At the beginning of the year,many brokers and agency owners are taking advantage of the slower,post-open enrollment season to think strategically about settingtheir brokerage apart and bringing unique value to clients andprospects.

One way to do this is to commit to really helping employerssolve their hiring challenges in 2019. Small and mid-sizedemployers have always struggled to compete against largerorganizations when it comes to hiring, but it doesn't have to bethat way. And brokers can play a key role in finding solutions.

Why do small businesses struggle to hire? Many people might saythat it's because they aren't able to offer as competitive ofbenefits as companies with hundreds or thousands of employees.

But brokers know this isn't the case — there are many optionsfor these groups to offer robust medical and ancillary options.Ensuring that you are helping clients figure this out is certainlyimportant.

But helping clients with hiring goes beyond benefits. Generally,small and mid-sized businesses struggle with the administrativeside of HR, as those tasks are often spread across multiple teammembers or fall to the business owner. As a result, these groupsare often facing bottlenecks in the hiring process.

There is a lot of opportunity to streamline these processes withapplicant tracking and hiring solutions, and brokers are poised totake advantage of it.

Some brokers might think, “My wheelhouse is benefits. I'malready helping groups offer a strong benefits package. Why do Icare about how my clients hire their employees?”

There are three reasons brokers play a hand in recruitment andhiring, and why you might consider making this a priority in2019.

The benefits connection

First, there is the obvious benefits connection. Benefits areoffered to recruit and retain employees, and your clients arespending a lot of money to accomplish these goals. If recruitmentefforts are suffering, the value of their investment is not asgreat as it could be. In an era where costs are high and value ishard to find, this is a scenario brokers have an incentive to helpclients avoid.

Client success

Second, hiring has a direct impact on the success of yourclients' organization. If there is a clear and pressing businessneed to hire, the longer it takes to accomplish these goals, thelonger it will set back this group's growth trajectory. As atrusted advisor, this is something brokers are positioned torecognize.

Competitive differentiator

Finally, providing solutions for hiring challenges is acompetitive differentiator. When it comes to winning new businessand retaining your current book, a more comprehensive scope ofservice is advantageous.

So how can brokers help clients withrecruitment?

The first step is to take stock of your clients' ancillaryofferings. More likely than not, there are opportunities to broadenthe scope of benefits offered by your clients. Communicate toclients the benefit of these offerings as compared to largerorganizations in your market and make clear the connection betweena more robust benefits package and hiring rates.

Second, provide a tech solution for streamlining both benefitsand hiring. As the HR tech market evolves, there are more softwaresolutions to address these administrative challenges than everbefore. By providing a system that optimizes applicant tracking,onboarding and benefits enrollment, brokers can position themselvesas comprehensive advisors that address the full scope of anorganization's needs and challenges.

In this competitive job market, employers have hiring on thebrain. Making hiring part of your 2019 strategy aligns you withyour clients and prospects, to both your and their benefit.