Open enrollment is right around the corner. This time of year can be difficult for workplaces across all industries, as human resources professionals and managers struggle to help employees understand and enroll in benefits plans. If your workplace does not have a HRIS, now may be the perfect time to think about getting one.
Saves Labor Time
Human resources professionals often spend this time of year in meeting after meeting with employees trying to explain benefit plans. By automating open enrollment using a HRIS, the system does most of the heavy lifting so that HR professionals are free to answer the really tough questions. This can save tons of labor time while also mitigating headaches for HR professionals and employees.
Allows Employees to Research
When employees have to pick a benefit plan during a short one-on-one meeting with a manager or HR professional, it can feel rushed and stressful. Employees may just pick a plan quickly without fully understanding the benefits, leading to low levels of satisfaction with chosen plans. When open enrollment is done through HRIS software, employees can browse through plans at their leisure and be sure that they fully understand the plans before making a selection.
Saves Paper and Mailing Expenses
Doing open enrollment manually can take a lot of paper and can cost a pretty penny when it comes to mailing it out. Doing open enrollment using a HRIS saves the costs of the paper and mailing expenses, but it also saves on clutter and reduces the potential for papers to go missing. Additionally, it may be easier to compile information needed for compliance reporting.
Takes Some of the Pressure Off
Since open enrollment is only for a short period of time, using online resources can take some of the pressure off. It may be difficult to round up all of the forms and mail them in by the deadline; submissions sent online will reach the correct carrier with greater immediacy. Since employees will be doing a lot of their own research and enrollment tasks, the strain of open enrollment on the human resources department will also be lessened.
Minimizes Errors
After benefits plans have been selected, the information can be easily transferred into payroll so that deductions will be taken out correctly and automatically. Benefits information will also be saved in the HRIS and sent to the carrier. Since there is no need to manually re-key any of the information, there is less chance that the information will be erroneous.
Additionally, a HRIS will be able to automatically determine an employee’s eligibility for one benefit plan or another so that employees don’t accidentally apply for the wrong plans. This can save a lot of time and trouble if an employee decides on a plan only to find out that they are not eligible for that particular plan and they have to start over.
Open enrollment is the perfect time for HR professionals to make the case for a HRIS. This tool can deliver tangible savings at this time of year, along with the many other benefits listed above. Upper management may be more open to purchasing a HRIS when open enrollment is looming ahead.
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