To understand our take on the market at Johnson & Dugan, it’s necessary to go back a little bit and consider why the company came together and how those beginnings have affected us going forward.
Over thirty years ago, chief executive officer Michael Johnson made his first hire – current partner Kathy Dugan. Kathy had just come from Intel Corporation, where she worked as an employee benefits specialist in the human resources department.
Michael was immediately interested in Kathy’s experience, as her expertise would bring something completely new to the table. Michael’s own experience lay in the insurance market, underwriting contracts and integrating these processes. He worked with clients once a year during the annual renewal process.
Kathy, on the other hand, knew what it was like to work with the employee benefits plans during those twelve months between visits from the broker. She understood the reality of human resources and the day-to-day support extended by the HR department. Kathy had worked to ensure that Intel supported its employees and benefit plans, answered employee questions, and understood and communicated the value of those benefits.
Kathy’s unique expertise brought a new kind of talent to the budding company. With Kathy and Michael’s combined expertise, Johnson & Dugan was able to take a market-driven, analysis-driven, support and employee-driven approach to serving clients.
From the start, the company sought to work as an extension of an organization’s human resources department. The plan was to work with HR to act as a proxy human resources and benefits person. Today, we still strive to work intimately with human resources to basically do whatever it is that needs doing.
To confirm that employee benefits are being handled correctly, the team at Johnson & Dugan considers the perspectives of both employer and employees before establishing the best possible plan. We keep tabs on all day-to-day responsibilities, from employee support to pricing to compliance.
With our help, the HR department is free from worrying about any employee benefits solutions and can refocus its attention elsewhere.
In this marketplace, we are different because we act as a partner to our clients in human resources in addition to performing all those tasks expected of the average broker. Because we work in collaboration with our clients, we ensure they have what they need and that they get it with time to spare. This way, clients are able to make excellent long-term decisions.
