Zachary Osborne, APA, Retirement Plan Specialist
“Wow, 2020, where do I start?” exclaims Zach Osborne, Plan Consultant. “If I had to summarize it, I would say we moved from being obsessed with growth and client service to simply gratitude.” This sentiment, from such a young man, epitomizes the vision and ethos of Osborne & Associates and will likely result in many years of sustainable future growth for the company.
Osborne & Associates was founded in 1978 by Zach’s grandfather, who has since passed the firm on to his two children, Shayna and Wade Osborne, who currently operate the firm. They are based in Modesto, California with administrators in California, Arizona, and Maryland. Zach Osborne represents the next generation of Osbornes to embark on a career in the retirement industry.
Shayna, Wade, Zach, and the team have created a culture that is both admirable and contagious. Their team is an extension of the family bond. They enjoy each other’s company, they work hard for each other, and they celebrate their wins in style. “My favorite thing we do as a company is the October 15th celebration. One year, for example, there was a limo that took the team to a winery and then onto a shopping spree for the whole team. It was so cool,” recalls Zach.
Coming into 2020 having recently upgraded to PensionPro, Osborne & Associates was planning on more of the same – focusing on growth while maintaining their stellar reputation for client service. The CalSavers program, which mandates that California businesses provide retirement plans if they have over five employees, was moving through its phased adoption. This was creating a lot of new sales opportunities for the TPA community in California. “PensionPro dramatically improved our tracking and communication abilities, helping us to provide excellent client service more efficiently,” said Shayna Osborne, President of Osborne & Associates. “PensionPro also made our transition to the new system incredibly easy!” Shayna added. Sales and business operations were moving forward in a very exciting manner.
Then the global pandemic began.
Osborne & Associates consciously and strategically decided to turn its energy and effort away from chasing new sales and focus its efforts on its existing customers and partners in a way they had never done before. They used PensionPro to understand how much business specific advisors had sent them and turned that knowledge into gratitude.
“We spent even more time, sent more thoughtful gifts, to convey the extreme gratitude that we felt for the relationships that we already had. I don’t think we will ever go back to the pre-COVID way of showing our clients and partners how much we care,” said Zach. This is just one way we have seen PensionPros all over the country use their data to deliver great service and strengthen their relationships.
So, what is on the horizon for Osborne in 2021? Zach explains that “getting our team back to the office safely when the time comes remains a priority. It’ll be a balancing act, though. Our team likes being together, but I think some of the team might also like the benefits of working from home too. It is a challenge, like many others, we need to solve quickly.” At PensionPro we hold the hope that 2021 is going to be a great year. Eventually, the pandemic will subside and we, as the TPA community, will come out stronger and more grateful for each other than a year ago. Here’s to the silver lining of gratitude.
If you would like to learn more about PensionPro, register here for an open demo which will be held on April 1st. If you need something sooner, please fill out a contact form.
