Guide to Benefits Administration: Integrating and Managing 3rd Party Solutions

Benefits Administration is an HR process that actively manages the interactions with a multitude of vendors. This process is highly customized from one company to another by comparison. Because of the complexity and administrative burdens of these highly customized HR operations, there are many third-party vendors that can be tasked with outsourcing the management of these functions. Understanding the nuances and areas of expertise for these multitudes of thirdparty party vendors is in and of itself a daunting task. Implementing and utilizing, as well as communicating successfully with employees about the technology and virtual platforms that can accompany these various vendors, is a balancing act for successful Benefits Administration.

Years of experience working in and with a full spectrum of third-party vendors across the Insurance and Benefits Administration landscape has painted enough of a roadmap to help simplify the process in broad scope with the following Four Keys:

Key One: Educate the Team Understanding the Complexity of the Vendor Landscape

Many organizations have moved to a managed solution, that is one that manages not only the underlying technology system, but also integrates communications and interactions with the system. Create a process to educate the entire internal team that will be having any interactions or taking on roles that facilitate your organization’s relationship with a potential or existing third-party vendor. In order to establish a foundation for internal support and utilization of thirdparty solutions, it is essential to educate your team on the operational challenges of managing this entire employee experience with complex and nuanced HR technology from ‘hire to retire,’ as well the demands of balancing ongoing HR functions and vendor interactions such as; • New hire onboarding • Life event management • Q&A helpdesk management • Open Enrollment • Communications, internal & external • Compliance support Key Two: Understand the Benefits How Third-Party Vendors Can Benefit an Organization

The ability to outsource cumbersome and time-consuming HR tasks in order to free up internal organizational resources is an obvious benefit of selecting a third-party vendor to manage select HR functions. But there are a multitude of additional advantages to your organization that come with the careful selection of an appropriately outsourced partner. A few of those include:

• Improved scalability: by shifting tedious duties and HR services to your new partner, your internal HR team is relieved of the administrative burden of tasks that consume valuable time and resources, giving them the bandwidth to focus on strategic objectives that contribute to organizational growth and development.

• Decreased costs: there is a waste factor when it comes to costs and organizational efficiency that is mitigated when you bring in a specialized third-party vendor, whose primary function is a niche area of HR services.

Handing off the duties of some of the more cumbersome HR services

 streamlines your processes  reduces unnecessary expenses  creates additional room in your budget to pursue growth-oriented objectives.

• Standardized processes: third-party vendors should be experts in their respective areas. They should come to you with detail-oriented processes that require far less time and effort to implement internally, and their purpose is to shoulder the workload that would otherwise weigh down the productivity of your internal team.

• Mitigated risks: compliance is key when it comes to HR, and increasingly so in a changing landscape of regulations and government oversight. Trusting a thirdparty vendor to oversee the box-checking and documentation processes to keep your organization in compliance reduces the pressure and risk you could otherwise face. Additionally, a third-party whose primary responsibility is to stay current on changing compliancy regulations can help ensure your organization avoids the financial burden of penalties and fines that could come as unpleasant and unexpected expenses to your organization. Experienced professionals who are well-versed in the nuances of evolving laws and regulations can be an invaluable asset for protecting the integrity and legal compliance of your organization. Key Three: Develop your Process Project Management for High Level HR Performance

A top-tier Benefits Administration and Enrollment company should have well-defined services, service descriptions and project plans. This does not however preclude your internal team from doing the same to match and manage this project. An early project-management ‘must’ is to identify a dedicated team member in your organization who is solely responsible for leading the internal efforts involved in introducing and adapting to a vendor-managed solution, and establishing internal processes and timelines for tasks and goals.

Once you have assigned your internal responsibilities and designated a leader accordingly, the next step it is to get that leader to identify what processes, people, and systems will need to be coordinated, in order to correctly align the roles of your internal project team with those of the vendor. Keeping the project plan current and on track by matching the leaders and other vendors appropriately for the most efficient coordination and internal communications is a key goal for success in management of third-party vendor relationships.

Key Four: Your Third-Party Vendor Checklist Identifying the Criteria for Evaluating and Choosing Your Best Partner

Every organization needs a process to help choose and manage the right vendors. When it comes to Benefits Administration and Enrollment, look to this checklist to help you make the right decision.

 Look for a successful vendor track record in the following areas:  Diversity of services  Successful track record in relevant areas  Combination of virtual and in-person resources  Experience scaling services for growth  Focus on compliance  Relationships with multiple benefits providers  Simplified transactional HR processes  Clear and consistent communication processes  Customized solutions designed to fit your organizational needs  Timely responses to questions and information requests

HRO Partners can help evaluate and streamline HR Benefits Administration enrollment and services for your organization; for a demo of our products and to find out more, visit hro-partners. com or call 1-866-822-0123.

Austin Baker, President, HRO Partners, LLC. abaker@hro-partners.com http://www.linkedin.com/in/jaustinbaker