voluntary BY NELSON LGRISWOLD Planning to drive the benefits strategy BAKING YOUR- SELF into your clients' strate- gic planning process wilTdif- terentiate your practice, boost retention, create new revenue and elevate your role W e know that HR directors, benefits managers and C-suite executives are horribly fi:us- trated with employee benefits - not simply with the high cost of the medical, but perhaps most with their lack of control over the process. Employee benefits planning (such as it is) has become a thoroughly reactionary process. From the effective date, all parties involved hold their breath, awaidng delivery of the renewal notice. My broker clients tell me no task is more unpleasant than delivering a high renewal. I joke that I always know where to find brokers at renewal time (no, not at the bar!); they are at the Army-Navy surplus store, buying a helmet and fiak jacket before tbey go into their renewal meetings. Shoot the messenger Once a high renewal has been delivered, clients generally go through two phases. First is anger, often irrationally directed at the mes- senger (hence the value of the helmet and flcik jacket.) The anger derives in part, of course, from the fact that the high renewal requires more work — mak- ing changes to the benefits plan. The second reaction to a high renewal most often resembles the frenetic chaos of a Chinese fire drill, as the client and bro- ker scramble under severe time pressures to cobble together a somewhat-coherent and workable solution to managing the renewal. Once a new benefits plan finally is devel- oped, the whole sad cycle begins again, and the dread returns to hang over all parties until the next renewal. No one is driving the car This annual, insane ritual occurs because no one is driving the client's benefits strategy. As in the Chinese fire drill, no one is will- ing to take the wheel and drive the car. The reactionary approach to benefits planning is simply the default because there's a leadership vacuum. This presents a tremendous oppor- tunity for brokers looking for a way to become more constiltative. Driving the benefits strategy means helping clients develop an intentional and forward-thinking plan for benefits. The need for a proactive approach to benefits planning isn't just obvious, it should be glaring. Business owners, and specifically CFOs, have a plan for managing every aspect of the enterprise, except benefits. Most success- ful companies use strategic planning to set priorities and goals for the future. The CFO or controller uses the strategic plan like a road map for operational direction. The CFO will inform HR that the enterprise strategic plan requires that the medical renewal come in under a certain percentage increase or plan changes must be made to keep total benefits cost below a set dollar amount. While the enterprise strategic plan seems to gtiide management's every move, in almost all cases, neither the CFO nor HR has in place a strategic ...

1. voluntary BY NELSON LGRISWOLD
Planning to drive the benefits strategy
BAKING YOUR-
SELF into your
clients' strate-
gic planning
process wilTdif-
terentiate your
practice, boost
retention, create
new revenue
and elevate
your role
W
e know that HR directors,
benefits managers and C-suite
executives are horribly fi:us-
trated with employee benefits
- not simply with the high cost of the medical,
but perhaps most with their lack of control
over the process.
Employee benefits planning (such as
it is) has become a thoroughly reactionary
process. From the effective date, all parties
involved hold their breath, awaidng delivery of
the renewal notice. My broker clients tell me
no task is more unpleasant than delivering a
high renewal. I joke that I always know where

2. to find brokers at renewal time (no, not at the
bar!); they are at the Army-Navy surplus store,
buying a helmet and fiak jacket before tbey go
into their renewal meetings.
Shoot the messenger
Once a high renewal has been delivered,
clients generally go through two phases. First
is anger, often irrationally directed at the mes-
senger (hence the value of the helmet and flcik
jacket.) The anger derives in part, of course,
from the fact that
the high renewal
requires more
work — mak-
ing changes to the
benefits plan.
The second
reaction to a high
renewal most often
resembles the
frenetic chaos of a
Chinese fire drill, as
the client and bro-
ker scramble under
severe time pressures to cobble together a
somewhat-coherent and workable solution to
managing the renewal.
Once a new benefits plan finally is devel-
oped, the whole sad cycle begins again, and
the dread returns to hang over all parties until

3. the next renewal.
No one is driving the car
This annual, insane ritual occurs because no
one is driving the client's benefits strategy.
As in the Chinese fire drill, no one is will-
ing to take the wheel and drive the car. The
reactionary approach to benefits planning is
simply the default because there's a leadership
vacuum. This presents a tremendous oppor-
tunity for brokers looking for a way to become
more constiltative.
Driving the benefits strategy means
helping clients develop an intentional and
forward-thinking plan for benefits. The need
for a proactive approach to benefits planning
isn't just obvious, it should be glaring.
Business owners, and specifically CFOs,
have a plan for managing every aspect of the
enterprise, except benefits. Most success-
ful companies use strategic planning to set
priorities and goals for the future. The CFO or
controller uses the strategic plan like a road
map for operational direction. The CFO will
inform HR that the enterprise strategic plan
requires that the medical renewal come in
under a certain percentage increase or plan
changes must be made to keep total benefits
cost below a set dollar amount.
While the enterprise strategic plan seems
to gtiide management's every move, in almost
all cases, neither the CFO nor HR has in place a
strategic plan to deal with a high renewal. There

4. is no road map for benefits decisions if changes
to the plan are reqtiired. This leaves HR mak-
ing critical and costly benefits decisions in a
haphazard and rushed fashion with little or no
consideration of larger or long-term strategic
goals. Again, that's because, at most companies,
no one is driving the benefits strategy.
BenefltvS strategic planning
A benefit strategic plan is like the enter-
28 EmployeeBenefitAdviser I November 2011
voluntary
prise strategic plan, but with outcomes
specific to the company's benefits plans.
By embracing benefits strategic planning,
you can take control of your client's ben-
efits strategy and develop a relationship
with the C-suite executives, all while mak-
ing your HR contact look like a hero.
The cost of employee health care
clearly has become one of the most
significant costs for organizations today,
comprising 9% to 12% of total operational
expenses. In the face of consistently rising
hecdth care costs, companies must adopt
a long-term strategy supported by tactical
plans to control these costs. By implement-
ing a benefit strategic plan, organizations
can make decisions regarding benefits and
health care with a more intentional, long-
term view and with significantly less stress.

5. No more Chinese fire drills.
Moreover, at the conclusion of the
benefits strategic planning process, the or-
ganization now has a benefits plan that is
aligned perfectly viith the enterprise plan,
supports and advances the overall busi-
ness strategy, and has complete buy-in
from the C-suite leadership because they
were party to the process.
With benefits strategic planning, you
guide and facilitate the creation of a three-
to five-year plan that anticipates and plans
for all contingencies that might occur with
the benefits program.
By introducing benefits strategic
planning into an organization, you help
HR and the company move from a reactive
to a proactive posture, keeping one step
ahead of the rising cost curve.
Tuning into WII-FM:
Now let's tune in to everyone's favorite
radio station, WII-FM, and answer the
ever-present question, "What's in it for
me?" By helping your clients implement a
benefits strategic planning process, you:
• Differentiate yourself and your
practice from the competition
• Improve your client retention
• Create chances for new revenue
• Elevate your role beyond that of a

6. mere salesperson
Brokers tell me that one of their
greatest prospecting challenges is dif-
ferentiating themselves from the compe-
tition. Let's face it, everyone has access
to the same health plans with the same
rates, and government regulation is
imposing increasing conformity on plan
design. The old days of shopping carriers
and carrying quotes to get the business
are history, and even plan design exper-
tise has limited value. Offering benefits
strategic planning makes you not just
different, but uniquely better. Wearing a
bow tie makes you different; helping your
client take charge of the benefits plan-
ning process and align the benefits plan
with the enterprise strategic plan — that
makes you better.
Want a powerful approach to use
with a new prospect? Don't ask if she's
interested in hearing what you can save
them on their medical; that lacks credibil-
ity. Instead, try asking, "Are you happy with
your broker's benefits strategic planning
process?" You'll enjoy the look of confu-
sion on her face. Because, of course, her
broker doesn't have a benefits strategic
planning process... doesn't even know
what benefits strategic planning is. Now
ask for 20 minutes to explain how benefits
strategic planning can help HR become
a partner with the C-suite. You'll get your

7. appointment.
Bake yourself into the plan
One of the most exciting aspects of ben-
efits strategic planning is that while you are
helping the client create that three- to five-
year plan, you're building yourself into it.
You not only have provided the framework
and many of the specifics of the plan, you
also have signed a non-disclosure agree-
ment so that the CFO can share with you
the company's financiáis, goals and growth
strategies for the coming years. You have
baked yourself right into the organization's
three- to five-year benefits strategic plan
and bave become indispensable to the
company for the foreseeable future.
Plan more revenue
While you are helping the client plan
for such contingencies as a renewal
that exceeds the increase allowed by
the enterprise strategic plan, you will
need to provide plan design options that
almost certainly will involve new benefits,
specifically voluntary benefits. The cool
aspect of this is that your introduction
of voluntary benefits is intentional and
strategic as part of a contingency plan,
for the purpose of managing a possible
high renewal. You're not just pitching
products, but are integrating them into
a comprehensive plan design that v«ll
achieve a consensus goal of controlling
benefit costs.

8. And notice the word "consensus"
above. The HR director as well as the
CFO will have signed off on offering the
voluntary benefits if a renewal triggers the
contingency plan. There will be no hesita-
tion once the contingency plan is imple-
mented. And more products mean more
revenue for you.
Moving ifrom transactional agent
to trusted adviser
Finally, and perhaps most important,
your role in introducing and facilitating
the benefits strategic plan moves you far
beyond the broker's usual transactional
role of salesperson. You are now sitting
on the same side of the table as the CFO,
privy to the company's most closely-held
plans and goals. Simply put, benefits stra-
tegic planning helps you move from mere
salesperson up the ladder to the valued
role of trusted adviser. With competition
for clients increasingly more brutal, aren't
you ready to differentiate yourself from
the rest of the pack? Using benefits strate-
gic planning to drive the client's benefits
strategy, you can take control of your
accounts and help manage their benefits
plan for their — and your own — long-
term success. EBA
Griswoid is a ieading authority on consultative
selling and cross-selling voluntary. Reach him at
615/656-5974, [email protected]
30 EmployeeBenefitAdviser | November 2011

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However, users may print, download, or email articles for
individual use.
Improving Academic and Social Well-being of Students in
Academic Institutions
Name
Institution
Area of Focus
The objective of this study is to determine whether the creation
of a caring, supportive learning environment will improve the
academic and social well-being of students in various
institutions (Wentzel & Wigfield, 1998).
Tools such as Experimental, qualitative, and quantitative
research methods will be used in the research.
The objective of this study is to determine whether the creation
of a caring, supportive learning environment will improve the
academic and social well-being of students in various
institutions (Wentzel & Wigfield, 1998).
This is an important aspect of my teaching role as molding a
high performing students who are both intellectually and

10. socially equipped with the right set of knowledge and skill is
my paramount aim.
Tools such as Experimental, qualitative, and quantitative
research methods will be used in the research.
2
Explanation of the Problem
Education is a paramount feature that facilitates the acquisition
knowledge, information and the right set of skills, attitudes, and
values.
Seemingly, academic institutions create a platform that learning
is practiced.
However, it has been observed that some students fail to
perform in their academic endeavors and their social
interactions.
Poor achievement and the lack of appropriate skills releases an
incapable individual back to the society.
Education is a paramount feature that facilitates the acquisition
knowledge, information and the right set of skills, attitudes, and
values. Seemingly, academic institutions create a platform that
learning is practiced. However, it has been observed that some
students fail to perform in their academic endeavors and their
social interactions. Poor achievement and the lack of
appropriate skills releases an incapable individual back to the
society. The above problem necessitates for looking for means
in which the academic and social well-being of students in
various institutions can be improved (Hoover-Dempsey &
Sander, 1995).
3

11. Action Plan
I hoped to make use of various mean so as to create a caring,
supportive environment that can improve the academic
performance of the students.
It involves factors such as the relationship between the teachers
and the students.
Seemingly, the manner in which teachers interact with the
students contributes to the attitude the students will have about
learning.
I hoped to make use of various mean so as to create a caring,
supportive environment that can improve the academic
performance of the students. It involves factors such as the
relationship between the teachers and the students. Seemingly,
the manner in which teachers interact with the students
contributes to the attitude the students will have about learning.
A caring and supportive environment that has factors such as
motivation methods and using active forms of punishment has
been considered to be influential in improving the academic and
social performance of the students.
4
Action Plan Continued
Similarly, engagement of the students in decision making and
the school policies has been thought to foster a sense of
belonging and connectedness. This has been speculated to be a
contributing factor in the promotion of the social wellbeing of
the students.
When the students are satisfied psychologically, they will
probably be able to create room for academic concentration and
excellence.
Furthermore, they will have the right set of skills to promote

12. social interactions.
Similarly, engagement of the students in decision making and
the school policies has been thought to foster a sense of
belonging and connectedness. This has been speculated to be a
contributing factor in the promotion of the social wellbeing of
the students. When the students are satisfied psychologically,
they will probably be able to create room for academic
concentration and excellence. Furthermore, they will have the
right set of skills to promote social interactions. It is imperative
to note that I felt that the implementation of the above activities
and events would improve the academic performance and social
well-being of the students. As such, I would love to initiate the
mentioned elements in my research to determine their
effectiveness in answering the research question (Cohen, 2006).
5
Variables
It has been observed that motivation is an as important element
that can improve the psychological wellbeing of the student.
Parental participation in the welfare of the student is also
necessary.
In the research, the variables will include the dependent
variable that entails the academic performance and social well-
being that will be ascertained in different learning
environments.
It has been observed that motivation is an as important element
that can improve the psychological wellbeing of the student.
Parental participation in the welfare of the student is also

13. necessary. In the research, the variables will include the
dependent variable that entails the academic performance and
social well-being that will be ascertained in different learning
environments. Creation of a supportive teacher-student
relationship is observed to be an element that enhances high
achievement in students. In regards to this research, there will
be the presence of variables that will necessitate effective
results. The independent variables include caring supportive
environments such as the creation of motivation platforms of
teachers to students. Initiating parental participation in the
welfare of the students and supportive student-teacher
relationship is also an independent variable.
6
Research Questions
This research will seek to answer several research questions.
They include
Is motivation an important aspect in improving the students’
performance?
What form of teacher-student relationship serves to enhance
high achievement in the student?
What type of school environment seeks to impact positively the
student?
Locus Of Control
There is the use of external locus of control. Markedly the level
in which the variables are introduced to the participants will
vary.
It is focused on determining the degree of effectiveness each
factor has on improving the standard of performance and social
well-being of the student.

14. There is the use of external locus of control. Markedly the level
in which the variables are introduced to the participants will
vary. It is focused on determining the degree of effectiveness
each factor has on improving the standard of performance and
social well-being of the student. There will be equality in the
introduction of the factors that are believed to lead to higher
achievement in the students. Creating a caring school
environment will be done under monitoring with each
participant playing the role accordingly for accurate results
8
Interventions
At the beginning of the research, a pretest will be done to
determine the level of performance for each participating
student.
It will be used to calculate on whether there has been any
change in the aspect of the students at the final stage of the
experiment.
The responsiveness of the students will be determined by the
rate of their participation in the class activities and through the
periodic assessment tests given to the students.
At the beginning of the research, a pretest will be done to
determine the level of performance for each participating
student. It will be used to calculate on whether there has been
any change in the aspect of the students at the final stage of the
experiment. The responsiveness of the students will be
determined by the rate of their participation in the class
activities and through the periodic assessment tests given to the
students. The responses will be assessed weekly through
different class activities monthly when the midterm exams are
carried out.
9

15. Group Membership
There will be a total of fifteen participants in the study. They
will be spread in terms of their academic performance, gender
and learning disabilities.
Apart from the immediate participants who will primarily be
under supervision is the other participants who will be
influential in bringing the study into effect.
There will be a total of fifteen participants in the study. They
will be spread in terms of their academic performance, gender
and learning disabilities. There will be five boys, five girls, and
five students with disabilities. Apart from the immediate
participants who will primarily be under supervision is the other
participants who will be influential in bringing the study into
effect. They will be the parents whose involvement in the
school activities of the participants will determine their
response in terms of improvement in academic performance.
The teachers will similarly necessitate the creation of a caring,
supportive environment through creating a positive relationship
with the participants.
10
Negotiations
The participants will be made to understand that the experiment
is voluntary.
All forms of obstacles that may occur such as competition
between the parents of the participants for their respective
children to perform better than the other students will be dealt
with accordingly.
Both the teachers and the parents will be made to understand
that the experiment will go according to my instructions and
direction.
No form of deviation or addition of the operations will be

16. tolerated.
The participants will be made to understand that the experiment
is voluntary. All forms of obstacles that may occur such as
competition between the parents of the participants for their
respective children to perform better than the other students will
be dealt with accordingly. Both the teachers and the parents will
be made to understand that the experiment will go according to
my instructions and direction. No form of deviation or addition
of the operations will be tolerated.
11
Ethics
Ethics is an important feature that has to be considered when
carrying out a research.
With regards to this research major, ethical consideration will
be taken into account. Ethics will be used when carrying out
this research.
There will be informed consent from the parents of the students
participating in the research.
Furthermore, the participant will be at liberty to exit the study
if they feel that it is constraining them in any manner.
Ethics is an important feature that has to be considered when
carrying out a research. With regards to this research major,
ethical consideration will be taken into account. Ethics will be
used when carrying out this research. There will be informed
consent from the parents of the students participating in the
research. Furthermore, the participant will be at liberty to exit
the study if they feel that it is constraining them in any manner.
The performance of the students at the end of the experiment

17. will be handled with privacy. No form of favoritism will be
given to any participants in terms of the teacher-student
relationship.
12
Timeline
The first stage will be determining the academic performance of
the students before starting the experiment.
This will then progress to the phase in which the research has
taken root, and the participant’s progress is being observed and
the necessary data collected.
The third phase entails the completion of the investigation and
evaluation of the data.
The first stage will be determining the academic performance of
the students before starting the experiment. This will then
progress to the phase in which the research has taken root, and
the participant’s progress is being observed and the necessary
data collected. The third phase entails the completion of the
investigation and evaluation of the data.
13
Statement of Resources
Survey papers will be used and pens that the parents and
teachers will be required to fill about the progress of the
students.
The graph will be used in indicating the pretest and posttest
performance of the academic performance of the participants.
Survey papers will be used and pens that the parents and
teachers will be required to fill about the progress of the
students. The graph will be used in indicating the pretest and

18. posttest performance of the academic performance of the
participants.
14
Data Collection
Various methods of data collection were used in the research.
Pretest methods were used to determine the performance of the
students and their social participation before the research.
Post-test of data collection was afterward used after the study to
ascertain the effectiveness of each intervention method.
Data Collection continued
Moreover, the direct observation was done to assess the level of
social interaction the students possessed.
The academic performance of the students will be collected and
recorded using a graph.
Surveys will similarly be used to obtain information from the
parents and teachers about any improvement observed on the
part of the students.
16
References
Cohen, J. (2006). Social, Emotional, Ethical, and Academic
Education: Creating a Climate for Learning, Participation in
Democracy, and Well-Being. Harvard Educational
Review, 76(2), 201-237.
Hoover-Dempsey, K., & Sander, H. (1995). Parental
Involvement in Children's Education: Why does it make a

19. Difference? The Teachers College Record, 97 (2), 310-331
Wentzel, K. R., & Wigfield, A. (1998). Academic and Social
Motivational Influences on Students' Academic
Performance. Educational Psychology Review, 10(2), 155-175.
Read the article Planning to Drive the Benefits Strategy.
Describe what is meant by developing a proactive approach to
employee benefits planning. Consider the organization you are
researching. Does it appear the company is maintaining a
proactive approach to employee benefits? What suggestions
would you have to help the organization with a proactive
approach to benefits?