Software development, more strategic partnerships, continued business retention and growth, and continual enhancement of existing products.

Deb Ault, president, Ault International Medical Management

Provide Value

I have two New Year's resolutions. The first is to learn more about my clients' businesses. I want to find out about all of their vendor partners and add as much value as I can by introducing them to vendors that I like and trust. I want to be able to positively impact their overall business, not just their benefits. I believe the best value that I can bring, aside from my knowledge of benefits, is the network of professionals I've surrounded myself with.

My second resolution is to be more strategic in planning my year. I'd like to spend more time in January choosing prospects that I know are willing and open to the possibility of change. I'd also like to increase my client base in certain niches and become an expert in those markets. Part of my planning strategy will be to spend more time prospecting in those markets and attending industry-related events.

Rachel Miner, group health cost containment expert, Employee Benefit Advisors of the Carolinas

Open Mind

To continue to find new solutions I never knew existed that bring better care and lower costs to the employees of my clients.

David Contorno, Lake Norman Benefits, Inc.

Empower Others

Spend more time doing what I enjoy, resulting in improved relationships both professionally and personally. Write more. Explore more ways to help and empower others. Find ways to be less “busy.” I'm so done with that word.

Tanya Boyd, Tanya Boyd & Associates

Consultative Approach

I'm going to continue to focus on shifting my practice into more consulting jobs, look to add one more paid advisory board opportunity and build a formal succession plan of action.

Susan L. Combs, CEO, Combs & Company

Learn & Teach

Be more of a student so that I can be more of a teacher. Just ordered three books to help kick it off: “The Ideal Team Player”, “Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder”, and “An American Sickness: How Healthcare Became Big Business and How You Can Take it Back.”

Kevin Trokey, partner and coach, Q4intelligence

Authentic & Empathetic

This year, I'm focusing on two core values in everything I do: empathy and authenticity. I believe they must exist together; empathy without authenticity is superficial and off-putting. Authenticity without empathy is abrasive.

We often forget that whatever we're selling isn't about us, it's about our customer. Too often in insurance, we forget that it's not about our bottom line, or even our client's: It's about the health and financial well-being of real families and the experiences they have during the scariest times in their lives. This isn't an industry that should have any tolerance or space for smoke-and-mirror tactics. I think this mindset will be helpful while navigating not only new friendships and tough sales cycles but navigating a very polarizing political environment as well.

In my personal and professional life, my goal this year is to focus on empathy for the people and situations around me first, and to represent myself and what I stand for authentically.

Meg Murphy, director of partnerships, HealthJoy

Actionable Solutions

I would like to improve the role and perception of the health insurance agent as a health insurance consultant. I expect to see innovative and creative thought leaders convert their thoughts into actionable solutions for their clients and marketplace. I personally would like to see reference-based pricing become more mainstream with fully insured individual and group health plans, encouraging insureds/employees to negotiate a better pricing arrangement option with their own doctors than their current HMO or PPO network.

Another game-changer is to allow consumers to receive limited reimbursement as part of a health plan's benefit when using their own professional wellness related services and activities, which can include hypnotists, nutritionists, and personal wellness and fitness coaches.

Another resolution is to continue to share my knowledge and experiences with the health insurance industry and consumers I serve—directly and via social networking. I hope to continue to listen to my colleagues and clients for ideas regarding health care reform. I will continue to network and attend as many industry conferences as possible. I expect to hear more about what agents/brokers/vendors/carriers want to bring to the market to improve or disrupt the reimbursement and delivery systems of health care services.

Wayne Sakamoto, president, Health Insurance Interactive, Inc.

Time Investment

As our company grows, it becomes increasingly important to focus internally, ensuring we have the right resources in place to support our broker and employer customers, as well as our teammates. The most critical measure of success is connectivity to and engagement with our broker and employer clients.

I resolve to invest time in the field with my sales team as much as possible, sharing ideas and listening to feedback from our broker champions and key clients. For them, the attention and appreciation is well deserved; for us, understanding their experience is priceless.

Meghann Carroll, VP sales, Employee Protection Solutions

Shifting the Burden

As I've been working through the 4th quarter and the bulk of our client renewals, my New Year's resolution has become abundantly clear. The impact that the rising cost of employee benefits is having on employees and businesses is suffocating growth and placing a huge burden on families. Insurance costs continue to rise because the cost of the underlying care continues to rise and no one along the health care supply chain has a true interest in significantly curbing those costs.

While I respect that all businesses need to operate in a profitable manner, my 2018 resolution is to continue to dissect and re-engineer the health care supply chain to operate at maximum efficiency.

We will divert dollars from the health care supply chain to our clients' balance sheets and ultimately, their employees' paychecks. I feel so confident in our ability to accomplish this goal that where we are able to do so, we will be tying our compensation directly to the clients' health plan performance.

Robert M. Gearhart, Jr., partner, DCW Group

Employee Empowerment

I want to do a better job of educating employers. It's not necessary to shift costs to employees in order to control health care costs; top benefit consultants are empowering employees to be great consumers of health care, and when employees are great consumers, care can be free or nearly free. But when they're not, care will be expensive.

Gary C. Becker, insurance consultant & risk manager, CEO, Becker Benefit Group, Inc.

Transparency

We will not give any ideas away without requesting the client sign a non-disclosure that prohibits them from implementing solutions with any other advisor.

We will begin working on every client renewal either 90 or 120 days in advance, even if the TPA or carrier doesn't provide the renewal until 60 days in advance. This gives clients peace of mind and more time to explore all options. Another resolution is 100 percent compensation transparency.

Suzy K. Johnson, MBA, CEBS, RHU, CLTC, president, owner, Employee Benefit Advisors of the Carolinas, LLC

Breaking Barriers

Our resolution is to continue to help employers invest in transparency, employee advocacy and improved health and well-being. We know these are components of a truly high-performing benefit strategy that will improve the health of people and businesses.

We will remove barriers that stem from complexity and give employers more clarity and confidence in their decision making. In all decisions, we will focus on total well-being—physical, financial and emotional—to help employer attract and engage a 21st century workforce.

Reed Smith, SVP/Employee benefits practice leader, CoBiz Insurance

Youth Movement

I want to become more heavily involved in my local community—especially in the area of youth entrepreneurship. I want to encourage children of all ages to reach for the old-fashioned “American Dream”—to own and run their own business.

I also resolve to banish my old-fashioned company website. I'm fired up to launch a brand-new brand, logo, and website!

Finally, I plan to write two new industry-related articles per month in 2018 to make up for not writing nearly as much as I had originally planned in 2017.

Eric Silverman, Silverman Benefits Group

Keeping Promises

My New Year's resolution is to become even more involved in the local and regional HR and C-suite community, as there are lots of organizations and employers that are throwing away thousands—and in many cases millions—annually because of faulty plan designs or plans that don't truly meet the needs of their employees. It is my duty as a professional in this industry to make sure employers are not overspending on things that could easily drive down costs and increase their bottom lines.

We will be more methodical in how we reach employers and more focused and concise in how we deliver our value proposition so employers realize that their success is our success. We only win if we deliver on our promise of helping them contain their employee benefits cost.

Felipe Barganier, CEO and president, GAB International LLC

Look Within

My New Year's resolution for my agency is to spend one full day each month working on my business versus working in it. (Figuring out what's working well, what we can improve upon, etc.) We run a very fast-paced agency and since we are the day-to-day benefits administrators for our clients, it's easy to get too busy working in the business. We're very fortunate to be a 100 percent referral-based agency, but along with that, it can become too easy to just wait for business, rather than proactively working to increase our client base. And of course I'll continue to strive to deliver our “5-Point Star Service Guarantee” daily to our clients. After all, it's that guarantee that makes our clients stay with us and tell others about us.

Heather Bowers, principal, Lone Star Benefits, Inc

simplifY, Simplify

2018 will be a year of ultra-focus to continue to enhance our member experience, to continue to improve our engagement levels, and to simplify our messaging to employers and members.

• The member experience work will include refinements to our app and member portal, and enhancements with artificial intelligence.

• Our engagement levels are very high, so we have many cases to analyze for the breadcrumbs of success, and places to pilot many new employer strategies to keep it growing.

• We realize how confused and out of control members and employers feel when dealing with health care. We still have lots of room for improvement to cut out jargon and barriers in order to find the simplest way to help people navigate health care consumerism.

Reid Rasmussen, Co-Founder & CEO, FreshBenies