By working with an advisor who shares your own hope for your benefits plan, you take a huge step closer to a plan that can become a strategic advantage for your business. (Photo: Shutterstock)

When you're spending thousands upon thousands of dollars on benefits and seeing unimpressive results, being discouraged and disappointed is completely reasonable. Great health care has the potential to bring a lot of positive effects to your business, including improved employee retention rates, better talent recruitment, and reduced absenteeism. In order to receive the maximum impact, though, you need to stop settling for what your current benefits plan is and start imagining what it could be.

Related: Open your mind to change to improve your benefits plan

A positive mindset is one of the most important qualities an employer can possess when searching for ways to improve their plan, and here's why.

Rejecting an undesirable standard

In life and in the benefits industry, you should never settle for less than you deserve. That's just what many business owners are doing when it comes to their benefits plans, though. For years, employers have endured paying 5-6 percent more for their plans with each renewal, even though the quality of their plan has stayed the same or even decreased. There are better options out there, but many business owners remain stuck in this benefits rut, convinced that this standard is truly the best that they can get.

In order to achieve better outcomes for your plan (and your business), you must first decide that you, your employees, and your company deserve better than the suboptimal status quo that so many employers settle for. By raising the bar for what you want out of your benefits plan, you take the first step towards turning your plan's potential into an improved reality.

The hope for something better

Teaming up with the right benefits advisor is crucial for a benefits plan that can help your business grow. Your advisor's emphasis on a positive outlook for your plan is just as important as your own desire to search for better options, and you should never settle for a broker who tries to convince you that the plan you have is the best you can get.

An optimistic advisor will:

• Listen to and understand your current challenges – Understanding your starting point is the first step to moving forward, and a great advisor will take the time to learn about your current struggles so they can offer a personalized solution instead of a one-size-fits-all "fix."
• Offer creative and innovative solutions – Big improvements usually require big changes. A broker who suggests small tweaks for your plan may sound like the safer option, but the results they deliver will likely keep your plan stagnant.
• Provide flexibility – As your business evolves over time, so should your benefits plan. An advisor with a positive outlook will constantly be looking for ways for you to get the most out of your plan, and that means working with you year-round, not just when it's time to renew.

By working with an advisor who shares your own hope for your benefits plan, you take a huge step closer to a plan that can become a strategic advantage for your business.

Tools for a fighting chance

Your advisor may not be able to solve all your employees' medical problems on their own, but they can provide tools to both improve the quality of their health care and make it more affordable. In order to optimize their solutions, though, you need to be able to:

• Be open to unconventional ideas
• Trust their approach
• Implement their tools and strategies

The path to a benefits plan that can help your business reach its full potential can only be paved with a willing, enthusiastic attitude from both you and your advisor. If your advisor can develop a plan and you can take the necessary steps to implement it into your business, you'll be well on your way to giving your employees high-quality, cost-effective care that can drastically improve their quality of life.

Looking forward, never back

Don't despair when low-quality, high-cost benefits are no longer sustainable for your business. Instead, get excited about all the possibilities an improved benefits plan could offer your company. By rejecting the status quo in the benefits industry, working with an advisor who has high hopes for your future, and being willing to implement the tools and strategies they provide you, you can transform your plan from a burdensome expense into a great strategic opportunity. The desire for better benefits can blossom into one of the best decisions you could make for your business.

Jim Blachek is co-founder of The Benefits Group.