Revamped benefits program boosts savings, satisfaction, and success
Background:
School professionals share a common mission: taking care of people. Amidst soaring turnover rates and constant change, providing exceptional care can be the difference between staff staying or leaving.
For Christopher Fox, Treasurer at Montgomery County ESC, this mission is personal. Christopher is passionate about helping people. It’s what motivates him every day in his role as treasurer. Despite the challenges of managing over 600 employees across 90 districts and 13 counties throughout Ohio, Christopher is committed to providing exceptional care and support.
Challenge:
Prior to partnering with American Fidelity, Montgomery County ESC (MCESC) faced significant challenges in managing its employee benefits program. The organization struggled to navigate multiple vendors, resulting in a lack of cohesive support and delayed responses. There was no real partnership. This caused frustration and unrest among the administration about the effectiveness of their benefits program.
“There’s a lot of challenges we face every day. With the amount of money we spend, there’s lot of liability and responsibility in overseeing public funds,” said Christopher Fox. Additionally, the team faced significant challenges in communicating important benefits information to a geographically dispersed workforce of 600 employees. The team was stretched thin, struggling to maintain current knowledge of benefits offerings and provide personalized support to each employee.
“It wasn’t one person I could call to answer a question. It was multiple different vendors that we would have to reach out to,” stated Christopher.
Solution:
In search of a better way, MCESC turned to American Fidelity for help. “When we were approached for American Fidelity to come in, how do we turn that away? They were offering to help the staff you oversee who are helping kids across the state,” stated Christopher.
American Fidelity established a close working relationship with the MCESC staff, taking the time to understand their unique needs and challenges. Through this personalized approach, American Fidelity was able to develop a tailored solution that included the right mix of products and services to meet the organization’s needs.
Additionally, American Fidelity conducted one-on-one benefits reviews with employees at each location. This personalized support and guidance helped employees better understand their benefit options and how to utilize them throughout the year.
“Working with one provider has eased frustration and has given us the ability to just make one phone call,” shared Christopher. This personalized customer service approach had a significant impact on the MCESC staff.
“With American Fidelity onboard, it is very easy now for us to do business, which is a huge time savings.”
Results:
MCESC found significant relief from partnering with American Fidelity, as the company was able to fully understand the organization’s challenges in meeting the needs of its staff across multiple locations. The time savings achieved were substantial, with an estimated 200 hours saved through one-on-one benefits reviews with 600 employees. As a result, Christopher Fox was able to recover roughly five weeks of his time. Additionally, the partnership resulted in substantial cost savings and streamlined communication across various platforms. Most importantly, the partnership enabled MCESC to provide valuable benefits to employees, which had a positive impact on job satisfaction.
As Christopher noted, the relationship with American Fidelity went beyond a simple vendor-client dynamic, evolving into a personal partnership that helped MCESC achieve its goals.
Christopher remarked, “Year after year, those same folks were visiting our staff. It was so much more than just a vendor relationship; it was a personal relationship.”
This blog is up to date as of September 2023 and has not been updated for changes in the law, administration or current events.