Do you have separate providers for payroll and benefits, including separate insurance carriers (health, dental, vision, etc.)? Then you probably know that it is technically challenging and extremely time-consuming. If you are still trying to figure it out and haven’t put any of these providers in place yet, we have a much easier solution. Whichever category you fall into, there is a better way.
Here at PaydayHCM, we’ve learned this and perfected the art of simplicity over the past 30+ years that we have been in business. During this time, we have come up with solutions that not only address the tasks mentioned above but take less time and are much simpler. We want to share these solutions with you so that you can regain control of your time and money.
The following will lay out what you may be currently experiencing or what could be in your future if you haven’t set up these systems yet. We will also lay out the solutions to these challenges and a path forward.
1. KEEPING TRACK OF BENEFIT-RELATED PAYROLL DEDUCTIONS
PROBLEM
Does it feel like there is simply too much to remember and keep track of on your own? Don’t worry, you are not the only one to feel this way. Many have experienced the pressure and anxiety that can come from managing payroll deductions. Some regular responsibilities that come with payroll deductions include:
- Catching up on deductions – if an employee is submitted late in the month, they may have catch-up from previously missed payroll deductions.
- Timely cancelation of deductions – if any employee comes off of a plan, the deductions need to be stopped accordingly.
- Changing deductions after open enrollment – open enrollment is the one time of year that employees can get on or off the plan without a qualifying event. All changes must be recorded and updated promptly.
- Calculating deductions correctly – do you stop deductions on the 25 and 26th payrolls for biweekly schedules? This is just an example of the types of questions you will need to know the answers to.
SOLUTION
A robust HCM service will be able to manage all of these tasks for you. Even better, they will take responsibility for ensuring these deductions are both timely and accurate. Single-source solutions create efficiencies for both the broker agency and payroll department to keep this mammoth task under control.
2. STAYING ON TOP OF EMPLOYEE CHANGES THROUGHOUT THE YEAR
PROBLEM
Benefits administration is not only a sprint during open enrollment, it’s an endurance run throughout the rest of the year. It can begin to feel overwhelming.
For instance, following open enrollment, forms must be reviewed and submitted for each employee making changes to their plans.
Your organization is also going to experience turnover and hopefully growth as well. This means keeping track of these items for new hires and those leaving your organization. These changes take place throughout the year and are also very time sensitive.
On top of those responsibilities, there are qualifying events, such as marriage, divorce, loss of coverage, birth, and adoption, which all result in an enrollment opportunity for the respective employee.
SOLUTION
A comprehensive HCM service includes technology that helps you and your employees understand the open enrollment process, life change process, and the termination process. The benefit coordinators assigned to your account then handle all the back end heavy lifting associated with completing the tasks created in a timely manner. This keeps everyone on the same page and makes the year-long marathon conquerable.
3. REMEMBERING THE DETAILS OF MULTIPLE CARRIER PORTALS AND COMMUNICATING WITH EACH CARRIER AS NEEDED
PROBLEM
If you have separate carriers for health, vision, and dental, then those are three different avenues of communication you must maintain and keep updated.
There’s a lot to remember and keep track of when you have a different portal for each carrier. Not only do you have to learn to navigate each portal but you also have to keep track of who the carrier representatives are.
Finally, carriers experience turnover just like any other business, and keeping track of who your contact is and when to contact them can be difficult.
SOLUTION
What if there was a single source for all of these tasks? Well, you’re in luck because there is. Yes, you guessed it, a broker agency that will go above and beyond the norm. Imagine being assigned a team of benefits coordinators that will handle all these tasks, and you only have to stay in touch with a single contact.
4. MANUAL ENROLLMENT PROCESSES FOR BENEFITS
PROBLEM
Unfortunately, enrollment processes tend to be manual. It’s frustrating for everyone, especially employees who expect a more efficient, modern approach to enrollment. Automating this process and entering information via computer or smartphone beats a paper packet any day.
SOLUTION
Opting for an HCM service will bring enrollment into the 21st century for you and your team. It will be much easier for employees to make informed decisions, and follow wizard prompts to input the information using a computer or smartphone. Your assigned team stays on top of the progress and alerts the employee, and management, of those that are not taking action. These kinds of changes instill confidence in your employees, boost morale, eliminate errors of interpreting hand written packets, and help with the hiring process.
5. RECONCILING THE INFORMATION GIVEN TO PAYROLL AND THE CARRIERS
PROBLEM
Here’s where it can get tricky and mistakes can happen easily. Part of the responsibility that comes from juggling these tasks is reconciling what you did for #1, keeping track of deductions, with what you are communicating to the carriers in #3. That means checking, correcting, and providing the information for each carrier.
SOLUTION
Choosing an HCM service eliminates this problem. The benefit coordinators assigned to your account will not only ensure that the information is up to date and correct through the software and manual audits, but they will also communicate all of this information to the payroll department, keeping all involved in the know. The two reconcile the numbers together, eliminating the need for you to do any of it.
THERE IS A CLEAR WINNER
You probably noticed a pattern by now. If it seems like everything is easier with an HCM service that also handles your benefits, that’s because it is.
You don’t have to juggle payroll deductions, carrier interaction, reconciliation, or those much-hated enrollment packets anymore. Instead, a few keystrokes and maybe a phone call or two with a dedicated human contact and you can have it all wrapped up with a bow on it.
Ready to make the dream a reality and free yourself up for more important tasks? Contact us directly and we’ll take care of the rest.
Want more information? Try our article listing some great reasons to choose a combined benefits and payroll service.
