LIMRA ETSS 2025: Legacy Systems - Bad Idea or Big Mistake?
My biggest takeaway from this year was that “legacy systems” (primarily from carriers) are impeding our ability to provide workers with the best experiences. We have to STOP using the term “legacy”, because while the term itself is neutral, it’s used in too many situations with positive connotations – like “leaving a legacy to your children” or a getting admitted to a college or university as a “legacy admit”. More on that to follow…
Insights: Life After Ease... What's Next?
In the fast-paced world of HR & Benefits Technology, one of the most dramatic recent events was Employee Navigator’s acquisition of Ease in April 2023. This acquisition brought together two of the leading Ben Admin players in the small employer market, but also created a queasiness across the ecosystem - in that it was seen as a merger of the #1 and #2 players in that market.
HR Tech 2024 Recap: It's the Service Stupid
Welcome to our recap of the final “HR Technology Conference & Exposition”! No, the conference isn’t going away… It’s just changing its formal name to match its more commonly used informal name: HR Tech – kind of like International Business Machines becoming IBM, or American Telephone & Telegraph becoming AT&T.
Insights: From Benefit Administration to Employee Care
Advancements in Benefit Administration technology have been coming fast and furious. One of the leading drivers of this change is the Voluntary Benefits industry. If we look at today’s Benefit Administration product roadmaps, we see that much of the innovation taking place is VB-driven and includes things like decision support, APIs and claims nudges...
EPIC 2024 Recap: Elevate People, Ignite Change
If you ever want to get a sense for just how toxic the modern workplace can be, check out the Antiwork and RecruitingHell forums (or "subreddits") on Reddit. There you'll find unsettling reports of employers acting badly, such as:
- Requiring employees to find a replacement for their shift, even when sick
- Threatening employees with disciplinary action for using FMLA ...
Research Roundup: Let's Light the Candle!
"The greatest danger in times of turbulence is not the turbulence - it is to act with yesterday's logic". The latest research makes it clear that management guru Peter Drucker's quote resonates loudly today in our HR and worker benefit ecosystems. The data from multiple studies clearly shows that our workers are in distress, yet it appears that most of our solutions are still built on the foundation of "yesterday's logic". What's needed is a holistic rethinking of the organization / worker relationship...
LIMRA ETSS 2024: Nobody Puts Enrollment in the Corner
Welcome to LIMRA Enrollment Technology Strategy Seminar (ETSS) 2024! I always think of LIMRA ETSS as being THE agenda setter for Carrier and Enrollment Platform working relationships, and this year was no different. Whether the topic was APIs, AI, or where employee benefits are headed more broadly, ETSS brings together the perspective of carriers and technology platforms in way befitting the mutual dependence they have on each other. Here are my key takeaways: ...
An Eye for AI: AI & HR - Where Are We?
As best I can tell, we're all still freaking out about AI. Maybe "freak out" is a bit too strong a term, but AI is certainly front and center on peoples’ minds—which I think is a good thing. Front and center increases the likelihood of being thoughtful about using it wisely and reaping the benefits of AI versus enabling the risks to come to life...
An Eye for AI: Reality is a Hallucination We All Agree On
On ChatGPT's one year anniversary, it's worth exploring what I see as the largest impediment to widespread adoption of Large Language Models (LLM) like OpenAI's ChatGPT, Microsoft's Bing Chat, Anthropic's Claude and others: They make mistakes. Or as they are referred to in AI speak: They have "Hallucinations"...
An Eye for AI: The Presidential AI Order - What's in it?
Even though you’ll see terms like “vast” and “sweeping” as descriptions for the Biden administration’s recent executive order on AI – those terms obscure the lack of detail contained in the order. “Laundry List” or “Wish List” would be a much better term for describing this order. While the executive order marks an important milestone in the government’s oversight of AI, the order is best seen as a vision for shaping AI policy and regulations, rather than being a clear set of rules and boundaries...
HR Tech 2023: Is Technology Really Improving Work?
I KNOW I should open this recap with a discussion of AI, since that’s the hot topic of the day. The best comment on AI came from Nathan Chistensen, the CEO of Mineral, who adroitly pointed out “In five years, we won’t be talking about AI at this conference just like we don’t talk about ‘the Internet’ anymore – it will just be part of everything”...
Research Roundup: Employees aren't enrolling in Benefits...
"...they're enrolling in ways to better support themselves and their families." A quote from Wex's Hayden Goethe in his recent blog post. Increasingly, it's obvious that we need innovative and fresh benefit strategies that better meet the needs of employees. This newsletter provides you with an important overview of recent research from Wex, Fidelity, SHRM, Mercer, the Future Forum, Optavise, TELUS Health, and UKG...
Research Roundup: The System was Blinking Red
This newsletter provides you with an important overview of recent research from the ADP Research Institute, Aflac, bswift, Businessolver, Guardian, MetLife, and Nayya. It's clear that the HR & employee benefits industry is at a crossroads. We can either continue with the status quo, or we can rise to the challenge and support employers and employees better than ever before. We are the ones who can help people live better lives. Let's do it!...
