Linda Trinh

Client Account Manager Linda Trinh, with John Hancock Retirement Plan Services, looks for trends in participant behavior in the plans she oversees. If she perceives how a plan could be better served, she reaches out to the client.

Steven LeBlanc, director, human resources (HR), at Curtis Industries LLC, a manufacturer of compact vehicle enclosure systems, nominated Trinh for just that reason. “Linda does a great job, processing the day-to-day loan requests, and happily answers any questions I have, but what separates her from others is that she notices trends and patterns of use in our plan and does her research into our plan construction,” LeBlanc says. “She then takes this information and contacts me, making proactive suggestions on ways to make our plan even more employee-friendly.”

“I evaluate my plans every quarter,” Trinh says, “to see what kinds of services I can recommend to make administration of the plan easier or more efficient. I also look for tools and communications that I can recommend to boost participant engagement.”

Trinh says she contacted LeBlanc last September when she noticed many participant requests for loans and withdrawals coming through on paper. “An alternative way is to use online withdrawals and loans, which are faster and more efficient,” she notes. “He was open to the suggestion, so the service was added in October.” To eliminate more paperwork at the participant level, Trinh suggested additional convenient online services, such as paperless online enrollment and online deferral management, both of which Curtis Industries also embraced and adopted.

Continuing to evaluate the plan with an eye toward ease of use and participant engagement, Trinh suggested that the client improve its website by posting “plan highlights” there, which it did—i.e., “a high-level overview of what the plan allows, such as eligibility, loans and withdrawals,” Trinh says.

Trinh also streamlined Curtis Industries’ plan administration by suggesting Payroll Pass, a service that permits participants’ contributions to be directed straight to John Hancock, rather than the sponsor issuing a contribution file to the payroll company.

—Lee Barney