By Vipul Nagrath, Senior Vice President, Product Development, ADP
As businesses continue to evolve in the year ahead, how companies engage with talent will remain a critical focus. At the center of that employer and employee engagement is the benefit experience.
Flexible time off, expanded sick leave, more robust mental health coverage and financial wellness benefits are just some of the latest employee benefits being woven into recruitment strategies as businesses find ways to attract new hires and retain existing employees.
.@ADP's Vipul Nagrath writes about how APIs enable the software for benefit carriers’ systems to interface with employer systems in real time. Click To TweetWhile businesses reevaluate benefit packages, the overall benefits experience also remains critical. A difficult benefits process is discouraging; however, the more companies and carriers can deliver a seamless approach, they better they are with managing the entire benefits experience.
APIs: Revolutionizing the Benefits Experience
Once a time-consuming process, the benefits experience has undergone an overhaul with the introduction of industry-leading APIs into HCM platforms. In the context of benefits, APIs enable the software for benefit carriers’ systems to interface with the employer’s system in real time. API-enabled HCM solutions further streamline the employer and benefit carrier relationship to provide connectivity, interoperability and ease of use.
Through a single-system platform powered by APIs, HCM systems can provide revolutionary real-time, digital integration and connection between employers, benefits carriers and employees. The result is a better benefits experience.
The integration of a company’s HCM data with their benefits provider reduces slow-moving manual administration and improves overall accuracy to deliver a higher level of service. For the employer, HR no longer needs to manually enter information multiple times, often regarded as a time-consuming task. Integration of APIs allows for real-time updates and provides a seamless approach to connecting data, giving carriers the ability to work quickly and accurately, eliminating the risk for human error to employee coverage plans.
The True Differentiator
A strong benefits program can provide that competitive edge for an employer. The enhancements available through APIs are considered a “game changer” in the benefit space, directly impacting the employee experience to provide real-time updates and access to benefits offerings.
Through APIs, real time information can be sent to pre-populate evidence of insurability (EOI) forms, so it’s available and accurate as soon as the enrollment process is complete. As an example, ADP’s carrier partners reported implementing EOI APIs results in 92% of employees completing the EOI process at the time of benefits enrollment, and 83% of those applicants received an instant coverage decision through the carrier’s automated medical underwriting. This is a huge improvement in the benefits space, saving time and hours worked, as well as increasing overall quality of the enrollment experience.
Continually working with carriers to further integrate and streamline the benefits process gives employees the speed and convenience of real-time updates. It helps employers deliver a better benefits experience that is more accurate, leads to higher enrollment and helps retain talent.
In fact, research indicates that onboarding, performance attention and health benefits are the specific HR services that influence an employee’s perspective of their employer, and those that use health benefits are 3.5 times more likely to value their company.
Benefits are a significant part of the value proposition for talent, and revolutionizing the benefit experience using APIs to deliver a stronger benefits program can serve as a differentiator in an extremely tight talent market.
Vipul Nagrath is ADP’s SVP, head of product development for major account solutions and Human Resources outsourcing. An industry leader in technology, Vipul brings more than 25 years of experience in developing forward-thinking solutions.
Image: iStock
