Six reasons to automate your employee benefits administration

Offering employee benefits is an effective way to attract talent and improve employee retention in your company. However, employers at small and medium-sized organizations may be hesitant to implement benefits due to the cost and administrative burden.

Administering employee benefit programs can be challenging, plus there are many compliance regulations that employers and HR practitioners need to keep track of. Thankfully, there are ways that benefits administrators can reduce repetitive tasks and automate manual processes. With the help of benefits administration software, organizations can provide more valuable employee benefits without hassle or headaches.

Below are six reasons you should leverage benefits administration software at your organization. We also share how PeopleKeep can help you offer personalized employee benefits.

Get our ultimate guide to fringe benefits for more information on employee perks

1. Increased efficiency

Implementation of benefits administration automation can significantly increase efficiency for your HR team and your employees.

Instead of having your employees fill out paper forms every time they access a benefit and then having to transfer their data into spreadsheets for payroll, health insurance, and other HR needs, an efficient platform will automatically organize all of this information. That way, you can focus on actual work instead of tedious tasks.

Benefits software can also offer an automated employee enrollment option for your available benefits. Your employees can enroll in benefits independently, sometimes even from their mobile devices. With online platforms, employees can access their benefit plan information quickly and easily without communicating with your HR benefits specialists.

2. Improved accuracy

If employees have to manually enter information into multiple platforms, there will be a greater chance of human error. Errors can quickly get out of hand, leading to compliance issues, steep company fines, missed reporting details, and possibly a decline in business reputation.

With an automated benefits system, companies can significantly reduce the risk of costly error because the data is held in one central location, and administrators have quick access to the necessary information they need to ensure reporting requirements are met. If you try to do reporting manually, you may run into inaccuracies, especially if you’re a bigger company with many employees.

If you’re worried you may lose your data in case of a software glitch, don’t worry. Most automated benefit platforms have ample and secure cloud storage. So even if your computers break down temporarily, you can easily restore all your necessary files.

3. Better compliance regulation

When dealing with benefits administration, it’s essential to confirm you’re meeting all compliance regulations. These regulations include financial provisions and reporting, medical authorization, employee labor laws, and more. With the right benefits administration service, you can ensure that all compliance requirements are completed accurately and promptly.

For example, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) requirements come with a lot of documentation, particularly the employer mandate. If you have less than 50 full-time equivalent employees (FTEs), you’ll need to submit proof to be excluded from the employer mandate penalty.

If you have more than 50 FTEs, you’ll need to prove you’re offering health insurance benefits that meet the standards set by the ACA. A good benefits management software monitors your compliance status, ensuring you meet all mandates and responsibilities.

Some platforms will even guarantee they’ll cover any fees incurred if they make an error on their end.

4. Ease of convenience

Having employee benefits automation tools in place is significantly more convenient than manual processing. While it previously used to take a lot of paperwork and time, the entire process is now done with a few clicks.

What’s more, benefits information can be accessed via a central platform by HR teams and employees from any location and anytime.

This is especially important if your company:

1. Operates across multiple states or countries.
2. Has remote workers.
3. Allows employees to have flexible work schedules.

An automated employee benefits system that employers and workers can access 24/7 is becoming imperative. This allows HR administrators to make changes to their benefits quickly and easily, so employees can be notified as soon as possible.

5. Data integration capabilities

These days, benefits administration software comes with advanced integration capabilities. Cloud-based software allows you to integrate benefits like payroll systems, health and life insurance providers, dental plans, onboarding programs, and more to make your company run faster and more efficiently.

Payroll integration is especially crucial for HR teams. Payroll errors can negatively impact employer morale and turnover, and employee benefits coverage mistakes can be frustrating and time-consuming.

Integrating benefits and payroll with an automated system streamlines the process for HR to ensure no mistakes occur. Additionally, the data compilation process is integrated with all your benefit carriers, so when information is updated, it’s available immediately.

6. Improved employee experience

Anything that makes your workers’ jobs easier tends to increase their employee engagement levels. While benefits administration software improves the efficiency of your HR department, it also improves the employee experience and company culture.

Automation tools allow employees to manage and change personal information when they need to at the click of a button. Plus, they can update their benefit coverage options during open enrollment or if they trigger a special enrollment period with a qualifying life event. They can also easily access their account online to get benefit information and assistance.

If you haven’t moved away from a manual process, job seekers and applicants may feel your business processes are behind the times. Nowadays, there’s no faster way to lose young talent than by lagging in technology.

Automating your benefits can help your employees feel more engaged because their important information is at their fingertips. And happy employees usually lead to higher productivity for business owners.

How you can administer employee benefits with PeopleKeep

PeopleKeep is a benefits administration software company that enables employers to provide personalized employee benefits. We specialize in health reimbursement arrangement (HRA) administration software, allowing employers to design customized and flexible benefits packages for their workplace.

Setting up and managing an HRA is easier than ever for employers with PeopleKeep. We automate tedious tasks so you don’t have to do them, like preparing and updating legal documentation and reviewing reimbursements.

With PeopleKeep, you can maintain IRS-compliant legal documents to support your benefits without needing to hire a lawyer. And because the IRS requires employers with HRAs to keep employee documentation on file for seven years, PeopleKeep has digital storage capabilities for all receipts and invoices so you can stay in compliance.

We’re always here to help our customers with their benefits. Our award-winning customer support team is here for you whenever you need us. 

Conclusion

Benefits administration can contain repetitive tasks that require extra time and effort. To make it less time-consuming, benefits administration software is your best bet to help you save time and energy. With automation solutions, you’ll be efficient and compliant while your employees reap the rewards of various benefits that work with their lifestyle.

If you’re looking for more personalized benefits for your business, PeopleKeep can help! Our HRAs can play a huge role in making your benefits package more comprehensive. Schedule a call with us today, and we’ll get you started with your health benefits!