PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 9

Top-Notch Call Centers
RECENT analysis of responses to the 2017
PLANSPONSOR Defined Contribution
(DC) Survey found that sponsors are more
satisfied with call center services than with
other participant services. Yet, respondents
were also more apt to cite them as an area
needing improvement than as a top service
offering, with sponsors reporting slow
response times, inaccuracies and poor
service as common employee complaints.
The apparent contradiction did not
surprise Brian O'Keefe, PLANSPONSOR
director of research and surveys, who
observes, " In the internet age, call centers
may seem antiquated, but sponsors aren't
TALKING POINT
Index Fund Usage Increases in 401(k)s
Percentage of plan assets in index funds n 2006 n 2015
34.6%
30%
20%
10%
0%
26.9%
21.9%
14.4%
8.1%
10.0%
16.0%
12.3%
13.0%
23.1%
18.9%
14.6%
15.6%
29.5%
shy about voicing dissatisfaction if theirs
can't resolve participants' questions. "
To understand what callers face, says
Lauren Brouhard, executive vice president
at Fidelity Investments, sponsors can
conduct participant surveys-by phone
or otherwise-then let the findings drive
what improvements they should make.
O'Keefe concurs. " Sponsors should
understand and assess participant needs,
and know whether their provider can
meet any unique needs " such as serving
employees in multiple time zones. He
also believes that providers are investing
in technologies to improve quality while
reducing cost and is quick to point out that
future call centers may look very different.
" Twenty years ago, call centers
dominated participant interactions, " he
notes. " Today, websites and, increasingly,
mobile apps have taken center stage.
But continued acceptance of online chat
support and advancement in artificial
intelligence may transform the participant
experience and render the traditional
rep-based call center obsolete. "
Meanwhile, sponsors should invest
the time to confirm that their plan's call
center strategy fulfills the reason, ultimately,
that they have a call center. -PS
$1mm - $10mm >$10mm - $50mm >$50mm - $100mm >$100mm - $250mm >$250mm - $500mm >$500mm - $1b
>$1b
Percentage of plans offering index funds n 2006 n 2015
100%
95%
90%
85%
80%
75%
70%
97.4%
92.5%
86.5%
84.6%
73.6%
$1mm - $10mm >$10mm - $50mm >$50mm - $100mm >$100mm - $250mm >$250mm - $500mm >$500mm - $1b
Source: BrightScope
>$1b
93.4%
96.8% 98.3%
99.2%
95.8%
96.8% 98.2%
98.4% 98.2%
PLANSPONSOR.com April-May 2018 9

http://www.PLANSPONSOR.com

PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018

2018 Plan Sponsors of the Year
Plan Administration Guide, Part 1
From Strength to Strength
Finding the Best Course
Managed Accounts
Rising Costs
Taking Responsibility
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - C1
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - FC1
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - FC2
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - C2
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 1
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 2
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 3
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 4
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 5
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 6
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 7
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 8
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 9
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 10
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 11
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 12
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 13
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 14
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 15
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 2018 Plan Sponsors of the Year
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 17
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 18
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 19
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 20
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 21
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 22
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 23
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 24
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 25
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 26
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 27
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 28
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 29
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 30
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 31
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 32
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 33
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 34
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 35
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 36
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 37
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 38
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 39
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 40
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 41
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 42
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 43
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 44
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 45
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 46
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 47
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 48
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 49
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 50
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 51
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 52
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 53
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 54
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 55
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - Plan Administration Guide, Part 1
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 57
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 58
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 59
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 60
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 61
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 62
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 63
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 64
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 65
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 66
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 67
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - From Strength to Strength
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 69
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 70
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 71
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 72
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 73
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 74
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 75
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 76
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 77
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - Finding the Best Course
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 79
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - Managed Accounts
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 81
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - Rising Costs
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 83
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - Taking Responsibility
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 85
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 86
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 87
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 88
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - C3
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - C4
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/march_april_2024
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/january_february_2024
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/november_december_2023
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/september_october_2023
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/july_august_2023
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/may_june_2023
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/march_april_2023
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/december_2022_february_2023
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/october_november_2022
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/august_september_2022
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/june_july_2022
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/excellenceawards_2022
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/april_may_2022
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/february_march_2022
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/december_2021_january_2022
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/october_november_2021
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/august_september_2021
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/june_july_2021
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/april-may_2021
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/february-march_2021
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/december-january_2021
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/october-november_2020
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/august-september_2020
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/june-july_2020
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/april-may_2020
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/february-march_2020
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/december-january_2020
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/october-november_2019
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/august-september_2019
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/june-july_2019
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/april-may_2019
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/february-march_2019
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/december_2018-january_2019
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/october-november_2018
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/august-september_2018
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/june-july_2018
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/april-may_2018
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/february-march_2018
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/december_2017-january_2018
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/november_december_2017
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/october_2017
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/september_2017
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