Addressing the Common Challenges that Managers Face When Implementing Benefits Technology
Implementing benefits technology into an organization is a great investment. Automating a variety of administrative processes and minimizing errors when coordinating employee benefits is a great help for businesses.
However, many businesses face a number of challenges when implementing and maximizing the use of their benefits technology. Still, by applying some helpful strategies, you can ensure that you’re making the most of your technology investments.
Seamless Integration with Existing Systems
When organizations take the time to invest in a benefits technology solution, they’ll often be looking to prioritize a handful of objectives. They may be focused on a specific functionality or improvement they’ve been looking for
Regardless, however, there are any number of benefits technology solutions out there, and they’re not created equal. Organizations should partner with a technology vendor that will connect them to the best-fit solution for their unique needs and challenges. The right partner will assist with implementation, ensuring everything is set up correctly.
It’s important for your employee benefits solution to offer seamless connectivity between. This is typically facilitated through API connections and the right selection of supporting cloud services. However, if the solution provided doesn’t have the right integrations pre-established, it may be lacking in the level of efficiency and automation
Tackling Data Migration Issues
Successfully migrating data across various systems can be one of the more challenging components of implementing benefits technology. This typically involves a methodical process that involves planning and coordination with both internal and external teams.
In order for your migration to happen successfully, it’s important to prioritize careful planning during the implementation stages. Whether you’re working with outside consultants or have internal project managers, you’ll need a clear strategy for roll out..
A big part of making your benefits technology implementation a success is doing the prep work ahead of time to “clean” your data. This means making sure to get rid of duplicate or outdated data that can impact the integrity of your solution.
It’s also a good idea to set up a regular meeting cadence with your technology solutions provider. Partners will be able to help you prioritize your efforts and ensure you get maximum value out of your solution.
Ensuring System Dependability
The last thing a business wants to see is that their benefits technology fails when they depend on it for open enrollment or when finalizing their pay periods. However, this is unfortunately fairly common when not working with a qualified benefits technology partner.
Management teams should thoroughly vet their partnerships to help ensure they’re choosing reputable solutions specialists who will ensure their systems are reliable long-term. Technical issues can happen without any warning, and it’s important that you’re able to receive the support you need to get things back up and running.
Measuring Success
While it can be tempting to simply apply a “set it and forget it” mentality to the implementation of your solution, this rarely works out long-term. While benefits solutions on their own can provide a fair amount of value, that value can only be confirmed if you’re measuring its performance.
To do this properly, it’s important that you’ve established primary goals to hit even before you’ve started the implementation process. Maybe your main focus is to reduce administrative workloads or improve your benefits enrollment efficiency with your employees. It’s important to always have this at the forefront of your mind when evaluating the effectiveness of your solution.
Data collection can be an important part of benchmarking your solutions and help you make the right decisions regarding how they can be improved. Benefits technology solutions with advanced reporting and analytics features can help you monitor trends. Explore our guide on employee benefits benchmarking to see how advanced functionality helps determine what’s working and develop strategies to get better results.
Maximizing the Value of Your Benefits Technology
Most businesses that put the right benefits technology solutions in place experience a variety of advantages. This is especially when it comes to better efficiency and productivity in their administrative processes. However, in order to get the most out of your investment, it’s critical to have the right implementation plan in place, along with the right partners.
By following the steps provided, you can help avoid the common challenges that come up when implementing new technology while making sure you’re getting the support you need to get the most out of your investment.