Communication is the backbone of every relationship, especially business. As Bob Aronson says, “If communication is not your top priority, all of your other priorities are at risk.”

When communication breaks down, everything suffers. Particularly in business, miscommunication leads to mistakes, friction between coworkers, and can stifle progress in every area.

“Effective communication requires more than an exchange of information. When done right, communication fosters understanding, strengthens relationships, improves teamwork, and builds trust.” Liz Papadopoulos’ words show the power of great communication and the importance to open, transparent dialogue.

When employees feel understood and valued, they are more productive, loyal, and satisfied. An organization that understands this and masters effective communication, both with employees and clients, will enjoy long-term sustainability and profitability.

Three Qualities of Effective Communication

To be truly effective, all communication must have three qualities:

1. Clear
   Good communication does not leave the audience guessing. The points are presented in a clear, and easy to understand fashion. In her article, “Top Ten Email Blunders that Cost Companies Money,” Debra Hamilton stated that the cost of miscommunication to employees averages $420,000 per year for companies of 100 employees. Above all, communication with employees must be comprehensible. Any confusion may carry significant consequences.
2. Consistent
   Repetition is extremely effective in helping people remember information. Studies show that people need to hear a message seven times before they take action. This is known as the “Rule of 7.” When it comes to employee benefits and enrollment, a cohesive and robust communications strategy that reiterates the main information and emphasizes the required action steps will best engage employees and increase participation.
3. Concise
   With an average attention span of eight seconds, employees need concise communications with clear calls to action. When messages are short and use language that is easy to understand, the audience is better equipped to receive the intended message. In communicating with employees, get straight to the point and eliminate any confusion.

Creating communications that are clear, consistent, and concise builds trust, removes confusion, captures the attention of employees, drives accountability and actions, and ensures proper education in your workforce. At BenefitElect, we help support you by providing communication to management and employees in a variety of ways:

Automated Notifications
First, we deploy automated text and email messages to employees informing them of their key enrollment deadlines and any actions they need to take. Frequent communication drives employee participation and frees up valuable time for HR staff.

Benefits Education
Second, our user-friendly enrollment platform means that your employees will not experience frustration when they log on to enroll. During the enrollment process, employees encounter a variety of videos, plan documents, and other communications, which educate them about their benefits and the value they offer. Since the majority of people prefer video than reading text, employees are more apt to learn about their plans during the enrollment process. These “tutorials” increase employee engagement and retention.

Summary

Our goal at BenefitElect is to streamline communication in regard to benefits eligibility and enrollment.

• How BenefitElect Supports HR
• How BenefitElect Supports Employees

New hires also bring a fresh perspective and new ideas. While much care and attention are devoted to new employees and most companies have an onboarding program in place, the opposite can be said for when an employee is “offboarded”. Offboarding is the process in which an employee leaves a company through resignation, termination, or retirement. According to research done by Aberdeen, only 29% of organizations provide an offboarding program. How an employee departs a company is just as important as how they begin. In looking at the life cycle of an employee, it is important to create a cohesive strategy from when the employee enters as a new hire to when they leave the company.

The good news is that opportunity exists for nearly three out of four (70%) of companies to improve their offboarding initiatives, and BenefitElect can help. To develop an offboarding program or upgrade an existing one, here are a few tips to keep in mind:

1. Set clear goals and outcomes.
   Keep your company’s brand and values in mind as you create the goals and desired outcomes for offboarding. Jamie Dimon, Chairman and CEO at JPMorgan Chase & Co., said, “We reinforce our culture every chance we get. Our Business Principles are at the forefront of everything we do, and we need to make these principles part of every major conversation at the company.” Reinforcing your company’s culture should be part of the offboarding process as well. Use the following questions as a guide:

• What do you want employees to say about your company when the leave?
• How do you want the offboarding process to be perceived?
• What would make the process smoother for all parties?

2. Create automation for the administrative tasks involved in offboarding.
   While discontinuing an employee’s access to technology and company information and collecting any outstanding company equipment are key during offboarding, one important area that can sometimes be overlooked is the termination of benefits. BenefitElect’s automated processes can make this aspect of the offboarding process a breeze. In addition to ensuring compliance, we automate your benefits administration and administer COBRA to eligible employees. BenefitElect uses automated text messages and emails to communicate significant dates and action steps. In addition, with our automated processes, HR never has to worry whether a terminated employee is still on coverage.

3. Ask for feedback.

   Conducting exit interviews with each outgoing employee gives HR staff an opportunity to end on a high note. Offboarding is the ideal time to ask outgoing employees about their experience with the company.

   Employees who leave your company, especially voluntarily, are ambassadors of your company’s brand. Moses Balian, an HR consultant at Justworks, said, “A smooth and amiable offboarding is so valuable in maintaining employees beyond active employment. You never know when you want to rehire someone.”

   Once employees leave, they feel free to share their opinions about the company, and there are a plethora of platforms and sites where their voices can be heard. Reviews on Google, LinkedIn, and Glassdoor, for example, can have a big impact on the opinions formed by potential hires, competitors and partners alike. In every interaction with outgoing employees, it is important to stay positive throughout the offboarding process.

   Creating an affirmative offboarding experience combined with seamless automated administrative processes will bring a positive completion to the employee life cycle.

We bring the expertise, processes, systems, and services that help companies achieve 100% ACA compliance, improve their bottom line, and increase employee participation and retention.

The following case study yielded impressive results and illustrates how a partnership with BenefitElect can make your company more successful.

ABC Staffing specializes in high-tech staffing and typically has a weekly payroll of 600 temporary workers. Most temporary staff are well compensated and work an average of four weeks each month on assignment.

Because ABC Staffing was unaware of legal requirement changes from the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the IRS assessed penalties of $20,000 in 2015 and $30,000 in 2016. ABC Staffing had also been inconsistently offering a MEC benefit plan averaging 6% participation, resulting in an average annual health plan surplus of less than $15,000.

When BenefitElect began working with ABC Staffing, clear goals and benchmarks were set to ensure mutual expectations. These goals were to demonstrate 100% ACA compliance, streamline ACA administration, and attract and retain top talent.

ABC Staffing required a weekly medical plan and offered multiple pre-tax insurance benefits. All candidates were automatically matched to the MEC-Plus plan.

During onboarding, candidates logged in to the BenefitElect enrollment website to confirm coverage. Concurrently, they were given the opportunity to purchase additional coverage, including buying up to the MVP plan, or to waive coverage. BenefitElect’s online enrollment system included a series of engaging communications and videos to educate employees about their benefits options. At the conclusion of the onboarding process, each candidate received an email and a text message confirming an offer of coverage. Through this process, BenefitElect was able to guarantee that 100% of ABC Staffing’s employees had received offers of coverage.

On a weekly basis, BenefitElect’s enrollment system exchanged records with both the payroll system and the insurance company to verify that all employee data, coverage, and deductions were accurate and current. Break-in-service rules, built into the enrollment system, made for easy reactivation of coverage. Before any action was taken, temporary workers received automated email and text message reminders to keep them up to date on their eligibility and enrollment status.

After just one year of working with BenefitElect, ABC Staffing experienced incredible results.

All benefits deductions were managed electronically with zero errors. Benefits coverage for any terminated temporary workers was cancelled, and 92% of temporary workers who auto enrolled retained medical coverage. ABC Staffing’s annual surplus increased from $15,000 to $320,000, improving profitability, and they were able to take advantage of the Work Opportunity Tax Credit for the first time.

Overall, BenefitElect helped ABC Staffing exceed its original goals: they achieved 100% ACA compliance, and ACA administration was streamlined. In addition, ABC Staffing saw an 89% increase in employee retention, which paved the way for company growth and long-term sustainability.

ABC Staffing Infographic

During onboarding, introducing new employees to your unique company culture and communicating the values and mission of your company are just the beginning. By taking advantage of the onboarding process to connect with new hires and get them engaged in all areas of their employment, you positively influence the development of a loyal employee rather than one who is more apt to leave.

Sarah Wetzel, the Director of Human Resources at engage:BDR, described the onboarding process: “I truly believe that onboarding is an art. Each new employee brings with them a potential to achieve and succeed. To lose the energy of a new hire through poor onboarding is an opportunity lost.”

With the inherent importance of onboarding and the responsibility that it carries, ensuring that the process runs smoothly may be challenging for staff. A poor executed onboarding process can have unfortunate consequences. As Bill Conaty, the former Sr. Vice President of Human Resources at General Electric, said, “Oftentimes, the lack of a robust . . . assimilation process leaves the new employee confused and disoriented.”

When it comes to benefits administration, a poor onboarding experience may be especially detrimental. A company’s benefits package is a major part of the employee’s total compensation, so it is crucial that new hires are educated about all aspects of their benefits. Unfortunately, HR staff and managers often do not have the expertise in benefits administration that employees, particularly new employees, require in order to fully understand the variances in their benefits options. If a company’s HR department does not have adequate resources, personnel, or a robust enrollment process, employees remain unaware of their benefits package and the investment the company makes in them.

Understanding of eligibility rules and the enrollment process in general also present a challenge for new hires. Because employees are usually not well versed in benefits, they often do not know when they are eligible or ineligible for coverage, which benefits to elect, and the information required to enroll dependents. In addition, with the busyness of life and work, new employees are at risk of forgetting to enroll in coverage by the required deadline.

When employees are well informed about their benefits, data shows they become more engaged in their jobs. One study by MetLife revealed that 71% of employees who are satisfied with their benefits also report being very loyal to their employers. In addition, having benefits coverage for themselves and their family brings peace of mind to employees, giving them confidence that they will have the coverage they need when they need it most.

At BenefitElect, we provide the benefits expertise that every company can depend on. Our approach, as explained below, is three-fold:

First, we deploy automated text and email messages to employees informing them of their key enrollment deadlines and any actions they need to take. Frequent communication drives employee participation and frees up valuable time for HR staff.

Second, our focus on a user-friendly enrollment platform means that your employees will not experience frustration when they log on to enroll. Our easy-to-use site walks new hires through the enrollment process step by step, allowing them to select or waive each benefit option. Within a few minutes, employees choose their coverage and enroll their dependents. In addition, during the enrollment process, employees encounter a variety of videos, plan documents, and other communications, which educate them about their benefits and the value they offer. These “tutorials” increase employee engagement and retention.

Lastly, through automating the benefits administration process, HR staff and managers are free to focus on what matters most in onboarding – connecting to and training new team members. HR does not need to check up on whether a new hire has enrolled. Our robust reports supply that information to staff as well as carriers and TPA, keeping all parties informed. At BenefitElect, we make onboarding easy.

Making sure your onboarding process runs smoothly may directly impact your bottom-line. Because the cost of replacing an employee ranges from 50% to 400% of their annual salary, according to a TLNT study, good onboarding practices are extremely important. Michael Watkins, author of The First 90 Days, shares that “employee orientation centers around and exists to help the individual employee, but it is the company that ultimately reaps the benefits of this practice.” Partnering with us at BenefitElect ensures that your company will reap the ultimate reward.

While compiling the data is tedious and time-consuming, it is essential to capture accurate data in order to avoid penalties and fees. Through regulatory reporting, the data can identify any issues within a company and allow for corrective actions to be taken. It is necessary to verify that companies are safe and ethical. As Former US Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty said, “If you think compliance is expensive – try non-compliance.”

At BenefitElect, we want to ensure you have the tools and information you need to achieve 100% compliance. Below, we have included a few tips to guarantee your success when it comes to processing W-2s and ACA reporting.

W-2s

Keeping track of the numerous forms and copies that W-2 processing involves can be overwhelming, and mistakes can result in financial consequences. In fact, the penalty for turning in a single incorrect W-2 is $550.

Before you begin processing W-2’s, take a look at the three most common issues:

1. Incorrect withholding

Disregarding Social Security maximums is a frequent oversight when it comes to reporting employee withholdings. Unfortunately, such errors can be costly and require numerous resources to resolve. Investing in financial software that automatically populates W-2 forms and alerts you when Social Security maximums have been reached can readily mitigate this issue.

Another problem when it comes to withholdings is out-of-date information on employees’ W-4 forms. The W-4 form is used to determine withholding amounts and deductions. If the information on a W-4 form is incorrect, additional expenses can be incurred. This particular problem is easily resolved by reminding employees to update their W-4 forms after each life event to ensure that withholding amounts and deductions are correct.

2. Failing to use approved methods

Because Copy A of the W-2 form, which goes to the Social Security Administration (SSA), is printed with special red ink, W-2 forms cannot be downloaded online. Instead, they must be purchased at an office supply store or the IRS or obtained from financial software. Failure to use these specialized forms can result in missed deadlines and steep penalties.

Please note that it is highly recommended that the font used for completing W-2 forms be in 12 pt., Courier. Problems can result if the font is different or printed in any other color than black. The IRS also requires that if more than 250 forms are being filed, you must file online. Making sure to comply with these details can save you time on the back end.

3. Distributing to the wrong entities

The W-2 form consists of four copies that require distribution to specific entities. Failure to send each copy to its respective recipient can, once again, result in missed deadlines and penalties. Copy A, the one with red ink, is sent to the SSA. Copy 1 is sent to a state, local or city tax department. Lastly, copies B and C are for the employees’ tax purposes and private records. The deadline for distributing 2020 W-2s to employees is January 31, 2021.

ACA Reporting

When it comes to ACA reporting, companies need to be aware of the following:

1. Number of full-time employees

According to the ACA, if you have 50 or more full-time employees, you are classified as an Applicable Large Employer (ALE). The ACA mandates that all ALEs must submit monthly reports which include information about Minimum Essential Coverage (MEC), the total employee count (and full-time employee count), as well as comprehensive information about every full-time employee, including coverage information.

For the purposes of ALE classification, the ACA designates a full-time employee as someone who works an average of 30 hours per week. Bear in mind that if your company has less than 50 full-time employees and is related to another company, both companies could be treated as one ALE, with each company being a member and possibly rendering ACA applicable.

2. Coverage requirements

The insurance coverage that you offer must be Minimum Essential Coverage (MEC), Minimum Value (MV) and “affordable.” MEC plans must include information regarding hospital care, maternity care, and emergency services, to name a few. Minimum value means that the plan must make up at least 60% of an employee’s total benefits costs. Affordable plans must have an employee contribution not exceeding 9.5% of the employee’s household income.

3. Reporting requirements

Employers are required to report the total cost of health benefits on W-2 forms, as well as report on whether MEC coverage was offered to at least 95% of full-time employees and their families. In addition, the number of full-time employees and information regarding each ALE member are also required. This information should be reported monthly.

How We Help

At BenefitElect, we provide the data you need to prove 100% offers of coverage. With our intuitive platform, we ensure data accuracy, streamline complex reporting, and eliminate your risk of penalties or fees for noncompliance. Learn more about the BenefitElect Advantage.

In order to continually adapt to the changes ahead, businesses and employees alike must remain flexible in job duties, work arrangements, and benefit offerings. As we look toward the future, there are several benefit trends we can expect to see.

Flexible Benefits

Since every employee’s personal situation is different, companies may increase talent retention by offering a flexible benefits package that can be customized for each employee. Many companies are starting with a base package that includes health insurance and paid time off.  Employees may then choose from a menu of optional benefits; both employer-paid and employee-paid. Some of these benefits include disability coverage, pet insurance, cancer support, fertility support, tuition assistance, and financial wellness. This gives employees freedom to choose the benefits they need at each stage of life.

Support for All Areas of Life

Family-Friendly Benefits

Because the work from home trend will remain in 2021, employees will need continued support and understanding as they juggle work responsibilities and dependent care duties. More employers are offering additional dependent care benefits to assist working parents. While some companies are providing onsite daycare, others are teaming up with companies to offer discounted back-up care options in participating centers or in-home care as well as tutoring services to help students complete their schoolwork.

Financial Wellness

Another consequence of the pandemic has been financial hardships. Between the record unemployment rates, rising debt, closure of businesses, and volatility in the stock market, financial concerns are creating a massive impact on people’s well-being.

Many employers are addressing these concerns with financial wellness programs. They are partnering with a variety of companies that offer programs, such as student loan refinancing, budget tools, debt relief, and expert financial advisors. Some employers are opting to cover the cost of disability insurance to give employees peace of mind that their regular financial obligations will still be met if they are sick and unable to work.

Paid Time Off and Sick Leave

The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) has brought paid sick leave policies into the spotlight in many states. In states that previously did not have laws requiring employers to provide paid sick leave, there has been legislation introduced that would protect workers. The outcomes of this legislation will be decided in 2021.

Over the past few years, many companies have been offering one bank of paid time off instead of separate policies for vacation or sick leave. Since some employees do not want to use vacation days for sick time, often they come in to work even during an illness. To combat this and provide a safe work environment, companies may revert back to separate banks for sick time and vacation time. This will encourage sick employees to stay home until they are free of symptoms.

In 2021, we may also see a shift in PTO policies with some employers changing the carryover and payout rules or allowing employees to donate PTO time to other employees who may need it.

Changes to Healthcare Plans

One troubling trend that has been taking place over the last decade has been the steep annual increase in health insurance premiums. In fact, health insurance premiums have grown by 54% over the last 11 years, as reported by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). Employees have generally been responsible for absorbing most of the cost increase. However, both employees and employers are no longer able to afford the continued rise in premiums.

To combat this trend, employers are beginning to rethink healthcare plans and look for alternative solutions that offer affordable, usable benefits. Some companies have partnered with providers that specialize in a specific treatments or conditions, such as cancer or fertility. Working with these providers offers better care at a more reasonable cost. Other companies are offering health plans that provide higher levels of coverage when receiving care from a smaller provider network. There are also some companies who are looking outside the box to health plan solutions. It will be important to pay attention to what emerges.

With the landscape of business and benefits administration so uncertain, it is important to build partnerships that will help you grow your business. Here is how we can help.

COVID-19 has drastically changed the world of benefits, how industries operate and how employers communicate their benefits program to employees. Additionally, the pandemic has rushed the adoption of digital technologies, which are expected to remain. Throughout this unknown landscape, many businesses across the country have adapted to the current climate and have successfully addressed the needs of a stressed and worried employee population.

Here are some of the benefit trends we have seen throughout the past year.

Telecommuting and Flexible Work Arrangements

With stay-at-home orders, travel bans, and the closures of schools and businesses, many companies were forced to adjust and move their workforce to a virtual environment. Thanks to tech tools like Zoom, GoToMeeting, Microsoft Teams and VPN, companies have the ability to communicate and securely manage business operations with employees who are working remotely.

While telecommuting has worked well for many industries, it has also presented a number of challenges because of the pandemic. Many employees are handling childcare, managing their and their children’s virtual education and navigating their partner’s work schedule on top of their own work responsibilities. Remote work will continue to be a reality for many businesses in the upcoming year, and many businesses will have to adjust in order to support a remote workforce.

Telehealth

With in-person elective care put on hold, telehealth became the preferred alternative for non-emergency medical care. Telehealth appointments become the ideal solution during the pandemic as they offered limited human-to-human contact and relieved the strain on urgent care centers and emergency rooms from treating non-emergency medical conditions.

In addition to vendors such as Teladoc, MDLIVE and Doctor On Demand, primary care physicians and specialists started to offer virtual appointments for their patients. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services began paying physicians the same amount for telehealth visits as in-person visits. Additionally, a number of states passed legislation that required private insurance companies to pay the same amount for telehealth visits and waive member copays for telehealth visits.

While telehealth fills the gap in some ways, it poses additional problems. Patients’ vitals cannot be recorded, and physical exams are limited to the doctor asking the right questions. Without imaging, diagnostic tests or other tools, providers are not able to offer complete care, and there may be red flags that could be missed, leading to bigger problems.

Mental Health Support

With the anxiety and uncertainty surrounding the pandemic, there has been a renewed focus on the mental and emotional health of employees. One of the unfortunate consequences of the pandemic has been a sharp increase in depression, stress and anxiety. Over 72% of companies have increased mental health support and 59% are extending new benefits, such as reduced hours and extended leaves of absence, into 2021. Many companies expanded their employee assistance programs and financial wellness programs to help employees with the additional stress and challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

In order to best serve employees, employers must keep mental health resources and support front and center over the next several years. In fact, according to Jobvite, 43% of recruiters report that people who are currently looking for jobs inquire about a prospective company’s mental health benefits. “The rise in inquiries about mental health benefits is not surprising, given how hard the pandemic has been on workers and job seekers,” said Brianne Thomas, head of recruiting at Jobvite. “The pandemic has caused a drastic increase in stress levels throughout the American workforce, especially for working parents who are juggling work while also caring for their children.”

Deferred Preventive Care and Its Effect on Costs

The pandemic caused a decrease in the use of healthcare services and employer costs in 2020. However, this break in cost may be short lived. “COVID-19 has played havoc with all previous projections of healthcare utilization levels,” says Trevis Parson, chief actuary at Willis Towers Watson. “In 2020, we may see a reduction in national healthcare expenditures on a per capita basis for the first time since 1960. However, this reversal in trend is highly likely to be only temporary, despite the continued uncertainty about the virus, as previously deferred care returns in 2021.”

A new Willis Towers Watson study found employer healthcare costs in 2020 may fall between 3.3% and 8.8% lower than originally expected, due to canceled and deferred care. With the delay in routine care, healthcare costs in 2021 are expected to increase significantly – between 0.5% and 5% above non-pandemic projections. With employees missing screenings for depression, high blood pressure and diabetes. The lack of preventive care not only affects healthcare costs but productivity as well. The true cost of deferred preventive care will be unknown for years to come.

A Look Ahead to 2021

As we look into the future and enter the second year of the pandemic, the priority for businesses will be the health and safety of their workforces. Additionally, employers will need to support their employees’ career development in order to adapt to the permanent changes to our economy. In fact, 52% of executives are enacting efforts to upskill their workforce. This will be a necessary key to long term sustainability.