SYRACUSE — Benefit Specialists of New York, an affiliate of CenterState CEO, is now operating under the name Business Solutions of NY (BSNY). The organization announced the name change on Oct. 27. The organization changed its name in mid-October, coinciding with the open-enrollment period for benefits, says Frank Caliva, Jr., Sr. VP and COO of […]
SYRACUSE — Benefit Specialists of New York, an affiliate of CenterState CEO, is now operating under the name Business Solutions of NY (BSNY).
The organization announced the name change on Oct. 27.
The organization changed its name in mid-October, coinciding with the open-enrollment period for benefits, says Frank Caliva, Jr., Sr. VP and COO of CenterState CEO. He spoke with CNYBJ on Nov. 8.
Caliva describes Business Solutions of NY as a wholly owned, for-profit subsidiary of CenterState CEO.
The name change
The organization over the last two years has been looking at the changes in the employee-benefits business resulting from the Affordable Care Act and technology, says Caliva.
People are turning to the Internet for help in making decisions about how they buy and manage their benefits.
“As we started to look at all that, we began to realize, we really were a lot more than just benefits to our clients. We were really helping them manage the people side of their business,” says Caliva.
The organization’s clients were asking for advice on matters pertaining to payroll and human resources, so BSNY started working with other companies who specialized in those areas, he says.
BSNY had also purchased a technology platform called Employee Navigator, an online system that allows companies of all sizes “to manage their work force online.”
“In its simplest form, you can use it just as an online portal for employees to choose their benefits on an annual basis,” says Caliva.
After considering the factors involved, CenterState CEO decided to pursue the name change. The organization started thinking about it in the spring.
When asked if the group considers the name change a rebranding, Caliva thinks it’s “more of a reframing.”
“It’s just kind of underscoring the fact that, absolutely, we’re still all about employee benefits but we’ve always been helping [clients] with other things as well,” he says.
Business Solutions of NY services about a “couple thousand” clients, most of which are not chamber members, he notes.
“There’s a lot who are, but a significant majority of our clients at BSNY don’t happen to be chamber members,” says Caliva.
BSNY serves about 10 client chambers of commerce in Central New York, according to Caliva. Its footprint extends west to near Rochester and east to Oneida County and into Cooperstown.
“Our strongest presence is in Onondaga County,” he notes.
It markets “exclusively” through chambers of commerce and business associations, according to its website.
Business Solutions of NY offers employee benefits, including health insurance, payroll, human-resources, and regulatory-compliance services.
BSNY works with DeWitt–based ChoicePay, Inc. as its payroll provider and Syracuse–based Pinnacle Employee Services, a professional employer organization, in offering services to its clients, according to Caliva.
Caliva refers to Business Solutions of NY as a “one-stop shop” for a small or medium-sized business.
Caliva declined to disclose any financial information about BSNY, noting its financial performance is reported on as part of the overall reports of CenterState CEO.
Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com
