#WISHRM22 Speaker Spotlight: Chad Borns

As a part of the WISHRM State Conference SMILE Team, I have the opportunity to connect with speakers and exhibitors and learn more about what to expect at the upcoming conference.

Today I spoke with one of the WISHRM22 Speakers, Chad Borns, about his "Examining Participant Behavior" session on Thursday, October 13th at 2:30 PM CST.

Q & A with Chad:

1. Who should attend your session?

Everyone interested in improving their 401K plan by figuring out how participants think and what the employer should do to help nudge those participants in the right direction should attend.

2. What is something you hope all attendees will learn in this session?

I hope they walk away with an action plan to tweak how they've been doing things and know how to present their program in the best possible light for participants to be the most successful.

3. What are you most looking forward to at WISHRM22?

The interaction. I always think that the best way to learn is when you have dialogue, and you know we can get up there and share stats, information, studies, and tests; but if somebody raises their hand and says, you know, I've got this issue, what about this, how does that relate to that? I think that's where real learning and real connection happen.

4. 30+ years in the retirement industry. How did you get your start, and what do you like about it?

Dumb luck is how I got my start. I wish I could go back and watch a video of my interview with the first retirement company I applied for. I'm positive I knew nothing about retirement plans; I probably hadn't even thought about it. It was an open position at a company, and I had just graduated college and thought, OK, I'll give this a shot; hopefully, they'll hire me. It was an excellent start for me because it was a great environment where they promoted learning and growing. It started me off on the right foot and kept me going.

Helping people, whether it's assisting participants or helping employers every day, there's something new that we can share with people or help them through, and it's just enjoyable to help people with that part of what they need, what everyone needs in their life is a retirement, a successful retirement.

5. What should clients expect when working with you and your team at Associated Bank?

They should expect that we're going to partner with them. We want to partner and understand how we can help your participants. 90 to 95% of our clients are local, which is a great advantage. We can be on-site and meet with people face to face, and they should expect we'll be there helping people.

6. Do you have any interesting or shocking statistics regarding retirement and retirement savings?

I am excited to share some feedback on how to present information to employees that ultimately make a huge difference in how people respond and participate in their retirement plans.

7. What are some 'fun' retirement bucket list items everyone should add to their list?

We always say, what do you want to do? What do you think is fun?

I always think it would be really fun to get an RV, whether you live out of the RV full time or only two months, and say we're going to California, and it's going to take us a month to get there in a month to get back and stop along the way. I think that would be awesome. I would absolutely love to do that.

My wife and I are talking about going to Alaska and one away Packer game each year (hopefully someplace nice and warm or early in the season).

8. Are there any additional things you wish for Wisconsin HR professionals and people leaders to know?

So many HR people I run into want to try to really own the issue and understand it, but it is complex and dynamic. I don't think as an HR professional; you need to be an expert in everything you. Just rely on the experts you hire to do the job that they're doing and lean on them.

9. Do you have any podcast or book suggestions?

We are going through the Dave Ramsey Smart Dollar Session as a company. There are so many beneficial things to help people educate themselves. With that said, I also suggest treating it with a healthy dose of skepticism and making sure that you're applying it to how you live and understand what you want to accomplish to ensure that you're.

10. How often should an employer be offering these educational opportunities?

Getting new hires on the right foot and getting going is key and afterward, offering opportunities annually.

Meet Chad:

As a Retirement Plan Consultant with over 30 years of experience, Chad works directly with companies to review and consult on plan design, fees, investments and administration. He works in a dedicated team environment with a Relationship Manager, chartered financial analyst, and education specialists all assigned to the plan.

Visit Chad at the WISHRM22 Exhibitor Hall:

Associated Bank offers a wide-array of banking, retirement, and health benefits offerings to help your employees have a holistic approach that looks at finances, health, work, and life which is essential to overall well-being. We differentiate ourselves from other financial institutions and retirement providers by providing a wide variety of services and products such as:

• Retirement Plan Services

• HSA, FSA, and COBRA Administration

• Bank at Work Financial Wellness Seminars

Using a collaborative approach, Associated Bank’s Retirement Plan Services, Bank at Work, and Associated Benefits Connection® teams have built a program to make things simpler for you and your employees. And all of it backed by our renowned Midwest-based Customer Care team.

Learn more by contacting:

• RPS

  • Chad Borns, 920-727-8407, Chad.Borns@AssociatedBank.com,

• HSA

  • Arthur Shattuck, 920-327-6991, Arthur.Shattuck@AssociatedBank.com,

• Bank at Work

  • Greg Knott, 262-368-7987, Gregory.Knott@AssociatedBank.com

Website:

• Retirement Planning and Health Savings Benefits: https://www.associatedbank.com/commercial/employee-benefits

• Bank at Work: https://www.associatedbank.com/bankatwork

• General Banking Needs: www.AssociatedBank.com