Don't know? Give up? AIG's John Penko has some thoughts on the subject. Penko delivered a well-received talk at the recent Workplace Benefits Renaissance in Orlando, Fla., further detailing the calling that worksite producers and other benefits professionals are answering when they communicate and educate employees about available products.

AIG is also rolling out a new cancer program in partnership with Lance Armstrong's Live Strong Foundation. The program not only offers a traditional insurance component through AIG, but also offers a host of counseling and related services to address the devastating and often far reaching impact a cancer diagnosis has on the individual and the family.

Penko, senior VP of sales for AIG's employee benefit solutions division, has been on all sides of the industry. He started out as a sales rep for colonial nearly 30 years ago. After wending his way up one corporate ladder he left to start his own business in the 1990s. He just recently returned to the rungs, spending the last four years with AIG.

He doesn't have any problem with his presentation being labeled the "conscience" of an otherwise sales-oriented professional meeting. He's also not shy about sharing how his son's work as a soldier in Iraq helps him have a better perspective on his life as a worksite professional.

EBA Editor Robert L. Whiddon spoke with Penko in Orlando the day after he delivered his presentation.

Is it fair to describe your presentation as sort of the conscience of the conference? I was trying to find an adjective for it. Pick an adjective yourself and then describe what role you played within the conference?

You mention conscience, which might be a good one. I believe when you are in this business you have to realize what you are in it for. As we said, what we do is for the common good of people, especially the working people in this country who don't have the means to have financial advisers and private insurance people. We're making programs available to them through the workplace. These are people generally of middle income and lower income means.

And so, we have to realize what we're doing and that we do help these people recover from illness. We do help these people pay their bills when they are disabled and basically have the stability to feed their families and also provide dignity in death for these people should somebody pass away. We have to realize that's what we're really in this business to do.

You talked about a variety of personal and emotional topics in your presentation. You mention your son, a soldier in Iraq. There is also some 9/11 imagery. Can you explain the relevance of those types of themes to where we are, which is a worksite marketing conference?

The reference to my son with him being in Iraq gave me the motivation, because I realize what difficulties he faces, the conditions that he lives in. What he has seen in his 21 years, which I will never have seen in my 51 years, and the challenges that he faces. That gave me the motivation, because no matter what problem I have in a day or what challenges we face in our organization, they pale in comparison to what my son and his fellow soliders in Iraq are facing. It just puts it in perspective. You know these soldiers and you know how committed they are to what they are doing. If we all were as committed to our objectives and we all looked to make sacrifices -- not making a comparison to the sacrifices they make, but in relation to the sacrifices they make -- we all would be more successful.

And I also have his picture on my desk and everyday I'm reminded that when I have a bad day or I'm faced with something that is disappointing or difficult, looking at his picture helps me put things in perspective. We even have given his picture to his two brothers, because I don't want to hear about their problems compared to what their younger brother is facing. It kind of puts it in perspective.

This is a sales meeting -- one of the themes is how to double your voluntary revenue. Is it incongruent or discordant to have the focus on sales and then have your message? Should they not be paired?

Absolutely they should be paired. The only way you are going to have long term successes is to follow your convictions, maintain high ethics, your principles and your values. If all you are in this for is the high commission, [to] make the sale, you will be a short-term superstar. If you want to be a long-term legend it comes down to how well you service your customer, what value you bring to that employer and that employee -- the service that you provide. That has got to be how you look at his business long term if you are going to be successful.

So many times we do see people, so many times organizations or individuals will take a shortcut. That shortcut will never lead to success. It'll be discovered by the customer quicker than you can imagine. You have to be genuine. You have to have high ethics. You have to have your principles and your values and that will convey to the customer and the marketplace. Carriers have an obligation to be the same way. They've got to maintain those high standards.

Are you concerned about the proliferation of worksite products, sort of the explosion in the variety -- everything from pet insurance to ID theft to computer purchasing, to more traditional products like AIG and others provide?

The proliferation no, because one of the merits -- if you will -- of the worksite is the ability to offer multiple products and services to meet a diverse need. Within a workforce you've got all sorts of varying degrees of need depending on the age of the workforce, depending on the gender of the workforce, depending on the income levels of the workforce. Having the conduit is really something that the employer can use to their advantage to meet the diverse need of their employee base.

Now, I think it's important that the employer manage the process and not get it to the point where the employees are confused. But as long as you look at it and you are meeting with the employer and helping that employer accomplish what their overall employee benefit objectives are, having a multitude of products is more of a good thing than not.

Are some products more appropriate than others? Some brokers don't do pet insurance. another broker says they won't do worksite dental, they just don't see the value. What do you think about the appropriateness of one product versus another?

Where worksite got its start, and I think it's the foundation for the benefits, are those that are tied directly to the health and welfare of the employees. That would be you're [accident and health]-type products like critical illness or a cancer product. Even though a cancer product is very disease specific there is a need in that marketplace because when someone is afflicted with that disease it is very costly. Many people are precluded from going to the best treatment facilities because they just simply cannot afford it. It may be out of network. And a cancer claim gives them the financial means to be able to seek the very best care.

Disability in today's day with the economic pressure on the employer, the employers have to cut back on basic benefits. All the dollars are being consumed by the health care program so the employers have to make available things like the disability on a voluntary basis, the life on a voluntary basis. Those are foundation benefits that have to be in place. If I had to categorize it, I would say your disability, your critical illness, your specialty products like cancer and then your permanent life programs, which give people -- especially people with middle income needs -- the ability to afford coverage that they otherwise would not have access to.

Given the compensation structure of the industry -- commissions -- are you concerned about the ethics and integrity of the producer class?

We all have an obligation to maintain the highest ethics and I think we all have an obligation to weed out those within the producer class that are not of high ethics. That gives the entire industry a black eye. Carriers across the board have got to maintain those high standards. And most do.

You have to expect that they are going to represent the products in an accurate, fair and ethical manner and that their focus is on the service of those customers and not simply making a sale and earning a commission. Unfortunately there are those in our marketplace that have not taken that view and it's up to the carrier to maintain the standards and police that.

You mention your son in your presentation. What product would you recommend to him upon his return? Given his age and other demographic characteristics how would you sequence the menu of worksite offerings for someone close to you like your son?

You just hit on it. You have to look at it from each person's demographic and stage of life. He being young, not married. if he was entering back into the workforce my encouragement to him with an active lifestyle would be to look at an accident product and a disability product. While he doesn't have a family, he does have obligations with car payments and rent and such and disabilities strike across the board. Now, as he matured and entered into other lifecycles and he begins to have a family and he begins to have a mortgage, than he needs to look more specifically at what his disability needs are and what his life insurance needs are. Again, as he matures, later that's when specialty programs like critical illness and cancer come into play. As you enter into your 40s those become more prevalent and more of an issue.

You mentioned earlier it's up to carriers to police the producer market. What are the obligations of a carrier like AIG to drive appropriate worksite sales and product consumption? I was thinking of issues like compensation and the appointment process. What do you think is your responsibility?

Our responsibility, and at AIG we take it very seriously, we do have a very stringent selection process and contracting process. We do thorough background checks on all of our producers. We maintain standards as far as creditworthiness. Certainly no one with a criminal background would be appointed. The other thing we do is we have certifications with regards to many of our products, or a certification with regard to our communication capabilities. Those producers have to be certified on electronic enrollment or certified on the product.

For instance, I mentioned in my talk we are releasing the Live Strong product, AIG in conjunction with the Lance Armstrong Foundation. You have to be certified even within our internal sales organization to be able to position that product in the brokerage community. Both AIG and the Lance Armstrong Live Strong Foundation are applying very high standards to that product just to make sure it is properly and accurately positioned in the marketplace.

It's very scripted with electronic enrollment. We are not allowing for face-to-face enrollments. It either has to be Web-based or monitored call center because we are going to have the highest standards in how that product is communicated and that the consumer is going to know full well what it is and what it isn't and what it is intended to do and what it's not intended to do. There will be absolutely no tolerance for any kind of misrepresentation or high pressure scare tactics.

You're sort of tapping into a public trust when you do this type of thing, partner with a high profile and noble entity like that. Is that what is driving this extreme circumspection?

It's the fact that you've got a product that is -- it's actually a program -- so compelling in what it does for the individual and for the family of someone who is diagnosed with cancer. You said it. It is a very noble cause. It's a compelling program. We're providing the insured component, which gives the financial stability to an individual when faced with cancer. The foundation provides the emotional, the wellness, the awareness, the education, the family counseling, which all wraps around that. People just don't realize when cancer afflicts an individual it afflicts the entire family. Not just the immediate, but the extended. You've got to be able to provide resources and access to information that helps the average person confront and deal with this the best way they can. Should it result in the unfortunate death, provide for dignity in death and help the family prepare for that.

Questions? Comments? Email EBA Editor Robert L. Whiddon.