michelle cotton

Newly created position responsible for creating a centralized benefits department in response to rapid growth through acquisition. Directly responsible for thorough analysis and design of benefits that optimize company financials while creating relevant benefits for employees that incent and reward healthy lifestyles. Proven success in vendor negotiation, strict adherence to compliance and unique solutions developed for large organizations with multiple locations and consistent turnover allow me to utilize my expertise in building a cost effective, unique benefits programs that promotes employee engagement.

Benefits project owner of company-wide initiative to in-source benefit administration. Unique challenges of the project included an extremely compressed timeline with a firm go live date, coordination with a prior initiative to transfer benefits department from NY to FL office, limited IT resources and a complex benefit plan structure Successful launch completed on target date and delivered under approved project budget. Further evidence of accomplishment was confirmed with a successful Benefits Annual Enrollment completed two weeks following the launch date. Achievement attributed to daily, detailed project management, rigorous team building & engagement methods within the benefits department to ensure superior service from an engaged team, extensive testing of system confirming compliance with plan documents and government regulations. Customers (employees) were informed through a comprehensive communication strategy aimed to inform and excite.

* Directly responsible for all Health, Welfare and Retirement benefit programs for 5,000 employees in a 637 bed hospital. * Key participant in a leadership initiative for hospital management to produce a 12 month plan, reducing expenses by $33M. Team goal was achieved; personal contribution provided over $5M in savings, achieved via pension plan and retiree medical design updates, reduction in use of consultants and vendor negotiation. * Health & Welfare: Solely responsible for developing a comprehensive plan design to encourage wellness and consumerism in order to achieve better health and claims utilization. * Hired to audit and improve long standing relationships with local vendors, optimizing service and fees for hospital administration and plan participants. * Reduced consulting services by $1M through internal team development and redirection of resources. * Ensure all regulatory obligations were met including but not limited to Form 5500 reporting, HIPAA, FMLA, COBRA, plan documents and contracts.

* Directly responsible for all aspects of retirement programs, including creative plan design optimizing participation & expense, compliance with DOL and IRS regulations, contract negotiation and vendor management. * Reduced relocation expense by 62% and increased transferee satisfaction with the program. Eliminated policy exceptions (98%) through contract negotiation and flexible plan. * Developed a comprehensive, multi-year rewards & recognition program, focused on employee engagement and retention. * Project leader of several company-wide initiatives such as Check Your Work Status (Defining full-time/part-time alignment), Paid Time-Off Plan for salaried team members, Educational Assistance and an Employee Perk Program. Demonstrated ability to engage & motivate teams to achieve project success timely and on-budget. * Conducted a dependent audit, resulting in $700K in savings and removal of hundreds of ineligible dependents from benefit programs. * Created an employee Total Rewards portal to provide information on benefit and HR policies in an easy and fun format.