Finding the right talent to fit the culture

Every team has their key players and finding the right people for those positions takes time and patience. Not every potential candidate can be the right fit for a job and for Kevin Hennessey, vice president of payroll and benefits at Brabo Benefits and a 2017 EBA Rising Star, finding the right talent to fit into his firm’s unique culture can be tricky.

“Our expectation is to deliver beyond our clients’ expectations while also having fun in a high paced growing company,” Hennessey says. “Our culture is unique, founded by Gen Xers who have found a way to motivate millennials like me to succeed.”

At 33-years-old, Hennessey has produced more than $200,000 in revenue for Plymouth, Mass.-based Brabo in just four months of working with the company. Prior to joining Brabo, Hennessey worked for ADP where he became the New England regions’ top health insurance producer and one of the country’s top producers within nine months after getting his license.

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Scott Hokanson Sr., president at Brabo Benefits, first met Hennessey while he worked for ADP and says the competition Hennessey created against him was so frustrating he had to have him join his firm.

“We would refer business to each other because I did employee benefits and he did payroll,” Hokanson says. “At some point in our relationship, ADP started selling employee benefits, making him a competitor, and one I didn’t enjoy competing with.”

It was not long before Hokanson recruited Hennessey to take on the payroll division of Brabo, and Hennessey says he feels he made the right choice joining up with Hokanson.

“I know I am part of what we are building and can’t wait for others to feel the same way,” Hennessey says. “We plan to grow at over 120% in 2017; not 20% but 120%. You cannot do that without the right people.”

Hokanson says because of Hennessey’s efforts in the payroll division of Brabo, the possibility for that 120% business growth is what will make it achievable. “This model enables Brabo Benefits to integrate robust eligibility management into our service model and makes us a stronger partner for our clients,” he says.

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