Benefits administration is a crucial component of running a successful business these days, but the traditional model of managing paper benefits is time-consuming and cumbersome. The good news for HR professionals and business owners is that there are plenty of tools available to allow for virtual open enrollment in benefits programs. Digital open enrollment provides several advantages over administering paper benefits, including:

1. Reduces Waste

Paper benefits mean that you need to have each employee fill out forms, file various documents and make copies of applications, and more. All of this means lots of paperwork to keep up with, and if a mistake is made, everything gets shredded and the process starts all over again.

The waste generated by paper benefits administration can be costly, and it’s also not good for the environment. When you switch to online open enrollment, you reduce paperwork and gain efficiency in the process. As a bonus, if mistakes are made, they can usually be corrected without starting the process over again.

2. Enrollment Can Be Completed Remotely

With traditional paper benefits, employees typically need to come to the office to fill out the right forms and submit documents. Switching to online open enrollment often means that a majority of the heavy lifting can be done remotely from an employee’s computer or smartphone. This reduces the time needed to get forms submitted, and it helps employees access their benefits faster in some cases.

If you offer this option, make sure to check with your benefits provider first regarding your legal obligations. Some benefits information is not able to be legally transmitted over an unsecured connection, so there may be IT protocols you will need to put in place before you can offer remote access to benefits information.

3. May Help Employees Understand Their Benefits Better

When you provide paper benefits, you often need to print out large handbooks that detail all the various nuances of each benefit. These handbooks can be hundreds of pages long, and it can be difficult to find specific information quickly.

When you provide virtual open enrollment and online benefits administration, your employees can use the search functionality to find keywords. Additionally, you can create different sections or chapters for each benefit so that employees can easily navigate digital documents to find the information they need quickly.

Author Resource:-

Daniel Stewart has been helping people with their money management and personal finance with over 15 years’ experience in business finance. You can find his thoughts at invest HSA blog.