For years, recordkeepers sold the idea that technology solved everything. “Our platform is seamless,” they’d say, which is usually code for “It mostly works if nobody touches anything.” But the truth is simple: your recordkeeping system isn’t just a platform—it’s your biggest operational risk. One misplaced payroll code, one flawed integration, one system update pushed on a Friday at 4:59 PM, and suddenly you’re explaining to a plan sponsor why the long-term part-time employee rules went sideways.
Recordkeepers love to talk scale: billions of dollars, millions of participants, thousands of plans. But scale cuts both ways. When something breaks, it breaks everywhere. Ask anyone who survived the great Mapping Error Debacle of whichever year you choose—every provider has one.
What plan sponsors need—and what smart providers deliver—isn’t a shiny interface or a list of “innovations” born in the marketing department. They need process discipline. They need someone who understands that data errors turn into operational failures, which turn into lawsuits. The system can automate enrollment, communication, investments, and loans; what it can’t automate is accountability.
Your platform should be your advantage, not your liability. If you don’t test it, validate it, document it, and audit it, it’s not a recordkeeping system—it’s a roulette wheel. And roulette rarely favors the house.
