Company Profile
A Miami-based professional services firm specializing in consulting and advisory work employed 85 full-time professionals, with plans to grow to 150+ employees over the next 18 months. The workforce was highly educated, tech-savvy, and recruited from competitive markets where benefits were a critical differentiator. Leadership was committed to building a benefits strategy that could scale with the business while supporting retention, recruiting, and long-term financial discipline.
The Challenge
The firm was at an inflection point. Rapid growth had strained the existing benefits structure, which had been designed for a smaller team and was beginning to show cracks under the pressure of rising costs, increased complexity, and heightened employee expectations.
Leadership identified several converging challenges:
- Escalating healthcare costs: Major medical premiums had increased 18% year-over-year, driven by a small number of high-cost claims and a benefits structure that lacked intentional cost containment mechanisms. Cash flow was tight, and leadership was concerned that continued premium growth would impact hiring budgets and operational flexibility.
- Recruiting competitiveness: Candidates in the firm’s target talent pool expected comprehensive, innovative benefits packages. The existing plan was functional but unremarkable, and leadership worried it was becoming a recruiting disadvantage against larger competitors with more sophisticated offerings.
- Limited visibility: The firm’s existing broker relationship was transactional. Leadership received renewal quotes but lacked real-time visibility into utilization patterns, cost drivers, or strategic options. Decision-making felt reactive and last-minute.
- Scalability concerns: The current benefits structure required significant manual effort to administer as the team grew. Leadership wanted a framework that could scale smoothly without requiring full redesigns at each renewal or adding administrative burden to the HR function.
- Employee experience: While the existing plan was adequate, employees expressed frustration with high deductibles, confusing network restrictions, and limited support for everyday healthcare needs. Leadership wanted a benefits experience that felt more modern, accessible, and aligned with the firm’s culture of innovation.
The managing partner described the situation as “good enough for where we were, but not where we’re going.”
The Solution
RM Legacy Group worked with the firm to architect a comprehensive benefits strategy that combined traditional major medical coverage with the CHAMP Plan as a structured health engagement layer, creating a more intentional framework designed to improve care access, support payroll tax efficiency, and position the firm for disciplined growth.
Strategic Approach
The engagement began with a deep discovery process focused on understanding the firm’s growth trajectory, workforce demographics, contribution philosophy, and long-term objectives. RM Legacy identified three strategic priorities:
- Create a benefits structure that supports recruiting and retention by offering a differentiated, employee-friendly experience.
- Improve cost visibility and discipline by implementing real-time reporting and more intentional plan design.
- Build a scalable framework that could accommodate growth without requiring constant redesigns or administrative complexity.
Implementation Roadmap
The implementation followed a structured 90-day process:
Discovery & Planning (Weeks 1-4)
RM Legacy conducted census analysis, claims review, and stakeholder interviews with leadership, HR, and a sample of employees. The team identified prescription costs, lack of preventive care engagement, and limited access to virtual care as key opportunities. Contribution strategy was designed to position CHAMP as an employer-sponsored enhancement integrated into the broader benefits offering.
Build & Structure (Weeks 5-8)
The CHAMP Plan was structured to provide covered front-line care, 24/7 virtual physician access, formulary prescription support, and preventive care navigation. The plan was designed to complement the firm’s existing major medical coverage by reducing friction around everyday care and creating a clearer, more accessible benefits experience. Stop-loss strategy was reviewed, and administrative workflows were configured to integrate seamlessly with the firm’s existing payroll and HRIS systems.
Launch & Educate (Weeks 9-12)
RM Legacy coordinated a firm-wide benefits rollout with digital communications, live Q&A sessions, and one-on-one enrollment support. Materials emphasized the strategic intent behind the new structure: better care access, greater transparency, and a benefits experience designed to support the firm’s culture and growth. Leadership participated actively in the rollout, reinforcing the message that this was a long-term investment in the team.
Ongoing Stewardship (Month 4+)
RM Legacy delivered monthly utilization reporting, quarterly strategy reviews, and proactive renewal planning. Leadership gained access to real-time dashboards showing virtual care usage, urgent care visits, prescription fills, and preventive service engagement. The relationship shifted from transactional to strategic, with RM Legacy functioning as an ongoing advisor rather than a once-a-year broker.
Results and Outcomes
Within the first 18 months, the firm observed significant improvements across cost discipline, recruiting competitiveness, employee experience, and administrative efficiency:
Cost Discipline and Financial Visibility
- Improved utilization management: The CHAMP Plan helped reduce unnecessary pressure on major medical by providing covered front-line care for routine issues, preventive services, and everyday healthcare needs. Leadership observed a shift in claims patterns, with fewer low-value ER visits and more appropriate care utilization.
- Real-time visibility: For the first time, leadership had access to real-time dashboards and monthly utilization reporting, enabling proactive decision-making rather than reactive responses at renewal. The managing partner described the change as “finally understanding what we’re paying for and why.”
- Better renewal positioning: The firm entered renewal conversations with clearer data, stronger negotiating leverage, and a more disciplined understanding of cost drivers. While major medical premiums still increased, the rate of increase was lower than prior years, and leadership attributed part of that improvement to better utilization management and more strategic plan design.
- Payroll tax efficiency: The structured integration of CHAMP created payroll tax advantages that improved the firm’s overall cost structure, freeing up capital for reinvestment in talent and operations.
Recruiting and Retention Advantages
- Recruiting differentiation: Candidates responded positively to the enhanced benefits offering, frequently citing the comprehensive care access, virtual care support, and employer commitment to employee well-being as factors in their decision to join the firm. The head of talent acquisition noted, “Benefits went from a checkbox to a selling point.”
- Retention support: While difficult to isolate from other factors, the firm observed a decline in voluntary turnover during the first 18 months of CHAMP implementation. Exit interviews suggested that benefits were no longer a factor in departure decisions, and stay interviews showed employees valued the improved care access and reduced out-of-pocket costs.
- Employee engagement: Benefits engagement scores improved significantly, with employees reporting greater understanding of their coverage and higher satisfaction with the day-to-day usability of the plan.
Scalable Structure and Administrative Efficiency
- Scalability achieved: The benefits framework accommodated the firm’s growth from 85 to 120+ employees without requiring structural redesigns or administrative chaos. Enrollment, ID delivery, and member support were streamlined and digital-first, reducing manual effort and freeing up HR capacity for strategic initiatives.
- Administrative ease: HR reported that the new structure was simpler to administer than the prior arrangement, with clearer communication materials, better vendor support, and fewer employee questions about coverage and claims.
- Long-term planning: The firm shifted from reactive, last-minute renewal decisions to proactive, year-round benefits planning. Leadership now evaluates benefits performance quarterly and makes incremental adjustments rather than scrambling at renewal time.
Employee Experience and Satisfaction
- Higher satisfaction: Post-enrollment surveys showed strong employee appreciation for easier access to virtual care, covered urgent care, and formulary prescriptions. One employee commented, “I actually use my benefits now. Before, the deductible was so high I just avoided going to the doctor unless it was an emergency.”
- Improved health outcomes: While comprehensive health outcome data was not available, the firm observed increased engagement with preventive services, higher completion rates for annual exams, and anecdotal reports of employees addressing health issues earlier rather than delaying care.
- Cultural alignment: The benefits strategy reinforced the firm’s culture of innovation, transparency, and investment in people. Leadership used the rollout as an opportunity to communicate values and demonstrate commitment to the team’s long-term well-being.
Key Takeaways
The managing partner summarized the experience: “RM Legacy didn’t just sell us a plan. They helped us build a strategy that fits our business, supports our people, and positions us for the growth we’re planning. This is what benefits should look like for a firm like ours—intentional, transparent, and scalable.”
For RM Legacy Group, the engagement demonstrated the value of treating benefits as a strategic business function rather than a transactional purchase, particularly for growth-stage employers seeking to improve cost discipline, strengthen recruiting competitiveness, and build a benefits architecture designed to support long-term objectives.