Marsh McLennan Agency's RevHR featured in the Worcester Business Journal
Employee benefits solutions for emerging life sciences companies
The search for improved pharmaceuticals, advanced biotechnology, and cutting-edge medical devices has led to a surge in the number of life sciences companies across the country. The United States is home to more than 3,000 biotechnology businesses, and biotech industry jobs have been growing steadily for over a decade. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the biotech research and development (R&D) industry experienced an 11.5% growth from January 2021 to January 2022.
In Massachusetts, the life sciences industry has surpassed California as the number one hub in the world. The Kendall Square area of Boston dubbed the “center of the nation’s biotechnology industry,” contains more than 120 life sciences companies. Pharma giants, such as Biogenand Takeda, are headquartered in Boston, along with many smaller biotech companies and start-ups. Moreover, Massachusetts remains the highest-funded state per capita by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) at $3.3 billion. That’s more than 9% of all NIH funding.
Worcester County is also carving a niche in the life sciences space. There are more than 60 biotech companies in the area and 13 colleges and universities, including UMass Chan Medical School and Worcester Polytechnic Institute. Furthermore, AbbVie’s Bioresearch Center complements R&D facilities in Cambridge and the Boston area, making Massachusetts one of the greatest life sciences clusters globally.
The core of the Massachusetts life sciences industry depends on its R&D workforce, which has contributed to significant annual economic growth compared to competitor states. MassBio, a trade organization that aims to eliminate barriers, solve problems, and advance Massachusetts as a leader in the life sciences industry, reported that biopharma employment in Massachusetts grew by 13.2% in 2021.
As life sciences becomes a vital industry contributing to the nation’s health care future, recruiting and retaining talent can be problematic due, in part, to inadequate benefits packages. To compete with larger, well-established biopharma companies, these small businesses require the support and resources that an experienced, knowledgeable insurance broker can provide.
Marsh McLennan Agency (MMA) provides business insurance, employee health and benefits, retirement, and private client insurance solutions to organizations and individuals seeking limitless possibilities. With 9,000 colleagues and 170 offices across North America and nine throughout New England, MMA is the seventh largest agency in North America and represents 1,700 life sciences clients across the country.
MMA understands the nuances of the life sciences industry and the many challenges early-stage life sciences companies face compared to larger, established companies. Their extensive benchmarking capabilities and pulse surveys provide industry-specific data and identify evolving market trends. MMA’s unparalleled knowledge within the life sciences industry and its strong carrier partnerships provide early-stage companies the confidence that they are offering market-competitive benefits.
To address this inequity, MMA partnered with MassBio to create RevHR, an HR outsourcing program specific for fast-growing and emerging life sciences companies. RevHR allows life sciences companies to offer their employees a variety of employee benefit plan options, human resource support, payroll services, and access to innovative technology. By outsourcing administrative tasks, growing life sciences companies can focus on their evolving business needs. “Although the platform targets early-stage companies, it can grow with the company. So, it doesn’t matter where you are in the growth cycle,” said Peter Pedro, MMA’s Executive Vice President, Employee Health & Benefits. “We’ve taken away the barriers to offer a competitive program within the life sciences ecosystem.”
Until now, emerging life sciences companies had limited alternatives. RevHR fills a critical gap and levels the playing field for early-stage life sciences companies, allowing them to offer market competitive benefits aligned with what mature life sciences companies offer. This is important as they continue to compete for talent. Small companies can determine which plan best fits their needs and benefits philosophy.
As a premier global life sciences and health care hub, MassBio is committed to the growth of the Commonwealth’s life sciences industry and adding value to the health care system. After extensive research, MassBio was able to identify a partner that also aimed to enhance the life sciences space and could provide its members access to industry-leading resources and best-in-class benefit plans, leading them to Marsh McLennan Agency.
“Since we announced RevHR as a preferred partner the response has been excellent from our members who have been waiting for a solution like this,” said MassBio President & CEO Kendalle Burlin O’Connell. “When a product is built exclusively for life sciences companies, you know it will check all the boxes. Equipping our members with the resources to streamline their operations, support their employees, and concentrate on their research is why we exist as an organization.”
RevHR provides resources and support to in-house HR departments, delivering fully integrated payroll solutions, 401(k) management, and employee benefits packages that cover the employee life cycle from hire to retire.
By leveraging the buying power of its industry-leading partners, RevHR can deliver savings for employees and streamlines human resource tasks for employers. This allows life sciences companies to focus on recruitment, retention, and company culture.
This unique, industry-specific benefits strategy provides targeted resources, support, cost management, and access to some of the best technology on the market. It also affords peace of mind and confidence to emerging life sciences companies attempting to secure a foothold in the competitive life sciences stratosphere.
