and support others as they navigate the change around them. Change is our only constant. This requires more listening than talking, a willingness to step out and fail, and constantly showing up for my team.
Rob Boldt, executive vice president, Bolton & Company
Providing support
2020 has been a challenge, to say the least. That said, it’s hard for me to complain when so many others have endured health issues and financial hardships. My perspective on the benefits industry is through the lens of content development.
If you are talking content development in 2020 in the benefits industry, you most likely have dealt with burnout. Keeping employers and employees educated and informed is a tall order, but doing so during a pandemic brings a little extra chaos to the equation.
This year moved quickly, first the lockdowns, then new compliance measures to account for, and finally the challenge of returning to work safely. What will carry to 2021 as a lesson learned is that disruption can be good and you don’t have to wait for a pandemic (and burnout-level workloads) to allow a little positive change into workflows. Myself and countless others in our industry are now more virtually equipped than ever before, whether it’s creating content or speaking with a customer, embracing technology can make the process better. I think the downstream benefits to our agility will pay major dividends for everyone’s productivity and bottom lines.
I’m hopeful for our industry in 2021, especially since people remember how they were treated in a time of crisis. If you provided world class service, education and support in 2020, you will most likely have a more loyal customer/partner for 2021. And that’s always a good thing.
Jamie Nelson, manager, content development, Zywave
The present of being present
My biggest challenge was learning to slow down! This year put a halt to the normal hustle and grind of my job, and putting the brakes on in-person meetings and socializing initially left me feeling anxious. But as the weeks and months passed by, I became incredibly grateful for the opportunity to pause and be with my kids when they log into class, better involve myself in home life, cook more in my own kitchen, embrace as much family time as possible and have the time and resources to help others who had a much bigger struggle through this year than I did.
Here’s to a better year, but with a reminder that being present is a gift.
Emma (Passé) Fox, COO, E Powered Benefits
Pluses and minuses
Biggest challenge? Staying connected to clients when you can’t go to their office or just grab a cup of coffee or lunch and catch up face-to-face. It’s important to schedule calls that don’t have an agenda and just take time to listen.
Also, adapting presentation and meeting styles to work in a Zoom environment. Wanting to do better than just sharing your screen and “blah, blah, blah” has motivated us to take presentations and meeting formats to a new level to make them more engaging.
What have I learned to carry forward into 2021?
Virtual made a big bang in 2020 and will propel us forward. From virtual working and meetings, to virtual benefits fairs and telemedicine, we have all learned to appreciate the wide range of things that can be done virtually.
The pandemic has turned a very bright light on inequities in health care that can’t be ignored. There’s a big opportunity to use our ingenuity and empathy to make a difference.
During the current crisis, we’ve recognized that empathy is critical to leading and energizing employees. But it will be just as necessary in the changed world to which we return. Employers need to think carefully about the changes they’ve made to support employees since the pandemic hit and whether some of them should be permanent.
There was already a problem with access to behavioral health care in the U.S. before the pandemic hit, and now, with a much greater need, we’re really feeling it. Mental health must be a priority both in the near term and going forward.
Tracy Watts, senior partner, Mercer
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