Adding Value: Brokers Can Leverage Tech to Increase Benefit Efficiencies

Ensuringthe benefit administration process is easy and efficient for employers and employees is the end goal for manybenefits brokers. That goal has only grown more necessary in today’s dynamic environmentas the pace of change continues to accelerate and employers look for tools that can help them address evolving employee needs. As strategic advisors, brokers benefit from new technologies that deliver better benefit planstomake the process easier, faster and more accurate for their clients and their clients’ employees alike.Keeping the needs of both parties top-of-mind and taking an employee-centric approach can help brokers enhance the value they offer their clients and enhance the employee experience.

Employees Want an Easier Benefits Experience

As employees continue to navigate changing life demands and responsibilities two years into the pandemic, many are re-assessing their priorities and looking for added support from their employers. Lately, workers are seekingexpanded benefits offerings, including family benefits, caregiver support, financial wellness, mental wellness support,and continuing education. However, despite the range of offerings available, a positive benefits experience is about more than offering a wide variety of programs.

It’s also about making the processsimple for the employee to learn whatthese benefits entailso they can easily enroll.

In fact, enhanced experiences through connective technology allows for processes to be practically instantaneous between employers and carriers, creating a better benefits experience. The more difficult the process, the less likely the employee is totake advantage of the program. Benefits that are available and easy to navigate when needed, simplify the entire process and improve the benefit experience.

A Single System Solution Powered by APIs

Application programming interfaces (APIs) allow workforce platforms to enable a seamlessly synced data exchange between the HCM system, benefits carrier and employers. This kind of seamless, automated integration allows the employer to better manage employee plans with improved accuracy, enabling a higher level of service, improved billing and claims processes and ability to scale and grow while reducing operating costs and manual errors. The result for employers is a dramatic decrease in plan setup time and implementation,and an overall increase in enrollment.

In fact, carrier partners that leverage ADP’s evidence of insurability (EOI) API integrations have reported a higher completion rate among employees completing digital forms with an instant coverage decision through the carrier’s automated medical underwriting. Real-time enrollments can eliminate additional processing and servicing times, as well as manual errors, helping to enhance the benefits experience for everyone involved.

Benefits Brokers As Strategic Partners

API integrations can enhance the strategic partnership a benefit broker provides by delivering the client a significantly better offering and support. Brokers can better manage client questions, project timelines and deliverables with one point of contact, and can trust their client will benefit from a simplified, single platform. This technology-centered approach to benefits administration offers an employee-centric solution. And that is certainly a goal practically everyone involved in the process can support, especially brokers.