ONLINE ENROLLMENT
The Benefits Of
Online Enrollment
P
rior to the coronavirus
pandemic, the way we work was
changing and the workforce
was also changing. Companies
of all sizes were demonstrating
innovation and flexibility. They were
allowing more flexible work schedules
and working from home as a way to
recruit and retain employees, provide
greater administrative efficiency, address
current environmental concerns, enhance
employees’ work-life balance, support
business continuity plans, and improve
employee morale.
While the coronavirus crisis is far from
over, this experience will likely evolve
into a “new reality” in our personal and
our professional lives. At this point, I can
certainly take this conversation in many
directions, but let’s focus on a topic where
I can add some value—benefits technology.
As we adapt to working from home and it
becomes part of the new reality, embracing
technology is critically important. Moving
your enrollment process away from paper
to online is an essential part of adapting
so you can efficiently and effectively
administer and communicate with your
employees about the benefits program. By
using technology-based enrollment, you
can save time and money and make the
process more efficient and user-friendly for
your HR department and your employees.
BENEFITS OF ONLINE ENROLLMENT:
• Every step of the benefits
management process is automated,
eliminating the need for paper-based
processes and improving efficiency
and accuracy.
• Online enrollment lowers the overall
cost of providing services to your
employees by eliminating the costs
of distributing and collecting paper
enrollment packets.
• Online enrollment enables employees
to have access to all HR- and benefitsrelated
documents, self-enroll in
benefit programs, review their benefits
data, and report life event changes.
• Employees can choose plans based on
eligibility criteria and can compare
costs and coverage of previous
elections against new offerings.
• Elections can be automatically applied
to employee records and transmitted
directly to your insurance carriers.
• Employees receive email
confirmations detailing their elections.
• Employees can easily view and update
their records and plans.
• HR can check the status of enrollment
in real time and may be able to
generate detailed reports regarding
the cost of employee benefits.
• HR can see real-time reports on
employee participation and can send
reminders to employees who have yet
to complete the enrollment process.
CONCERNS:
• Some employees may not feel
comfortable using technology and
may also desire personal assistance,
rather than making their selections
using a computer.
• Employees may not make informed
benefit decisions if they are only
advised via the computer and
are not provided personalized
recommendations. HR can take on
this burden, but this role should be
outsourced to a company like Health
Advocate or your broker/consultant
who will assist your employees with
technology questions, enrollment
decisions, and confidential matters.
NEXT STEPS:
• Introduce the new enrollment
software and train employees well
before open enrollment begins.
Perhaps implement the system midyear
so everyone can get acclimated to
the program before the rush of open
enrollment.
• To prepare employees for the open
enrollment process, use various
communication methods such as
launch letters, posters, the company’s
intranet, virtual employee meetings,
and other resources.
By partnering with a knowledgeable,
hands-on broker who will work directly
with your employees, online enrollment
reduces the stress of Open Enrollment for
HR and your employees. Employees get
one-on-one personalized service with easily
accessible benefits information throughout
the year. +
BY: BARRY E. FIELDS
VICE PRESIDENT OF EMPLOYEE BENEFITS
JGS INSURANCE
Barry Fields has over 30 years of employee
benefits experience advising clients in a
wide range of industries, professional and
industrial, public and private, throughout
the United States and worldwide.
Barry specializes in providing full-service
benefits consulting to clients including
program design, compliance, plan funding,
underwriting, wellness programs, employee
communications, benefits administration,
employee advocacy and the use of effective
strategies in benefits management.
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