Nelson Griswold

Nelson Griswold on how to deliver a less-is-more human resources HR solution for a valuable payday

Nelson Griswold on what insurance brokerages need to keep up with health reform.

Nelson Griswold on how under health reform a carrier will not determine how much a broker is worth.

Nelson Griswold on a broker’s only plan for health care reform survival.

Nelson Griswold on why your brokerage business model could spell doom.

Turning PPACA compliance into profit for advisers brokers by Nelson Griswold.

Nelson Griswold on how brokers can survive the PPACA health reform tsunami.

Nelson Griswold on how to reinvent your brokerage come 2014 and the start of Obamcare, PPACA

In the movie armageddon, Earth faces destruction from a giant asteroid on a collision course with our planet before it is saved by the heroic sacrifice of the character played by Bruce Willis. As 2014 hurtles toward us, brokers across the country helplessly search for a savior from the cataclysmic PPACA disaster. "Help us, Supreme Court!" No? Then, "Help us, Republicans!" Maybe. Maybe not.

When asked about their experience with selling workplace voluntary benefits, most brokers often give one of two replies:

In Greek mythology, Sisyphus was a king condemned by the gods in the afterlife to pushing a huge boulder to the top of a steep hill, only to have it slip from his grasp each time and roll back to the bottom, a frustrating and unproductive task to be repeated over and over.

How well is your agency managed? Is it being managed to generate maximum top-line revenue and maximum bottom-line profit?

One of our clients, a Midwest employee benefits agency, came to us with a serious problem. Revenues were down 19% over the previous year, despite an increased marketing budget. They spent their $137,000 budget on brand-building - including a $15,000 sponsorship of the 18th hole at the local pro-am celebrity golf tournament, a $10,000 sponsorship of the Heart Gala, full-page glossy ads in the local business magazine and half-page ads in the weekly business paper. While they couldn't say for certain what, if any, new business resulted from these efforts, the net result was an almost 20% drop in revenue. Not surprising, but still a terrible waste of resources.

Are you still using just a hammer in your benefits practice? Too many benefit brokers have been showing up at the jobsite equipped only with the hammer of health insurance, limiting their ability both to add new revenue and to be consultative and solve other HR problems.

While working for a benefits enrollment firm, I managed to get a coveted appointment with the senior vice president for voluntary benefits at a major regional brokerage. He started the meeting with an invitation to pitch: "We already work with several enrollment firms. Why should we work with you?"

What will the successful post-reform 21st century agency look like? EBA contributor Nelson Griswold predicts what will set you apart from the herd.

With serious concerns about medical commission cuts and maintaining top-line revenues, 58% of brokers and consultants are embracing two specific initiatives EBA contributor Nelson Griswold explains in the December issue.

We know that HR directors, benefits managers and C-suite executives are horribly frustrated with employee benefits - not simply with the high cost of the medical, but perhaps most with their lack of control over the process.

I couldn't believe my eyes. I stood a mere three feet away from the mentalist Alain Nu, who lightly pinched the handle of the heavy, solid spoon between his thumb and fingertip. As I watched in amazement, the curved handle of the spoon . . . slowly began to . . . bend! . . . and it continued to bend . . . without Nu touching it.

In 2012 the rate of medical inflation will continue to rise, PricewaterhouseCoopers reports. Employers are frustrated - not so much by the high cost of the medical as by the apparently intractable upward cost trend that is making benefits plans unsustainable.