Three ways to help enhance your TPA firm’s technology strategy

1 Recognize how technology changes for third-party administrators

Over the years, the internet has become a critical source of information and resource for interaction. Widespread adoption of web capabilities has led to rapid, constant, and transformational change in the way organizations communicate and do business. 

The retirement plan industry isn’t immune from this cycle. In fact, you may have a hard time recalling what life was like before the technological breakthroughs of the past decade. 

Third-party administrators (TPAs) play a unique and important role in this technological procession. As part of the benefits, HR, and financial services ecosphere, you help support a mindset of collaboration among plan sponsors and providers. And with close partnerships with many TPAs, recordkeepers often rely on them to help in the design and field testing of new solutions and technologies.

2 Try a phased approach to framing future tech decisions

One way to frame your firm’s potential technology moves is to link them to specific business improvements. Consider breaking out possible future acquisitions into three transitional phases:

1 Immediate upgrades—Enhancements that can marginally improve your operations or outputs today

2 Disruptive upgrades—Upgrades that could lead to significant positive shifts in how you do business

3 Transformative upgrades—Changes that could redefine key aspects of your operations and the services you supply

Just consider how forward-thinking business questions related to these three transitional phases could lead to more thoughtful discussions and decisions about the technology you might adopt.

When plotting your technological journey, think of your firm as part of a system that’s pursuing common goals. Include steps you could take in collaboration with financial professional, asset manager/recordkeeper, and payroll provider partners, as well as on your own. Technologies such as AI and machine learning, workflow automation, and data analytics could all appear in your firm’s grid. The specifics are driven by where your firm stands and where you intend it to go.

3 Set your focus on technological progress 

Every TPA firm can benefit from monitoring and strategically investing in technologies capable of transforming how you manage your plans and your practice. Successfully pulling this off can depend, in part, on the size of your operation.

• If you’re a small independent firm with modest growth plans, you may rely heavily on your financial professional and recordkeeping partners to help keep you on top of important emerging technologies. Retirement industry associations can be another important pipeline of tech insight. To further broaden your perspective, try connecting with owners and executives of other types of service firms. Your local chamber of commerce is a good resource for extended networking. 
• If you’re a medium-sized regional firm, you may have more resources to devote to technological change, including dedicated staff and a budget. As with smaller firms, you’ll want to monitor new tools and approaches available from your partners. But formal steps for digital change—including adopting proven solutions from tech innovators—may also be in scope for you.

Lean into emerging technology

Recognizing and implementing the right new technologies at the right time can be a daunting task, but it’s also an important one. Adopting a basic framework for understanding where industry technology is going—and for mapping your firm’s journey—may help you make sound decisions. And remember, radical change is nothing new for the retirement industry and the TPAs who operate within it.

In other words, you’ve already shown you can successfully go with the flow.