The Berrien County Board of Commissioners has hired a firm to manage employee benefits as it seeks to save and improve service.
Commissioners on Thursday heard from Mike Hagerty of Gallagher Insurance, Risk Management, and Consulting about the work it does to broker employee benefit packages to the advantage of its clients. He said with thousands of employees worldwide, the company has the resources to handle what Berrien County needs.
“We have the bandwidth to be able to do whatever’s needed,” Hagerty said. “Whether it’s a comp study, whether it’s a review of pharmacy spend, whatever your need is. Maybe it’s a well-being initiative. Whatever it is, we have people that are able to do that. And fortunately, you also have local people who are able to lead that.”
Hagerty said Gallagher would work with the local county staff to ensure all employees are well-served. County Human Resources Director Kristin Reynolds told the board the firm could also help take a load off county staff by taking phone calls from employees and retirees.
“So as of right now, we’ve been tracking calls and we get anywhere from 10 to 20 calls per day, just asking basic benefit questions,” Reynolds said. “Something like the Benefit Advocacy Center would allow us to redirect those calls if it were approved.”
The problem is that the contract commissioners approved with Gallagher a few weeks ago doesn’t include that call center support. Reynolds said it would cost the county about $1,000 per month to add that option to the agreement.
“Absolutely, I do think the Benefit Advocacy Center, at least on a short-term period of time, would be a great option for us, especially while we are short -handed without the benefit manager.”
Commissioners are expected to consider a resolution add call services to the county’s contract with Gallagher next week. They have been working to reduce costs, partly through the elimination of positions that are currently unfilled.
