Employee Benefits
Enhance your value with new benefits administration solutions for employers
By Jeramy Tipton
Time flies when you are having fun. Unfortunately, most business owners would agree that time used for benefits administration does not fly and is rarely fun. In fact, it can turn the day entirely upside down. As the landscape of the healthcare industry becomes more complex, so has the day-to-day administration of benefits – for companies of all sizes.
With plates already quite full running their businesses, employers may find benefits administration duties constantly shuffling up and down on the priority list (probably more down than up). Benefits advisors, recognizing this employer need, should see the opportunity to increase their value to their clients by offering a solution that is automated, flexible and accessible.
Providing employers with a comprehensive online benefits platform allows them to effectively communicate, enroll and administer benefits under one system, helping reduce the time they would otherwise spend on these tasks. Not only this, but it can also help shrink the disconnect between employers, who believe only 38 percent of employees prefer enrolling in benefits online, and the 68 percent of employees who actually say they prefer online enrollment. Some reasons to use an online benefits platform include:
- Administrative automation: With the complexity that benefits enrollment can bring, making the process as straightforward as possible is of benefit to all parties. For this reason, a customizable, permission-based dashboard allows your clients to manage their benefits needs easily. Manage qualifying events, add or remove employees, and offer an enhanced billing and payment solution – all which help conserve valuable time and energy.
- Enrollment flexibility: A full 67 percent of employees say reading about their benefits is complicated, long or stressful. Technology behind a benefits administration platform should provide employers with clear product descriptions and effortless navigation to make it easy for employees to point, click and enroll – virtually anytime and anywhere. This means employees can access information when it is most convenient for them, increasing utilization and decreasing stress.
- Standardized reporting: Employers want to keep their employees in the know with enrollment news and updates. Informative, educational updates within the platform should keep employees apprised of the latest offerings and health care news. These include reminders for product enrollment deadlines, downloadable brochures and educational product videos, and easy-to-use tools that simplify benefits decisions.
By introducing clients to a one-stop shop system for benefits enrollment and related administrative tasks, you can help reduce stress and save time. Simply put, an online benefits administration platform, like EverwellTM powered by Aflac, makes life easier for all parties when they can find everything they need in one user-friendly, easy-to-access location. Not only will this make employers happy, but it will show their employees they care about providing them with quality health insurance benefits, too. While benefits administration might never quite check off the “fun” box, integrating an easy-to-use benefits platform can certainly make time fly, and that is half the battle.
Jeramy Tipton is vice president of Distribution Expansion and Sales Enablement at Aflac. With 18 years of experience in sales and marketing, Jeramy has led teams through the development and design of many industry firsts in enrollment technology, decision support and marketing capabilities.