A Guide to Hiring an Employee Benefits Broker

This is so crucial because you can't expect even an objectively great benefits broker to be much help meeting your needs if you haven't properly defined what those needs are to begin with.

Begin by assessing your employees. What are their concerns? What do they like about your current benefits offerings, and what would they prefer to see more of? These questions can serve as crucial starting points to give you a baseline to work from.

Likewise, don't be afraid to look at some of your closest competitors. What are they offering? What gaps can you fill?

What are they doing that you could be doing even better? If one of the objectives of a benefits package is to help you remain competitive in attracting talent, you need to make sure that whatever it is you're offering is top-notch.

Start Looking Early

There are a lot of moving parts when it comes to putting together a benefits package. It's a very time-consuming process. Therefore, if you wait until it's time to renew your plan to begin looking for a broker to help with new options, there may not be enough time left to accomplish anything meaningful.

Don't delay—start looking for a broker as early as possible, so they can team with your HR team and review items like your budget to put together the best package possible given the circumstances.

Find a Broker with Industry Expertise

Just as every organization is unique unto itself, the same is true of every industry. The needs of a team of people working at an automobile manufacturing plant will likely vary from people working in a pharmaceutical laboratory.

Never work with a benefits broker that tries to cram you and your people into a “one size fits all” box that doesn't exist. Your benefits partner should take the time to learn as much about your workers and your business as possible, all to come up with the customized solution needed to serve them well.

Cost Analysis

In addition to helping you put together a competitive benefits package, a benefits broker should also be in a position to help you save money. Know exactly how much you're currently spending and what you're getting. Then, compare it to what a broker can put together for you and what that package will include.

Value Ads from the Brokers

Finally, it's important to acknowledge the other ways in which a benefits broker can help beyond simply putting together the initial package. They should have technology, tools, and services that support your HR and admin teams and make their lives easier, for example. They should also offer access to educational resources for employees and their covered family members. It’s also not a bad idea to work with a broker that has relationships with various PEO’s (Professional Employer Organizations) as they can also be a great place to find lower cost benefits, for the right companies. 

When Should You Find a New Broker?



If you feel like you're paying too much for your current benefits and aren't sure how to save money on your own, or if you have a problem filling vacant positions or are dealing with high instances of employee turnover, these are all signs that you should find a new benefits broker as soon as you can. In small group insurance, the broker’s compensation is typically included in the plan costs, whether you use a broker or not. So make sure you’re getting the most value out of your plans by working with a great broker.

Steps to Finding a New Benefits Broker

Start by asking for direct referrals for a new benefits broker from people and organizations that you trust. Talk to your colleagues and peers and ask them who they're currently working with. More importantly, ask them about what their experiences are—both positive and negative. The more you reach out, the more you'll see a few key brokers who have a reputation that always seems to rise above the rest.

Get a Broker That Supports Your Business with AEIS

At AEIS, we regularly advise businesses with anywhere from two to 500 employees on how to meet their needs in terms of employee benefits, insurance, and more. In addition to standard medical insurance we also help take care of factors like vision, dental, disability, group term life, and more.

We also offer value added services like free sexual harassment prevention training, online benefits enrollment through Ease/Rippling/Gusto, and other critical employee training modules through Zywave—all so that you can rest easy knowing that your benefits needs are being taken care of.

If you'd like to find out more information about the steps you should take when hiring an employee benefits broker, or if you'd just like to discuss your own organization's needs with a team of experts in more detail, please don't hesitate to contact AEIS today.