Is Employee Benefit Software Changing?

Employee benefits can be tracked nearly as many ways as there are benefits. And that sad fact makes life harder for financial advisors that work with employers. For those who work as advisors to plan sponsors understanding how their benefit software may change is crucial to maintaining a good customer service. It’s also crucial to know when that benefit software may change. So, what’s new in benefit software?
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Like other business process systems and software, employee benefits software helps administrators remain compliant with rules and regulations. This kind of software helps with open enrollment and can help HR departments view benefits on an individual or group level. This software also helps employees navigate their own benefits reports through dashboards and other visuals. This software, in theory, can help HR departments reduce costs and improve accuracy in delivering benefits and information about those benefits. Some, but not all, benefits software is embedded in or closely associated with payroll software.
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The key for advisors working with institutions may be to understand how their client’s current benefits software works. Most benefits programs provide a dashboard for their administrators that centralize all information. Those dashboards most likely drive the questions they will ask to their advisors. Those dashboards also help the administrators respond accurately to stakeholders, so having information available in a manner than meshes with the view your clients (or their staff) sees can help you provide excellent service.
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On the payroll integration side, ADP’s Workforce Now provides a seamless integration between payroll and benefits information.  Employees may favor it as it has a mobile app that provides access to W2s and paychecks. Administrators may favor it as it has a robust compliance component. Workforce Now has a dashboard focused on ACA compliance. It also has customizable options for how enrollment into retirement benefits may operate which could help administrators with plans that are more complex.
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Also ranking high in customer satisfaction is newcomer Paylocity. Like ADP, it offers a suite of products but has components that can standalone. Paylocity has a dashboard feature and has sharp self-enrollment features for employees. It has similar features to Workforce Now, but may provide easier to use components for reporting. It even has the ability to After administrator approval, send electronic data interface files to carriers to update employee coverage. Paylocity has enhanced analytics that make providing information to stakeholders easier. It’s website touts “Easily access information for open enrollment status, contribution amounts, plan election breakdowns, and more.”
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Some software, like Ceridian’s Dayforce has analytics at its front and center. It runs on a cloud platform to combine benefits and performance review into one system. It is highly customizable, making it a good option for companies operating in complex regulatory systems. Like Workforce and Paylocity, Dayforce has mobile options. It also may be an option for companies with a variety of pay structures as it has a continuous pay calculation. For plans with striated levels of enrollment, that continuous pay may help reduce administrator time.
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Finally, for those who hate having multiple systems, they may find peace in Rippling. That software takes the idea of unifying employee software systems to another level. It integrates payroll, benefits, computers, and apps. Rippling provides employee self-service, as the other software does, so that employees can a their contributions to FSAs and HSAs, enroll in new benefits or change plans. Rippling also automates compliance by sending out notices and payments.

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