Build the best employee experience: make benefits a year-round conversation

Chris Renzulli is the Founding Partner and Market Director at Nava Benefits. His goal at Nava is to disrupt the corruption in the healthcare industry, starting with employee health benefits. Also the son of a lymphatic cancer survivor, Chris has first-hand experience with both sides of the health insurance industry. He's seen how insurance companies drive up costs and wants to create a more transparent healthcare and benefits system. Below, we dig into what inspires him to create change and what expertise he has to share with HR leaders navigating the world of benefits.

"We were part of the problem"

In a former life, Chris ran a national staffing firm. He also helped navigate his own mother’s lymphatic cancer diagnosis and recovery. These first-hand experiences opened his eyes to the problems with health insurance and the benefits landscape. "It's a joke," he says. "It's designed to confuse and frustrate."

He admits that in his former HR work, “I didn’t realize it at the time that we were part of the problem.”  He goes on to explain that the current system is not designed to be intuitive to HR people or their employees. It’s up to everyone to “be your own advocate” when it comes to health insurance and other benefits.

Part of the issue, he says, is that "the vast majority of HR teams are not benefits people." Since HR leaders rely so heavily on their brokers, it inspired him to create a better benefits brokerage solution that works hand-in-hand with HR and employees. This is where Nava comes in.

"We have to start somewhere"

When Chris talks about why he became involved in Nava, he's not shy about the problems he sees in the current landscape: "I loathe the healthcare industry." He explains, "I despise the incestuous nature, the good old boy and girl networks, the inside deals, the price-fixing that goes on." This inspires him to do better and help others do the same.

"My why is to apply pressure to other brokers by way of our behavior to help begin to drive change, you know, in this audacious mission [...] to provide high quality, affordable health care to all Americans and #fixhealthcare. We have to start somewhere."

For Chris, that somewhere is the growing businesses that employ half of Americans today. "The majority of employees are covered through small and mid-size employers, yet [they're] the most underserved," he argues. This is what he hopes Nava can change:

"When you exist to provide a different [...] benefit experience to small and mid-size companies [...] the outcomes are so notably different than companies that will work with small and mid-size companies, but they're really out there chasing the big boys, chasing the big revenue. The outcomes are just a stark contrast. It's night and day. We exist to serve this segment."

Chris's top 3 tips for HR leaders

Chris recommends these three practices for improving your HR department's benefits system.

1. "Continually educate yourself"
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   First and foremost, Chris advises HR leaders to do their research and educate themselves, “An educated HR organization is an empowered one.” By knowing everything you can about your benefits package, he says, "You can navigate your broker relationship easier."
   
   HR teams that know their benefits systems inside and out can more easily negotiate for better employee benefits. "The more you know," he says, "the more powerful your voice is."

2. "Lean on your broker"
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   ‍When it comes to employee benefits, Chris wants your broker to be someone you can rely on.
   
   "If you don't feel like you can pick up the phone with a benefits issue, and that your broker can be that resource for you to help you get answers, implement new solutions, vet unique marketplaces, whatever it may be, then you're with the wrong partner."
   
   He particularly takes issue with brokers who only "pop up around renewal and maybe give you a call a couple times of the year." Although that's how many brokerages work, he says, "The broker relationship should be a lot more than that, and you should be getting value from many different angles, not just the traditional, you know, brokerage mentality."

3. "Benefits are 365 days a year"
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   It's essential to communicate with employees year-round about their benefits. As Chris says, "Benefits are 365 days a year, not just at new hire and open enrollment." He notes how many HR teams handle benefits enrollment, commenting, "I think most employers just look at new hires like, 'Here's a package, let me know if you have any questions.' And then open enrollment is just something they just can't wait to [see] come and go."
   
   Instead, he recommends a "drip campaign," coordinating with your broker to build a "thoughtful communication strategy" and educate employees throughout the year.
   
   However, when it comes to communication, he's on the fence about employee surveys. They can be an excellent tool for communicating with employees, but "be careful what you ask and how you ask it," because surveys are "setting an expectation." Be sure you follow through on your employees' responses, he cautions, because "nothing's worse than putting out a survey, and the employees respond, and then nothing happens from it. Don't do them if you're not going to do something about it."

Nava Benefits: "Where the magic happens"

For Chris, "Nava is a marriage of people from all walks of life and industries." He's proud to be a partner because, "This is an opportunity to do something bigger than myself and to work with people that are next level intelligent, passionate, and hungry to do the same thing, because we have a lot of the same synergies as far as why we're here."

He believes that synergy is what separates Nava from other benefits providers. He concludes, "We are an employee benefits and human resources consulting firm who are proactive, who are forward-thinking, who are disrupting the industry, and who are doing things for you that most of our competitors are unwilling or unable to do. And that is a huge differentiator."

If that sounds like what your HR team is looking for, chat with a Nava expert to get started on better employee benefits management. Our team coordinates with yours on every level to challenge the industry standards and create a better system together.

Because as Chris says, "That's where the magic happens".