Driving Excellence with Corporate Wellness

Alan Derow possesses over 36 years of experience in the corporate HR environment and currently serves as the Sr. Manager of Benefits at Irvine Company. He has worked for companies including Rockwell International and AECOM Technology. He has managed defined contribution and defined benefit plans, ESOPs, non-qualified plans, and various aspects of Human Resources including benefits, compensation, 401(k), wellness programs, training and development, and workers' compensation. Alan earned his bachelor’s degree in Management from San Diego State University. In addition to his work expertise, Alan participates in competitive softball and volunteers time in his community.

As a leader in the Health Insurance industry, what are some challenges or pain points impacting the space?

In the realm of employee benefits, numerous legislative shifts have prompted adjustments in how we manage and offer benefits to our corporate staff. While some changes posed challenges, we effectively incorporated each modification into our HRIS systems, which encompass payroll and external platforms. This ensured seamless internal operations and compliance with federal, IRS, and California state regulations, especially for our predominantly California-based workforce.

What are some major trends impacting and gaining importance in the marketplace today?

A significant aspect is the concept of corporate wellness, involving how a company shapes its wellness culture and utilizes top-notch services and platform solutions to cater to its employee community.

Another vital concern within the benefit industry pertains to disability support. Addressing situations when an employee takes a leave of absence presents challenges. Alongside the company's responsibilities, the state of California plays a significant role in providing income replacement for associates during such leaves. Notably, recent changes in California involve an increase in disability taxes withheld from paychecks, eliminating the earnings cap. This means higher-earning individuals will contribute more to the CA SBI tax than in the past.

What are the leadership strategies you leverage to guide your team and lead any project to successful execution?

Over the past five years, we partnered with a wellness provider that wasn't as valuable to some employees. Collaborating with consultants, we initiated a Request for Proposal (RFP) process for three alternative vendors, including our current one. We organized demos to evaluate platforms, including an upgraded version from our existing vendor. The process involved reviewing RFPs, assessing benefits and costs, and posing strategic questions to align the best vendor and platform with our employee needs. This comprehensive evaluation spanned about two months, entailing RFP issuance, data collection, virtual vendor demos, and thorough Q&A sessions. After receiving final offers and conducting post-demo discussions, we considered our genuine needs and the solutions each platform provided. Factors such as successful implementation, effective utilization, and alignment with our strategic goals played crucial roles in the final choice. While we've moderately engaged with wellness in the past, our aim is to elevate our efforts and enhance associate participation. We seek to provide the right service or platform to foster genuine wellness, enabling our employees to be highly productive and capable. This strategic selection ensures strong engagement and impactful business outcomes moving forward.

Would you like to share a piece of advice with aspiring professionals so they can improve in this field?

To grow and evolve in your career, it’s crucial to build and embrace a more strategic mindset. While it's natural to concentrate on administrative tasks and achieving operational success, evolving to a strategic perspective requires a shift in thinking and considering various factors. Seek opportunities to cultivate a strategic mindset, seek guidance and coaching from experienced professionals who have mastered strategic thinking, and aim to transcend the trivialities. While being detail-oriented is valuable, career growth involves rising above day-to-day tasks and gaining a higher-level perspective to understand the bigger picture.