{"id":30981,"date":"2025-07-02T14:20:26","date_gmt":"2025-07-02T19:20:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bbrown.com\/?post_type=insight&p=30981"},"modified":"2025-07-02T14:38:30","modified_gmt":"2025-07-02T19:38:30","slug":"julie-turpins-recent-fast-company-article-employee-support-shouldnt-start-at-the-breaking-point-2","status":"publish","type":"insight","link":"https:\/\/www.bbrown.com\/ca\/insight\/julie-turpins-recent-fast-company-article-employee-support-shouldnt-start-at-the-breaking-point-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Julie Turpin and Andy Watts on Aligning People and Finance Through Benefits"},"content":{"rendered":"

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In The Media<\/p>\n

\n Julie Turpin and Andy Watts on Aligning People and Finance Through Benefits\n <\/h1>\n\t\n <\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t\n[\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_section section_padding_top=”pt-5″ section_padding_bottom=”pb-5″ full_width=”stretch_row” el_class=”overflow-visible”][vc_row row_padding_top=”pt-4″ el_class=”overflow-visible overlapping-row”][vc_column el_class=”overlapping-column”][vc_single_image image=”30985″ img_size=”1920×800″ alignment=”center” css=”” el_class=”brand-rounded-corners-right”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][\/vc_section][vc_row row_padding_top=”pt-0″][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]<\/p>\n

Why Benefit Design Requires Thoughtful People and Finance Strategies<\/h2>\n

By Julie Turpin & Andy Watts<\/p>\n

When it comes to employee benefits, People Strategy and Finance often approach the conversation from opposite sides of the table. At Brown & Brown, we\u2019ve taken a different approach. Below Chief People Officer Julie Turpin, and Chief Financial Officer Andrew Watts share how their partnership has helped shape a benefits strategy that reflects both the needs of Brown & Brown teammates and the business\u2019 bottom line. When people and finance move in sync, benefits become more than a program; they become a meaningful investment in and reflection of our culture.<\/em><\/p>\n

At many companies, benefits are driven by either HR or Finance \u2014 but rarely in equal partnership. We believe that\u2019s a missed opportunity.<\/p>\n

Benefits are one of the most powerful tools an organization has to support its people. But comprehensive benefits are also a major financial investment: as of December 2024,\u00a0benefits account for 29.5% of total employer compensation.<\/a>\u00a0Making them work for teammates and the bottom line means walking a fine line between what\u2019s meaningful and what\u2019s manageable. It takes curiosity, coordination and constant evaluation, as well as people insight and financial discipline from the start.<\/p>\n

At Brown & Brown, we don\u2019t split this responsibility \u2014 we share it. We sit down together, ask tough questions, examine the data, and listen to our teammates. That ongoing collaboration is how we\u2019ve designed benefits that reflect our business strategy and teammate values.<\/p>\n

You\u2019re already behind if you\u2019re waiting until fall to start the conversation around 2026 offerings. The time to engage is now, before open enrollment is on your doorstep. Here\u2019s how we approach it, and what any organization can borrow from our playbook.<\/p>\n

We start by listening \u2014 and we never stop.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Every year, we ask teammates what matters most through our Be Our Best engagement survey. We also know that surveys are just one tool, and that\u2019s why we also create space for ongoing, two-way conversations: through our Team Resource Groups, one-on-one chats, and informal feedback loops.<\/p>\n

We don\u2019t just collect input \u2014 we act on it.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Some of our most meaningful benefit enhancements have come directly from teammate feedback. Mental health support, IVF, surrogacy and adoption benefits were all added because teammates told us what they needed, and we were serious about following through.<\/p>\n

We design and communicate around real life.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Understanding what teammates need isn\u2019t just about building the right benefits. We also want to help them see how those benefits apply to their lives and how they can take advantage of what<\/p>\n

we\u2019re offering. When teams use their benefits in meaningful ways \u2014 whether it\u2019s preventative care, mental health support or financial planning tools \u2014 the ROI shows up in retention, engagement and overall daily teammate well-being.<\/p>\n

We built personas to make our communication personal and timely. Are they adjusting to life with a new baby? Caring for an aging parent? Facing a major health event or financial shift? These life moments shape how people think about benefits and how we discuss them. With our persona-based campaigns and real teammate testimonials, we target our outreach to help cut through the noise and speak directly to where someone is in life.<\/p>\n

We benchmark beyond the obvious.<\/strong><\/p>\n

When we evaluate our offerings, we look down market to smaller, more nimble companies that tend to take creative swings. We examine larger firms with broader infrastructures. And most importantly, we look at our data: compensation bands, demographics, usage patterns and cost-sharing impact.<\/p>\n

Our goal isn\u2019t to offer what everyone else does, but to ensure that what we deliver offers real value. That also means keeping a close eye on whether our program\u2019s design decisions are unintentionally burdening any group. If a cost model disproportionately affects one population more than others, we ask why and make adjustments.<\/p>\n

We make room to test and learn.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Not every idea needs to go enterprise-wide on day one. In fact, it probably shouldn\u2019t. That\u2019s why we regularly pilot new offerings. We gather real-world feedback, evaluate impact and refine before scaling.<\/p>\n

For example, we\u2019re piloting a human concierge benefit designed to help our teammates navigate moments of need. It\u2019s the kind of offering that wouldn\u2019t have surfaced through benchmarking alone. It came from listening to the real-life complexities our teammates are navigating outside of work.<\/p>\n

We consider staying power.<\/strong><\/p>\n

A program can be deeply valued by teammates and still fail if it isn\u2019t financially sustainable. That\u2019s where our partnership really proves its value. People Services brings the voice of the workforce. Finance brings the modeling and forecasting. Together, we pressure test every idea \u2014 not to slow things down but to ensure we\u2019re building benefits that can endure. That\u2019s what allows benefits to grow with your company, instead of outpacing it.<\/p>\n

We stay curious \u2014 all year long.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Benefits planning doesn\u2019t begin and end with open enrollment. There\u2019s no set-it-and-forget-it moment. We\u2019re constantly evaluating our programs and strategy by checking data, listening and refining our approach. Sometimes we get it wrong. Maybe we overcorrected on cost sharing or introduced something that didn\u2019t land. But when that happens, we treat it as a lesson, not a<\/p>\n

failure. We make note, course-correct if we can and adjust the following year. You can\u2019t improve what you\u2019re not paying attention to and are willing to revisit.<\/p>\n

Benefits are more than an offering. They\u2019re a reflection of your culture.<\/strong><\/p>\n

When benefits are approached with intention and genuine partnership between People Strategy and Finance, they signal to teammates: We see you. We hear you. We\u2019re investing in you. It\u2019s one of the clearest ways a company can show what it stands for. Investing in people means more than offering a long list of perks they leave at the office door. It means designing thoughtful, sustainable benefits that align with your values.<\/p>\n

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