Notes from Nancy
Nancy Eckrich
President, CoreSource
Taking Pride in 2013 Successes, Looking Forward to What 2014 Will Bring
It is not an easy task to deliver solid financial results as the single largest technology project in the history of CoreSource is being implemented. It’s not a small accomplishment to maintain laser-like focus on both priorities while the very fabric of our industry changes. The learning curve is not always smooth when you’re learning new processes on a new system and the handbook is not even written yet. Change and more change were part of the CoreSource experience on a daily basis for many clients and associates in 2013.
Migrating clients to the Integrated Client Environment (ICE), a mammoth project in itself, and an era of reform may have frayed our nerves at times last year. But in the face of many challenges, our commitment to our clients, members and colleagues did not falter. For these reasons, I could not be more proud of the work that we did in 2013, or more grateful to each and every associate for doing it.
Solid 2013 financial results
Results from last year demonstrated that the CoreSource spirit of cooperation and collaboration is alive and well. These qualities are the hallmark of our organization, and they make us different from, and better than, our competitors. They made the success of 2013 possible. We ended the year with financial results ahead of plan for revenue and margin. Revenue in 2013 reached $124 million against a plan of $121 million, while margin hit $7.7 million against a plan of $6.5 million.
Brisk January 2014 sales
Many companies were reluctant to change their benefits administrator for January 2013, opting instead to wait and see what healthcare reform would bring. This year is markedly different. Businesses are changing their broker of record, an indication of their increasing willingness to look for another entity to administer their health plan. Sales for January 2014 were brisk, reaching $8.8 million. Gulfstream Aerospace Corp., the Savannah, Ga.-based aircraft manufacturer, and PIH Health, a California hospital system, are among our new clients, both of which joined us with $1 million+ contracts, effective Jan. 1, 2014.
ICE nearing completion
Associates continue the migration of clients to ICE, the platform that enables us to make our great service even better and offer best practices across our entire organization. All eCams clients were migrated by early December, marking a significant milestone in the ICE project. Client migrations are divided into rounds, and three more rounds remain for the Detroit office, which is expected to finish in May. To date, Detroit has migrated 70 clients, with another 39, including some of its largest customers, scheduled for the final rounds. The importance of reaching our final goal cannot be overstated because ICE allows us to remain competitive in an ever-changing marketplace.
What’s ahead in 2014
As our bandwidth expands this year, we will be able to work on other important projects. We’ll be upgrading underlying portal technology, and focusing on operational excellence. It is important to the success of our organization that we take our service-oriented model to the next level, and we’ll explore ways to do just that.
Enterprise-wide initiatives will be an important part of our future. Like our sister companies, CoreSource is now using a process and methodology called Agile Strategy to develop a three-year strategy for our organization. Already, the Enterprise Leadership Team and senior CoreSource leaders have had several orientation and training sessions to learn how to use its tools and to develop the framework for our future strategy. In addition, when HealthFitness develops a new middle-market health and wellness product for its portfolio, we’ll join Trustmark Voluntary Benefit Solutions in shaping the product for the enterprise and in taking the new solution to prospects and clients.
There’s never been a better time to be at CoreSource. The future continues to offer so many opportunities for benefit administrators. With the investments that we’ve made in technology and training, I know 2014 will be a year to remember. Get ready for the great year that’s ahead of us!
Best Regards,
Nancy