"We did way more virtual visits and made sure they knew we were protecting them from the changes that were occurring," says Kim Eckelbarger, founder of Tropical Benefits in New Port Richey, Florida. "We have helped many obtain PPP loans, PPP forgiveness and ECR credits. We did this while designing infectious-disease policies to stay current with required protocols.

"We wrap around the clients' needs. Some organizations want personal visits, and some are happy with virtual. Remote workers became way more common, and our clients learned that many roles can be effective in a remote environment. Technology is embraced more than ever, and the team spends a great deal of time building portals, making videos and performing as a call center."

As the pandemic eases, brokers are finding their footing in a world that may have been unrecognizable even a few years ago.

"We have gone from a record-high unemployment rate of 14.7% in 2020 to 3.6% as of June," says Maggie Novo-Chavarry, senior principal of ADP Strategic Advisory Services. "The labor market remains strong and U.S. employers added 372,000 jobs in June. Workers are still in the driver's seat, so employers have had to get creative to attract talent, remain competitive and retain employees. On top of this, they have had to navigate numerous regulations that are driving changes in employee health plans."

In a recent study, 1 in 3 employees said the top reason for seeking a new job was better compensation and benefits. The second reason was flexibility, or a better work-life balance. "Employers need to continue to navigate the tough road ahead and rethink the impact and value of their benefits," she says.

This new environment has caught the attention of the C-suite — and not just the chief HR officer. One of the biggest paradigm shifts for brokers is communicating with several C-suite members, who often have differing expectations.

"In our regular business prior to COVID, we usually dealt directly with lead HR personnel, and only with C-suite folks during renewal time," says David C. Smith, senior vice president of eBen. "But since COVID, we've noticed even employers with over 500 employees started asking us questions directly about programs like PPP, layoff and benefit rules, and even more advanced financial modeling of costs based on changes occurring at that time. As a result, those trusted relationships have become more direct because of that experience."

Read more: Reimagining the C-suite: Strong social skills become increasingly important

Nagle agrees, adding, "HR really is part of the C-suite and should be considered as such. By disconnecting the two, you limit the success of the broker relationship with benefits. I see heavy collaboration in the C-suite with the chief people officer or the CHRO. The people team, the CEO and the CFO all need to have a close relationship, as labor and benefits are a significant expense and are a critical aspect of the employee experience at a company. There has to be a well-coordinated, thoughtful approach among the people function, the C-suite and brokers. This relationship will help everyone understand why we need to do certain things and provide a solid business case, using data to back up proposals and decisions."

The pandemic has changed both how brokers talk to the C-suite and what they talk about.

"Before COVID, nearly all meetings were live, with the occasional conference call or virtual meeting," Smith says. "All shifted to phone or virtual during the pandemic, but even today, about half of our meetings that used to be live are now virtual, even though many are enjoying the in-person meetings more with the return to normalcy. But the transition wasn't too harsh — our clients made that transition to Zoom, Teams or WebEx pretty seamlessly, and our team has done well with it."

With more members of the C-suite involved, a broader range of topics is on the table.

"We are now talking about inflation, a looming recession, gas prices and their inability to find and retain help," Eckelbarger says. "All of this makes benefits more important than ever for the organizations that we serve."

One enduring legacy of the pandemic is a renewed focus on mental health.

"Nearly everyone is worried about mental health benefits and how to make sure their employees know about their benefits and their relative value," Smith says. "I think the pressure to keep good employees, the pressure they feel to raise incomes due to both competition and inflation, and their general concern about finding better work-life balance have been at the forefront of their concerns. This is not just the large employer. There have been a lot more requests for benchmarking data — not opinions — and a greater focus on surveys to understand what employees want to see from their benefits."

The C-suite recognizes the enhanced importance of benefits during the Great Resignation.

"To recruit top talent, you now have to embrace that remote mentality, which means that you are not building benefits for one location," Nagle says. "You're developing a nationwide strategy for your employees; you may have five employees in one state and 150 in another. You need to think about how to maintain the same level of benefits throughout your population so that nobody feels like they're receiving less than others. Brokers can help the C-suite understand how benefits need to be distributed and bring those new ideas forward."

Read more: Study pegs ROI for employer-sponsored health insurance at 47%

With increased attention from the C-suite, perhaps the most important issue for brokers to keep in mind can be summarized in three letters: ROI.

"Businesses are spending a lot of money on employee benefits, so they want to make sure that investment is worthwhile for both the organization and their employees," Nagle says. "Benefits are an investment in your people, and if you value your team members, you need a robust benefit offering. Employers are looking at claims history as well as long- and short-term disability to see if employees are using these benefits in a way that is more expensive for the team member but resulting in worse outcomes. If that is the case, then employers are asking themselves what they need to do to help them and keep them healthy."

The C-suite also expects complete transparency.

"Oftentimes, there's a perception that brokers are misaligned with the business simply because some of them work on commission, so the more the employer pays for their benefits, the more the broker makes," Nagle adds. "The C-suite might think that the broker is just recommending the partner because they have a contract with them and will get more money if they funnel more business to the partner. When a broker brings a solution forward for the employer to try, having data to show why they are recommending it as a point solution will help build that case. My advice is for brokers to lean on data to be effective in building the business case for benefits when communicating with the C-suite."

One of the most important lessons about working with the C-suite is one brokers have known all along.

"The pandemic and our reaction to it drove home one of our core messages to clients: We are not brokers, but consultants," Smith says. "That 'trusted advisor' relationship shift means they understand that we are on their team and giving them our best advice."