Benefits are one part of running a workforce. The questions do not stop there.
A policy that needs updating. A termination that has to be handled correctly. A classification question nobody in the building can answer with confidence. These land on the same desk as benefits, usually a desk with one person at it, and most employers have nowhere reliable to take them.
The expensive problems are rarely exotic.
In practice the same few issues account for most of the exposure we see, and all of them are cheaper to fix before anyone asks about them.
A handbook that is out of date
Employment law moves at the state level, so a handbook written once and left alone drifts out of compliance without anything visible changing. It is also the first document produced in any dispute.
Worker classification
Exempt or non-exempt, and employee or contractor. Both tests are fact-driven, both are commonly decided by habit, and both carry back-pay exposure when they are decided wrongly.
Inconsistent practice
Two managers handling the same situation differently is the pattern that turns a single complaint into a case. Written process is the cure, and it does not have to be elaborate.
Advisory work, on the same team that runs your benefits.
The advantage of having these questions handled here is that the people answering them already know your plan, your population and your calendar.
Handbooks and policy
Built or refreshed against current state and federal law, in language your managers will actually apply, with the benefits sections consistent with the plan documents.
HR compliance audits
Wage-and-hour review, classification review and general practice audits, run before a regulator or a complaint finds the gap.
Support on demand
Somebody to call with the day-to-day question that does not wait for the next renewal cycle — and who will say when a question genuinely needs an attorney.
The benefits platform decision usually makes a bigger decision by accident.
HR and payroll systems advice
We advise on HR and payroll system selection, because the benefits platform sits in the middle of both and the choice is too often made on the benefits demo alone.
What the integration will and will not carry
Knowing in advance which fields move between systems — and which never do — changes which system you pick and what you staff around.
Compliance updates before they are deadlines
The changes coming to employment and benefits obligations, flagged while there is still time to do something about them.
Send us your renewal.
We’ll tell you whether it looks competitive, where we see opportunity, and the five questions we’d put to your carrier. No cost, and no obligation to move anything.
The renewal letter
Your current plan summary
Contribution split by tier
Enrolled counts by tier
Four documents — two more if your group is 50 or more. Nothing else; every extra one is a reason to postpone.
An independent employee benefits consulting firm. We look at the entire benefits program — cost, plan performance, risk and administration.
Bloomfield Hills, MI 48304
248.370.8853
719.425.2649
281.404.5670
Cookies on this site
We use cookies to keep the site working properly and to understand how it is used. You can decline anything that is not essential. See our Privacy Policy for the detail.
- Essential — needed for the site to load and for you to move around it. These cannot be switched off.
- Analytics — tell us which pages get read, so we know what is worth writing more of.
- Advertising — set by third parties such as ad and social platforms to measure and target campaigns.