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New Technologies Make Open Enrollment a Breeze
By Jan Hawthorne, Vice President of Marketing, Hawthorne Benefit Technologies
Web-based solutions that allow employees to manage their own benefits information are being introduced at break-neck speed and are enjoying a big welcome from busy managers. With the aid of technology, open enrollment tasks that once took hours, can now be reduced to only minutes and HR directors are leading the cheering section to, "Bring it on."
And why not? Industry surveys support a high level of satisfaction among human resource professionals who have switched to web-based benefits implementation. Recently, a Baltimore-based company, the Hunter Group, surveyed Human Resource directors and reported that, based on findings from 342 companies surveyed, almost all of the respondents – 90%--reported either "successful" or "somewhat successful" implementation of these applications. Additionally, the companies that were successful in implementing Web-based applications that provided an element of "self service" for employees, reported an average of one HR staff person per 151 employees, compared to a 1 to 99 ratio for companies that were less successful. These 342 respondents collectively oversee the enrollment of 6 million employees.
Today there are online subscription services that provide access to a variety of companies, allowing for more flexibility in configuring different options for a company's total benefits package. There are a broad range of products out there, and there is still a lot of confusion about what each company is offering.
And, when considering an online enrollment package, size is an issue. It's important to do your research and select a provider that is able to provide the right level of service for the company you are today, as well as the company you will become in the future.
If you are considering making the switch from a manual to an automated system, here's a few guidelines and questions that you might want to consider.
Look for flexibility. The program that you choose should be flexible – able to interface with all types of systems and data. You may be importing data from many different sources and it is important to ascertain if the system can easily integrate with other systems.
If it is a proprietary system offered by one carrier, chances are it will be more difficult to to integrate different types of data from all of your providers under the umbrella of one system. Many carriers host their information on large, legacy systems. The computer languages are sometimes proprietary, and they often cannot easily be transformed into a universal platform. For that reason, ask questions about the benefits administration systems you are considering. Can you include data from all of your providers?
Scability. What size is your company now and where will it be in five years? What size groups does your provider typically serve? The largest provider may not necessarily be the right provider if you get lost in the shuffle. However, a tiny provider may not have the capacity to grow with your company – especially if you have aggressive growth plans.
Look for an easy set up. Who is responsible for initial setup and data input? How is the information customized for each region, branch or office? The best scenario is when the human benefits administrator is supplied with a database that includes all the employee data. It saves the company valuable time, and time is the most important commodity in any benefits administrator's day.
When companies are based in many multiple states, they may have more than one carrier for their health, dental, vision, life or COBRA benefits. When manually administering programs, this can become very complicated. When the information is aggregated online, it should be able to provide simple segregation of benefits, employees or branch offices, so that the correct information is accessible only to those in that group.
Where is the information housed? One of the most essential points to consider is whether you will have the program reside on your company's server or on a server housed at another location. There are many benefits to having information housed outside of the company. An established ASP will have a number of firewalls and encryptions to safeguard the information from being accessed from any unauthorized company personnel as well as hackers from the outside. The information will usually be backed up on a daily basis. Often, there is a second server should the main server go down. It also has an added protective layer to keep it from being accessed inside the company. Protecting sensitive information was long ago discovered by payroll administrators and that is much of the reason why payroll, is often administered outside of the company.
Who owns your data? The short answer: You, and only you, should have ownership of the data. If a carrier offers you an online benefits package, make sure that you will be able to transport the data even if you decide to use the services of another carrier. If not, and you decide to switch carriers, you may be hit with administrative charges or have to start the project from scratch.
Evaluate the robustness of the eligibility engine. A truly capable enrollment engine will evaluate each enrollment activity and apply any necessary combination of rules, messages, prompts, and options that are specifically designed to meet the exact eligibility requirements desired. Effective date calculations, waiting periods, age ranges, volume limits, group number assignment, and product availability all must configurable for each employer group and benefit offered. Furthermore, an employer group should not have to modify their eligibility rules to accommodate a piece of software. If you have a specific need, you have every right to expect your enrollment software to be accommodating.
Are all features represented actually functional now? In business, there are far too many promises, particularly in the world of software applications. It's important to assess what the program can do now – not what it will do six months or a year down the road.
Learn as much as you can about the product and its development team. Where did your Application Service Provider's (ASP) program originate? Did software programmers develop it? Did it emerge from the insurance industry? Is it associated with one provider? If you change providers, will all of your data have to be reentered? What is their background and experience level? Is the provider up to speed on industry developments? Do they adhere to all regulatory guidelines? Do they have state-of-the-art developers, programs, customer service representatives, and relationships with a broad group of providers?
How is their customer service? Do they interface with you in such a way that you work with a key contact or must you introduce yourself and your company each time you dial the phone. Are you quickly able to talk to a human or do you quickly become a prisoner in voice mail "jail."
When is the best time to implement a new system? Most people recommend that the best time to start a new online plan is during the open enrollment period that, in most companies, falls between September and January. It's a busy time for human resource personnel. One of the key benefits of online administration is that employees can enroll themselves in most systems. Another benefit that some companies have observed is that when employees sign themselves up, they are often able to do so from home and can sit with their spouse and/or significant others to decide together which options of coverage, including doctors, plans, providers, etc., they will choose.
What types of tasks are usually accomplished online? With accessible records, employees can easily breeze through the following tasks: Add and/or delete dependents; update any demographic information; change plans at open enrollment; view plan designs at any time; link directly with online provider directories for doctor look up; compare plans and employee contribution options; print anything related to their record.
How long does it take to implement an online system? Depending on the size of the company, most Application Service Providers, or ASPs, can be implemented in a matter of weeks. Implementation includes setting up employee records that are accessible online via a password-type authentication process. From there, you will need to provide information on each employee, their coverage and carriers, and then some general guidelines on what information you want your employees to be able to access by themselves.
Communicate your expectations in writing. Make sure that you share mutual goals and are working on the same set of objectives as your provider, your partner in this process. If there are stringent deadlines or extenuating circumstances, you will need to disclose that information early in the process. Communicate your expectations and put them in writing so there are no misunderstandings down the road.
Choices the administrator must make:
Employee access: Will your employees have access to the data? Who will control the access level? In a best-case scenario, the human resource administrator has access to a computer resource that maintains up-to-the minute information on each employee. All plan information – dental, vision, life, disability, and of course, health care benefits and COBRA – can be made accessible to each employee, no matter where that employee is based – in the home office, at home or another state.
You may have employees who maintain their own records. You may choose to have those maintained by the human resource office. You may choose to have branch managers responsible for accessing the employees in their regions. All of this is highly customizable and whatever your ultimate solution is, the program should provide you with flexibility to help you continue to grow, add new services and configure to meet your changing needs.
Physical set-up options: The set up of your online benefits administration will depend on the manner in which your company's insurance information is configured. Some H.R. departments prefer to provide a central terminal, usually located in the H.R. department itself, where employees can privately access their accounts and readily review or change information. Other companies allow their employees to access the program at their desks or from home. Sometimes, the program is a combination of both, largely dependent on your business and workplace. A warehouse dictates one type of setup, whereas an office building may warrant another.
Are there extra charges? What do these programs cost? How does pricing and delivered services compare? Are there additional charges for set-up, storage or maintaining the system?
There are wide pricing variations in the same service, so buyer beware. If you are planning on using an off-site ASP model, you may be assessed a licensing fee for use of the program or you may be charged per enrolled employee. Ask about ancillary fees. It's in these areas where there are widespread discrepancies.
The bottom line: Benefits, both monetary and non-monetary – are six of the top 15 methods employers are using to retain front-line staff, according to a 2000 Manchester Inc. survey on employee turnover and retention finds. When there is stiff competition to attract and retain a highly trained workforce, providing the most competitive benefits package takes on an importance that transcends employee satisfaction. It impacts the bottom line of the company itself.
The benefits to having online access are many and growing by the day:
• Employees are able to instantly adjust and maintain their own records, thereby giving them more control and flexibility in adapting to their changing insurance / benefits needs.
• The H.R. professional's time is freed up, permitting them to accomplish more than micro-managing employee's benefits portfolios.
• It is also a convenient solution in today's rapidly increasing decentralized workplaces, where you may have workers who telecommute, work in the field, or even reside in other states.
For sales inquires, please contact us.
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