DC Plan Divine Intervention
HE’S ON A MISSION from God.
We asked Mike Webb one question, and he concluded his answer 14 minutes later, punctuated with belly laughs and his infectious enthusiasm for helping his clients—in this case, denominational churches.
“I can’t emphasize this enough—if at first you don’t succeed as an advisor with an initiative, don’t give up.”
“They’re almost a worst-case scenario for participant engagement,” the Senior Financial Advisor with CAPTRUST’s New York office said, humorously adding, “In the corporate world, I would equate them with MEPs, but without the organization.”
Adding to the plan’s complexity was a lack of what is arguably the most effective tool at the advisor’s disposal—auto-enrollment.
“Especially for younger folks, auto-enrollment is one of the best things that’s ever happened to retirement plans because it forces them to save in their 20s,” Webb rightly noted. “We know the math. If they save in their 20s, they can mess up a lot of other stuff and still be on track.”
Yet the voluntary nature of most church plans means many didn’t elect to join, and although Webb’s client was a large denomination with roughly 1,000 locations, only 100 were enrolled when he joined.
“People on the plan committee don’t have much time to work on participant outcomes because they’re busy with the church’s mission. Right away, we knew it would take more out-of-the-box thinking than your typical approach to engagement.”
Plan sponsors and participants are easily (and understandably) overwhelmed with too much information, so he kept data points simple and actionable. Trust and fellowship are also essential in any congregation and something on which Webb capitalized by creating plan champions to spread the word. He and the CAPTRUST team treated all the congregation’s business officials as participants, whether or not they participated.
“We wanted them to think with both their plan administrator and participant hats on,” he explained. “Our communications reflected that, and we spoke to them in both voices. You may think that’s obvious, but many places don’t do it.”
They also kept the jargon to a minimum, using research that identified buzzwords and suggested appropriate alternatives which were then incorporated into any communications. That simple yet strategic thinking proved a success, and word spread. The roughly 100 participating entities increased to 300 in a relatively short period, and they’ve been running at a record pace every quarter since.
“Sometimes advisors have the best campaigns and the best ideas, but they fall on deaf ears without a bit of luck,” Webb concluded, alluding to a little divine intervention. “I can’t emphasize this enough—if at first you don’t succeed as an advisor with an initiative, don’t give up. Your timing may be off; it’s all about persistence and repetition. And church networks really do account for something once they get going.”
Michael A. Webb, CEBS, is Senior Financial Advisor with CAPTRUST.