Online Benefits Applications: Who to choose, who to choose...?
Online applications are slowly improving and although upgrades are made and deployed within several months, they are simply the fine tunings of a still imperfect product. What I mean is that in the late 90´s and over the past two years, we saw dramatic improvements to HR processes as they became transformed with the help of the Internet. To be honest, the applications weren´t much more than basic, cookie-cutter templates that vendors tried to apply to as many organizations as possible. In comparison to the ludicrously expensive client-server systems, the first web-based applications were and still are extremely limited in their scope. They have limited reporting tools, modules, flexibility, and customization capabilities. Organizations need to know this, but of course, vendors always make "the sky" seem possible.
The Internet was revolutionary because it afforded real-time information sharing; what vendors liked to naively call "the paperless solution". In actuality, these web-based systems have yet to become both perfectly paperless and "The Solution".
I´m still waiting for the next innovative jump in web-based applications from what we have today, The Limited, to what we will have tomorrow, The Limitless. I´ve heard some inklings about how web-based applications are being improved to place more of the control of the functionality into the hands of the organization. In the beginning, organizations pretty much had to take whatever vendors offered them and they had to deal with those limitations. Now, organizations can have self-service functionality, role-based access, customized information resources for their specialized employee needs and even limited capabilities to design and choose the functionality of their application.
It´s all about options and large-scale options; giving organizations the functional options they need to be competitive in today´s business environment. It´s no longer about vendors saying, "This is the product you need to be successful. Buy it and your business will thrive". It is about organizations saying, "I have 10 different business requirements, can you offer me these capabilities? If you can´t, I will find someone that can."
Alas, we haven´t reached that stage in technology where the majority of organizations can reap the benefits of what the Internet has to offer. Nor do all organizations structures and processes suit web-based applications. Remember that the Internet isn´t an organizational panacea (wince, I hate using that word). It´s a tool, only a tool to help speed up our already too fast lives.
The reason why I delved into that whole commentary is that there are basic web-based tools and there are more advanced tools. But companies really need to find the tools that best fit their companies needs and can provide the best information and education for their employees.
One of the most important factors that organizations must keep in mind in choosing a web-based benefits application is that it is geared towards helping employees make the best decisions for themselves and their families. You can provide employees with all the information in the world, but the best application is one that can help employees efficiently sort through all the information to make the right benefits decisions.
This week, we´re going to take a look at some of the most interesting and memorable online benefits applications and vendors and provide some highlights about their features to help you make a decision.
Life Map Communications, winner of the HR Executive Magazine´s Best and Brightest Products. The award is based on tools that "provide true functionality for the HR professional and help the HR department more effectively provide services and solutions to the organization." Life Map was one of the first vendors to integrate employee self-service access to their application.
Employee self service is similar to a complex filtering system that enables employees to login to a system and access information that has been specifically defined by them and their HR administrator. Therefore, with Life Map, "Only those benefits plans specific to the employee''s profile that are affected by the selected Life Event [are] displayed."
There are basically two camps of web-based benefits applications, one that is centered on more general aspects of benefits provision and one that identifies and focuses on "Life Events".
Life Map Communications provides an application that focuses on the Life Events of an employee. A Life Event is defined as significant, systematic, and standard and culturally-based events that occur in an individual´s life; for example, the birth of a child, retirement, marriage, etc. When each of these life events occur, a whole slew of paperwork must be done to keep track of the work-related/impacted changes such as change in name, address, dependents´ information, etc.
Last year, based on the feedback of current users, Life Map doubled the number of employee Life Events to include: Going to the Doctor, Caring for Aging Parents, Buying a Home, Going on Vacation, etc.
Life Map´s goal is to provide a "one-stop shopping network" for employees such that they can access all of their benefits information from 401(k) plans to financial investments to accounts information directly through their application.
One of the best things about LifeMap´s application is that it is specifically geared towards the education and training of employees and their benefits decisions.
Their interface integrates multimedia and web-based technologies as well as informational articles, interactive seminars, interactive calculators, benefit FAQ´s and customized company-specific resources. I love their idea of empowerment for turning "Employee Self-Service into Employee Self-Sufficiency".
Where Life Map excels is in providing cool technology to support their application and engage their users. I haven´t seen another online benefits application yet that has integrated multi-media video and tools into their system. On the other hand, this may be a drawback for companies that have only the basic technology infrastructure to access the application.
Life Map is available to organizations with less than 250 employees through its Independent Broker Partner Program. Companies with greater than 250 employees can access the application directly or through licensing agreements with authorized resellers.
LifeMap Communications, Inc.
201 N. Civic Drive, Suite 239
Walnut Creek, CA 94596
Tel: (925) 952-4040
1(888) 8MAPPED
Fax: (925) 952-4050
Another winner of the HR Executive Magazine´s Top Ten HR product is Enwisen´s online benefits application, the Employee Resource Center.
Currently, Enwisen has over 40 companies on their system including Yahoo!, Experient, Splash Technologies, and Harmonic.
Similar to Life Map, Enwisen provides the tools and educational resources to help your employees make the best decisions for their families and themselves. In fact, many of Enwisen´s clients have chosen the application based mainly on the fact that they have partnered with some great content providers to produce such "rich content and [a] flexible platform". We take for granted that Life Events occur and that specific documents must be processed during each of these stages. Enwisen´s interface doesn´t simply provide benefits information and options. Using a question-answer format, Enwisen´s guides take users through the basic benefits stages and provides both the answers and the questions to help employees make the right decisions.
In some of the next applications, you will see how their interfaces differ. One of the most powerful tools is that Enwisen gives employees the ability to compare benefits packages to see which are best suited for their situations as well as the overall cost differences between them. A side-by-side and point-by-point detailed comparison is provided for employees to view. Wizards are placed throughout the application to help employees identify "who they are" within the system and how to better understand what benefits they will need.
Enwisen´s application is also based upon Life Events decisions. Another great tool employed by Enwisen is a Life Event checklist. For every life event, Enwisen has provided a list of important documents that will need to be changed once the Life Event has occurred. The application has over 50 calculators to help employee budget and plan.
Employers will be interested in knowing there is a section on the site to post company-specific information such as employee handbooks, or a company policy manual. The application is also promoted as an internal communications tool to provide organizational information.
Pricing
There is a one time set up fee based on the complexity of the benefit plans and the number of employees. There is also a monthly subscription fee based on the number of employees ranging from $5.00 down to $1.00 per employee
I´m a big fan of Enwisen. They provide a solid application with all the right tools to help your employees make the best benefits decisions for themselves.
Enwisen
7110 Redwood Blvd.
Suite C
Novato, California 94945
Telephone: 415.897.0728
Here is yet another HR Executive Magazine´s Top Ten HR Product Award Winner. Simpata has a strong brand name associated with it and although the company has only been around for less than two years, it´s already one of the first places that companies will go to see what Simpata has to offer in online benefits.
One of the reasons that Simpata is so quick at implementation and set up is that it´s generally geared for small to mid-sized companies. There are approximately 80 employees working for Simpata and it´s much easier for them to get you up and running faster.
If you take a look at their site, you´ll see that, unlike Enwisen and Life Map, their application is much more basic. It provides all the necessary features for employees to access their benefits online. In addition, the same features and communication channels optimize the information exchange between service providers, vendors, employers, and employees. However, they haven´t extended their product offering in the same manner that Life Map and Enwisen have. Simpata does not provide the same information resources and content that Life Map and Enwisen have developed. This lack of information may partially contribute to the fact that some of Simpata´s clients´ employees are hesitant to hop on the ESS bandwagon. However, employee apprehension should be expected no matter what web-based vendor you go with. People don´t like both change and technology. With ESS, we´re forcing them to address both fears; don´t expect an easy employee conversion.
The lack of an employee resource and content center is not necessarily a drawback to their application as their target market is clearly different from the former vendors. They are targeting smaller companies who simply need the basic tools to empower their employees to get up and running quickly.
The Internet shortens time frames considerably. Implementations that once took several months and more can now be completed in several weeks and even dozens of days. The ideal company for Simpata would be on the smaller side with appropriate but not advanced IT infrastructure with a relatively homogeneous workforce and regular access to the Internet. Today´s IT organizations are usually well suited for web-based benefits access. Companies don´t have the time or the resources to invest in implementing a system like Simpata themselves. They need to get up and running quickly with instant ROI´s.
Simpata has really cornered the small-sized company market. There aren´t many vendors that can compete with Simpata in this area, and Simpata is only growing. They have developed a new product, Simply HR that is specifically targeting only small and micro companies and offering them essentially "boxed" ASP-functionality in a familiar software set up.
One of the major drawbacks to Simpata that I´ve heard about is their cost. Although Simpata a solid choice for small-mid market companies, they have been noted as having above average fees and overall being too expensive. Here´s an example of where the Internet might save in time and communications, but not necessarily actual costs.
Activation Fee - $10 per employee
There are no additional charges for establishing carrier connections, setting up benefit plans or any other miscellaneous fess.
Monthly Fee - $3 to $7 per employee per month (average of $5) depending on the size of the company. No incremental fees for data transmissions, usage, or support.
Simpata, Inc.
80 Iron Point Circle, #100
Folsom, CA 95630
877-HR-SIMPLE
These are just three examples of the wide variety of online benefits vendors that small to mid to larger companies can go with. Next week, I´ll provide a more extensive listing of several other online vendors, discuss their value propositions and finally follow up in the third week with the top complaints/problems of outsourcing your benefits online and important tips to remember for a successful implementation.
See you next week!