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Retirement, Reinvented: Jared Porter on Making 401(k)s Work for Everyone
7 Plays4 days ago
In this episode of MustardHub Voices: Behind The Build, Curtis sits down with Jared Porter, co-founder and COO of 401Go, to talk about the power of possibility… and retirement plans. Jared shares the journey of building a platform that brings accessible, automated 401(k) benefits to small businesses and the people who power them. From saving stories that changed lives to cultural shifts within trucking companies, Jared unpacks how thoughtful technology and trust in people can transform the future. Tune in for real talk on financial wellness, the myth of work-life balance, and why hiring for trust is the foundation of any great team.
About Jared:
Jared Porter is Co-Founder and COO of 401GO, a company that created a proprietary and holistic technology platform for the 401(k) retirement benefit for businesses of all sizes. He loves solving problems, which is exactly why he helped start 401GO. What started from scratch has now grown to over 5,000 businesses and nearly a billion dollars saved for retirement. A father of six kids, his focus is always on doing the best he can for their future as well as improve the world they'll grow up in.
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Transcript
Introduction to Mustard Hub and Guest
00:00:07
Speaker
Hello again, everyone. Welcome back to Mustard Hub Voices Behind the Build. These fireside chats where I sit down with insightful ah conversations with people.
00:00:17
Speaker
I'm going to start that over again. ah don't sit down with insightful conversations, Julie.
00:00:28
Speaker
Hello again, everyone. Welcome back to Mustard Hub Voices Behind the Build. These fireside chats are where I sit down for insightful conversations with the people building, backing, and running better workplaces.
00:00:42
Speaker
I'm your host, Curtis Forbes. I'm pleased to have Jared Porter as our guest today. Hey, Jared. Hello. glad to be here. This ah should be fun as long as it's not...
00:00:53
Speaker
Crazy discussion about the details of cash balance plans. I think we'll be good. Yeah.
Role and Impact of 401 Go
00:01:00
Speaker
Jared is co-founder and COO of 401 Go, a company that created a proprietary and holistic technology platform for the 401k retirement benefit for businesses of all sizes.
00:01:15
Speaker
He loves solving problems, which is exactly why he helped start 401 Go. What all started from scratch has now grown to over 5,000 businesses and nearly a billion dollars saved for retirement.
00:01:29
Speaker
A billion dollars saved for retirement. A father of six kids, his focus is always on doing the best he can for their future as well as improve the world they'll grow up in.
00:01:42
Speaker
I'm kind of excited to get started with this conversation, Jared. Yeah. do have a question though. Six kids. Why do all of our guests have so many kids? That's amazing. don't know. i mean, looking back at that, I'm not sure how you you put them back. Like we've we've thought about that, but it just... Yeah, there's no return policy. There's no return policy on that. It was almost like you make a decision with the person you're with and you're like, okay, we're going to only have this many kids. it It never turns out like that. Like life is...
00:02:17
Speaker
so different. And it but when when you get to six, it's almost like, well, um it's kind of like Forrest Gump, you know, when he's running and he gets to that that part where he's is like, he's just been running and running. like And then he stops and he's like, you know, I'm tired. I think I'll go back. Like once you have six kids, it's you're, you're, you're already at that point.
00:02:41
Speaker
And all you can do is just say you're tired and kind of go back. price yeah You even had time to found a company, but, um, but you did and you did it. How old is your youngest?
Balancing Family and Work
00:02:54
Speaker
Um, she is now seven. Um, she was out of baby jail. Really? Yeah. And she was the littlest. Um, you know, she was just a baby at the time when there was a lot going on, but there's,
00:03:08
Speaker
that you you never, you never not, you like, you're never not raising your kids. Like even if they get to serve, I'll have a 20 year old this year and it's like, he's still going to be around. He's still like, you you don't just suddenly they get to a point and then they're done. They will come back in They'll still be part of your life. And you have to figure how that works out with, you know, like it's people say work life balance, right?
00:03:34
Speaker
Like I don't believe in work life balance in that sense, because, it's not balancing scales and stuff like that. it's It's more of like seeing what you have to do and dedicating the time for that and then what you're having to do personally. But there's such a ah merger of all of that, that if you try to separate it out, then you prioritize differently. It's weird. It's it's almost like I'm prioritizing my children. Like that's not what it is. That's life, right? Like that's part of it. So.
00:04:04
Speaker
I'm kind of on that same page. but So tell me and explain to everyone who's listening, what is 401 Go?
Founding 401 Go: Challenges and Solutions
00:04:13
Speaker
What do you do? Well, we were crazy enough back in 2017, 2018, the other co-founders of 401 Go, we were crazy enough to um ah the other co-founders of of four one go we we are crazy enough to come up with a solution for small businesses um specifically because the solutions out there for small businesses is few and far between.
00:04:37
Speaker
A lot of the 401k, and my background is that, that's my career is and in that. um There's not a lot of options for the small business because of cost, because of technology and just the sheer effort it takes to get that benefit up and running. I mean, some of the the main providers out there, it's eight weeks and that's fast, um which was not acceptable for us. And so we we had looked at a lot of different solutions that maybe we we build on.
00:05:09
Speaker
um And we we narrowed on the the fact that we need to build a proprietary and holistic ah retirement system for those small businesses so that we can accommodate that benefit in a way where hey, they don't have an ah HR staff or they don't have someone that can run some of those things for them.
00:05:28
Speaker
And our platform can do that for them. And they have tapped into all the new technology, all of the interesting things that ah are needed. um So it's it's it's that. It's being able to provide for a benefit to those small businesses in a way that's meaningful. The technology is um customized and proprietary for that reason so that we can we can handle those type of, uh, type of plans and companies.
00:05:57
Speaker
So I, I absolutely love this and I love the story behind it and how, how it started and, and, and why it started to solve a problem that it hadn't been solved, or at least not in a way, um, you know, that, that so many people could take advantage of it. So who are your, cut I mean, not literally their names, but tell me about your customers. What kind of businesses work with 401 go?
00:06:23
Speaker
Well, the the thing about a 401k, it doesn't just pick one industry. There are studies that show that manufacturing, it's a little bit higher as far as participation into that, but it's across you know all industries. I mean, we see um everything you can think of. yeah Trucking company, we've got that. you know ah technology company, we've got that.
00:06:50
Speaker
um HR companies, we've we've got across you know the United States. So we have clients all over. 401ks are a national benefit, so you know federal benefit. So um they're from every walk of life. And one thing that I really love about this is accommodating those users to the level where they're at. So you're meeting them where they're at instead of trying to say,
00:07:16
Speaker
here's here's where I think you're at and you're gonna have to figure it out there. You're figuring out where they're at. And so I'll i'll give it a good example of this. We had a client that was a trucking company and their interaction with technology was, you know, it it wasn't an everyday thing. Yeah, just, it wasn't. Yeah, that's the answer, it wasn't.
00:07:37
Speaker
um But we have the ability to send, enrollment like the notification to join the 401k plan through a text message and all of them were using their phones all of them were using uh you know like their cell numbers and we were able to accommodate that through just text messages to get them to pull pull them into that and they actually grew to having 90 participation in a plan where before they were kind of like i'm not sure if i should do this um
00:08:10
Speaker
But to me, that was like, that is an example of what technology can do. But it's the other side of that too, where we we saw actual results from those employees where they were saving Some of them were able to, and and I'm not condoning this, but they they were able to take from that 401k kind of like a down payment. You can take it like it's called a hardship or whatever. and you can take that. And they they purchased a house. They were the first of their like multiple jetmo ah generations to do that because they'd been putting it in there.
00:08:46
Speaker
um And again, that that's just the value of that. But it's the interaction from the 401k to the employees where they start understanding saving. What is it? Because all these small businesses, they they employ millions of people.
00:09:02
Speaker
And you you look at that where they don't have access to a benefit in that way where they say that the interaction, the financial literacy is not there in the same way. So it's important to grind.
00:09:14
Speaker
and work in that space so those employees, those individuals have that opportunity. so i I want to actually come back to that story with the one you just ah started talking about um in a little bit.
00:09:29
Speaker
um yes I think I'm going to have a question about that. That sounds like an incredible moment for that organization when they realized the impact that they were having on
Employee Demand for 401k Plans
00:09:39
Speaker
the people that work there. yeah um when When companies come to you, what problems specifically are they trying to solve? Like, why do they come to 401 Go? are they Are they looking for a retirement plan for the sake of a retirement plan? Or are there bigger issues that they're looking to use this to sort of help solve? Yeah.
00:10:02
Speaker
um I think there's there's probably three things I would say that they're looking for. One, it's either the employees have asked for it or it's an employee from another place that comes over that had a 401k and they're saying, hey, look, I was here. i don't see one here. And so there' they're looking for some sort of benefit because of that.
00:10:21
Speaker
um There's a thing called secure choice and it it sounds all nice, and but it really isn't. There's state mandates. for 401k benefit. And i out there are multiple states that do this, but California has one where they mandate that you have some sort of benefit or you have to enroll in their program.
00:10:42
Speaker
um And when you have a situation like that, that pushes people because they're going to be penalized. So they do that. So that's another thing. So that's like the second thing that was there. um The other part is they have a culture where they want to provide a benefit. So this is the the the third one where they're looking for it because they can see that their employees need to have something more than what they're offering.
00:11:06
Speaker
And I do believe that the 401k has been, like in the past, it's been like this just really heavy benefit. it's like It's complicated and there's all these the extra layers to it, but it is so simple. The benefit is so simple.
00:11:23
Speaker
And the application is so simple. And those that are seeing that, they they want to add that to ah benefit those employees. And so it's it's a cultural thing. And you do see how it affects the culture when you have a benefit like that, that's legitimately within the organization.
00:11:39
Speaker
You see how they, you know, they latch on to that. It's one, the business owner now is like, look, I do care for my employees. This is a benefit that's there. And then the employees see that as well, where they have,
00:11:51
Speaker
that mechanism. And sometimes this is the first time that they log in and they're selecting investments and stuff. it's It's like you're going to a playpen and you've never invested or anything like that. If you've never done that, this is your first chance to do it. And the more confident those employees aren't doing that the more they're going to see the the cultural change and the benefit that that employer was trying to, you know, give to the business. So it's a long term type of benefit. Somebody's financial wellness, right. Is different than a, than an Amazon gift card.
00:12:25
Speaker
Right. So, yes. you I think frankly, the, the, the power that it carries is, you know, arguably more significant. Um, So it's not a bank account. they right People look at have a bank account and you're like, no, there's, there's actual parameters there. Cause we were trying to keep you from taking money out and you're supposed to be putting it forward. But that's kind of like the natural, it feels like there's this instant gratification in society where they're like, look, I need this right away.
00:12:57
Speaker
And this, this right here is not giving me that right away. So you you have to pull that engagement in and provide those like little bits of, I would say it's like, it's not dopamine, but it's like the idea that you're giving them something.
00:13:12
Speaker
They tie it to what they're doing in the grand scheme. Like you said, like the future benefit. So as you know co-founder COO, I, you know, I have to assume you have a ah passion for retirement savings and,
00:13:26
Speaker
Where did this come from? I'm guessing you weren't thinking about retirement savings when you were a little kid, you know, figuring out what you wanted to do when you grow up. So I'd love to know like how this kind of came about.
Journey into the 401k Industry
00:13:38
Speaker
Well, of course I went to the 401k university and know youd go in there. Tuition is always really high and they teach it. that is its It's funny when someone goes into the 401k industry, it's like this, it, it's this,
00:13:54
Speaker
secret society that everyone in it knows. Oh, you you joined the 401k? Okay, great. You're not going to leave this. You're going to be in this for the rest of your life. um i i originally,
00:14:06
Speaker
um i got my degree in English literature. So I love writing and and I love ah research and just, I'll take a lot of information in. I just feel like whatever's out there, I will ingest it and and try to take all that in.
00:14:24
Speaker
um, it, it on, and this is the funny thing. So there was a point where I worked a lot of blue collar jobs and that's just what it was. Like even my, if I look back, my first real job was supposed to, i was supposed to for this farmer and I was 13, I was supposed to weed these, these plants that he had out. And I worked really hard at doing that. And I spent you know hours doing it. I was just drenched in sweat. And I'd,
00:14:52
Speaker
done all these, these, their roles of, of plants. And I'd done everything that, um, I thought i was supposed to do. And then he, he paid me, um, a small amount we'll say. And I thought, no, no, no, no no i worked so hard. Like I did all this. I worked so hard.
00:15:09
Speaker
And then he went back and he said, I've gone through and I did three times the amount. And he's like, I, I paid you based off of where you were at, as far as your experience and everything there. And so I just felt so like,
00:15:22
Speaker
How is it that he could go and do that much more in less time? He did it like half the time that I did. um And it just, it got me thinking that like there, there's a level of experience or understanding that people have.
00:15:37
Speaker
Um, and all the blue collar jobs that had worked, they worked for UPS for a while. Um, I worked for a paint manufacturer. I was matching paint. I was talking to people, um, on a regular basis, but I think it was the the point, this is the point where I, I needed the, a career change. Cause I had gotten my degree and I was talking, um, I was talking about some literature to a painter and I just explaining how, you know, how cool this this story was. And I think it was like Ralph Waldo Emerson or something like i was talking about the scholar, whatever. And I read it and i was like, just, it's so powerful.
00:16:09
Speaker
And the guy looks at me and he's like, that's great. Can you give me my paint? And I thought, okay, um there's something missing here. I, ah I'm not in the right thing. And my wife was like,
00:16:25
Speaker
you you need to, you need to tap into that, but in the professional side of things. And um I made my way into a third party administrative firm or TPA. So they kind of, they do all the compliance based work on, on retirement plans, like 401ks.
00:16:42
Speaker
And I went in there with the intention to learn as much as I can about everything within the industry. Cause I, I said, you know, I need to be in this and it it pulled me in. I mean, it's a, well, like if anyone that it comes into our organization, I'm like, are you ready to be sucked in to the 401k stuff?
00:17:02
Speaker
You're now going to dedicate, it's like golf, you know, like when people say, Oh, I don't, I'm not really into golf. And then they have that one, like they just, they hit it perfectly and it goes on the green, almost goes in, it's almost a hole in one and and whatever.
00:17:15
Speaker
But that feeling you're like, I will dedicate my life to it yeah now. I'll spend money on all these things. It's a similar thing to that where you learn enough to be dangerous, then you'll learn enough to be actual ah an expert in some ways, and then you just build on that. And so that's where it kind of moved from that.
00:17:38
Speaker
um The other co-founders, when they pulled me in, I was pulled in as a consultant because they were like, look, this is what we want to do. um our CEO, Dan, ah he he's a serial entrepreneur and his thing is he looks at the these opportunities and and how do we provide a solution. And and the biggest thing in the conversation we had early on was he's like, I want to automate a 401k plan.
00:18:06
Speaker
Like he's wanting to do it. So as he kind of pulled me into that, um I, I joke because I, I used like chat GPT to do a mockup of this story and it did a pretty good job, you know like tell the story like this or whatever. And it, it did a pretty good job. But, um, he said, I want to automate a 401k plan so that these, it'll be something available to these small businesses.
00:18:27
Speaker
Um, and I just told him, no, I, I don't think that's possible. I don't know how you would do it because there's all these barriers. And, um, you do that. He just looked at me and he said, but what if you could,
00:18:39
Speaker
So, I mean, that's the thing. I'm working on entrepreneur. but Yeah. Yeah. And it changed my mindset. I think that was a big thing where I'm like, but what if you could? So, instead of looking at these obstacles that are there and you're kind of like, well, there's this, there's this, there's this, but what if you could do this? And it's looking at things differently. And I kind of changed my perspective on, I know it's 401 go, but you have a lot of other things that you encounter. Yeah.
00:19:07
Speaker
What if you could? You know, so like that changed it. That's how I got into it. um It feels like I've been doing this forever. But yeah, that's that's the main pull. So this is a really important space. I mean, savings is a big deal.
00:19:22
Speaker
Statistics on on how much savings the American, you know, the average American has are really bleak, a huge percentage the population could not financially weather a small emergency, right? So they probably are not prepared for retirement.
00:19:39
Speaker
um Yeah. yeah So what are some of the things that contribute to this and and what are things that can help to get more folks saving?
Addressing Low Retirement Savings
00:19:50
Speaker
I would say, and this is my opinion, i know that it it is better than what it was. but it's still in my mind, it still looks there. There's still a mountain decline.
00:20:02
Speaker
Yeah. Um, my opinion is the engagement factor. Um, how are we engaging with a generation that, you know, they, they're not wanting a paper notice that's sent to them. They don't want to fill out a paper form.
00:20:19
Speaker
Um, this is, and And this isn't just one generation. This is, there there are a lot of people that are getting accustomed to again, I can order something on Amazon and it comes to my, and I'm sure everybody has this, like my wife will order something and it'll be there in that the afternoon or whatever. It's the idea that how quickly they can get something there. um The engagement isn't there in a way where they can understand it.
00:20:49
Speaker
It's missing. um you still have that stuffy, almost like a this is what it is and and and everyone else down here.
00:21:01
Speaker
and I'm not trying to do an us versus them thing, but it's the idea that we're not engaging that group of of people, the employees that are in these small businesses or the solopreneur, like we're not engaging them on a level that they understand that they they'll come into it.
00:21:16
Speaker
um 401k still is viewed in a certain way where it's like, oh yeah, it's one of those. And it's like, and this is this is a tangent, but have you ever seen those videos of like the um theyre the babies that they look like ah like a 40 year old man or whatever? they and And the joke in the comments is like, oh, I know that guy, he does my accounting, right?
00:21:37
Speaker
I know that guy, he handles my 401k. So it's still the same idea that, you know, like, oh yeah, the 401k that, but it's actually a very, um light benefit that you could add into this ah for these these businesses. And so that's the perspective. And I think the engagement has to come on multiple levels. I mean, it we can't even laugh at ourselves in the 401k. It needs to be pulled in in a way where you're seeing ah engagement on all levels. You don't see, i mean, you you'll see some ads that are kind of like the kind of
00:22:14
Speaker
they're trying to be funny, but not quite there. And like, and they're starting to do that, but you you see this with insurance. Like you see, you know, the different insurance companies where they have the humor and it's pulling in that engagement, but you don't see that on the 401k because it's kind of like, well you know,
00:22:30
Speaker
it's It's no laughing matter, but it is, you know, like if you want to get the and engagement, it needs to be something that will relate with that group of people. Accessibility, I think, is is a lot of what I'm hearing here. I mean, it it it it is, you know, at least, um you know, in terms of ah the ease of adoption at the same time, though, it's not because, right, people have these preconceptions of of it. So, you know, to bridge that. But, you know, employers...
00:23:01
Speaker
employers are making financial wellness a priority for their employees and including these benefits as as part of like a total reward strategy. um I imagine that would help a lot here. I'm guessing saving money is easier if somebody is doing it for you or on your behalf.
00:23:17
Speaker
If more, and and and and even to reference the story you were telling, if more employers offered these things, do you feel that people would, you know, more people would take advantage of them?
00:23:28
Speaker
Oh yeah, absolutely. The more you have it in, in these businesses and that, that is what I think they're trying to do with these state mandates that I was talking about, like to try to push there, but it, and there are a lot of incentives, like the business incentives are dramatic. And even the ones that are there, I think that they're going to add more in the coming years, but there are a lot of incentives for that, you know, tax credits relative to the benefit, um how much they can save each year, you know, cost,
00:23:57
Speaker
um for for the plan. um I think that would help. um But I also think that it's, you have you have the business owner as one.
00:24:09
Speaker
We work heavily with financial advisors and financial advisors are amazing partners um when they are engaged in this business. Then they go in and they they really help with those businesses.
00:24:22
Speaker
It's hard for a financial advisor to go after the small business market, because like I said, it takes so much energy and time to get these, you know, plans lifted up at the other providers.
00:24:33
Speaker
Um, and so that's why we have a huge, you know, huge group of financial advisors that utilize our system so that they can get in there and help educate them on the benefit of the 401k.
00:24:45
Speaker
And you have more of that it just becoming a standard. Um, I think that helps, um, but it's the individuals too. I think an individual, if you're getting all these individuals um that they're catching onto to something and they're seeing the, the, you know, even compound interest, you talk about compound interest and how that applies with the 401k and what it could do for them.
00:25:08
Speaker
um Just that portion, I think is very powerful. I mean, you haven't, you if you have an 18 year old that saves, And we do have some users we have a very young um group, at which goes to say that there's a lot of young people that work for these small businesses, but we have ah like the younger echelon that are participating in these four and k plans.
00:25:30
Speaker
But if you have someone that's 18 and they're putting money away and they're starting even just a little bit and they don't touch it, because it's i it's not a bank account. You don't touch it. You're putting it away. The compound interest, everything else is there. You're going to have a lot more to subsidize your life at some point. And retirement's different too now.
00:25:48
Speaker
you know That's the eighth wonder of the world, I think, isn't it? Compound interest? It is, yes. We talk a lot about solving people problems here at Mustard Hub.
00:26:00
Speaker
I mean, would you consider lack of retirement savings options, a people problem for employers? Like what, what is what is the impact of offering or not offering these kinds of benefits when it comes to the workforce? I mean, I would assume that it impacts things like absenteeism, productivity, staff retention, maybe. Yeah. I mean, retention is a big one.
00:26:24
Speaker
um
00:26:27
Speaker
the way I look at this is as well, like um when you have, when you have a 401k, it does affect the culture that's there, but it's more along the lines of if you can, if you can get in early on and have that benefit in early on, it, it's more of your, it's a culture of you're trying to benefit those individuals and and less of,
00:26:56
Speaker
Cause you, I mean, I'll give you an example. So when you have, um, you go back 30 years, we'll say 30 years. Um, the majority of the plans out there were pension plans, you know, you'd put money in, you'd work for a company and you continue to work for that company.
00:27:12
Speaker
Cause you'd have your pension that's there. And and that was the ah majority as, uh, you know, in the eighties when the 401k kind of came through, it was like a loophole, right? Like is a loophole in, um,
00:27:25
Speaker
in the law. And so that kind of pulled out another opportunity where people can now participate toward their future and their retirement. However, that pension plan, you you know, like now it's it's flipped. Now you see the 401k and less of the pension plan.
00:27:43
Speaker
And what's happened is you have less people that are you know, they, they don't have money that is put away because, Hey, it's kind of on you, but if you don't have that opportunity, nothing's going to happen. And you could have someone working for your company for 20 years and they're living paycheck to paycheck, or maybe they're smart and they save something that's there, but you never put it 401k benefit in there.
00:28:06
Speaker
They missed out on compound interest. They've missed out on being in the market, even when the market drops and there's the, you know, these swings, The people that stay in the market and they don't make any knee knee-jerk reaction, I mean, they're so much better off down the road. and two thousand And 2008 is a good example like where there were people I knew where they they were in the market and they were so worried. they And again, I'm not giving investment investment advice. They were so worried that they they pulled their money out. And when the market came back, they missed out on all of it. So it's all over the idea that you don't have the opportunity
00:28:40
Speaker
to save or put money away, especially if you're living paycheck to paycheck, you could put, start with 5%. You could start with, you know, at least something when you're younger and you get used to that saving principle and it's going into, you know, a market, like something that is happening where you don't even have to like mess with it. You can have it build up.
00:29:02
Speaker
We have, um, one, and we have multiple examples of this, but we do have one, um, person that we like to look at where they started right at 18, they started putting money away.
00:29:13
Speaker
And, um, I believe they're 23 right now and they have $50,000 that has been saved up for them in their plan. Now that's just them putting it away and they're not, they're not making, you know, a hundred thousand a year. They're, they're making, they started out making like I don't know, $15 an hour, it might've been less than that and maybe had some increases there, but that's the power of it.
00:29:38
Speaker
And I think it's a cultural thing. Like if you're a business owner and we've had a 401k, obviously we're a 401k company. We've had a 401k since the beginning when we started it out and who could put money away, but it affects your culture and it affects what you're trying to give to those employees. um If you're going to run a business where you are so worried about,
00:30:00
Speaker
uh paying yourself a bunch of money and you you can kind of keep employees at a certain level there and not offer any benefit like this um i think it's a detriment to a generation like you're looking at these younger people that are coming in and agree and if that's that's like the front line all these businesses are the front line they're hiring someone i highly recommend getting a 401k because of the cultural impact on their business as well it's not like it's not even a um there's no i mean we have things split up so much by you know how people look or whatever and there's there's a lot of uh political stuff that's going on but a 401k is a very neutral it's you know it's a ah very neutral benefit that everyone can take part of and
Cultural Benefits of 401k Plans
00:30:49
Speaker
they can you know get something with it i think that's the part that um the business owner should be looking at like
00:30:55
Speaker
take a step back and realize how it'll affect your company and the value of your company. Yeah. You know, I i think that the workforce, you know, a workforce that faces economic insecurity, I think is definitely, know, after hearing you talk a little bit about it, I think it definitely can be ah people problem, right? It can contribute to a lot of things.
00:31:17
Speaker
But what are some of the other pressing people problems you see, you know, in in business today?
00:31:28
Speaker
um Well, there's there's two things to this. like i It's an AI, is like ah it's a buzzword, right? like and And AI can do quite a bit for you.
00:31:40
Speaker
um But you look at how we are in some ways just being trained to expect things in a certain way. So I think there there is the people where they expect to get something because they did this. And it's it's very very much where it's like, are you a good worker? Are you actually doing your job?
00:32:06
Speaker
I think there's a lot where they're not necessarily doing that, but they're expecting something where they'll stop. And i'll I'll give you another example of this. I used to work, so I i went to high school on the Navajo reservation in Monument Valley.
00:32:17
Speaker
And one of my other jobs I had was they were building these, they're called octagons. theyre supposed that They have hogans, but they're building octagons. and
00:32:28
Speaker
again, I worked all day on this. I wasn't very efficient or whatever, trying to get something done that was there. And because I'd worked so hard, i demanded i get paid more, you know, like more an hour.
00:32:40
Speaker
There's, there's the idea of that. And I soon learned that I wasn't as good at what I was doing as you think. So I think there is, that is, and I learned that early on, but I think there are a lot of people out there where they think that they are the we'll use the older term there, the bee's knees. And they they they can do all these things yet they don't have those life experiences to to actually learn from that.
00:33:03
Speaker
And I think it's more of understanding you have to work hard to get to the place where you can make demands instead of making demands before you put in the work.
00:33:13
Speaker
um So that is a people thing. And I think they're you're seeing a lot of that there where it is affecting a generation where the expectation is this and this. And, and I think when you go into a business or you're getting a job that's there, the expectation is, Hey, there's this and this. And, and you see this, you see this more with the use of ai Like you, you'll see even applications to, um, a job where people will have AI do all of it. And some of it's really lazy. Right. And, um, there's the actual hard skills that they're,
00:33:52
Speaker
therere they're not learning. So AI should enhance. It shouldn't replace. It shouldn't it should be, you you should be the creator and it'll enhance your creation. But you're seeing a lot of that where it's just, it's doing it for them.
00:34:05
Speaker
And it's even taking away some of that brain power. Like yeah put in the time first, you know, then use that to enhance what you have. Yeah. Almost like an over-reliance on it in some capacity.
00:34:19
Speaker
Yeah. Oh yeah. Well, it is... it is an awesome tool. I think anyone that uses, uses it effectively, it is an awesome tool. um And I think generations are growing into that where they're, they're learning that if, if you can't, if you can't figure something out without your phone or a computer, um then that's where I would say you need to work on yourself on that and put those things to the side, learn some of these skills that are there.
00:34:48
Speaker
And then, pull AI to, to enhance that. Or here's the other thing. AI is a great training tool. Be like, Hey, I don't have these skills yeah put together training programs. So the, the people part of this is how much, how powerful technology is right now.
00:35:05
Speaker
Um, and how it is and in some ways kind of replacing, um, in the workforce in some cases, but also replacing just that genuine thought and creativity.
00:35:18
Speaker
ah Use it to enhance what you have. Don't use it to try to replace or create some of those things that are there. So um it's not going away. And I think people need to come to terms with the fact that it's it's there and how are you using it?
00:35:33
Speaker
um how are How are your employees using it? And I would encourage, I encourage our employees use ChatGPT in this case or whatever for something that is going to um make you better at what you're you're doing.
00:35:50
Speaker
So there are really good examples of that. And there are really bad examples of that where Write me an email that says this and this, you know, that's, that's a bad, it like that is not how you use it.
00:36:03
Speaker
How about you write your own email, put it together and then say, Hey, AI, please evaluate this email and let me know how I can improve. Now you've just made something that is beneficial for you as opposed to it doing something for you. so it's It's the idea, even with 401 Go, we automate everything except relationships. We still think the human factor is so important.
00:36:24
Speaker
People have to be able to connect with someone there um and give the option of AI. I do think that AI will be one of those things where you have, it's almost like the watermark, or this is an AI thing.
00:36:37
Speaker
um You're on the phone. Are you willing to talk with AI because of this? um I think it will get to that point. And I think people, depends on the circumstances, we'd be totally fine doing that, but there's the human part of it. And I do think that the human part is where the greatest customer service kind of comes from and how they deal with people and work with people.
00:37:01
Speaker
I would agree with that. um I think in general, you know, talking a little bit about, um, you know, misalignment between leadership and the workforce, et cetera. You know, I think a a lot of it, you know, um,
00:37:19
Speaker
a lot of this misalignment can be an obstacle to success and growth, but I'm curious, what about misalignment when it comes to benefits?
Do Employers Offer Desired Benefits?
00:37:27
Speaker
do you Do you think workers are generally being offered benefits that they actually want, that they get value from? Are they happy with their compensation plans? You know, as somebody who's, you know, who does what you do, um I assume you have, you know, thoughts on something like that.
00:37:45
Speaker
Yeah. Um, and Not enough. I mean, my my short answer is not not enough businesses offer benefits um to the level that they should.
00:37:59
Speaker
And especially when you're dealing with a small, you know, SMB space where um they could offer something like that, but there's always the expense part, the bottom line part.
00:38:12
Speaker
but how could you not offer them? So it's the same, going back to the same thing, but what if you could, you know, like if you could offer these benefits, um you know, you should be offering them to, that and there are, there are, because of technology, there are so many places that these businesses could go to get some level of benefit um for their employees.
00:38:33
Speaker
So I do think to your point that um
00:38:39
Speaker
it it's being like pushed pushed aside some in some cases where instead of doing it, they're kind of kicking the can down the road. Um, instead of doing that.
00:38:51
Speaker
And, and I think it, it all comes down to, um, what type of culture do you want for your business? Again, I'll go back to that. Um, benefits are super and important for any of those employees. If they're running into something that, you know, if they have to go out and get benefits on their own and it's,
00:39:10
Speaker
it's an expensive thing, then that's something that needs to be addressed, right? Like if their their own business so solopreneurs. um But i think it's I think it's more affordable than they think.
00:39:23
Speaker
And I would encourage them to look at those options instead of just say it's it's too hard, you know, and it's it's not, it's gonna be one of those things where we we can't do it because there's this and this. I would i would look to make it work And use the technology to create efficiencies so you can provide a benefit for your employees that are there.
00:39:45
Speaker
So maybe instead of, and this might be like a bad take, but it's like, if instead of looking to hire a whole bunch of people here, look at how technology can accommodate your current workforce.
00:40:00
Speaker
to provide a benefit to them if you're not, and then hire in a more meaningful manner as you're pulling those people in. Don't just hire just to, you know, fill a role. um Use technology to do that so you can benefit the existing workforce.
00:40:16
Speaker
So you you had mentioned, you talked a little bit about you know, the retention side and what it can do for retention, the impact that can have on retention. So I'm going to, I'm going pivot a little bit to tech.
00:40:29
Speaker
Um, you know, we're a tech company here at mustard hub, um, So I kind of have to pivot into tech for a little bit, um but you are too. So with a lot of tech, lot of technology in the ah HR space for recruiting, for retaining talent, for managing the workforce, fostering culture, you know, reinforcing a lot of these core values and so on.
00:40:50
Speaker
Are there tools or platforms that you recommend for your customers? You know, tech you'd wish to see them
Leveraging Technology for Business Efficiency
00:40:58
Speaker
use. You don't have to say mustard up here.
00:41:01
Speaker
and but But I am curious, you know, being being a tech platform, you know, 401Go, I'm curious what you see as as popular, you know, and and sort of just dovetailing on that retention piece.
00:41:17
Speaker
You know, what are some things that, um you know, you wish you'd see some your customers use? and i would I would reference the ah payroll side. There's a lot on the payroll side.
00:41:31
Speaker
I do see some businesses that are trying to run through the the payroll portion of things. And we have a lot of great partnerships with some payroll companies. And I think it's important without making a recommendation is we work with, we have a lot of integrations with payroll companies that make that whole process easy.
00:41:52
Speaker
um So it's the idea of leveraging a good payroll company that will take that off your plate. um at least running that if you're running it on your own um you may be saving money but you're you're not saving your time so that's the bigger thing like having a legitimate payroll company that you're you're working with and you're you're running things through um there are a lot of companies out there that benefit providers um I'm reluctant to mention them just because we have a lot of partnerships and I don't want it to overlap.
00:42:25
Speaker
um And again, you have you have Mustard Hub as well. um But at least looking at those benefits that you can add. um
00:42:37
Speaker
i i have to be so careful. I can't mention something. It's out there. and like Yeah, yeah. I think that that's good advice. And um yeah I think you you kind of nailed it. You said a lot of folks really try and go at it without having that, you know, having that type of guidance behind them, right? Working with a really good media world company. So I think that that's um that's good advice. Before we wrap up here in a few minutes, I did want to talk about a so you know a story, a team, a client that experienced this big turning point,
Success Story: Trucking Company and 401k
00:43:12
Speaker
right? Even good or bad,
00:43:14
Speaker
Um, the change in their, in their 401k program, or like the one that you described, introducing a new one and seeing that kind of adoption, um, how did it impact their organization as a whole, their culture or even other things?
00:43:30
Speaker
Um, yeah, I'll, I'll go back to the trucking company. Um, and, uh, the, the owner of this trucking company, it just, I mean, um, just an amazing woman, you know, like she wanted to do something, um, to benefit her employees.
00:43:50
Speaker
And she almost didn't do it because it was scary. Like there's this, this gap there and technologically she was not at a certain level. And so it was important for us to work through that, to make sure that it would work for her and her company.
00:44:06
Speaker
Um, culture wise, um, And again, she thought at first that hardly anyone would participate. Um, but she was wrong.
00:44:20
Speaker
You know, a lot of people, for um, and they, you know, they, they came up to her and she was, she was just, she was so ecstatic about this. and And this was an early on, um,
00:44:32
Speaker
ah situation. And so she did have my ah direct, you know, she was, she would dial direct, even though she had like a dedicated person she could reach out to. ah She would always dial direct and she would just tell me, you know, sometimes she'd just tell me that, Hey, I had an employee come, come up to me and say, thank you for offering this, which is a weird thing, right? Like, thank you for offering, um, this, this 401k thing, because I was able to do this or whatever.
00:44:58
Speaker
um But most of them wouldn't say anything. you know They're not going to say like come up to you and say you know like that hallmark moment where they come, up yeah, thank you. for No, it doesn't happen. And but as a business owner, you would know.
00:45:12
Speaker
It's almost like before lightning strikes, you feel that little you know something is and the positive that's happening in europe your company. Yeah. um She actually, they they grew and they acquired another company. Like, so they've they've had a lot of growth just from that.
00:45:30
Speaker
um So it's, it the the culture aspect is super important, but it also, it changes, it's almost like it changes the whole atmosphere of the the business when you really buy into getting benefits for your employees and it's legitimate.
00:45:44
Speaker
You know, you're not just saying, oh, there's a state mandate. I'll just tap into the state mandate. The state mandate is a cop out. to try to get like an actual benefit for your employees. So, you know, that's, that's a, that's a bigger thing. I would say, I just, I have to hash on that point where the expense is worth it.
00:46:02
Speaker
You know, if you're running through this on your own, figure out how you can add these benefits because of what it will do to your business. hundred percent agree. You know, as somebody who's run, um, a few small businesses, uh, that is very good advice. I stand behind that a hundred percent.
00:46:20
Speaker
Um, if a leader can, I love asking this question.
Importance of Trust in Hiring
00:46:24
Speaker
Um, a leader comes up to you and asks you for some advice on how to truly get it right when it comes to growing and retaining their teams, right. Or taking care of their people from day one, right.
00:46:36
Speaker
Let's say you're, you're on a plane, you just landed. Everybody's about to walk right down. and get off the plane, but he turns around and he asks you this one question before he walks off with his bags. What's the one thing that you tell him, you just have a minute to do it?
00:46:55
Speaker
Hire people you can trust. um that's That's a big thing. I'm a big proponent of Simon Sinek's trust and performance scale. If you haven't seen that, go look at it.
00:47:07
Speaker
um Hire people you can trust. Um, there are always high performance people out there that will promise you the world. Um, but look for people you can trust and surround yourself with people that you can trust.
00:47:19
Speaker
Um, that will help your organization more than anything and use, use an actual ah metric that you have when you're hiring someone. And if you have to be in front of every single single person you hire until you get to a certain point, then do it. But those, those people will make up your company. And if you have someone that is not so great, and then you hire another person that's not so great, it will affect everything else. It's a trickle effect throughout.
00:47:45
Speaker
So hire people you trust and, uh, use that, use that trust to performance scale. I use that. Um, I think it's, it's really important. So.
00:47:57
Speaker
that would be my advice, you know? how that's That's a great clip, by the way, for anybody who hasn't seen that clip of, of, uh, Simon Sinek doing his performance. It's a, it's a really, it's a really, a really, really good one. Um, awesome. We refer to it as something else internally, but I won't say it here.
00:48:17
Speaker
It's, it's, it's the a-hole, it's like the a-hole scale, right? Like it's like you, you, you don't want that. Yeah. No, yeah I imagine I probably know how you guys refer to it.
00:48:29
Speaker
Yes. yeah This is awesome, Jared. I really appreciate you you know taking the time to join me today. This has been a great a great chat. I've really enjoyed it. And I just wanted to say thank you.
00:48:40
Speaker
Yeah. Thank you. Thanks for having me. This is great. um And thank you all for for tuning in to Mustard Hub Voices behind the build. Please like and share this fireside chat and be sure to subscribe to our channels.
00:48:53
Speaker
um More insights are on the way. you can also visit mustardhub.com to learn how we help companies become destinations for workplace happiness and turn culture into a competitive edge.
00:49:04
Speaker
Until next time. Thank you.