Do yousometimes feel that it's time for you to leave this business, butyou feel trapped because of the income you make? (Photo:Shutterstock)

The average age of brokers/producers/advisors in the employeebenefits field is well over 55. The problem with this is that manyemployee benefits practice leaders are stuck in the status-quothinking of business as usual.

Are you feeling like the benefits business has become boring ordoesn't offer a future? Do you sometimes feel that it's time foryou to leave this business, but you feel trapped because of theincome you make?

Related: It's now or never: Converting to fees andperformance-based compensation

We felt the exact same way. The business had becomeuninteresting and we weren't truly helping our clients anymore.

Join Jim Blachek,Eric Silverman, Randy Hansen and Allison Cohen De Paoli fortheir BenefitsPRO BrokerExpo on-demand session, "Health care risk financing inthe post-COVID-19 era" starting Tuesday, August4.  

I firmly believe that to save our industry, we must change howwe (the aforementioned benefits professionals over the age of 55)deliver benefits to employers and their employees. We must embracethe next generation of ideas in employee benefits.

We need to deliver better access and higher quality health careto employees while saving them money.

I wasn't always in this mindset. For over 25 years, I was happydelivering less-bad health care increases to employers, thinking Iwas helping them. Yet, all we do during this process is teachemployers to accept our failure to have a truly positive impact onhealth care.

After the tragic death of my son in 2013 and the fog in my lifethat followed, I came to realize that without my employees, ourbusiness would not have survived. Instead, because of them, wethrived. My employees saved our business; without employees, wehave no businesses. I also came to understand that without theemployees of our clients, we have no book of business.

We must change the focus of our efforts in order to helpemployers and their employees. We must bring them better access tohigher quality health care while driving down their costs. Ourpurpose isn't just to sell employers, it is to sell employers witha focus on the employees.

For years, BenefitsPRO has successfully highlighted many of therising stars in our industry and the ways in which they arechanging how we deliver health care. But to spread this momentumfurther and truly make the impact we need in the industry, theolder advisors like me and you need to change, as well.

Our upcoming BenefitsPRO Broker Expo panel will help youunderstand the journey to truly being able to deliver positiveresults to employers and their employees. We will talk about thesuccesses, failures and lessons we've learned as we pivoted ourbusiness models. Join us in the journey to innovation with lesspain and aggravation. We will share real life examples of what todo and not to do in order to facilitate the process. Let ourfailures and successes guide you.

We will give you a roadmap so you, too, can change how youdeliver results and not be stuck delivering those less crappyhealth care increases that are truly unsustainable.

This new path will invigorate you as it did us, with increasedinterest, enthusiasm and energy. We now view this business in apositive light with a bright future.

The panel will be moderated by Eric Silverman of VoluntaryDisruption. Eric brings a unique perspective that isn't based onthe medical side of our business.

Allison De Paoli of Altiqe has more than 25 years of experiencein our industry. She has successfully pivoted to a consultingfocus, working with employers to reduce the size and frequency ofclaims.

Randy Hansen of PSG realized four years ago that there has to bea better way to work in the benefits business. After 30+ years, hesays he has never worked harder and had more fun than he has sincehe has made the switch.

And I'm Jim Blachek of Dynamic Benefit Solutions in Scranton,Pennsylvania, an old man firmly committed to these new principlesafter 30+ years in the industry.

Read more: 

• Engage with change: A new way for brokersto think about our businesses
• 4 ways benefits consultants can become morevaluable during trying times
• How brokers' 'competitive edge' haschanged