Providing an excellent employee benefits plan can set you apart from your competitors and give you an advantage in the hunt for top talent. According to the Kenan Institute, non-wage benefits account for up to a third of an employee’s total compensation.
But managing your employee benefits program — including initial enrollment, benefits tracking, and compliance — can be a lot of work for your human resources team.
HR software can help you administer employee benefits and provide more flexible options to meet your employees’ needs. Here’s how to use automation to improve employee benefits management and increase employee engagement.
What Is Employee Benefits Management?
Employee benefits management, or employee benefits administration, is the practice of providing and maintaining an employee benefits program for your employees. Your HR team is responsible for overseeing the benefits administration process, although some companies may prefer outsourcing it to a third-party benefits provider or professional employer organization (PEO).
Some types of benefits, such as a health plan, may be required by law, while others are optional. A competitive benefits plan that meets employees’ needs can go a long way toward attracting top talent to your company and increasing employee retention.
Benefits administration software allows HR departments to assess benefits eligibility, track leave balances, and provide employees with personalized benefit options. By streamlining and automating benefits management, you can help employees make more informed decisions when accessing their company benefits.
What’s in an Employee Benefits Package?
Employee benefits include various kinds of non-wage compensation, such as health benefits and personal leave. Your employee benefits package will vary based on the size of your organization and any applicable labor laws in your state. An employee benefits package may include some or all of the following types of benefits.
Health Insurance
In the U.S., the Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires most businesses with at least 50 employees to provide health insurance coverage to employees and their dependents under the age of 26; small businesses are exempt, but may still choose to offer health care coverage as part of their benefits package.
Businesses of any size can go above and beyond the ACA by offering:
- Flexible spending accounts (FSAs)
- Health savings accounts (HSAs)
- Dental insurance
- Vision insurance
- Gym memberships
- Employee counseling
- Other wellness programs
A comprehensive health care package shows that you care about your employees’ well-being and want to make your organization an appealing place to work.
Leave Benefits
Employee leave benefits may include both paid and unpaid leaves of absence. The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) requires covered employers to offer unpaid leave to employees who meet certain qualifying conditions, and some states have regulations guaranteeing paid time off (PTO) and paid family leave.
Employers may choose to offer additional benefits, such as paid parental leave or sabbatical leave, as part of their employee benefits package.
Retirement Plans
Retirement benefits include retirement savings accounts like a 401(k) or a Roth IRA, which allow employees to set aside some of their pre- or post-tax income with each paycheck. Retirement plans vary in terms of how much employers contribute, and under what circumstances the employee can withdraw the money.
Other types of employer-sponsored retirement plans include defined benefit plans (pensions) and Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs).
Other Perks
As long as you follow any applicable laws, you’re free to get creative about what perks and benefits you offer your employees. Tuition reimbursement plans that contribute to an employee’s education are increasingly common, as are childcare benefits and pet insurance. Other possibilities include stock options and remote work stipends.
Why Automate Employee Benefits Management?
Employee benefits can be a huge selling point for your organization, helping you attract and retain top talent. But they can be challenging for your HR team to administer, and confusing for employees to navigate. Here’s how HR automation can help.
Reduce Manual Labor
First, automating employee benefits workflows reduces the workload for your HR team. Instead of manual form-filling and data entry, you can automate routine administrative tasks with software like Pulpstream, which does most of the heavy lifting for you.
Not only does this reduce the risk of data silos and human error, but it frees your HR department up to focus on other aspects of employee engagement.
Simplify Benefits Enrollment
Enrolling in employee benefits can be a hurdle of its own. Employees may have multiple health plans or retirement plans to choose from, and they need to fill out benefits forms in a timely manner, along with dozens of other onboarding documents.
Automating employee onboarding processes allows you to guide new hires through the enrollment process, helping them choose a benefit plan and customize it to meet their needs. You can even use a chatbot to answer any FAQs they have about benefits.
Ensure Compliance
Your employee benefits program needs to comply with employment laws at the state and federal level. You may need to navigate open enrollment season, negotiate with workers’ compensation insurance carriers, and provide reasonable workplace accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
HR automation platforms help you ensure HR compliance with custom rule engines that can automatically track leave balances, determine FMLA eligibility, and more.
How to Use Employee Benefits Management Software
Benefits management software can streamline benefits administration and make things easier for your employees and HR teams alike. Here are three best practices to keep in mind when rolling out employee benefits management software for the first time.
Automate Benefits Tracking
We’ve already looked at how HR automation can streamline the enrollment process, but what happens when an employee wants to use their benefits? How do you keep track of how much PTO they’ve accrued, how much leave they have remaining, and so on?
Use a platform like Pulpstream to track leave balances so you know how much leave an employee has left at any given time. Remind employees about any unused benefits, and set up a rules engine to approve or deny leave requests automatically.
Integrate with Payroll and Compliance Systems
A major benefit of using a cloud-based system is that you can integrate it with other HR tools you’re already using, such as your payroll and compliance systems. For example, Pulpstream features integrations with platforms like Salesforce, Workday, and ADP so you can easily link them and share data between them.
This streamlines compliance, ensuring that you’re meeting your obligations under the ACA, ADA, FMLA, Continuation of Health Coverage (COBRA), and other laws.
Provide a Self-Service Portal
Finally, provide a self-service portal so employees can log in and review their benefits online without having to contact your HR team directly. A self-service portal makes it easy for employees to update their information and learn about their benefits.
The Pulpstream platform empowers employees with a digital portal they can access on almost any device, including desktops, tablets, and other mobile devices.
Automate Employee Benefits Management with Pulpstream
Employee benefits include a range of non-wage compensation options, such as health insurance, personal leave, and retirement programs. But managing employee benefits can be a time-consuming process with a high risk of human error and HR compliance issues. Benefits management software can streamline the process with automated workflows, a self-service portal, and built-in attendance and leave tracking.
Pulpstream’s no-code platform allows HR departments to modernize employee benefits management through digitization and automation. Track benefits, improve compliance, and give employees more flexibility to choose from multiple types of benefit plans.
Get a demo today to see how Pulpstream can make a difference!
