Since yourC-suite manages the money and understands your business inside andout, they should be included in the conversation withyour advisor to develop your benefits strategy. (Photo:Shutterstock)

Health benefits have traditionally been treated as a burden rather than an opportunity.Many business owners see them as just another huge expense that gets bigger every year, andbecause they feel powerless to change it, they let HR handle it tohelp their annual renewal happen as quickly and smoothly aspossible.

This way of handling the benefits conversation may be thestatus-quo, but it doesn't help your business. In the hands of agreat advisor, your benefits plan can be a powerful strategic tool that can help your company grow,and in order to maximize that positive impact, you'll need to getthe powerful people in your business involved in thediscussion.

Related: Are you giving employees the benefits experiencethey want?

Here's why you should always have your C-suite work with yourbenefits advisor:

Going beyond benefits

Your benefits plan can transform into a strategic opportunityfor your business if you have the right people working together.Having an HR representative chat with a traditional benefits brokeris fine if all you want is to sign off on another increasinglyexpensive renewal, but if you want more from your plan, you'll needto team up with a great advisor and have them discuss yourbusiness' potential with your C-suite.

Your advisor can manage the health care supply chain to help yousave money on your benefits, leaving you with more to spend onthings like:

• Employee perks such as bonuses and increased wages
• Investments in new materials and products
• Employee recruitment and training

Since your C-suite manages the money and understands yourbusiness inside and out, they should be the ones talking with youradvisor to develop a strategy that can maximize your plan'spositive impact on your company.

A year-round conversation

If you're working with a traditional benefits broker, the annualconversation about your renewal is likely to be a quick one. Yourbroker will inform your HR representative about the inevitableprice hike on your plan (probably between 3 and 5 percent,according to a late-2018 report by the Kaiser FamilyFoundation), and your HR representative will sign off on it. Unlessyou change the way you approach your benefits plan, this processwill repeat every single year, with you spending more and more forequal or lesser-quality benefits.

Your benefits plan can and should be more than just a mandatoryannual expense, though, and the opportunities it can offer yourentire business make it worthy of a year-round discussion betweenyour advisor and your C-suite. The leaders of your company have themost knowledge about how your business is evolving, and they canwork with your advisor to determine the best way to adapt yourbenefits plan to the changes in your company. A quick, one-offannual renewal meeting may be the easiest way to handle your plan,but an ongoing conversation with your C-suite will enable youradvisor to help you use your plan as a tool to help your businessgrow.

A great and powerful expense

The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) estimates thatemployers will spend an average of $10,000 on benefits per employeein 2019. That means if your company has just 30 employees, yourplan could cost you $300,000 this year alone. With an expense thisbig, you can't afford to leave your company's leaders out of theconversation, and yet, so may business owners make this exactmistake.

A great advisor can team up with your C-suite to ensure that themoney you spend on your benefits plan doesn't go to waste. While HRmay not want to rock the boat, your company's leaders will befocused on using your advisor's tools to find every availableopportunity to help your business grow. When hundreds of thousandsof dollars are on the line, the people at the head of your businessshould be involved as much as possible.

A conversation for your company's leaders

Your HR department is a crucial component of your business, butwhen it comes to benefits, your C-suite should be having thein-depth conversations with your advisor. Given the potential forgrowth your plan offers your business, the necessity for ayear-round discussion about how your benefits should evolve withyour company, and the sheer cost of benefits, your business willget more out of your plan if the people at the head of your companyare more involved with your benefits.

Read more:

• 3 questions to help find a benefits advisor thatmatches your business
• Delivering a values-driven, cost-effective benefitsexperience
• How small businesses are keeping pace on healthbenefits, costs

Jim Blachek is co-founderof The Benefits Group.