Summer 2006 / No. 68
Why is this business so difficult?
Not that long ago,
it seemed that everyone considered the worksite/voluntary business
to be simple. It was often considered a variation on old, familiar
lines of business: a slight variation of our group business
or an adjunct to our individual operations. Companies entered
right and left, often with badly constructed or poorly thought-out
offerings. Companies entered and companies exited, while trade
associations hyped the opportunity and were overly optimistic
about the ease of entry (and now are overly pessimistic about
it). But eventually, the appropriate lessons were learned.
Today, it is much
more common to hear people ask why it is so difficult to succeed
in the voluntary arena: difficult to differentiate an offering,
difficult to attract attention in the marketplace, difficult
to find qualified people, and difficult to achieve required
levels of profitability. Yes, it is difficult and it’s
a sign of progress that we recognize this truth. But it’s
also not magic or luck. In total, we are an industry led by
people with minimal voluntary experience, often who have other
(conflicting) responsibilities and who have most of their voluntary
experience with one company. That’s a challenging scenario
to say the least.
Knowledge is now
readily available. The tremendous growth in Eastbridge’s
research program and research discount membership programs
attest to the industry’s appetite for knowledge. But
no research, regardless of how accurate or timely, can supply
experience. Executives need to have experienced counsel in
order to avoid the mistakes of others.
We don’t let
new medical school graduates perform major surgery or allow
those who recently passed the bar exam to manage important
cases. Knowledge is essential, but it is not enough. Knowledge
and experience are required for success. |
