Benefit leaders dominating HR and advising in 2021

9 benefit leaders dominating HR and advising in 2021

March 1, 2021 9:00 AM

The COVID-19 pandemic has challenged HR and benefits professionals in unprecedented ways. The global shift to remote work has shown employers they need to take a more holistic approach in helping their employees maintain balance and alleviate stress in their work and personal lives.

As employers made additions and improvements to their benefits, the challenge of managing these changes fell on HR teams, advisers and other benefit professionals. For those just starting out in the industry, it was a baptism by fire.

“At the beginning of the pandemic, I joked that everything I knew about HR was thrown out the window,” says Megan Nail, vice president at First Person Advisors. “The work we did during this time was some of the proudest of my career.”

Each year, Employee Benefit NewsandEmployee Benefit Adviser highlights a group of standout individuals who are new to the benefits space. This year’s group of Rising Stars are distinguished young professionals who have demonstrated an outstanding commitment to tackling wellness, healthcare and other benefit offerings with new perspectives, while navigating the COVID-19 crisis.

Scroll through and get to know our 2021 Rising Stars:

Stefanie Cano, 29, benefits account manager, Thrive Benefits

Photoquinton

What inspired you to choose a career in HR or benefits?

I started my career working for a TPA helping employees and employers with their health benefits. During this time, I saw and experienced how frustrating and stressful our healthcare system is for all. The challenges employees face in understanding healthcare and my passion for helping others inspired me to pursue a career in benefits with the hope to positively impact and improve the quality of our healthcare system.

How has the COVID-19 pandemic challenged you professionally?

By taking all the lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic and design new methodologies to be prepared and prioritize safety, support and mental health needs.

Megan Nail, 42, vice president total rewards practice, First Person Advisors

What inspired you to choose a career in HR or benefits?

In HR, you have the unique opportunity to work at the strategic and executive level and also make a difference on an individual, one-on-one basis. Some of my proudest moments aren't major projects like compensation structure redesigns or HR system implementations. It's the small moments when you are able to help an employee with a personal challenge who needs support through a leave of absence or benefits program.

How has the COVID-19 pandemic challenged you professionally?

At the beginning of the pandemic, I joked that everything I knew about HR was thrown out the window. The pace of change and legislation and the speed in which we had to digest this information to inform our clients was a challenge. However, the work we did during this time was some of the proudest of my career.

Sohail Hooda, 44, health and welfare practice leader, Arthur J. Gallagher

What inspired you to choose a career in HR or benefits?

Benefits are such an integral part of an organization's well-being. HR professionals have a unique perspective around an organization's priorities and challenges. Therefore, this career path allows me to partner with like-minded professionals to help influence the future of an organization. A career in HR and benefits allows me to have a profound positive impact on people's welfare and happiness.

How has the COVID-19 pandemic challenged you professionally?

COVID created an environment of uncertainties and unknowns, which dampened spirits and increased negativity. This created an all-encompassing challenge around staying positive and prioritizing my self-care, so I can be there for my customers and colleagues who were met with this same challenge.

Another challenge was staying focused and being productive. Working from home comes with distractions. It forced me to get creative and change around my routine to create an environment that was inspirational and dynamic.

Victor Tang, 26, vice president, Marsh & McLennan Agency - Bouchard Region

What inspired you to choose a career in HR or benefits?

My first internship was with an employee health and benefits brokerage firm the summer of my freshman year. It was a unique experience because it was around the time the Affordable Care Act was passed. We learned quickly that would change the overall benefits landscape. I immediately saw the need and value that we brought to our clients.

How has the COVID-19 pandemic challenged you professionally?

Professionally, it pushed me to become a better communicator, adviser and student. Some of our clients and communities really struggled and are still struggling through this pandemic. It forced me to consult and manage during unprecedented times. It challenged me to think outside the box.

Stephanie Hernandez, 29, assistant account executive, FNA Insurance Services

What inspired you to choose a career in HR or benefits?

I had graduated with a degree in business administration and did not have any clue as to what career path to take. I took the first opportunity that I had which was an administrative assistant at a beverage distributor. I stayed there for about three years before realizing that this was not going to be my future. I was presented with an opportunity with FNA Insurance.I was nervous because I had no knowledge or background in health insurance or in the employee benefits industry, but I’m glad that I took this path into my career because I have learned and grown so much from it.

How has the COVID-19 pandemic challenged you professionally?

The COVID-19 pandemic was challenging in the beginning. I found it difficult not having that everyday face-to-face interaction with my colleagues at FNA. I was able to transition to work from home very easily. Along with the pandemic happening, my teammate and mentor was leaving for her maternity leave. I took the initiative to take over some of her responsibilities and tasks. This opened up a window of opportunity to learn and advance in my career.

Aaron Lipford, 27, senior associate, people, PSB Insights

What inspired you to choose a career in HR or benefits?

I was driven to choose a career in HR because people are generally the heart of an organization. HR plays a very important role, not only in the day to day business, but also because the profession mainly involves taking care of an organization's best asset: its people. As a profession, HR has given me the liberty and privilege to bring fair, equitable and strategic changes to an organization.

How has the COVID-19 pandemic challenged you professionally?

I have been challenged in how I create, manage, and foster workplace relationships. Digital communication has been truly effective in enabling remote work; however along with these benefits, there is also a whole set of new challenges. It has been crucially important to take the extra step and time to forge relationships that usually would have happened from an in-person interaction or even an office setting. It can sometimes be very easy to forget that you're dealing with real people and not just a face on a screen. I’ve had to rethink how I create impactful and meaningful relationships in a virtual landscape amongst teams in terms of effectiveness, trust, clarity and context.

Maria Simmers, 28, senior consultant, pension actuary, Buck

What inspired you to choose a career in HR or benefits?

I have always wanted to do something that combined my math skills with my desire to collaborate with others and continually be challenged. This industry is constantly evolving with changes in legislation, employee demographics, public health and the economy, making it the perfect fit.

How has the COVID-19 pandemic challenged you professionally?

My biggest challenge has been keeping my team connected and finding ways to help them continue growing in their careers, while being completely remote. Everyone on our team is at a different point in their lives. Some of us live alone, while others live with roommates, partners and kids. Having regular check-ins and calls that aren't necessarily focused around work and understanding that sometimes the people and pets we live with want to join calls too, has been key to everyone's emotional well-being. Although COVID-19 has made some things more difficult, it has also helped our team grow stronger and become better partners to our clients and to each other.

Robert Clark, 31, sales vice president, PGT

What inspired you to choose a career in HR or benefits?

I went to work for an insurance company in 2013 who specialized in disability insurance for highly compensated professionals. One night after my employee training, it clicked. I called my mom to ask her if we ever used disability insurance for my dad. My father was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer at 42 years old. That disability insurance policy brought my parents safety, security and sanity. I've been a believer ever since making that connection.

I knew disability insurance was a critical planning tool, but I was quickly realizing how many individuals couldn't medically qualify for coverage. I figured out that disability insurance carriers love multi-life opportunities much more than individual applications. From then on, I built my niche in the multi-life executive disability world partnering with employee benefit brokers to protect their clients.

How has the COVID-19 pandemic challenged you professionally?

When COVID-19 locked down California, I was four weeks into my role as a disability insurance GA with PGT — previously coming from an insurance carrier in the space. Face-to-face meetings were my preferred method of growing relationships with the benefits brokers I support. To my surprise, I became a source of knowledge for several broker's clients concerned about losing their income due to COVID-19. I kept getting repeat questions like, "What will my policy cover?" and "How do I know how much the policy will pay me?" That's when I realized brokers and employers needed a way to disseminate information quickly. I started making notes of the questions I received and immediately went to producing content. That included hiring a marketing team, building a website and producing regular videos, articles and social media content that would add value to my community. This was always a resource I wanted to create and the pandemic expedited its reality.

Alexis McWilliams, 24, benefits specialist, Dollar General

What inspired you to choose a career in HR or benefits?

I chose a career in human resources because I have a passion to simultaneously help and support people and business objectives. My HR journey began in Dollar General’s world-class and award-winning training team, where I had the opportunity to see the impact I could and did make on colleagues' professional lives by providing knowledge and support. I then transitioned to support our benefits team. Today, I am inspired by the impact I am able to have on both my colleagues and their families by providing information on our benefit support programs.

How has the COVID-19 pandemic challenged you professionally?

I thrive on interaction, so when the pandemic hit I found it particularly challenging to deal with the isolation. I missed feeling the excitement build when my team discussed a new implementation or the ease of asking a quick question of the person sitting beside me. While we all have found ways to adapt to this remote environment, I am grateful to my team, my leadership, my company and an incredible network. We found ways to stay connected and set up virtual lunches too. The pandemic also taught me the importance of building a network, how to work through Zoom fatigue and not to be afraid to ask how someone is doing.