As brokers emerge from the shadow of COVID-19 and head into an uncertain future, partnerships will become more important than ever.
So much about our industry has changed in recent years, from unprecedented technological leaps, to a neverending onslaught of new compliance and regulatory requirements to a long-overdue movement toward transparency and accountability. Oh, and did I mention the pandemic?
While many of these developments are helping to create and accelerate innovation and long overdue advancements, there's no denying the strain and pressure they put on benefits advisors and their teams. It's harder than ever to keep up with the trends, tools and strategies required to put employers and employees in the best position to find and administer the benefits they need.
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And while some larger agencies have in-house support to help with some of these challenges, many smaller and independent brokerages don't have that luxury. Fortunately, there is a whole new wave of partners, collaborators and tools out there ready to join forces with advisors to customize their offerings and create top-of-the-line benefits designs.
During a recent conversation with Emma Fox of E Powered Benefits, she told me, "Our partners give us the tools we need to load up our tool belt. All we do well as consultants is interpret and present. I'm not trying to sell us short, because I think there are some brilliant and whip-smart brokers around. But without the non-brokers, we can't do anything."
This refreshing spirit of collaboration and humility is something I'm seeing and hearing everywhere these days, from the growing number of advisors groups sharing ideas with their peers to something as subtle as the rebranding of vendors to "friendors" at a recent conference I attended. In so many ways, the industry is moving beyond its competitive and often restrictive past toward a future where benefits professionals and their partners work together to create meaningful improvements and measurable results.
As brokers emerge from the shadow of COVID-19 and head into an uncertain future, partnerships will become more important than ever.
Read the full digital edition of the November issue of BenefitsPRO Magazine.
"Our partnerships have proved to be even more important to us during the pandemic," Chelsea Whalley says in "Room to be better." "Our sales are 90% produced with partnerships. Companies being remote or in the office has not impacted the role of our partnerships, because we already have the digital tools in place."
Never before have benefits felt quite so immediate and personal.
"We all know each other a little more deeply than we did before, and that gives us so much more grace and empathy," says Fox. "Our non-broker partners probably are more essential to our client's success than we could ever be alone … We all have a responsibility to strive for a great outcome for our employers' groups, just as we all take a little responsibility for the flubs we make along the way. Embracing a collaborative partnership both elevates your expertise and provides a little cushion when you find yourself having to regroup."
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Paul Wilson
Paul Wilson is the editor-in-chief of BenefitsPRO Magazine and BenefitsPRO.com. He has covered the insurance industry for more than a decade, including stints at Retirement Advisor Magazine and ProducersWeb.
