Employers turn to brokers for help because they are not well versed in benefits administration. To be as indispensable and reliable as possible, you should put significant time and focus into reducing the expenses that come along with the process of onboarding and administering benefits. Here are some helpful guidelines to reduce costs for clients:
Examine Processes
Ask yourself and your client what worked last year and what did not. Which processes could have been more efficient? Which ones were time-consuming? Which could be replaced by technology? Once you’ve evaluated the process, begin to make necessary adjustments.
Eliminate Unnecessary Benefit Options
Evaluate the client’s current offerings to find out which benefits are not being fully utilized—or at all. Eliminate those offerings to lower costs for your clients, and focus on providing more benefits that employees will actually use. Take the time to work with the employer to research the types of employees may be looking for. Also, find out their general needs and pain points, because there may be benefit offerings that would help them that they don’t know about.
Thorough Education
When your clients’ employees are properly educated about benefits options, they can make informed decisions. They will end up happier with their plans long-term, which is much more efficient for the client.
Provide information in a variety of formats—including print, email, meetings, workshops, and webinars—to appeal to every employee’s particular learning style. You should even consider sharing info on social media, which has become imperative in today’s business climate.
Utilize Technology
Technology can help streamline processes and decrease overall costs—if used properly.
According to Employee Benefits Advisor, 79% of the benefits technology implementations completed last year were with employers who previously used paper-based enrollment forms. Technology is becoming more necessary, and it’s important to help your clients make the right decisions when making the leap.
Recommending an online platform to your clients can help them avoid errors, which will reduce the cost of benefits administration. Not to mention, features like automatic payroll and streamlined administrative tasks free up HR employees to perform other duties. An online benefits platform also provides employees access to a national network of suppliers, reducing the risk that clients won’t be up-to-date or compliant with industry changes.
Here are ways to utilize technology to its fullest potential:
1. Benefits Administration Technology
Moving to a benefits administration technology can potentially save you and your clients serious time and money. It can create a consistent and thorough process for all things benefit related. Benefits administration software serves as a central hub for all communication, resources, and processes for brokers, employers, and employees.
2. Decision-Support Software
The most effective benefits administration platforms include decision-making software as well. Brokers should encourage clients to utilize this type of software to help their employees make informed choices that will benefit them the most. They can learn about their options and receive any assistance they may need to make the best choice for their specific situation.
3. Go Paperless
With a paper-based system, HR professionals are required to keep track of employees’ ages, their dependents, when they may lose coverage, and when coverage will cease for those dependents. With an online platform, COBRA is automatically triggered when an employee leaves the company, and their benefits are terminated on the benefits administration system. This alone cuts down on paperwork and any potential human errors that may go along with it.
4. Streamline Processes through Integration
The right technology allows you to seamlessly integrate multiple HR and benefits processes through automation. The hiring and onboarding processes can be simplified by having both HR and new employees utilize a single platform with all required forms already loaded into the system. This can be further integrated with employee benefit onboarding as the employee need only log into their portal and have everything they need for signing up for benefits readily available. Basic information will already be populated into the forms, so the process could not be simpler for either the employee or the employer.
These guidelines will make the benefits enrollment and administration processes more efficient and enjoyable for both your clients and their employees. When onboarding is done right, you can avoid compliance missteps, save HR hours of time, simplify communication, and improve the overall experience. To learn how Clarity Benefit Solutions can help you streamline benefits administration, visit claritybenefitsolutions.com.
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