What is Benefits Administration Software and Why Do You Need It?
Benefits administration involves a multitude of moving parts. Your employees need benefits options, and your company needs to ensure accuracy, efficiency, and compliance. Thankfully, benefits administration software streamlines many of the actual tasks of benefits administration.
Importance of Dedicated Benefit Administration
Remember when the best employee benefit programs featured just pension plans and health insurance? Modern benefit programs have evolved extensively. A robust employee benefits program is divided into four parts: benefits at work, benefits for financial security, benefits for health, and lifestyle benefits.
You can’t have a makeshift arrangement to maintain and track benefits for your entire workforce. Even a small organization would struggle to successfully manage a comprehensive employee benefits program without dedicated benefit administration software in place.
The Role of Benefit Administration Software and What To Look For
Sometimes businesses employ standalone benefit administration software, but more often than not, businesses opt into a software vendor that offers benefit administration modules as a part of their broader HR programs.
This makes sense in particular for instances where employee benefits overlap with other areas of HR management, like employee scheduling, time tracking, and payroll.
How can you be sure to choose the right benefits administration software for your company?
Here is what to look for in benefits administration software:
Compatible with payroll software and other HR functions
Integration is key when it comes to choosing the right benefits administration software. You want to make sure that your software connects seamlessly with your HR platform. Or better yet, choose a HR solution that offers a complete HR suite, including benefits administration. You want your HR platform to be versatile yet user-friendly. It should be configurable, customizable, and possess value-adding features like open enrollment, self-service portals, applicant tracking, time tracking, and PTO management.
Easy-to-use and customizable
Your HR technology should be scalable and customized to the unique needs and set of benefits at your company. Look for an interface that is easy to navigate, user-friendly, and reliable to minimize friction during implementation.
Secure data management
Employee personal data safety is a priority when considering different platforms. This is often a target for cyberattacks. Your benefits administration software must be as secure as possible.
Look for a platform that keeps employee data protected at every stage of processing, especially when transferred online to the IRS and insurance service providers. Look for a service provider that uses a carrier feed or EDI connection to relay digital information securely.
Built-in enrollment services
Benefits administration software can help you keep track of all the paperwork that needs to be filled out when you hire new employees or make changes to existing ones. It can speed up the process by using autofill data and EDI feeds to send enrollments directly to carriers. A good benefits administration software should streamline your:
- new employee onboarding
- Annual open enrollment
- Qualifying life events
- Employee offboarding
Maximize your Benefits Administration and Technology Implementations
Today's ever-changing climate makes benefit administration technology difficult. With countless options and specific needs, making the right choice can be a stressful endeavor. At HR Tech Solutions, we specialize in identifying the right technology for your business that integrates with every other component of your organization and streamlines your processes.
