let's talk

414.800.2018

by Ray Seaver
CEO | zizzl

It’s summer and no one wants to think about employee benefit renewals. But before we know it, Labor Day will be here and they’ll be fast approaching. Insurance carrier renewal packets will appear and the chaos of open enrollment will begin.

Employee benefits technology promises to streamline that process. With advanced planning and good technology, I’ve seen that promise realized in thousands of companies, big and small, over the past 15 years. Often, the accompanying labor and accuracy savings generate enough hard dollar savings to justify deploying the technology. But, in my opinion, other strategic rewards are where companies get the bigger bang for their buck.

When making a case for securing new or different employee benefits technology, these three strategic rewards are where the value truly lies:

A better experience for employees

How you offer benefits to your employees matters just as much as what you offer. It impacts your employer brand (how your people feel about the company), and signals to them how you value their time. A cumbersome paper enrollment process along with trying to decipher the insurance jargon that goes along with it sends the wrong signal to existing and prospective employees. The right technology flips this equation, delighting your employees with an efficient process that’s engaging and speaks their language.

Ability to easily change and add health insurance plans

Healthcare costs consistently rank in the top 3 concerns of business leaders. Companies need every tool at their disposal to keep health insurance budgets in check. A small percentage of a healthcare premium represents big dollars. With outdated technology, the administrative burden of changing and adding health insurance plans can eat this savings right up. Good employee benefits technology removes the administrative burdens, allowing the savings to drop to the bottom line.

Modern decision support that moves the needle

Premiums, deductibles, co-pays, and out-of-pocket maximums don’t tell the whole story when it comes to health insurance. Risk averse employees will default to “richer” benefit plans every time if that is all the information they have. Better technology provides better information, projecting costs based on individual and family health needs. This increases employee comfort with higher deductible plans that have less expensive premiums; saving both the employee and the company money.

With many benefit brokers offering employee benefits technology support, it’s never been easier for smaller and mid-sized companies to reap these strategic rewards. If you are contemplating deploying or changing your employee benefits technology for a fall open enrollment, now is the time to act. It may not feel right to be thinking about open enrollment on these summery August days, but you’ll be glad you did!

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

What do Payroll and Benefits have to do with making a great work culture? Let’s talk about it.