INSIGHTS

May 25, 2017

by srodriguez

• Benefits Administration

Exposing the Top 5 Myths about Outsourcing Benefits Administration

More and more employers are exploring automated solutions to address the increasingly complex challenges of administering their employee health and welfare benefits programs. Today, 6 in 10 employers feel overwhelmed by the increasing complexity of their benefits program management.¹ However, some HR teams hesitate outsourcing these functions due to five common myths and misconceptions.

A growing number of employers are outsourcing their benefits administration, often to add much-needed technical, service, and regulatory expertise and capacity to their teams. Don’t let these common myths and misconceptions hinder your search for an experienced, capable, and innovative benefits administration provider:

The Top 5 Myths about Outsourcing Benefits Administration

1. It’s too expensive to outsource benefits administration; we don’t have the budget to support it.
   Though the term “outsourcing” may be associated with added expenses, with the right partner you can see significant ROI from your benefits administration investment.
2. Our benefit plans are too complicated for automated benefits administration.
   Your benefits administration provider should utilize and configure a rules-based platform to organize your workforce into the appropriate “buckets” and tailor benefits communications and eligibility to each group or individual as required.
3. Outsourcing doesn’t fit our culture.
   Your partner should share your company’s values, respect your employees and corporate culture, and be willing to learn about your company, workforce, and unique needs in order to provide your organization with the right solutions and service.
4. Outsourcing will lead to downsizing, and some of us will lose our jobs!
   While outsourcing can alleviate many of the burdens surrounding your benefits administration, it is not intended to eliminate the human element of your organization’s HR and benefits team. Companies will always need internal resources to manage any HR outsourcing relationship and interact with the provider on a day-to-day basis.
5. No outsourced call center will be able to handle our employees’ questions.
   Every company’s benefits offering is unique, so it’s critical that your outsourcing partner dedicates the resources necessary to expertly address your specific benefits offering, instead of funneling your employees through a generic call center. Your partner should assign an in-house and designated customer service team to serve your employees, whose members become experts on your company’s benefit plans, strategy, workforce, and culture.

With the right provider and solutions in place, you and your team can deliver a better benefits experience to your employees, gain valuable insights, lower costs, and meet your goals and responsibilities with no compromises.

Newly revised for 2017, we invite you to download Empyrean’s At-a-Glance Guide, further examining these five benefits administration outsourcing myths. This free guide will help you make a more informed decision about what solution is the right fit for your organization.

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