For more information, contact Jane Howard, 620-792-9208, howardj@bartonccc.edu.

April 1, 2010

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Story by: Michael Dawes
dawesm@bartonccc.edu

CPI Qualified Plan Consultants Inc. is the proverbial big fish in a small pond. As one of the nation’s largest providers of third-party administration, the company chooses to keep its home office in Great Bend, where it started as a life insurance company with three employees and then incorporated into a TPA company 38 years ago.

“When I’m on the road recruiting, people ask why we are located in Great Bend,” said Brenda Kaiser, assistant human resource director for CPI. “We’re proud to say that we are a company that is home grown, we started here, our roots are here and that’s why we are still here today.”

By staying in Great Bend, CPI benefits from a central Kansas labor pool that is known for its Midwestern values and a strong work ethic. But the company also faces challenges by operating in a rural environment where workforce is limited and where unemployment percentages are consistently well below the national average.

Kaiser is part of an HR team charged with the crucial, but delicate role of helping to maintain and even grow CPI’s workforce inside that economic dichotomy where it exists. Currently, CPI employs 460 people nationwide, having more than a dozen regional sites with regional managers and consultants working throughout the United States. But 98 percent of CPI’s workforce comes from the central Kansas area because most of its employees are needed for the record-keeping aspect of the business and the lion’s share of that work is done in Great Bend.

In order to fill so many positions on the local front, CPI has developed an aggressive push over the years to train and cultivate its own qualified workforce. 

Barton-CPI Partnership

It relies on local workforce ally Barton Community College to help with that endeavor. Currently, the College offers four classes that, when completed, enable CPI employees to earn certification by the American Society of Pension Professionals and Actuaries. From that certification, employees can then become credentialed as a Qualified 401(k) Administrator, said Jane Howard, Barton’s executive director of Business Technology and Community Education, who also teaches two of the four pension administration certificate courses.

“That is something we push to our employees to achieve their ASPPA designation because it helps the entire nation know that we have individuals in the industry who are certified in this field,” said Kaiser. “It’s really important to our employees and to our customers we are serving.”

The relationship between CPI and the College began nearly 20 years ago when CPI contacted Barton for customized training as a way to upgrade its workforce. Over time, Barton has provided, not only certificate training, but management and leadership training, computer training, and even began an associate degree program in pension administration eight years ago. Anyone can enroll in the program, but CPI provides cost-sharing scholarships, and bonuses, up to $1,000, to its employees who successfully complete pension administration certification. All of the incentives are needed to keep CPI’s workforce continually trained and to keep employees in the area, once they are trained.

The national recession halted growth for the TPA company the past two years, but Kaiser said CPI is hiring once again and has openings in its plan administrator area, where career advancement is guaranteed with the right blend of training, experience and certifications, Kaiser added. People can apply at CPI, 1809 24th Street, weekdays between the hours of 7:30 a.m. and 5 p.m.

“We’re excited to be able to refill positions and to move forward and provide some opportunities for individuals in the community again,” said Kaiser.

Barton-CPI Partnership

CPI also recruits employees from around the state. Kaiser said the company recently rehired a university graduate, who had worked for CPI when she was a student at Barton a few years earlier.

“She really enjoyed her experiences in the community and wants to move back here,” said Kaiser.

Howard said the College is working on offering, this fall, a new pension administration class, which is specific to pension plans of tax exempt and government entities.

“Our goal is to work closely with CPI as its needs change, and those needs will change,” said Howard. “When that occurs, it’s important that we be ready to respond, just as we have done for such a very long time, because CPI is one of our area’s largest employers and it serves so many areas for our community.”