A broker paid based onperformance will  do everything in their power to ensurethat the plan you end up with is tailor-made to provide youremployees with the best benefits at the lowest cost to you. (Photo:Shutterstock)

Your benefits plan can be a powerful strategic advantage foryour business. The right advisor can help maximize the impact yourplan can have on your company, but that's only going to happen ifyour benefits package creates a win-win situation for both you andthem.

Most benefits brokers aren't truly concerned with whether or notyou get the best benefits plan for your business. They work on acommission-based model, which means that theirgoal is to sell you a plan, collect their paycheck, and disappearuntil it's time to do it over again next year.

Related: It's time for your checkup: Assessing your healthand welfare plan

Working with an advisor whose pay depends on your satisfactionis a much easier way to guarantee that your advisor truly has yourbusiness' success in mind. In this situation, the end result helpsthem just as much as it helps you, giving them a big reason to findevery possible way to develop a plan that helps your companygrow.

Here's what aligned incentives can offer your business:

A customized approach

A quality advisor knows that your benefits plan isn't aone-size-fits-all purchase. The plan that works for anotherbusiness is unlikely to be the best option for yours, but astandard broker won't be incentivized to create a custom-buildbenefits plan for your company. An advisor who is working towardsthe same goal as you, however, will make the effort to develop aplan that suits your company's individual needs. Because they'repaid based on their performance, they'll do everything in theirpower to ensure that the plan you end up with is tailor-made toprovide your employees with the best benefits at the lowest cost toyou.

A plan that grows with your business

One of the pitfalls of working with a status-quo broker is howinfrequently you meet with them. The standard process forrenegotiating your benefits plan involves talking with your brokerat the end of the year, settling for an even higher premium thanyou paid the previous year, and receiving lower quality benefits inreturn.

An advisor whose incentives align with yours will take a morefluid approach to your plan, which involves:

• Working with you and your business throughout the year
• Keeping up with the changes in your company and understandinghow they impact your plan
• Making the appropriate adjustments in your plan when it's timeto reevaluate your benefits

Because you're both working towards the same goal, your advisorwill stay on top of the changes in your company to ensure they'reconsistently delivering on their promises to you.

Cost-effective solutions

When your advisor's incentives align with yours, they're goingto work with you to figure out how to help you find savingsthroughout your benefits plan rather than trying to convince youthat the miniscule amount of money you saved on your annual premiumincrease was a "win." Your advisor should offer a performance-basedguarantee when you start working together, which will includeapproximate savings you'll see by partnering with them. Thisensures that they don't get paid unless their services fulfill yourexpectations, and it pushes them to search for every availableopportunity to cut costs in your benefits plan.

Aligned incentives between you and your advisor help guaranteethat you'll maximize what you can get out of your benefits plan.When an optimized plan creates a win-win for everyone involved,mutual satisfaction is an inevitable end result, which can create asustainable working relationship and optimal benefits plans foryears to come.

Jim Blachek flipped his traditional brokerage model in 2017to focus solely on consulting and building value based healthplans. In 2019 he co-founded a consulting only firmDynamic Benefit Solutionsand founded Local Script atransparent pharmacy and marketing organization focused on reducingemployer and employee costs while supporting the localcommunity.

Read more: 

• 4 major trends in health benefits plandesign
• How brokers can foster clients' benefits successyear-round
• Broker and consultants are key to proactivebenefits