HRTech Interview with Brian Harrison, President at SAVVI Financial LLC

Welcome to HRTech Cube, Brian. We’re delighted to have you. To begin, could you share a bit about your professional journey and what inspired your path to becoming President at SAVVI Financial?
I entered the financial advice industry in my early twenties, drawn in by the notion that the best advisors combine the heart of a social worker with the mind of a capitalist, balancing empathy with financial acumen. After earning my CFP in 2006 and leading teams of advisors, I saw firsthand through my work in insurance how even a single claim could dramatically impact lives.

Later, I earned my MBA from MIT, where I learned how to use data and analytics to solve complex financial challenges at scale, and how technology could take the profound impact I saw at an individual level and magnify its impact for a far wider audience.

When a startup I worked for disbanded our team, I reconnected with Alex Sauer-Budge, one of SAVVI’s co-founders and a good friend, and my former professor, Dimitris Bertsimas. The mission immediately resonated: SAVVI could help improve financial lives at scale. After 27 years in this field, helping people protect their families and make confident financial decisions remains my primary purpose.

PlanSource and SAVVI have joined forces to transform the employee benefits experience. Could you tell us what this partnership means for HR teams and the broader benefits ecosystem?
The partnership between PlanSource and SAVVI Financial represents a major step forward in simplifying benefits enrollment for employees and HR teams alike. By combining PlanSource’s redesigned, human-centered platform with SAVVI’s data-driven, survey-less financial guidance, employees instantly receive personalized benefit bundles tailored to their health and financial goals, no guesswork required. For HR teams, this means reduced administrative burden, fewer questions during enrollment, and a clearer way to demonstrate the value of their benefits programs. We also share a vision for the ethical application of AI and thoughtfullness when a more time-tested approach works best.

How does this collaboration help simplify the benefits selection process and improve decision-making for employees?
The collaboration simplifies the benefits selection process by replacing guesswork and jargon with data-driven clarity. Traditionally, employees have struggled to understand their options, with 42% overspending on health insurance, one in three aren’t on track for retirement, and many simply repeat last year’s choices to avoid the hassle. This partnership changes that by presenting each employee with a best-fit bundle of benefits up front, created using HR data and actuarially validated models. Employees still have full control to customize, but the heavy lifting, such as sorting through the relevance of dozens of complex options, is done for them. The result is a simpler, more human experience that empowers employees to make confident, informed decisions about their health and financial well-being. Many other decision support platforms take up to 5, 8, or even 12 minutes to complete. Ours can be mere seconds from selection to enrollment. Employees today are too busy to watch multiple videos or read long, generalized benefits guides.

At SAVVI, our approach is grounded in partnerships that extend our reach and impact. We are recognized as the market leader for embedded financial guidance, integrating seamlessly into platforms that employees already use. Beyond PlanSource, we also partner with leading benefits administrators such as Benefitfocus and carriers like Voya, with more collaborations to be announced in the near future. These partnerships allow us to deliver personalized, data-driven insights at scale, empowering employees to make smarter decisions without leaving their benefits ecosystem.

Financial wellness is increasingly top of mind for employers. How is SAVVI helping employees make smarter, data-driven financial choices that align with their personal goals?
SAVVI’s mission is to simplify financial planning and benefits enrollment by giving employees personalized, data-driven guidance that reflects their unique goals and circumstances. Because everyone’s situation is different – whether you are single, married, have kids, etc. – SAVVI helps individuals make benefits choices aligned with what matters most to them. That could mean managing healthcare costs, saving for retirement, planning for college, or building an emergency fund.

It’s personalized decision support and real-time data analysis optimize paycheck modeling and tax-efficient strategies year-round, not just during open enrollment. Tools like retireSAVVI help employees see exactly how to allocate each dollar and plan both the accumulation and spending phases of retirement. By meeting people where they are and tailoring guidance to their needs, SAVVI empowers employees to make confident, informed financial decisions that drive long-term security and well-being.

Employees often struggle to understand or fully utilize their benefits. How does the PlanSource + SAVVI integration empower them to make the most of every dollar they invest?

The PlanSource-SAVVI integration enables employees to maximize every dollar they invest in their benefits. Instead of wading through dozens of confusing options, employees see a personalized, best-fit bundle right from the start, based on their HR data and SAVVI’s validated models. It helps them understand how their health, financial, and insurance choices work together, ensuring their benefits dollars go further. And it’s not just about enrollment – SAVVI’s guidance supports smarter financial decisions year-round. Together, PlanSource and SAVVI give employees confidence, clarity, and the tools to make choices that truly align with their goals. The result is a process that feels simpler, less stressful, and more empowering.

As much as we can get distracted by the many demands on our time and businesses, it’s always helpful to remember that the work we do is more than anything about the people we help, the relationships we have and improve, and the outcomes we enable so people can live better lives.

From the HR side, how can organizations use these combined tools to increase employee engagement and satisfaction with their benefits programs?
The PlanSource-SAVVI tools simplify the process and keep employees engaged and satisfied with their benefits. By showing personalized, best-fit bundles right from the start, HR can cut down on confusion and constant questions, freeing teams to focus on strategy. The platform’s intuitive design and clear guidance help employees see the full value of their benefits, while SAVVI’s year-round support keeps them engaged well beyond open enrollment. Together, these tools enable HR a way to boost participation, help employees feel confident in their choices, and turn benefits into something employees genuinely appreciate and utilize.

As AI and predictive analytics continue to advance, how do you see these technologies further enhancing benefits management and employee financial wellness?
AI and predictive analytics are changing the game when it comes to benefits and employee financial wellness. Instead of simply giving advice, these tools can now take action, automatically adjusting savings, rebalancing portfolios, or even picking the best healthcare plan. However, we need to be careful about simply handing this level of power over to an agent. The goal is to make complex decisions easier and help people stay on track, but as AI takes on more responsibility, we have to ensure it is doing so ethically. Without the right guardrails in place, automation can quickly shift toward prioritizing profits over people.

The future of financial wellness needs to stay human-centered, built on trust, transparency, and care for employees. When AI empowers people instead of replacing their choices, it becomes a real partner in helping them feel confident and secure about their finances.

What’s one personal strategy or leadership approach that guides you when driving innovation and fostering collaboration at SAVVI?
The team at SAVVI is curious, committed, and congenial (was going to say nice but have to stick with the alliteration). We’ve been able to grow a team that works well together, which is why we’ve had no voluntary turnover in my nearly seven years at the company. We’re always focused on the mission and the people we help. When you do that, business results fall into place. And that extends to being a great partner to companies like Plansource.

What advice would you give to HR leaders and employees looking to build stronger financial literacy and make better benefits decisions?
For employers, the opportunity is to move beyond simply offering financial wellness tools and toward ensuring employees can use them meaningfully. Too often, benefits guidance is treated as a check-the-box resource – available, but rarely engaged with or measured for impact. First, evaluate whether current guidance tools actually drive behavior change, not just awareness. Look at adoption rates, decision outcomes, and employee feedback to understand whether your solutions are truly helping people make smarter financial choices.
Second, meet employees where decisions are made. Embedding guidance within platforms they already use removes friction and supports year-round decision-making, not just during open enrollment. When guidance is integrated directly into the flow of benefits selection, employees are far more likely to engage, understand trade-offs, and choose plans that fit their needs.
Finally, choose solutions based on quality, not convenience. The “free” tools bundled with existing benefits vendors often lack personalization and impact. Selecting a best-in-class, data-driven platform gives employees clear, personalized paths forward and sets HR teams up for stronger outcomes across enrollment, financial wellness, and long-term planning.

Finally, Brian, any closing thoughts on how this partnership between PlanSource and SAVVI is shaping the future of employee benefits and financial empowerment?
Together our organizations are being innovative, thoughtful, and ambitious at a time of rapid change. As we do more together, we expect the outcomes for employees can make a real difference, both in what they save with more optimal plans or toward their goals, as well as having a more enjoyable experience enrolling in benefits.