Smith-Green School Corporation Superintendent, Dan Hile, shares his experience working with PHP, as he sees how PHP has gone “above and beyond” his expectations of an employee benefits provider with a dedicated sales team, focused customer service, and hands on employee education and communication.
Here’s Dan’s story:
Smith-Green School Corporation
Dan Hile has served as superintendent of Smith-Green since 2017, yet his entire career has been educationally-focused, helping students from all backgrounds achieve success both in and out of the classroom. Recently, Dan shared the challenges of offering employee benefits to a school corporation with more than 175 staff members, including teachers and auxiliary workers, spread across three different buildings serving nearly 1,200 students.
Smith-Green Schools, which serves the Churubusco, IN community, was struggling financially when Dan took the helm in 2017. In 2018, he led the district through a successful school operating referendum. Dan says: “This [the referendum approval] was a good ‘stepping off’ point for the district as well as a positive turning point to either ‘survive’ by cutting costs and continuing to compromise programs, salaries, and benefits, or move forward more progressively.”
Regarding employee benefits, Dan wanted to consider other options and evaluate a program that would provide the most value to Smith-Green. At the time, Smith-Green was in a long-term, committed business relationship with an agency and broker trust for their employee benefit plan. For the system to consider a switch in employee benefits providers, they would have to negotiate their way out of that longstanding contract. It was a decision that was not made lightly, as it was a costly and time-consuming move. However, Dan saw the advantages for both his staff and his community to offer comprehensive, local benefits, with a committed provider who could not only offer a competitive plan, but also educate his staff and be available to consult with them so they could better leverage the benefits they had.
Investing in human capital
Dan is a member of the Indiana Association of Public School Superintendents and serves on the governing board for the American Association of School Administrators. This role has allowed him to represent Indiana and his school district, to advocate for excellence in teaching, and to encourage fair wages and good employee benefits to help attract and retain the most qualified and talented teachers.
Dan recognizes that many public school districts have not been able to keep pace with investments in human capital even though research shows that investments in human capital improve organizational performance, employee retention, and innovation. Offering comprehensive employee benefits helps attract and retain talented employees. This was part of Dan’s vision for Smith-Green Schools. He understands that school districts need to keep talented teachers in their pipeline and it is his responsibility to set a vision and goals for the corporation. His work has focused largely on relationship-building and trust-building with the community and his staff, so they could all appreciate the vision he has for Smith-Green—elevating the quality of education in his district and the talent and quality of his teachers and staff.
A good employee is like money in the bank
The Bureau of Labor Statistics provides information on the average cost of employee benefits to employers, per employee. Healthcare is typically one of the most expensive benefits for employers to provide, constituting 8.2% of total compensation for (civilian) workers in March 2020.
A well-trained, confident, and engaged employee will do better work and report to work more often. This helps save a corporation money and employees are more committed and loyal to organizations that invest in them. Good employee benefits are good for a company’s bottom line, and that's exactly why Dan Hile classified employee benefits, not as an expense, but as an investment in his team.
Learning how to leverage health benefits
Dan recognized the value of offering excellent employee benefits, and more importantly, that his staff utilized the benefits they were offered, wisely. Part of being a smart healthcare consumer is understanding what a health plan offers and how to maximize plan offerings. This is where PHP really excelled. PHP account management team members visited Smith-Green multiple times, helping with benefit plan education, explaining terminology, and engaging in employee seminars and wellness visits. Dan says, “I feel really good that we’re getting value back, not only from the benefit plan, but also from our relationship with PHP. You typically do not see this level of personal involvement with insurance providers.”
Dan also says, “Several of my staff members have commented how pleased they are that they can pick up the phone and talk to a real person who answers their healthcare and health plan questions. I really appreciate the way PHP walks members through their benefits so that they understand them and can utilize them effectively.”
Going above and beyond
This is Smith-Green’s second year with PHP as their employee benefits provider. Dan is very pleased with the relationship Smith-Green has with PHP. He is planning to host a second Health Insurance 101 educational update for his employees so that they are well-equipped to leverage their health benefits and not leave preventive health screening benefits on the table at the end of the year. And, with further education and coaching, the PHP team will implement more wellness challenges and incentives to help keep Smith-Green teachers and staff healthy and on the job.
Dan says: “From our perspective, one of the biggest differences I’ve seen since joining PHP, is the level of individual customer service attention we’ve received. PHP has consistently gone above and beyond to connect with our staff and myself to make sure that we feel supported at all times. They are always quick to respond. One of the most beneficial aspects of working with PHP is the level of education we’ve received to make sure staff understands their benefits and utilizes them effectively — making members smart consumers. Ultimately, this saves our staff, and our corporation, money.”
PHP’s goal is to help employers make smart health plan choices by focusing on the people we serve and bringing human stories to the forefront. We put people at the center of all of our efforts.
If you’re ready to talk to a people-centered employee benefits company, contact your benefits advisor and ask about PHP. Or, give us a call!
.png)