Why Benefit Design Requires Thoughtful People and Finance Strategies
By Julie Turpin & Andy Watts
When it comes to employee benefits, People Strategy and Finance often approach the conversation from opposite sides of the table. At Brown & Brown, we’ve 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’ 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.
At many companies, benefits are driven by either HR or Finance — but rarely in equal partnership. We believe that’s a missed opportunity.
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, benefits account for 29.5% of total employer compensation. Making them work for teammates and the bottom line means walking a fine line between what’s meaningful and what’s manageable. It takes curiosity, coordination and constant evaluation, as well as people insight and financial discipline from the start.
At Brown & Brown, we don’t split this responsibility — we share it. We sit down together, ask tough questions, examine the data, and listen to our teammates. That ongoing collaboration is how we’ve designed benefits that reflect our business strategy and teammate values.
You’re already behind if you’re waiting until fall to start the conversation around 2026 offerings. The time to engage is now, before open enrollment is on your doorstep. Here’s how we approach it, and what any organization can borrow from our playbook.
We start by listening — and we never stop.
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’s why we also create space for ongoing, two-way conversations: through our Team Resource Groups, one-on-one chats, and informal feedback loops.
We don’t just collect input — we act on it.
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.
We design and communicate around real life.
Understanding what teammates need isn’t 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
we’re offering. When teams use their benefits in meaningful ways — whether it’s preventative care, mental health support or financial planning tools — the ROI shows up in retention, engagement and overall daily teammate well-being.
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.
We benchmark beyond the obvious.
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.
Our goal isn’t 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’s design decisions are unintentionally burdening any group. If a cost model disproportionately affects one population more than others, we ask why and make adjustments.
We make room to test and learn.
Not every idea needs to go enterprise-wide on day one. In fact, it probably shouldn’t. That’s why we regularly pilot new offerings. We gather real-world feedback, evaluate impact and refine before scaling.
For example, we’re piloting a human concierge benefit designed to help our teammates navigate moments of need. It’s the kind of offering that wouldn’t have surfaced through benchmarking alone. It came from listening to the real-life complexities our teammates are navigating outside of work.
We consider staying power.
A program can be deeply valued by teammates and still fail if it isn’t financially sustainable. That’s 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 — not to slow things down but to ensure we’re building benefits that can endure. That’s what allows benefits to grow with your company, instead of outpacing it.
We stay curious — all year long.
Benefits planning doesn’t begin and end with open enrollment. There’s no set-it-and-forget-it moment. We’re 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’t land. But when that happens, we treat it as a lesson, not a
failure. We make note, course-correct if we can and adjust the following year. You can’t improve what you’re not paying attention to and are willing to revisit.
Benefits are more than an offering. They’re a reflection of your culture.
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’re investing in you. It’s 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.
