Panel Reveals TPA Magicians’ Secrets

TPAs do a lot of things. But the end result — employees and clients served well — doesn’t happen by magic. Or does it? A panel at an Oct. 21 session at the ASPPA Annual Conference pulled the curtain back on some best practices behind the magic.

Panelists included Justin Bonestroo, Senior Vice President, CBIZ; Shannon Edwards, President, TriStar Pension, LLC; and William Presson, Executive Vice President, EGPS, Inc.

Technical Resources

The panelists use a variety of ways to deploy technical resources in fulfilling and supporting their functions.

“As a national firm, it’s important that our work product has consistency,” said Bonestroo. One way that CBIZ does that is that it has put together an electronic group to share questions and answers across the country. This, he said, saves the amount of time spent if the same question comes up repeatedly in different parts of the country. He added that the resource also helps them to be proactive and better make companywide decisions. Presson added that EGPS similarly has set up an email group and is building an internal resource to handle frequently asked questions. TriStar Pensions, too, has a resource to whom staff can pose questions, Edwards said.

TriStar uses technical resources in an additional way, Edwards told attendees. They require that every employee — even support staff — take the QKA exam and really learn the material; further, they require staff to participate in webinars after they earn their designations to stay sharp.

An additional technical concern is meeting remote employees’ needs. Presson called it their “biggest challenge” and said that having electronic versions of resources available to employees is one key. “It’s a huge issue,” Bonestroo agreed, adding that “communication is key.”

Time Tracking

Keeping track of time serves a variety of purposes, the panelists observed. They told attendees that it helps with:

• gauging how much time an employee is spending with a client;
• boosting revenue;
• adjusting how employees can best spend their time;
• determining how well-trained employees are;
• determining whether staffing is adequate and additional staff need to be hired;
• setting billable rates; and
• knowing which clients contact the service provider most frequently.

Setting Goals

Panelists set goals on the employee and also macro levels. Presson said that EGPS sets goals throughout the year, and tracks compensation and adjusts it based on how well goals are being met. TriStar Pensions, on the other hand, works together as a team to set firm goals for the year and do what is necessary to meet them, Edwards reported.

Staff Growth

Panelists also shared some of their firms’ approaches to new employees and staffing in general. Presson said that EGPS handles training internally, but also circulates a calendar of in-house and externally provided educational opportunities every Friday. TriStar Pensions tries to make sure that employees are happy in order to retain them, Edwards reported. And CBIZ focuses on how work is being performed. “It’s more than hiring people. It’s also how it’s getting done,” Bonestroo said.