3 Essentials for Best-in-Class Benefits Administration

Few employers can afford the financial and compliance risks of a subpar benefits administration technology provider, but many may not realize when their vendor causes them to compromise. These three essentials will help you avoid unnecessary compromises and find the best partner for your business.

Bringing true value to your organization requires relevant experience, insightful thinking, and the right tools and technology to keep pace with evolving demands.  Empyrean’s new At-A-Glance Guide takes a close look at the three essential aspects of a best-in-class benefits administration partner,  to help you identify the solution that will elevate HR’s impact and make your employee benefits matter every day. Read on for a quick primer on these three essentials.

Essential #1 | Trusted Data Management

Data management processes are the foundation of your technology, and are critical in determining your benefits administration success. Without correct and accurate data, your benefits solution will become unreliable and prone to failure—regardless of how well-designed the front-end experience may seem.

Your technology platform should “just work,” properly handling your intricate data and continually checking for accuracy and logic conflicts to keep errors at bay. However, since data management takes place entirely on the back-end of your system, it can be tough to identify and initially understand good management processes from bad.

Deficient data management processes can cause eligibility rules and gatekeeping measures to fail, which can lead to long-term enrollment and coverage headaches that take an enormous effort to unravel and properly resolve. Plus, benefit errors can erode employees’ confidence, and damage your credibility with executives and other stakeholders that rely on accurate reporting.

Given how prominent benefits are to your organization’s success, your benefits administration outsourcing partner must be able to properly manage your data at all times. Each platform manages data differently, but these differences may not be immediately apparent. How a potential system will manage and maintain your data will be a (if not the) key component of your entire solution’s success.

A worthwhile technology partner will dedicate investments and resources to tackle your toughest benefit challenges, solve your current needs, and flex to fit your future strategies.

Essential #2 | Solution Scalability

To remain viable over time, your benefits administration technology must scale with your business as it shifts and evolves. Your business is not static, and your solution must keep up with both small and large changes to your company’s size, population complexity, organizational structure, and industry changes.

Technology solutions must be purpose-built for scalability, or programming limitations can cause your platform to crash or cause errors. Developing a scalable solution relies on a complete understanding of benefits complexity, the rapid pace of potential changes, and the back-end workings of the system itself.

For example, large legacy providers often offer a wide variety of technology services in addition to benefits administration — such as payroll or human resources information systems (HRIS). At first glance, it can seem like a smart move to place multiple HR needs under one vendor, especially if “bundling” these services offers an initially lower price point.

However, many large providers’ product portfolios often grow due to acquisitions, instead of in-house development. The result is a variety of solutions and data storage processes stitched across highly compartmentalized systems that happen to be listed under the same company name.

From a programming perspective, these systems are highly inflexible, unstable, and often comprised of less-than-optimally secure technology. Even small changes (such as data configurations, tax rules amendments, or state and federal compliance updates) can demand time-consuming and expensive manual labor to resolve, or significantly impact the operational capacity of these systems, causing the entire solution to fail.

Scalability (or the lack thereof) is ingrained in your solution’s architecture—and without the right attention to this trait, your team could suffer down the line.

Essential #3 | Insight-Driven User Experience

Your solution’s user interface should be intuitively designed – however, it’s important to keep in mind that a high-gloss interface design does not necessarily denote the most reliable back-end processes or supportive capabilities.

For example, no matter how inviting a retail store may be, your overall experience will be soured if the product you purchase does not work when you get home. Similarly, no matter how well-designed your platform’s user interface may seem, it will prove worthless if its data is inaccurate, your solution proves unstable, and your employee is not covered adequately (or at all) by their benefits selection.

When evaluating a potential partner’s user experience, look for the following:

• An easily tailored portal experience that can be designed around each of your unique employee populations.
• The ability to add targeted communications, educational content, provider links, and coverage documents within the employee experience.
• Fully integrated decision-support that guides employees during their open enrollment period as well as throughout the plan year, with no need to switch between multiple sites or portals.
• Convenient access from nearly any internet-connected device, including a mobile application experience that offers push notifications and alerts.

Your technology solution should be intuitive for both employees and administrators to use, and smartly designed to allow employees across all generations to take greater control of their benefit choices.

A best-in-class benefits platform will bring solutions that go beyond benefits enrollment and administration, leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to analyze your benefits data and deliver employee-specific recommendations.

A best-in-class benefits administration partner will give your team the efficiency they need to gain back valuable time throughout their day, as well as heighten employees’ benefit experiences to improve outcomes. Download Empyrean’s newest At-A-Glance Guide to learn more on how to identify and evaluate these three essentials within your current vendor or potential partner. 

With the right solution, you’ll have more opportunities to focus on what really matters to you, your employees, and the bottom line of your business.

As you read, we’d love to hear your thoughts. Feel free to contact us with questions or comments at info@goempyrean.com.

Benefits Administration Outsourcing: How to Find the Right Path for Your Business

Is benefits administration outsourcing right for you? Whether you are considering outsourcing for the first time, or are a seasoned outsourcer searching for a better-fitting solution, make sure you know what points to consider before making your next move.

As health care and employee benefit programs become increasingly more complex, time consuming, and subject to regulatory compliance requirements, employers must accurately assess their team’s capacity when managing this important aspect of their success.  Empyrean’s new At-A-Glance Guide takes you through common considerations and best practices to find the right path for your business and help you make benefits matter every day.   Download the guide now and discover what outsourcing can mean for HR, your strategy, and your workforce.

Here’s a quick primer of the three approaches companies apply to their benefits administration , and a just a few reasons why more organizations are choosing to partner with a best-in-class outsourcing provider to meet their needs.

Insourcing

Often, Human Resource teams insource their benefits administration because they do not feel comfortable relying on a third-party to manage and automate such crucial functions. This discomfort is understandable: Employee benefits – especially health benefits – remain high-visibility stakes all year round, and any errors in your benefits data and execution can spell disaster for employees and quickly diminish confidence in your HR team.

Given this perspective, it’s no surprise that currently insourced organizations include those that have never-before outsourced their benefits administration, as well as those that suffered with a previous outsourcing experience due to a subpar solution or ill-fitting technology platform and vendor.

However, insourcing presents its own costs, risks, and inefficiencies that may not be immediately apparent – while the right outsourcing partner will minimize risks, eliminate inefficiencies, enhance the employee experience, and provide solutions that drive high returns on your investment.

In fact, one report found that HR teams spend 25% less and utilize 30% less labor than their peers when aided by the right processes and technology.¹

Co-Sourcing

Co-sourcing is a collaborative approach to benefits administration, where select processes remain in-house (most commonly, call center services), while the remaining responsibilities are outsourced to a trusted provider.

This approach enables organizations to minimize the impact of burdensome administrative tasks – such as enrollment and regulatory compliance  – while maintaining control over more employee-facing services. Co-sourced clients may have reservations about how outsourcing might affect employees’ perceptions of their company culture and their HR department’s effectiveness.

While protecting your company culture is a valid concern, you should know that outsourcing does not have to mean relinquishing control of your culture or lowering your service standards. In fact, a proven outsourcing partner will actually enrich the way employees view their benefits and your company’s commitment to their wellbeing.

While you may have the resources to manage certain aspects of your benefits administration in-house, ask yourself if those resources would be put to more meaningful use if directed towards other priorities? Don’t let common misconceptions about outsourcing limit the impact you can have on your workforce and business.

Outsourcing

As health care and employee benefits continue to become more complex, and employee expectations of benefits value and diversity continues to rise; as such, more businesses are choosing to fully outsource their benefits administration. In fact, 80% of today’s employers utilize outsourcing to manage at least one benefits-related task, and 38% consider outsourcing to be a critical part of their benefits strategy (a 41% increase since 2014).²

Full-service outsourcing lets HR leaders tackle the minutiae of benefits administration and enrollment, and take control of their strategy, without worrying that something has been left behind.

Today the movement towards benefits administration outsourcing remains prevalent, with 40% of employers now utilizing HR technology to manage their benefits administration. 78% of employers use third-party benefits administration technology, and over half of those employers choose to fully outsource their administration.²

The right partner will provide more than a benefits administration system: You’ll also gain the expertise of a knowledgeable and dedicated team, which can provide invaluable insights and best practice recommendations that measurably improve outcomes and drive greater ROI. In some cases, an outsourcing service team will gain the most complete understanding of their client’s benefit offering (even when compared to the client’s own HR team).

HR and benefits executives across every company size and industry are realizing the advantages that outsourcing brings to their businesses. Leveraging a modern benefits administration vendor can provide the technology and expertise to help you eliminate compromises, mitigate risks, and stay prepared for future changes.

So, how can you decide if outsourcing your benefits administration is right for your organization?

A good place to start is by asking your internal staff and business partners the following questions:

• Do we have the appropriate resources and infrastructure to handle all aspects of our benefits administration in-house?
• Do we have the financial support to develop and maintain the skill sets and technology needed to most effectively manage our benefits administration?
• Do we have the in-house expertise to understand and keep up with complex regulatory compliance requirements?
• Can we continue to support the strategic initiatives necessary for our company’s growth while also internally managing all of our daily administrative functions?
• Are we providing the personalized support employees need to make smarter benefit choices, efficiently utilize their benefits, and live healthier, happier lives?

If you answered “no” to any of these questions, now may be a smart time to discuss how a best-in-class benefits administration outsourcing partner can positively impact your company.

Whether outsourcing your benefits administration for the first time or making the move to a new vendor, the ultimate goal is to make the most of your investment and ensure long-term success. When you consider the benefits, outsourcing can be a cost-effective solution that greatly increase your team’s productivity, increase employee engagement and retention, and lower costly errors and risks. However, the benefits administration partner you choose must be capable of tailoring to your unique strategy and goals, and adapt and scale to changes within your organization and industry over time.

Download Empyrean’s latest guide to learn more, and discover if outsourcing is the right solution to tackle your company’s complex challenges.

As you read, we’d love to hear your thoughts. Feel free to contact us with questions or comments at info@goempyrean.com.

References

1. “Raising the World-Class Bar in HR Through Digital Transformation.” The Hackett Group, Inc. Miami, Florida. June 2017.
2. “Game Changer: The Digitalization of Employee Benefits Delivery.” The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America. New York, New York. May 2018.

3 Strategies to Prepare for Annual Enrollment

Annual enrollment (AE) might be your busiest time of the year, but it doesn’t have to mean long nights and looming headaches. With the right planning and support, this AE can be your easiest and most effective yet.

Leverage Data Analytics, Artificial Intelligence and Automation to Achieve Better Benefit Outcomes

Automation, artificial intelligence (AI), and machine learning are changing the way many organizations do business – but what does this mean for HR’s undeniably human-centric work?

Empyrean’s new At-A-Glance Guide, Analytics and AI in HR, explores how businesses can leverage AI, machine learning, and data analysis to achieve better benefit outcomes. Download this free guide and learn how properly applying the latest advancements in smart technology can boost your strategy, guide and engage employees year-round, and help save your employees and your company substantial health care costs every year.

Before you can take advantage of the latest technology, however, it helps to understand the basics. Here’s a quick primer.

Automation

Automated technology is programmed to complete routine, predictable, and often physical tasks – think factory robots on an assembly line. Automation increases efficiency and helps eliminate human error that can occur as a result of manual processes.

In its most basic form, HR software and benefits administration technology is an example of automation at work. Rules-based gatekeeping , scheduled file transfers, and employee benefits enrollment are all automated processes that (ideally) make life easier and eliminate potential errors for benefit teams and employees.

Just because a technology is automated, however, does not mean that the technology is smart.

On its own, basic automated technology lacks the ability to understand concepts, recognize problems, or identify patterns that may arise over the course of its use. For technology to be smart, it needs artificial intelligence.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning

Artificial intelligence (AI) programming empowers technology to identify concepts, recognize patterns, and analyze complex rules to quickly develop and offer solutions for a multitude of challenges. The goal of AI is to create smarter technology that can “think” and solve problems like a human, but with the computing capabilities and speed of modern machines. Machine learning is a component of AI, enabling AI-equipped technology to better analyze and learn from data.

So how do these concepts apply to – and improve – your business intelligence and the execution of your benefits strategy? When it comes to benefits, what is the most valuable application for this new generation of technology?

Analytics

Data, AI, and machine learning algorithms can come together to positively influence the employee experience and streamline your workload. While analytics may have been previously viewed as something mainly utilized for operations and finance departments, the reality is that analyzing data is now a critical aspect of today’s successful benefit programs and administration.

Employees are often overwhelmed by benefit complexity, and want an easy answer to the question, “What’s the best plan or path to care for me?” … But of course, the answer to this question is highly personal and dependent on each employee’s unique circumstances. By analyzing employees’ very own data and behavior, the answer to this question is more accessible and more accurate than ever.

Modern and more robust decision support uses claims data, consumer data, and health indicator data sets to provide a clear and objective view of employees’ care-related spending, coverage utilization patterns, purchasing patterns, and opportunities for consumer-centric plan utilization and selection.

Combining a data analytics engine into your decision support enables employees to finally make use of their own data – without the need for spreadsheets, number-crunching, or a statistics degree. Your benefits administration platform should offer a seamless solution that easily incorporates this technology and predictive analytics into your benefits offering.

For example, imagine that an employee has just welcomed a new child to their family. Now, they are tasked with enrolling in their benefits, but are unsure if they should change their medical insurance coverage after this major life event. How might their anxiety and experience change if they encountered the following message when they went to enroll on your benefits platform?

“Congratulations on your baby delivery this year! Despite it costing you $6,500, the plan you had this year was the best option for you, and you saved $500 overall. Keeping your plan will save you money next year too.”

This message not only provides a clear recommendation to your employees, as well as offer a cost-savings prediction in the year ahead, but also provides understanding support and encouragement that your employees crave and will appreciate.

In addition to supporting decision-making during enrollment, an advanced analytics engine should also help facilitate year-round engagement and look out for your employees’ financial and health care needs. Personalized messages based on recent claims and utilization patterns will help employees better understand how they can utilize their healthcare coverage, provider choices, voluntary benefits, and savings account options in the most cost-effective and efficient manner. Leveraging new technologies and benefits management software solutions in conjunction with data has big advantages for your business: Employees can save a median of $1,500, and employers can save up to 7% on their healthcare costs.

In a world where algorithms help us decide the next article to read, next song to listen to, and even the next job we’ll hold, it is critical that HR paves the way for technology to better the lives of employees and their families. As benefit leaders achieve greater visibility and influence across organizations of all sizes and complexity, they are expected to bring new solutions to classic challenges and emerging problems alike. How well are you prepared for HR’s new chapter?

For an in-depth look at how this technology is impacting HR, download the At-A-Glance Guide, “Analytics and AI in HR: Leveraging Data to Take Control of Your Benefits Strategy.“ As you read, we’d love to get your thoughts. Feel free to contact us with questions or comments at info@goempyrean.com.

Top Tips to Create a Successful Benefits Administration Request for Proposal (RFP)

The request for proposal (RFP) is a key element when evaluating benefit administration providers. RFP responses can provide a look under the hood of a potential partner’s solution and services, but in order to get the most value from the RFP process, it’s crucial that your questionnaire goes beyond a simple “check-the-box” exercise.

3 Tips to Get Ahead of Annual Enrollment

As employers enter the second-half of the year, many HR professionals are also rapidly approaching their company’s Annual Enrollment (AE) period. AE is the busiest time of the year for most benefit teams – but planning a successful AE doesn’t have to be stressful.

The 3 Essential Traits of Best-in-Class Benefits Administration Technology

Employee benefits can be a demanding part of your daily business – but this doesn’t have to be the case. A best-in-class benefits administration partner will give your team the boost needed to make the most out of each day. But what should you expect from a premier provider?

5 Ways Benefits Administration Technology Enables HR Benefits Risk Management

Staying ahead of risks is a critical priority for HR leaders, but ever-evolving regulations and shifting complexities make it challenging. Concerns can quickly spiral into major issues that are costly and time-consuming to resolve – but smarter solutions will help you take a more proactive approach to human resources risk management.