What is Employee Benefits Software?

If your human resources team has a lot on its plate, you won't want it to get weighed down with the nitty-gritty of benefits management. Fortunately, employee benefits software can not only make benefits administration easier on your HR team, but also make life easier for all your employees. Let's dive into the ways your company can enhance its business by streamlining your benefits administration.

What is Employee Benefits Software?

Employee benefits software is a digital platform designed to simplify HR management by automating and managing employee benefits, like health insurance and retirement plans. These cloud-based platforms can also make it easier to support compliance with regulations like COBRA, HIPAA and the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

Because thse types of software can often integrate with other systems, they make it easier to keep employee data accurate, up-to-date and accessible across the business. The platforms also offer analytics and reporting tools that can help business leaders make decisions not only about benefits but also on other company-wide matters.

The convenience is undeniable. For just one example, there's no more logging into multiple platforms for different tasks. The power of these systems can boost employee satisfaction and corporate culture.

Key Features of Employee Benefits Software

Employee benefits software is an invaluable resource, particularly for small to medium-sized businesses that have limited resources and need employees to "wear multiple hats," so to speak.

Employee benefits software offers robust features, streamlining benefits management and generally creating a more efficient and seamless experience for both employees and employers. Let's look at some of the key features that could make employee benefits software a worthwhile investment for your business.

Health insurance and healthcare benefits

Employee benefits software keeps everything related to health insurance and healthcare benefits in one digital place.

Employees can use the software to enroll in health insurance plans during open enrollment periods or when a life status change event occurs (like a marriage or birth of a child). The software provides a user-friendly interface for electing plans based on individual needs.

Some employee benefit platforms also offer tools that allow employees to compare different health insurance plans side by side so they can choose the best fit plan based on their needs. Most platforms will also include benefits tracking, claim submission and integration with payroll system.

Retirement plans and financial management

Planning for the future can be stressful, especially with something as important as retirement. With employee benefits software, the process becomes a lot simpler. Employees can easily enroll in retirement plans, such as a 401(k)plan, directly through employee benefits software. They can receive step-by-step enrollment guidance, choose contribution levels and select investment options.

Employees can also use their online portals to track their contributions, including employer-matching contributions, and see how their investments are performing over time. More comprehensive platforms offer calculators and planning tools that help employees calculate their retirement savings needs based on parameters such as age, salary, expected retirement age and goals.

The software typically integrates with payroll systems to automate common payroll deductions, such as contributions, from paychecks.

Employee self-service portal

One of the most frustrating parts of traditional workplace benefits administration is how hard it can be for individuals to access crucial information about their employee benefits. While the days of paper files in big, gray filing cabinets are long gone, handling company benefits in a digital world still requires significant effort for an HR professional — unless you have comprehensive employee benefits software.

With access to a self-service online portal, employee benefits software can help employees track their claims and access information about their benefits anytime, anywhere. This helps to take the pressure off your management team to allow them to better focus on the company's bottom line. Additionally, employee engagement in benefits administration helps ensure they're getting the most out of their chosen plans.

Compliance

One of the strongest reasons for using employee benefits software is how much it simplifies compliance. With all of the complexity and paperwork surrounding compliance, it's easy to make mistakes, even if you're a seasoned HR professional. Employee benefits software can help alleviate this by automating the processes and supporting compliance to make it more manageable.

When it comes to retirement plans, employers can use the software to support compliance with retirement regulations. This includes generating necessary reports for audits, monitoring participation rates, and confirming that matching contributions are calculated correctly.

Employee benefits software can help to make your compliance processes more accurate, timely and easy to navigate.

Grows along with your business

You expect your business to grow, and employee benefits software can accommodate your needs along the way. This will save you the trouble and expense of updating, upgrading or replacing your benefits software as you grow. Top-tier employee benefits software can scale up on many tasks, including:

• Automate data exchange for enrollment with leading insurance carriers.
• Track employee eligibility and automate reporting to meet the latest ACA requirements.
• Streamline COBRA administration with integrated support and automated notifications.
• Manage HSAs, FSAs and commuter benefits.
• Connect employees with tax-optimized reimbursements for expenses related to medical travel, education, disaster relief and child adoption.

Choosing the Top Employee Benefits Software for Your Business

Selecting the top employee benefits software involves assessing your business needs and evaluating software solutions to see if they align with your HR management goals and enhance overall business productivity.

Assessing business needs

It's important to consider your company's unique requirements. Identifying specific HR management challenges will guide you in choosing the most effective employee benefits software. Scalability is often a consideration for growing businesses. Can the software grow with your organization? It should be able to accommodate more employees and additional features as your needs evolve, especially reporting and analytics.

User experience

Evaluate the software’s interface. Would it be intuitive for both HR staff and employees? An effective user experience can increase engagement and help reduce training time. You may also want to consider the effectiveness of communicating benefits information to employees, such as announcements, reminders or educational resources. The more comprehensive the platform, the more optimized your time will be for managing benefits.

Integration and customization options

Check how well the software integrates with your existing systems (like payroll or HRIS). Direct data flow helps save time, less vulnerable for errors and makes it easier for employees who prefer not to learn a new system.

Look for flexibility in displaying benefit plans to meet the diverse needs of your workforce. This might include displaying different plans for various employee groups or geographic locations. Mobile accessibility is increasingly important, too, as remote work has increased the need for on-demand accessibility.

Pricing

Software platforms often charge per month per employee for their services. Platforms may also offer different levels of service, so you can pay for the services you need, with the option to select add-on features. Look for software packages that match your needs and can grow with your company but still remain cost-effective.

Working with brokers

If you already work with a benefits broker, you might want to go with a software provider that will allow you to maintain that relationship. TriNet has engaged with top firms to build a network of preferred broker partners who have proven experience in maximizing the value of our platform. If you decide to work with an assigned TriNet broker partner, benefits administration may be included in any HR Platform base plan. You also have the option of working with your own insurance broker or not using a broker at all.

TriNet's Comprehensive Employee Benefits Software

TriNet’s PEO solution provides small and medium-sized businesses with access to rich employee benefit plans that go beyond the traditional health and retirement coverage. And by connecting HR, benefits and payroll processing on a single platform, your team becomes more efficient and receives insights that can help with strategic initiatives. Additionally, the benefits administration for PEO-sponsored plans includes an enrollment application that helps to simplify the benefits enrollment process along with a benefits decision support tool to help employees pick the best fit benefits for their families based on their need. The software also includes help with plan selection, payroll deduction and offers a convenient mobile app.

TriNet’s SaaS solution offers an add-on integrated benefits administration software for customers who are looking to simplify and scale employee benefits that are not on the PEO solution. Here’s how this software streamlines benefits administration: HR Platform.

• Build plans faster. A benefits setup checklist to make it easier to add and renew plans, configure contributions and invite employees to enroll.
• Educate and enroll. HR Platform provides easy-to-follow workflows and side-by-side plan comparisons that help employees find the coverage that best fits their needs.
• Go mobile. Our mobile app offers convenient, on-the-go access to benefit details and spending accounts. Employees can stay engaged with their benefits all year long.
• Data that leads to insights. Our suite of dashboards and reports give actionable insights into enrollment progress and monthly benefit costs.

According to WTW, 81% of employees would stay with an employer who provides benefits that meet their needs. Access to robust benefits through a convenient software solution can give you a competitive edge in hiring and retaining top talent.

Ready to experience all the benefits that employee benefits software has to offer? Speak with a TriNet expert today to find out how your business operations and workforce management can better handle benefits administration.

© 2024 TriNet Group, Inc.  All rights reserved.  This communication is for informational purposes only, is not legal, tax or accounting advice, and is not an offer to sell, buy or procure insurance. TriNet is the single-employer sponsor of all its benefit plans, which does not include Enrich products and voluntary benefits that are not ERISA-covered group health insurance plans and enrollment is voluntary. Official plan documents always control and TriNet reserves the right to amend the benefit plans or change the offerings and deadlines.

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