MiMfg Magazine
PREMIUM
ASSOCIATE
8
July 2019
Member
Spotlight
Geoff Vandal
MetLife
Member since April 1995 • Learn more at www.metlife.com
During a time of ultra-competitive business
growth and a talent supply too shallow to meet
talent demand, it can feel like every manufacturer is
going it alone. MetLife is a business that’s built its
reputation on bringing industry together on the
principle that there is strength in numbers and
common challenges can be solved when many
companies move in one direction.
“We have a dedicated channel within MetLife
that focuses on providing great services and
competitive benefits to small manufacturing
firms,” explained Geoff Vandal, MetLife’s national
association sales director. “We are able to wrap an
affordable benefits package around the member’s
health care and workers’ compensation coverage.”
As a leading benefits provider in the U.S. with
over 100 years of history and a key focus on supporting
small businesses, MetLife’s ability to offer best-in-
class solutions for Michigan manufacturers is nearly
unsurpassed. Through the MetLife/MMA partnership,
that “strength in numbers” buying power allows for
more product options and greater rate stability than
many small- to mid-sized manufacturers could
access on their own.
“Our partnership with MMA has resulted in
tremendous cost savings for manufacturers. Even in
a time of rising prices, MMA members have seen
three consecutive years with rate increases of 0 percent
across all lines of MetLife coverage,” said Vandal.
“There’s no guarantee that this will last, of course, but
you have to ask, how likely would those benefits be
available without manufacturers working together?”
But why should manufacturers benefit by “working
together,” when talent is in such short supply?
“With a tight employment market and 22 percent
of manufacturing employees expected to retire over
the next decade, there will be continued competition
for good workers,” Vandal acknowledged. “Benefits
are a proven way to make the difference between a
skilled worker choosing to work for you or your
competitor. While your costs reduce thanks to the
buying power of many companies coming together,
MetLife provides the dedicated benefits options
manufacturers depend on to attract next generation
talent and retain their existing workforce.
MetLife still designs each program according to
what will best address the needs of your business.”
Thoughtfully designed benefit plans can help
attract the very best candidates, from baby boomers
to millennials, to come work for you. What are the
questions a manufacturer should be asking to
maximize their talent attracting potential?
“I’d say to any manufacturer, you need to be
asking two key questions when starting to shape a
benefits plan,” Vandal said. “First, ‘what is it my
current employees truly value about the benefits
programs we offer today?’ and ‘what more could we
deliver to help better attract and retain talent?’”
MetLife’s available in-house research can help
benchmark what employees across different industries
are looking for when balancing their career trajectory
with the need to provide financial wellness for
themselves and their families.
“You face a built-in disadvantage when you try to
do on your own what others are doing together,”
Vandal pointed out. “With today’s technology, we
can provide service to clients from quote to claim
irrespective of where they are and with the savings in
place to help them dedicate resources to other key areas
of their business. I’d encourage any manufacturer on
the rise to explore what’s out there — they don’t
have to go it alone.”
6
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