Inspired to make a difference

The changing face of employee demographics and their needs is a big issue for plan sponsors today, according to David Adams, Senior Vice-President, Insurance Business, Medavie Blue Cross. 

The question of what employer-sponsored group benefits should look like has arguably never been more pertinent.

“Employers have the requirement to listen and get the appropriate information to ensure they have group employee benefit programs that satisfy the employee, who is changing,” Adams says. “There are group plan sponsors who probably have been running very traditional programs for decades. We help group plan sponsors identify and respond to those changing needs.”

As an example, traditionally, group insurance programs may have been tailored to a primary user that was an older employee that may have had some health concerns. However, newer generations of employees are interested in self-care, and they access self-care through their employee benefits program. They also utilize benefit programs more than previous generations and use it for more unique benefits than their predecessors.

“HR executives need to be far more responsive to their employee value proposition and make sure they offer the right vehicle for that proposition,” Adams says. “The COVID crisis saw a chunk of the employee population base move away and this left recruitment gaps for many organizations. Everyone was out recruiting, so everyone needed to sharpen their employee value proposition.

“Employees ended up in the driver’s seat, being able to demand things they weren’t able to do previously. These types of trends tend to be cyclical and employers react by improving their value propositions through the benefit programs.

“As a provider, we had to be responsive as well and become good partners and change our own traditional thinking. We see these trends evolve and we need to remain adaptable and open-minded.”

Learning from other industries

Adams built an impressive career as an accountant by working in positions with increasing responsibilities across a number of industries and then changing direction to his current role.

At Medavie BC, he is responsible for the insurance business for both group and individual sales. He believes in empowering individuals and moving away from compartmentalization towards a more all-inclusive and comprehensive method of communication with customers.

“Prior to Medavie BC, I worked in the transportation and oil industries in their finance groups. After many years, I wanted to try a new industry and be more a part of the lifeblood of the business in a profit and loss management role,” he says. “The group health insurance business is where I landed and Medavie was very gracious to take me on for this challenging opportunity.”

Adams admits it took him a little time to understand the full scope of the industry, but he is now on firm ground and feels he contributes to the organization and the industry in general.

“I am responsible for our underwriting and actuarial pricing teams, product development team, and group marketing team,” he says. He leads the business development teams to create customer value propositions and market them to Medavie BC customers. 

“The nice part about this level of responsibility, it really gives me an appreciation for the different pockets of the value proposition that we have for our customers. I participate in what that value proposition looks like and in its pricing. I also participate in the articulation of gaining trust in the market through the business development of that value proposition.

Communicating in a more comprehensive way

“The new structure of our team has really come together nicely, and all of the prongs are gelling together to be able to talk to the market, potential customers, and advisors in a more comprehensive way. The intelligence that you know, our representatives now bring to the market is more all encompassing. They understand the pricing models, the value for money, our product journey, and why we're launching different products at different intervals.”

Adams strongly believes that when a company falls into a silo effect, it becomes difficult to inspire and motivate, “because you’re inspiring and motivating in a silo. The bigger the company gets, the harder it is to do that. When you create a vision that is more comprehensive, it's much easier to inspire that your teammates and inspire the leaders in the organization.

As a company, “we are now relatively nimble and we have the chance to inspire a lot of people. It's important that people are aligned and that they want to come to work every day and be inspired by what we do. When you come to work with a positive energy and passion, it’s infectious and then you want to do the best for the customers.”

Making an impact

Adams says he is inspired by the ability to make an impact. “We are at an interesting time for healthcare in Canada and there are all kinds of opportunities for improvement because health is important to everybody.

“I am passionate that I'm working for an organization that really wants to make a difference, so that inspires me. Medavie BC values being a good corporate citizen and I believe this is incredibly important because we are trying to make a difference in the Canadian healthcare landscape.

“Before I joined this industry, the healthcare system wasn’t really on my radar. I was focused on ships and gas stations and refineries and trains, and I liked my jobs. However, working at Medavie Blue Cross feels like a grander cause organization because it can make an impact on the wellbeing of Canadians.

“I know my teammates feel the same way in that we all feel there is this opportunity in front of us to make a difference.”