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Corporate Synergies CEO Tells SmartCEO Readers How to Hire and Manage Self-Motivated Employees

Tuesday, 08 May 2012 11:15

—Corporate Synergies CEO Tells SmartCEO Readers How to Hire and Manage Self-Motivated Employees—

People often hear me say, “We can always do better.” This phrase has been my mantra for most of my professional life.

“We can always do better” isn’t intended as a flippant remark or an out-and-out criticism about performance. Quite the opposite—I use these words as a measure of where my company is today and where we need to go as an organization. I even incorporate the phrase into my quarterly town hall meetings and in my monthly column to associates as a reminder that every action matters. I believe that doing better as an organization starts with individuals who are focused on improving their personal contributions. Change the pronoun from “we” to “I” and the words in the phrase transform into a pledge to improve personal job performance.

Read More of John Turner’s My Turn column at SmartCEO.

Benefits Broker and Consulting Firm, Corporate Synergies Group, Expands into Florida

Tuesday, 10 January 2012 14:02

MT. LAUREL, N.J.—January 11, 2012—Corporate Synergies Group LLC, one of the nation’s leading employee benefits brokers and consulting firms, announces the expansion of its operations to Florida with a new office in the Bank of America Center in downtown Orlando.

Corporate Synergies handles the intricacies of health benefits design and management. Utilizing its team of in-house health and welfare benefits experts, the firm works as a true extension of the employer’s organization.

Business Insurance magazine ranks Corporate Synergies as the fourth largest U.S. benefits specialist and No. 60 among the nation’s 100 largest brokers of U.S. business. Corporate Synergies provides employee benefits consulting and support to approximately 600 corporate and non-profit employers across a wide range of industries.

Michael Goodwin, an employee benefits and insurance veteran with 25 years of experience and a decade of service in the Florida market, will lead the local team as Regional Vice President. “I am confident our consultative solutions will resonate with Florida employers as we deliver a level of service and an approach they haven’t seen before,” said Goodwin. “We handle planning, implementation and ongoing details regarding regulatory compliance, employee advocacy and education programs, and benefits administration management, so our employer clients can focus on their core business.”

John Turner, Corporate Synergies’ CEO and President, also has deep ties to Florida via previous executive leadership positions with benefits and insurance organizations. “Time after time, we find that the Corporate Synergies service model profoundly alters our clients’ benefits experience,” said Turner. “Our strategies simplify the employer’s involvement in benefits and replace frustration with control. We help our clients save time while achieving the maximum value from their benefits spend.”

The office is located at 390 N. Orange Ave., Suite 2300; the direct telephone number is 407-612-6324. Florida is Corporate Synergies’ sixth location. The firm’s headquarters is located in Mt. Laurel, N.J., with regional offices in New York City; Melville, N.Y.; King of Prussia, Pa.; and Bethesda, Md.

About Corporate Synergies Group
Corporate Synergies Group, a privately held employee benefits broker and consulting firm, is an innovator in the employee benefits industry. The company has a track record of helping employers assess employee benefit options and make key choices that deliver real value to their employees, all while managing cost. The firm pioneered the industry-leading BenefitsVIP®, a dedicated employee benefits advocacy service. Corporate Synergies is recognized for its level of service and for being one of the top places to work in its core markets. For more information: http://www.corpsyn.com/.

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Contacts: Corporate Synergies Group
Cindy Zanca, Senior Vice President, Marketing
856-996-2583, cindy.zanca@corpsyn.com

BlissPR
Emily Simmons, Account Executive
212-584-5482, emilys@blisspr.com

Small Business Health Care Stuck on Hold

Tuesday, 03 January 2012 20:13

by Diana Ransom
www.entrepreneur.com

Editor's Note: This is the first installment in a four-part series analyzing the outlook for small businesses in the year ahead.

When it comes to health care, small-business owners aren't making any fast moves.

Faced with higher premiums again in the year ahead, many business owners have found themselves in a holding pattern. They're concerned about the rising costs and the possible impact of health reform, but unsure about making any changes until they have more clarity or options.

Mitch Goldstone, the president and CEO of ScanMyPhotos.com, a photo scanning service in Irvine, Calif., plans to continue paying 100 percent of his 19 employees' costs for medical, dental and vision coverage, even though premiums are expected to jump 18 percent, or roughly $18,000, in 2012.

Mitch Goldstone (fourth from right in back row) on a recent trip to the Grand Canyon with his employees. His company’s health insurance premiums are expected to jump $18,000 in 2012.While he considered sharing the costs with his employees in 2012, he worried that some people would opt out, putting their own health at risk and raising the per-person cost of the company's group plan. "I didn't think that the usurious rates that the health insurance companies are charging should be punishing my employees," Goldstone says.

Compliance Risk Issues with Employer Health Plans

Tuesday, 03 January 2012 20:00

by Benjamin S. Lupin, J.D., LL.M
Director of Compliance, Corporate Synergies

A well-known nationwide pharmacy retailer was recently subject to an enforcement action by the U.S. government costing them a settlement of $2.25 million, the implementation of a comprehensive written compliance program, and an agreement to submit to compliance audits every 2 years for 20 years. What type of violation could have resulted in such a severe punishment to the company? The answer may surprise you – these penalties were the result of reported HIPAA security breaches.

But was this result an anomaly or potentially something much more significant? The reality is, every year, employers pay millions of dollars in penalties for preventable violations of compliance-related laws, making health plan compliance a serious issue with potentially serious sums of money at stake. Additional examples include:

•	A federal judge in Illinois assessed a $6,000 penalty on an employer for failing to provide an ERISA SPD when requested by a plan participant.
•	The Department of Labor assessed a penalty of $15,000 for an employer’s failure to file Form 5500.

Benefits Broker and Consulting Firm, Corporate Synergies Group, Expands Presence in Baltimore-Washington, D.C. Region

Tuesday, 08 November 2011 19:17

—Company Sponsoring “Power of Negotiation” Session at SmartCEO G3 Conference—

MT. LAUREL, NJ – November 8, 2011 – Corporate Synergies Group LLC announced today that it is expanding its presence in the Baltimore-Washington, D.C. area by relocating its regional office to Bethesda, Md. The new office will open in December.

“In response to our growing business in the Baltimore-Washington, D.C. area, we have made a significant expansion to our sales and account management team in this region to better serve our clients and prospects,” said John Turner, president and CEO of Corporate Synergies Group. “This move reiterates our firm commitment to growing our business in the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan area and remaining a dedicated advocate for all of our clients.”

The new office will reside at Bethesda Towers, 4340 East-West Highway, Suite 204, Bethesda, Md. Timothy Hayden, regional vice president of sales, will lead the office.

In another move to increase exposure in the region, Corporate Synergies Group is one of the sponsors of the upcoming SmartCEO G3 Conference on November 10 in Washington, D.C. Turner will introduce Stuart Diamond for “The Power of Negotiation” session at the conference. Diamond is author of New York Times bestseller, “Getting More” – a book based on his award-winning negotiations course at the Wharton Business School.

“We are extremely pleased with our strategic new office location and the opportunity to participate in the G3 conference. We are looking forward to reinforcing our strong, existing relationships in the region and to helping even more employers and their employees address their toughest benefit challenges,” said Hayden.