It Takes a Village: Building Strong Teams for Multiemployer Success
Insider Insights for Multiemployer Plans | Webinar #2 | December 2, 2025 | 4-minute read
Featuring Lisa Gomez, former Assistant Secretary of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)
Key Takeaways
No single provider sees every risk. Strong plans depend on administrators, counsel, actuaries, auditors, and advisors working as one team.
Siloed providers create inconsistent guidance, missed issues, and higher fiduciary exposure.
Collaboration works best when it’s built into formal processes, not left to chance.
Trustees set the tone by defining roles and requiring coordination among advisors.
Documented communication and decisions support accountability and future audits.
Why Teamwork Matters
Multiemployer plans are among the most complex benefit arrangements in the industry. Trustees rely on administrators, legal counsel, actuaries, auditors, investment advisors, and other service providers to support operations and fiduciary decisions. Each brings specialized expertise, but none has a complete view of the plan.
That was the central message of Zenith American Solutions’ webinar, “It Takes a Village: Building Strong Teams for Multiemployer Success.” When providers collaborate, decisions are better informed, risks surface earlier, and participants get a more consistent experience. When communication breaks down, critical information gets missed, and the plan faces operational inefficiencies, compliance concerns, and greater fiduciary exposure.
The Hidden Cost of Working in Silos
The silo effect occurs when providers focus only on their own responsibilities without considering how their work affects the broader plan. It often develops gradually and goes unnoticed until it creates a real problem. Common consequences include:
Inconsistent interpretations of plan provisions
Conflicting guidance to participants
Delayed identification of operational issues
Higher administrative costs and compliance risk
Strong governance depends not only on expertise but also on communication.
What Effective Collaboration Looks Like
High-performing plans don’t leave collaboration to chance. They build it into how the plan operates:
Regular cross-provider communication. Bring key stakeholders together on a set schedule to discuss operational updates, emerging risks, and participant concerns, so everyone works from the same information.
Clearly defined roles. Confusion over who owns a decision creates delays and risk. Document decision-making authority, reporting responsibilities, escalation procedures, and fiduciary oversight expectations.
Consistent documentation. Recording key discussions, decisions, and fiduciary processes creates accountability and supports future reviews, audits, and regulatory inquiries.
A culture of transparency. When providers feel comfortable raising concerns and differing views early, plans avoid preventable problems.
The Trustee’s Role
Trustees set the expectations for how providers work together. Effective boards encourage communication, require coordination among advisors, and promote governance practices that support informed decisions. The goal is for service providers to function as a unified team rather than a collection of independent vendors.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does good fiduciary oversight look like when multiple vendors are involved?
It starts with understanding how each provider contributes to the plan and making sure important information is shared across the team. Strong oversight typically includes regular communication among providers, clear governance structures, transparent reporting, documented decision-making, and consistent monitoring of operational performance.
How do we practically improve coordination across our service providers?
Every plan is different, but the checklist below is a good starting point.
Your Coordination Checklist
Schedule regular meetings with key providers.
Create clear channels for raising issues and questions.
Establish documented governance and reporting procedures.
Define responsibilities and decision-making authority.
Encourage early escalation before problems grow.
Maintain transparency throughout the decision-making process.
Plans that do this tend to see more accurate and timely benefit administration, faster identification of risks, more efficient operations, better-informed fiduciary decisions, and improved participant satisfaction.
The Bottom Line
No individual provider can see every risk or solve every challenge alone. When trustees set clear expectations and providers work as a unified system, plans are better positioned to manage complexity, reduce risk, and protect participants and plan assets.
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About Insider Insights for Multiemployer Plans
Zenith American Solutions' Insider Insights for Multiemployer Plans webinar series delivers timely perspectives on regulatory developments, fiduciary responsibilities, operational best practices, and emerging trends impacting Taft-Hartley and multiemployer plans. Each session is designed to help trustees, fund offices, and industry professionals stay informed and make confident decisions in an evolving benefits landscape.
