Technology Addresses HR’s Increasingly More Strategic Role

As HR departments are being asked to do more with less and to elevate their roles in organizations, it’s no wonder many are seriously looking to, or are already using, technology to help manage day-to-day details. And, if the increasing complexity of HR roles was not enough to encourage managers to move toward more modern solutions, now company employees are also expecting more technology as a way to receive information on benefits and to interface with their employers and HR departments.

With software at their fingertips, HR managers can instantaneously assess big picture needs of companies to help advance their increasingly more strategic, roles and they can provide a channel for employees to access and update benefit coverage.

Many software vendors have stepped up to the plate with solutions to help HR professionals effortlessly transform antiquated paper-laden files into streamlined systems, saving countless hours of administration time.

But as with any technology, for HR software to be relied upon, it must be effective and easy-to-use. With relationships with more than 250 carriers and providers, offering online transactions and benefits management, and seven years in the industry, BeneTrac is recognized as an expert in HR software.

And BeneTrac provides the added advantage of offering all of the benefits of advanced systems, without requiring the technical hassle of managing programs on-site, since it is offered via the Web as an ASP solution. That means "less ‘stickies’ all around my computer," for BeneTrac user Jennifer McCreight at Guidance Software, and many other HR professionals formerly required to "collect all of the forms, fax them to the broker, and before that fax them to each carrier," who can now click on an icon to get the same results. And according to Jan Coulman, Benefits Manager at UBISOFT, “Our HR department saves on average about two and a half days per month by eliminating manual processing.”

With most HR managers citing a lack of time and resources, the benefits offered by BeneTrac are numerous. Following are just a few.

Increased efficiency
Most organizations acknowledge that their HR departments are overworked, especially during critical times like open enrollment. BeneTrac can help HR gain time by simplifying tedious, yet critical tasks, and enabling information to be tracked and captured.

Patty Raymond, HR Representative for ACCO Engineered Systems, Inc., estimates that BeneTrac has cut in half the amount of time her department spends on managing benefits, “Before BeneTrac we used paper forms, filling out eight different carrier websites. But with BeneTrac I enter information once and the data automatically goes to all the carriers we have plans with for our employees.”

According to Barbara Aguilera, HR Manager, Carson City School District, “I like it because I can efficiently do the job of two people during our open enrollment process, saving an enormous amount of time.”

Comments such as these are typical from BeneTrac users, since the software fully automates processes and replaces the need for HR managers to rely on antiquated methods of keeping track of information. Instead, they make changes and updates online and are provided with a real time look at enrollment and eligibility information. Since BeneTrac has relationships with 250+ carriers and insurance companies across the country to provide files electronically, via the means that best suit each of them, HR managers no longer need to manually print and mail forms and can instead make and view changes automatically.

Even cumbersome, detail-laden processes such as open enrollment and COBRA are simplified. Managers can instantly see the status of individual employee information; run reports; send email updates on requirements; generate customized, time-sensitive letters, track changes and set automated alerts to keep track of deadlines.

More tools and time to focus on high-level tasks
Instead of relying on HR to make changes and updates, employees can gain access to their accounts from a home or work computer, giving HR the opportunity to focus on higher level tasks, such as assessing changing company demographics and benefits needs or determining ROI with BeneTrac reports. BeneTrac’s Report Factory easily provides a variety of standard and customizable in-depth and high level views in multiple formats.

Increased employee satisfaction
In addition to being more efficient for HR, employees often feel a greater sense of empowerment, satisfaction and appreciation at having direct access to their own information—especially with features like hidden paycheck that enable them to see the complete dollar worth of their compensation package online.

“Our employees leverage BeneTrac as their one stop shop for benefit information. They are able to access group numbers, contact information, plan summaries, claim forms and much more through the online resource library. Address changes and benefit changes are done online and routed to HR for approval. Employees, whether at HQ or located remotely, can access the same information at the same time,” according to Kristi Mack, HR consultant at Nextance.

Ease of administration
Since BeneTrac is available over the Web versus being installed onsite, the technology requires little technical administration. The software can be accessed by the HR manager using his or her login information from any computer.

Flexibility and scalability
However, that does not mean that individual needs are sacrificed. BeneTrac’s software is fully customized to meet each company’s requirements to offer a turnkey experience and the highest level of value in managing benefits for each company. BeneTrac:

• Incorporates information from multiple sources—Excel spreadsheets, accounting programs and spreadsheets
• Evaluates enrollment activity and applies the necessary combination of rules, messages, prompts, and options
• Takes into consideration effective date calculations, waiting periods, age ranges, volume limits, group number assignment and product availability

Additionally, the software is designed to grow with a company as its needs expand. The company maintains full ownership of its data, throughout the lifetime of service with BeneTrac, giving them the freedom to share their data with other internal systems or just for added onsite back-up.

Exceptional customer service
With the broad range of rules that can be applied to HR transactions, managers are bound to have questions. In the event that they do, they are able to gain quick access to a live BeneTrac support person that can help them within a maximum of 24 hours. BeneTrac customers acknowledge the responsiveness of its support.

“BeneTrac is very quick to respond to anything I inquire about or need,” according to Carrie Gonzales, personnel assistant, City of Huntington Beach.

And according to Jason McMillan, manager, benefits and HR administration, Tides Center, “If the issue needs research, BeneTrac will typically provide a date on when they will have the resolution or more information. This helps us considerably in dealing with our employees.”

The highest security standards
A company’s personal benefits information should be treated with the highest levels of privacy and discretion from potential threats—both internally and externally. BeneTrac ensures the utmost standards in protecting clients’ information. From instituting policies—such as giving the client exclusive authority to determine who will be allowed access and to what degree—to ensuring daily backups, employing backup servers, and adding protective layers, BeneTrac lays claim to some of the highest standards in the industry, including the following:
Transmission of data within a secure encrypted session

• Authentication, and navigation, of users within a secure 128 bit encrypted SSL Session, the strongest available. (HBT, used by BeneTrac, is proprietary and incorporates additional security above and beyond industry standards and HIPAA specifications. BeneTrac also tracks page movement using a proprietary security system (PPVS) that insures the session cannot be impersonated by any other user.)
• Implementation of a classic three zone system with the web and report servers being in the "DMZ" (Zone which allows web access and therefore must have port 80 and 443 open) and database server in the "Trusted Zone" (which has all inbound ports blocked) considered the most secure.
• Implementation of firewalls to ensure that network rules are enforced and malicious attempts are foiled.
• Implementation of IDS [Intrusion Detection Software] for added watchful care.

Return on investment
One of the greatest benefits of BeneTrac that brokers and HR managers cite, however, is the return on investment. Unlike other solutions on the market, BeneTrac pricing is very straightforward with no hidden costs and at only a few dollars per employee. The software often pays for itself many times over. In addition to co-op funding by carriers, agents and brokers can absorb the cost and pass on the added value, or charge clients directly. Either way, most clients see a return in the thousands annually, as compensation and benefits manager at UBISOFT, Jan Coulman, can attest.

“Based on the time I have saved using BeneTrac, I would estimate that we have saved approximately $18,000 since July 2003, plus the annual administration cost that is paid by our medical carrier. Our HR department saves on average about two and a half days per month by eliminating manual processing.”

Conclusion
As benefits administration continues to become more complex and the role of HR further elevates in nature, software such as BeneTrac is becoming increasingly more important. By helping HR departments to simplify management and administration tasks brokers can also further elevate their relationships and positions with their clients.