#WISHRM22 Speaker Spotlight: Taylor Orton

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, Taylor Orton, about his "Benefits: Follow the Leader(s)" session on Thursday, October 13th at 4:00 PM CST.

Q & A with Taylor:

1. Who should attend your session?

Everyone that goes to SHRM will enjoy it. I do not think there will be one registered person who would not find value in something I talk about.

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

1) A framework to manage employee benefits and how to make them fit into the total compensation given to the employees.

2) One creative idea they have not heard of.

3. Is there anything you want attendees to know about you?

I'm loud, talk fast, and bring a lot of passion into my sessions.

4. 10+ years in the healthcare and benefits industry. How did you get your start, and what do you like about it?

It is kind of a funny story. I'm a dairy farm kid that knew nothing else, so I went to college for computer science to become a millionaire. I worked at IBM right out of school and left for a $5,000 increase in compensation at Cottingham and Butler. Little did I know the bit of irony that I work in benefits, and I left eight weeks of vacation for three, 8% 401k match to 6%, and free health insurance.

I find this business to be incredibly complicated. My job is trying to solve America's healthcare problem, be a closet attorney for my clients, and where all the hats of HR to try and figure out what people want. The complexity is solving a whole array of issues gets me a challenge, and challenges create opportunity.

5. What should clients expect when working with you and your team at Cottingham and Butler?

1) Innovation and creativity - It is part of the company's energy and what we do. Where others might outsource, we build stuff from the ground up; we might screw up along the way, but we learn our lessons and end up with something better for our clients.

2) Process - We have checklists for everything we need to collect, processes on what information we need to do our job, and email structures for follow-up. I believe that process is king.

3) A 'weird' passion for insurance - The people here have a weird degree of passion for insurance and another degree of energy which is important to get the job done.

6. The SHRM 2022 Employee Benefits survey, which surveyed 3,000+ organizations, showed that the top three benefit categories are health-related, retirement, and leave. How can organizations be more innovative with these offerings?

This is exactly why people should come to my session. I talk about the top five, and those three are in my top five. Three things into the framework of my session...

1) Communicating what you already have - What you might have might already do the job. Most organizations stink at communicating it, and I'm not saying put it in a benefits guide. The most prominent example I use in my presentation is I think about how involved your leadership is in communicating the value of the compensation you give people, whether that's in your pay plan or whether that's in your benefits. Example: When I first started at Cottingham and Butler, one day in the second year of my tenure, our CEO met with the entire company and took 20 minutes to talk about the value of the retirement plan and what putting the bare minimum in to get the match would do for the employees. On his last slide, he pulled up a percentage of the company and showed that the percentage of people that put enough money in to get the full match was only 52%. Two weeks later, he sent a note out, and it had jumped to 77%.

2) Tweak your stuff, so it sounds a little bit different - Bring your marketing department in on your benefits. If you have a sign outside that says you are hiring people, and you offer health insurance, well, guess what? 99% of employers with 25+ employees do, too, and no one care. For example: If you get rid of deductible and coinsurance and have a copay on everything, you can now advertise a zero-dollar deductible health insurance plan. That can attract people.

3) Do one creative thing - Do something new that you don't see all the time. For example, A client with many females in their workforce has a maternity program coupled with a diapers and wipes program. So for the first six months with the new child, they reimburse a stipend to cover the diapers and wipes.

7. What are some of the most creative and innovative benefits you’ve seen employers offer in your career?

One of our biggest clients gives away free care for everything in what we call tier one. They have an on-site clinic that also goes with that and a call center that steers people to all those places in that tier one bucket. If they go to tier two, they get the normal benefits. After four years, 75% of procedures go to tier one.

We are also seeing our more progressive employers being very leave inclusive. Instead of just maternity and PTO, we are seeing holidays redefined (flexible holidays), paternity leave, and bereavement outside your primary family.

We have programs with some clients now where if the employee is paying off their student loans, the employer will count that money as if it was going into 401K to qualify for a match. So instead of saying, hey, you put 6% in your retirement, we'll give you 3% in your retirement. Hey, you put 6% and your student loans or your retirement; we'll put three in your retirement.

8. What are your thoughts on unlimited PTO?

I worry about the high performers in that model because I think they take less and less PTO. In my session, I try to tell people about making people take PTO. I have some alarming stats in my session about the mental health components of high performers.

9. *Fun Question* Since we are both Taylors, who is your favorite famous (dead or alive) Taylor?

I am a big football fan, so Lawrence Taylor is an old linebacker, for I believe he played for the Giants.

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

HR professionals are juggling a lot of stuff, and a lot of time is spent in the business, not on the business. What I challenge all of our clients to think about that is, what is the one strategic item you wish to accomplish this year? So my challenge to the HR community is to go back to your business and write down one key objective you want to accomplish next year: on the business, not in the business. Then measure it every quarter and see if what you put in place is working.

Meet Taylor:

Taylor Orton has worked with Cottingham & Butler since 2012 and currently holds the position of Vice President and Director of Wisconsin Benefits for the Employee Benefits Consulting division. Prior to managing the Wisconsin Benefits Practice, Taylor ran the Healthcare Analytics division of Cottingham & Butler and brought with him an analytical background with experience at Crescent Electric and IBM. Taylor’s vast experience in both healthcare and data analytics provides our clients with a strategical insight to make better decisions for their business and employees. Taylor received his Bachelor of Science degrees in Computer Science and Business from the University of Dubuque. He also holds a Certified Employee Benefits Specialist designation awarded by the International Foundation of Employee Benefits Plans and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Visit Taylor at the WISHRM22 Exhibitor Hall:

Cottingham & Butler is the 5th largest privately held broker in the U.S., the 25th largest insurance broker in the U.S. and a recognized leader in offering innovative property & casualty and employee benefit insurance solutions. The company is headquartered in Dubuque, Iowa, and employs over 1,000 employees across the U.S.

Cottingham & Butler provides a full suite of risk management and employee benefits services including:

• Property & Casualty Insurance

• Casualty Claims Administration (TPA)

• Captives & Programs

• Safety and Loss Control Consulting Services

• Employee Benefits Brokerage and Consulting

• Compliance & HR Consulting Services

• Benefit Claims Administration (TPA)

• Medical Management Services

• Wellness and Disease Management Solutions

• Personal Insurance Services

Website: Homepage | Cottingham & Butler (cottinghambutler.com)