Successful Transition from Paper to Electronic Enrollment and Benefits Administration 

Situation:

A seasoned HR professional is hired as HR Director for a non-profit organization dedicated to preventing disease and promoting health through programs, services, advocacy and education. The organization, with seventy plus benefit eligible employees in 11 locations over 4 states, had successfully implemented the AIA Benefits Resource Group's HR & Benefits Communication & Compliance Portal and Benefits Administration Services six months prior to her arrival.

Challenges:

The new HR Director:

• Came from a paper intensive environment (500 eligible employees) into a paperless environment.
• Was concerned with the confidentiality of personal information through employee on-line access.
• Was unfamiliar with how to navigate throughout the portal and the information contained therein.
• Had difficulty reconciling ancillary carrier invoices.
• Was anxious over letting go of the paper process by allowing BRG to report enrollments to the carriers and COBRA administrator.

Process/Solutions:

BRG invested the time on-site and by phone to educate and train the new HR Director in the design, functionality and processes associated with the Communications & Compliance Portal and Benefits Administration platform. Important to this process was a clear delineation of activities and process responsibilities between BRG and her organization.

Outcomes:

• Overcame the challenges:
  • Learned of safeguards protecting employee confidentiality.
  • Experienced that the HR administrative burden associated with manual enrollment was non-existent.
  • The ancillary carrier reporting and invoice reconciliation efficiencies reduced administrative time by 90%.
• Improved productivity, communication and employee appreciation:
  • HR devotes more time on strategic initiatives.
  • Employee site utilization averages better than 75%.
  • Employees express an increased understanding and appreciation of their benefits. 
  • Employees are confident they can find answers to their HR & Benefits questions through the portal. 
  • Client received positive feedback about the site from many employees regarding their ability to research their benefits questions themselves.
  • New hires review their benefit options and enroll in benefits online.
  • Employees report Life Events and update benefit plan elections online.

Value Delivered & Return on Investment:

• Client estimates that 45% of the time that would have been spent on HR and Benefits Administration functions is now spent on more strategic initiatives.
• Client has cut organization's costs and appreciates the ease of administration across multiple locations in multiple states.
• One source for all benefits versus several sites for each carrier is an easier and more efficient way to do business.
• The automation process has reduced mail, paper, faxes, costs and time.
• The on-line benefits portal has enabled the client to help her employees be educated about their benefits - in turn, enabling them to be more self-sufficient - and the portal provides HR and benefits information 24/7.