Empower Retirement

Bobbie Rose, director of human resources (HR) for Applied Technical Services Inc., says going above and beyond, from the client service perspective, should be a provider’s everyday policy.

“Anyone can have a good day,” Rose points out. “That’s why I think it’s important to look at the whole picture and the day-to-day interactions [with] the client service person to see if they deserve being recognized.”

According to Rose, the Empower Retirement team of Terry Shackelford, senior relationship manager, and Jerry Lynn, client service manager, embodies this philosophy of giving consistently great client service. “I can honestly tell you that, between the two of them, I’ve always had exceptional day-to-day customer service—not just a one-time event of [it],” Rose says. “There are numerous times that either Terry or Jerry walked me through a situation that required time and undivided attention to make sure things were done within the law and ethically performed. I depend on them, and they’ve never let me down.”

Rose notes that Applied Technical Services, a provider of consulting engineering, testing and inspection services, is a growing company and, in the past two years, has made numerous acquisitions that called for managing and merging new retirement plans with its own.

“Both Terry and Jerry have reached out to experts for me to get the answers on the grueling process,” Rose says. “For example, when one of the companies we acquire has a simple individual retirement account [IRA] and we, the buyer, have a 401(k) and it’s mid-year, there’s a lot to consider. Terry walked me through similar scenarios and helped me understand the complexity of the situation and what I needed to do, going forward. Jerry helped get the process going. Without them, I would not feel confident about the process.” She concludes, “Many people depend on retirement plan sponsors doing the right thing. So it’s a big benefit for the plan sponsor to be able to lean on a solid support system.”

—John Manganaro