October 26, 2020

 

By: Nathan Stuck, Ad Victoriam Solutions and B Local Georgia

As the B Corp movement continues to gain traction throughout the Southeast, it also continues to gain in popularity in Georgia. The city of Athens, known for REM, Widespread Panic, and Georgia Football, is hoping to turn the Classic City into the next hub of purpose-driven, sustainable B Corps. They recently hosted a virtual event organized by Envision Athens and B Local Georgia that was designed to raise awareness of this gold-standard CSR certification. 

The event was a celebration of both Athens and its sustainable business leaders. Envision Athens’ Erin Barger kicked it off before handing it over to Mayor Kelly Girtz and the VP of Culture and People at Creature Comforts, Fenwick Broyard. The three of them all spoke to Athens’ wonderful sense of community, innovative entrepreneurship scene, and the natural fit of combining purpose and profit. 

B Local Georgia Co-Founder & Chair Nathan Stuck, who also serves as Director of Corporate Culture at Atlanta-based B Corp Ad Victoriam Solutions, gave an informative B Corp 101 session, highlighting the history of the movement while making the business case for companies to certify as B Corps. Among the most important reasons mentioned were differentiating from your competition, attracting a talented and diverse workforce, and using the assessment and the existing community of B Corps to benchmark and improve your impact.  

Following the session, Stuck moderated an inspiring panel featuring Athens’ first B Corps. The panel included Luis Imery, president & CEO of Imery Group, Athens’ first B Corp;  Ally Hellenga, community manager for Creature Comforts, which will soon be Athens’ second B Corp; Peter Dale, co-owner of Condor Chocolates, Seabear, Maepole, & the National; and Lacy Green, director of people & operations for Hotel Indigo Athens, an aspiring B Corp. All four shared their experiences taking the certification assessment, what they learned, and why they felt this was the right move for their business, their employees, and the local community as a whole. 

Most common among the advice given was a partnership with the University of Georgia, who launched their B Collaborative in 2019. The program, run through the Full-Time MBA program in the Terry College of Business, brings together MBA candidates, undergraduate students pursuing their Sustainability certificates, and students from the university’s growing entrepreneurship program. These students spend a semester consulting local businesses to help them tackle the B Corp assessment, increase worker benefits, and improve their community & environmental impact. 

Interested in learning more about Georgia’s growing B Corp movement? Follow B Local Georgia  on LinkedIn, Facebook, or Instagram and feel free to contact us with any questions.

 

October 2, 2020

 

Your business looks beyond a P&L statement for this week, this month and even this quarter, because you know that the social impact evolves and pays back over the long term. You know you and your business are doing the right thing for the right reason. Kind of like financial karma.  

Imagine if that holistic wisdom and company culture you have for your finances were applied to healthcare.

Yes, the healthcare system is terribly broken. It’s expensive. It’s complex. It’s not transparent. It’s enraging. It’s hard to know who to trust. You know financial incentives aren’t aligned when it’s cheaper to buy a medication with cash than with your insurance plan’s discount, and when it’s cheaper and faster to have a 3-minute conversation with you doctor but you’re told you must drive to and sit in the doctor’s office to have that 3-minute conversation.

You don’t have to imagine such a holistic solution. It exists, and a few brokers and agencies are on the forefront of enabling the transformation.

And isn’t the reason you don’t know about this holistic solution the same reason more people don’t know about B Corp and B Local Georgia? Too many people believe “you either make money or you can do good.” In healthcare, you either spend less money or provide better access and better care. Both of these, however, are false dichotomies.

To have your company and your employees’ best interest in mind, look for health plans with the following cost-containment strategies

  • Return premiums if the employees have a healthy year
    • You can use returned funds to help your company and/or return it to the employees
  • Encourage price transparency, similar to nearly all other consumer transactions
    • Help your employees make better decisions
  • Reward behaviors that lead to price stability
  • Consider the role of primary care
    • It’s called “primary” for a reason. While your plan should not require a referral from a primary care physician for specialist care or imaging, 24/7 access to primary care reduces the dependence on Urgent Care and expensive Emergency Room/Emergency Department visits.
  • Don’t be restricted by in- and out-of-network doctors and facilities
    • Again, the idea is to let you and your employees be responsible consumers instead of accepting an opaque system of costs. You select your doctor. Your doctor may have advice. Your family and friends may have advice. There is online information. Shouldn’t you be allowed to decide who takes care of you instead of a team of profit-oriented insurance administrators creating a limited network of providers?

It can be that simple.

Yes, but while the concept of price transparency and having the doctor/patient control the care instead of the insurance carrier is simple, the execution is not.  

What if people have pre-existing conditions? What’s considered affordable? Can I keep our same pediatrician? What if I have an emergency out-of-town? Prescription medications seem really, really expensive without a “Cadillac insurance plan?” BTW: Why is a “wellness exam” only once a year when my dentist does preventative care twice or thrice a year?

That’s what we do. We educate, we expose, and we guide you. Your decision making then becomes simple.

To take control:

  • Define your requirements for a good solution, including: 
    • What you like about your current (or past) plans and what you don’t like
    • Who is included (employees, dependents, 1099 contractors)
    • What you can afford monthly
    • What your employees can afford monthly
    • Your level of acceptance for innovation and change
  • Invite an initial consultation to review your requirements
    • Compare to what you have
  • Obtain initial proposals (the plans’ features and rates)
    • Tweak the benefits to your budget
  • If you make the shift, then monitor with your broker at least quarterly your actual costs and employee engagement

Intentionally different healthcare. Are you and your budget ready for better and smarter?

 

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Intentionally different. Because the healthcare system is horribly broken, we help you explore options that shift the control from the insurance carrier to you (and your doctors). We educate. We guide. We incentivize. We simplify. We stabilize. We integrate.  And we provide ongoing support. Your result is lower premiums, lower out-of-pocket annual spending, better access to healthcare, and happier and more productive employees.

Decided you’ve had enough and want something better? Let’s talk about our “I’ve Had Enough” plans. Contact Hal Schlenger at [email protected], 770-335-0077, www.GreatSouthBenefits.com