What does a Christmas tree have in common with the articles readers continue to read, even years after publication? They're both "evergreen."
Any plant that keeps its foliage year-round is called "evergreen." We're perhaps most familiar with fir trees – the type of tree most often used as a Christmas tree – which retain their pine needles throughout the seasons. In a similar vein, articles which never go stale, or at least stay fresh longer, are called "evergreen."
It is the hope of every writer to produce a piece that readers will peruse year in out. You can read a sampling of some of these kinds of articles in "5 'Must Read' Articles for the 401k Plan Sponsor and Fiduciary," (FiduciaryNews.com, Dec. 30, 2014).
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But there's a more important reason to become aware of these types of articles. In fact, there are two really important reasons, but I only have enough space to write about one of them (come back next week to discover the other).
The most immediate motive you might have for knowing these articles deals with one of the primary duties many in this industry have: plan sponsor education.
Think about it. How many plan sponsors – meaning those listed as "trustees" or the "named fiduciary" of the company's retirement plan – possess expert knowledge regarding all things ERISA?
The practical answer is "very few."
That's a problem. It's a problem for the sponsoring corporation because it exposes them to a non-product related liability. It's a problem for service providers because the best sales presentations assume a minimum level of trustee education. How can you explain the benefits of a service if the plan sponsor has no idea what those particular benefits are of value?
It all comes down to education. The best way for plan sponsors to reduce their liability is by educating their plan trustees. Education teaches them when liabilities can exist. Education then teaches them alternative ways to address those potential liabilities. That's the best method for plan sponsors to systematically reduce their retirement plan fiduciary liability.
On the provider side, what greater value can be added than knowing what trustee education should focus on? Talk about becoming the "go to" service professional, knowledgeable experts can rise to the rank of instant hero. Seasoned veterans often lead with the education, not their product. Of course, the best of all worlds see one leading with education, but then seamlessly tying the product benefits into that education.
Which gets us back to our evergreen articles. After all, how do we know the areas of education that plan sponsors are most in need of? That answer lies in those articles they keep reading and reading and reading. It doesn't matter if that content was written years ago. If it addresses a critical education need, plan sponsors will read it. And if plan sponsors need a certain type of education, astute service providers will want to know that.
So don't simply ignore all those year-end "top-whatever" lists. They may contain precious hints as to the educational needs of plan sponsors. If you're a plan sponsor, you'll want to know about the topics you should seek to educate yourself on. If you're a service provider, well, here's your chance to be a hero.
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Christopher Carosa
Chris Carosa has been writing a weekly article and monthly column for BenefitsPRO online and BenefitsPRO Magazine since 2011 and is a nationally recognized award-winning writer, researcher and speaker. He’s written seven books, including From Cradle to Retire: The Child IRA; Hey! What’s My Number? – How to Increase the Odds You Will Retire in Comfort; A Pizza The Action: Everything I Ever Learned About Business I Learned By Working in a Pizza Stand at the Erie County Fair; and the widely acclaimed 401(k) Fiduciary Solutions. Carosa is also Chief Contributing Editor of the authoritative trade journal FiduciaryNews.com and publisher of the Mendon-Honeoye Falls-Lima Sentinel, a weekly community newspaper he founded in 1989. Currently serving as President of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists and with more than 1,000 articles published in various publications, he appears regularly in the national media. A “parallel” entrepreneur, he actively runs a handful of businesses, including a small boutique investment adviser, providing hands-on experience for his writing. A trained astrophysicist, he also holds an MBA and has been designated a Certified Trust and Financial Advisor. Share your thoughts and story ideas with him through Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/christophercarosa/)and Twitter (https://twitter.com/ChrisCarosa).
