Understanding Your Needs
Our strategic planning services 
include evaluations of access,service, and price to ensure proper balance is maintained. This level of planning protects your benefits package from becoming obsolete as market factors constantly change. At IFS, we look at industry, geography, demographics, and employee needs and behavior. We make recommendations on levels of coverage, resources, and services the client should offer their employees in order to remain competitive and increase retention. We continue to as questions such ask:
- How do you recruit and retain employees?
- How do you reward employees?
- How does employee turnover effect you and your customers?
- What challenges are you facing in hiring new employees?
- Are the benefit packages offered competitive with other similar corporations?
Here is Our Process
Step One: Review Goals of Management
We interview members of your management team that have different responsibilities as we feel it is important to collect various opinions and feedback in order to provide the best solutions. We complete a needs analysis and identify areas of concern. We then assist in formulating objectives, and once reviewed, acceptable solutions are then determined.
Step Two: Benefit Analysis
Once goals have been determined and agreed upon, we compare your benefit plans to their objectives. This allows for a clear understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of your current program.
This is a list of sample questions asked in the analysis:
- Do current programs satisfy employee needs? Should we survey the employees?
- What will be the employer vs. employee contribution for benefit expenses?
- Do current programs reflect the needs of current and potential acquisitions?
- Is there any balance needed to achieve further cost efficiency and ease of administration/management?
- Are the existing costs acceptable? Do your plans have appropriate cost controls?
- What are the projected expenses to be over the next few years after considering wages, turnover and any other impacting factors?
- In considering all related benefits and their administration, do redundancies exist?
- Which benefits are to be revised?
The process includes the following:
- Comprehensive review of goals and objectives with an Employee Benefit Needs Assessment
- Review of current coverage, exposures and cost
- Claims review and analysis
- Employee demographic and usage assessment
- Contribution calculation
- Competitor and benchmark analysis
- Review and selection of the best insurance programs using highly rated carriers
- Comparative cost analysis of available options
- Benefit trending analysis
- Benefit program funding strategies
- Health plan forecasting
- Development of a multi-year strategy
- Executive summary of benefit options
- Implementation and communication
- Open Enrollment and form processing
- Employee education and communication
- Proactive Wellness Programs
- Continual review, monitoring and consultation
Step 3: Implemenation
IFS prepares a detailed administration process in order for the implementation process to be successful.
The following important questions are asked:
- What are the priorities of the revisions (additions and deletions) to the plan?
- What is the expected time frame for successfully implementing the changes?
Responses to these questions will greatly assist into providing a detailed list of phases for integration
Processes include:- Employee communication
- Open Enrollment and form processing
- Employee education
Step 4: Continuous Review, Monitoring and Consultation
Our strategic planning includes evaluations of access, service and price to ensure proper balance is maintained. Planning also protects your benefits package from becoming obsolete as market factors emerge. We continue to look at industry, geography, demographics, employee needs and attitudes.
We continue to ask questions such as:
- How are you changing recruiting and retention of employees?
- How do you want to reward employees?
- How does employee turnover effect you and your customers?
When the answers change we help you to reevaluate to maintain value and efficiency.
Securities offered through Registered Representatives of Cambridge Investment Research INC, a broker dealer, member FINRA (www.FINRA.org)/ SIPC(www.SIPC.org) Investments. Advisory services offered through Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc, a registered investment advisor. IFS, Insurance and Financial Services and Cambridge are not affiliated.
We can offer securities to only residents of CA.