Avoid the "Spiral of Death"

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As so often happens in a terrible economy, companies lose sight of the trees for the forest
("401[k]risis," April). Why do we offer employee benefits in the first place? To attract and retain the best employees. Because we offer benefits, does this mean that all employees are equal? I think not — try tying 401(k) matches and all employee benefits to performance!

Choose wisely in this economy. Don't lose your best employees because they feel they aren't important to your organization. Who will be on your team when business picks up again? Get a good consultant to help you reward and retain your "A" squad. Avoid the Spiral of Death for your organization.

Joe Cortelli
Principal
Nexus Benefit Consulting
New York

I don't disagree that there could be some enhancements to 401(k) plans that would make them better. But what most people are focusing on relates to plan designs, and the problem we face today has to do with the investment side of the equation in plans, not necessarily the design.

What has stopped individuals from investing in their plans is their fear of losing more assets. Wouldn't it be more appropriate to allow for some type of guarantees inside of the plans? Some investment platforms currently have options for participants that allow them to lock in benefit levels. It would make sense for our government to look at the options private providers are offering, review the strengths of those firms, and decide if they want to offer a backup guarantee should those firms find it difficult, in a market such as we're experiencing, to meet their obligations.

I'd rather the government be a secondary guarantor to the participants in qualified plans than a primary entity bailing out poorly run companies.

Neil Tullis
President
Third Party Administrators Inc.
Manchester, New Hampshire

Country over Politics

It's astonishing that "New Administration and Congress" ranks #4 on "Top External Concerns" of CFOs in your recent Business Outlook Survey (April). Would the prospect of eight more years of Bush Administration philosophy and leadership supported by a Republican Congress give our CFOs more hope? I like to think that America's CFOs are capable of putting the good of our companies and our country and the global economy ahead of politics, but the results of this survey suggest otherwise.

Tom Foster
Chief Financial Officer
Joye Photography LLC
New York

Delegating in Hard Times

"The Next Stage" (March) certainly points to one of the things we all struggle with, namely, learning to delegate and to rely on your staff so that you can focus on value added and driving business improvement. You learn that you have to delegate, because there just isn't time to do everything yourself. But of course that's a challenge in these economic times, when cost-cutting is a top priority.

David Toney
Vice President, Finance
Mohawk Industries
Dallas

Health Care — A Purchase by Any Other Name

Once corporate executives begin to approach the purchase of health-care services like any other corporate purchase, they will find that they have a remarkable ability to address the issues of cost, quality, access, and outcomes, instead of simply throwing up their hands and shifting the costs elsewhere, as has been done by so many companies in the past.

In more than 30 years of working with large and small companies, we have seen that this holds true, regardless of a company's size, industry, or location. Further, recent deployment of cost-saving technology by a few leaders in the health-care field — including recent major corporate entrants — has demonstrated that wisely chosen technologies and health-care providers can produce for business the same kind of advances that have accrued from other wisely chosen suppliers and technologies.

Ronald L. Hammerle
Chairman
Health Resources Ltd.
Tampa

Controlling Legal Costs

As a 21-year veteran of the business of managing law firms, allow me to give your readers my quick take on how they might better control legal costs ("Trials and Tabulations," December 2008).

1. Communicate with your general counsel and have a clear understanding of the legal matters in which your company is involved. Oftentimes, the outside law firm is not clear on your business objectives, and its bills will reflect that.

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