Why Use Online Enrollment?

Posted on Monday, April 08, 2019

The employee benefits industry is undergoing a revolution enabled by technology. As a result, it's easier than ever for companies to offer a robust combination of employee benefits. Thanks to developments in web interactivity and the increasing willingness of workers to embrace web-based enrollment and information dissemination, employers are being freed from many of the old administrative headaches that used to come with the territory.

Are you making the most out of your company's online benefits portal? Here's why you should:

You reduce your exposure to liability. The more of the workload that can be offloaded from your salaried staff to the carrier web portal, the fewer opportunities you may have for human error, mistakes, botched enrollments or option changes, and the like.

You and your staff will not have to spend as much time answering workers' questions. For most things, you can simply refer them to the online portal.

This saves man-hours and lets you employ your human capital more efficiently.

Meanwhile, you are earning employee loyalty. According to the 12th Annual Employment Benefit Trends Study from MetLife, 80 percent of employees surveyed reported they value noncash benefits, such as insurance or medical benefits - when they are customizable to fit their needs.

Workers get to learn about their plan features, benefits and costs straight from the horse's mouth. They don't have to rely on your staff, and your staff and you can put them to work doing something more profitable for your business.

All new information is automatically synchronized with your account. You can get a full report of all enrollees and premiums in a couple of button clicks. Data is instantly integrated with your payroll program and all your carriers.

What's in it for Your Workers?

It eliminates paperwork.
It simplifies record keeping not just for your HR staff but for your beneficiaries and participants as well.
Instant premium quotes and side-by-side comparison of plans are available.
Eligibility documents for dependents can be scanned and uploaded from home.
Confidentiality is enhanced, since workers may not want to share private health information with HR staff in order to make health care decisions.
Enables home enrollment at the workers' convenience - not the employer's.
Changes to coverage are easy to make, 24/7.

The end result: Tremendously reduced costs, increased efficiency and convenience for all concerned. Changes can be made quickly and easily, both during and after open enrollment periods. Employers can get full report in seconds with a few mouse clicks.

What You Can Do

We've identified a number of best practices when it comes to making the most of your online benefits portal:

Be proactive about communication. Use multiple means of communication, including company intranets, bulletin boards, newsletters and stuffing information into pay slip envelopes.
Let employees know how they can access their plan's online portal for themselves.
Have your agent or benefits adviser come to your worksite and train employees and supervisors. He or she can do an in-service educational presentation on their options, new plans and programs that have come online recently. For best results, do this before or at the beginning of the open-enrollment period.
Encourage participation in voluntary plans. A number of studies have shown that the more active the employee participation, the stronger the perceived employer value proposition and the greater the loyalty factor between the employer and employee.

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Disclaimer: The information contained in Dulin, Ward & DeWald’s blog is provided for general educational purposes only and should not be construed as financial or legal advice on any subject matter. Before taking any action based on this information, we strongly encourage you to consult competent legal, accounting or other professional advice about your specific situation. Questions on blog posts may be submitted to your DWD representative.