What will the future of youragency look like? As a benefits broker or agency owner, stayingfocused on the day-to-day tasks of supporting clients, managingbenefits and running a business can take up more than enough ofyour attention. However, carving out time to plan and create avision for the future keeps your organization ahead of the curveand allows you to continue providing cutting-edge support even asbenefits trends, the workforce and decision-makers change.

Ultimately, the future of benefits will look much moretech-focused than it is today. This isn’t just true of benefits;every industry will eventually comprise a larger and larger techcomponent as more services are provided online. To staycompetitive, your agency needs to provide a modern, tech-forwardbenefits experience.

Some brokers might be thinking, “My clients aren’tcomputer-savvy. They don’t work in an office. How important couldit really be to keep up with technology?”

The answer is increasingly important. Millennials continue torise into decision-making roles at businesses of every stripe, andare decision-makers who have grown up with technology. They arelooking for a benefits and HR experience that mirrors theirexperiences with online banking, travel, retail and more. Accordingto ‘HR Today and Tomorrow,’ more than 64 percent ofsmall and mid-sized businesses surveyed use HR software and citedincreased adoption as a key goal for 2019.

In other words, tech solutions are already a competitivedifferentiator with many groups. In the future, they will become aprerequisite.

To stay competitive with these organizations, here are threethings agencies need to stay – or become – aforward-thinking brokerage.

The right hardware 

The first component of a tech-savvy brokerage is the righthardware, such as computers and cell phones. While it isn’tnecessary to run out and buy the latest Apple gadget every year toprovide great service, it is important to have current, up-to-datetechnology.

Why? To start, newer computers and cell phones just work betterand faster. Keeping up with device updates ensures that you canopen files, spreadsheets, videos, presentations, and anything elseneeded to handle client requests. These kinds of digital needs willonly increase as the employers you work with also become moretech-savvy.

Hardware also includes your agency’s internet connection andaccess. The benefits industry isn’t always known as the mostcutting-edge business, and brokerages without Wi-Fi or reliableinternet connections do exist. If this sounds familiar, this is amajor update your agency needs to make, as constant connectivitycontinues to become the standard.

Streamlined software solutions

Another benefit of modern hardware is that it will allow youragency to implement and use the software solutions needed tostreamline both your business and your clients’ businesses.

These software tools include customer relationship management(CRM) platforms, marketing tools and benefits and HR administrationsoftware.

If your agency isn’t currently using one or all of these tools,a few of the benefits include streamlined processes, reducedpaperwork and improved data analytics.

CRM tools make it easy to stay connected to clients andprospects, and manage the day-to-day needs of your book ofbusiness, while marketing platforms allow you to reach yourprospects where they are – online.

Whether it’s your website, a blogging platform, email campaignsor social media, modern marketing tools allow your agency to reacha broader network of employers in your market.

Finally, benefits and HR software provides several advantagesfor agencies. First, it streamlines benefits enrollment by cuttingthe paperwork and taking elections online. Because benefits touchesso many parts of the HR ecosystem, many of these software toolsalso provide HR functionality, including applicant tracking,onboarding, time tracking and more.

Providing these tools to clients and prospects not only makesbenefits administration easier for you and your agency, but it alsoprovides a competitive differentiator among agencies that don’t yetinclude a software component to their value proposition.

The right skills

The right technology will only get you so far without the rightskills. The modern benefits agency will have to include teammembers who can champion these tools and use them to their fullpotential.

In other words, adopting new computers and best-in-classsoftware won’t provide the same advantages if you don’t also havestaff willing and able to implement them both internally and withyour book of business.

Because of this, hiring may be an important part of youragency’s future. Fortunately, the same workforce trends that areaffecting your clients and prospects apply to the benefits industry, too.

Attracting benefits professionals with the right combination oftechnology expertise and people skills, and providing them with thebest tools possible will be key to staying competitive in comingyears of the benefits industry.