Many businesses are considering the option to outsource employee financial benefits to reduce human resource administrative costs. New methods are emerging to handle the issue from HR professional organizations, employer trade publications and industry newsletters. Outsourcing employee financial benefits news and trends is an inexpensive approach to access the advantages and avoid the pitfalls from peers and HR experts.

There are a number of factors surrounding employee financial benefits outsourcing such as cost effectiveness, efficiency and effective streamlining of benefits administration and relinquishing responsibility. Research reports on employee benefits outsourcing may help in determining the right course of action. Outsourcing employee financial benefits can also have an impact on the morale of current human resource personnel. News and trend resources can offer practical ways to deal with the transition. When seeking to outsource employee financial benefits consider the following:

1. Weigh the difference between Professional Employer Organizations (PEO) and Human Resource Organization (HRO) before outsourcing employee benefits.

2. Locate employee benefits outsourcing companies that offer various tools for employees to easily access benefit services.

3. Ensure that switching to outsourcing employee financial benefits improves overall profitability of your company and doesn't drain resources.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Find a complementary employee financial benefits outsourcing company

Outsourcing employee financial benefits is relinquishing the responsibility in-house to a third-party's human resource personnel or to a separate company. There are two main types of employee benefits outsourcing companies: PEO's and HRO's. Each type of employee benefits outsourcing has its own agenda. Industry news and trends can aid in understanding the differences and pairing with a suitable match.

I recommend: HR XCEL is a HRO outsourcing company that offers industry news on outsourcing employee benefits. National Association of Professional Employer Organizations (NAPEO) provides industry news and trends tailored towards PEOs benefits administration outsourcing services.

Consider companies that handle a range of employee financial benefits outsourcing

There are a host of employee financial benefits such as health savings accounts, worker's compensation benefits and pensions, which make it imperative to use a company with the knowledge and expertise to handle HR services. Some companies develop tools and resources that maximize the methods to streamline benefits outsourcing. Innovative products can help in the transition of outsourced benefit administration.

I recommend: Consumer Direct Heath Care Solutions capitalizes on industry tools and advances to offer a wide range of options for staff to access benefit information. Review an article on trends in outsourcing employee benefits on ITMatchOnline. Their website provides a wide range of HR benefits outsourcing info trends, news and solutions for a variety of jobs.

Choose an outsourcing employee financial benefits industry leader

The news and trends information from reputable research makes it simple to gather feedback about outsourcing employee benefits. Obtaining news and trends from industry leaders often adds up to an array of resources that benefit the human resource service provider about employee financial benefits outsourcing.

I recommend: MET Life provides trends for outsourcing HR benefits nationally and internationally, and also offers a demo benchmarking tool. HR.com offers a wide range of news and trend forums including surveys, blogs, virtual conferences and webcasts to address employee benefits outsourcing.

Has sifting through the maze of employee benefits administration gotten you frustrated lately? You may want to consider outsourcing employee financial benefits to allow time to focus on your business and give your employees a great compensation package.

As benefits administration has become more complicated, more and more businesses are testing employee benefits outsourcing. There are several different reasons why it may be a good idea to seek out information about outsourcing employee financial benefits:

1. Expertise: Companies that specialize in outsourcing employee financial benefits know the market better than anyone else and can often find the best terms and conditions.

2. Time: As benefits administration becomes more and more complicated, the HR resources in your company may not have enough time to research employee financial benefits outsourcing.

3. Price: In many cases, it may cost less to contract with a benefits outsourcing firm for your benefits administration outsourcing needs compared to hiring a full-time human resources employee for the task.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Use the web to get a quote from companies that outsource employee financial benefits

The first step in HR benefits outsourcing is simply to get an idea of what it will cost you. Even if you decide not to use the companies you get a quote from, you will have an idea of the amount outsourcing employee financial benefits requires.

I recommend: eGroupBenefits provides an online resource for quotes and comparisons for outsourcing employee financial benefits. BenefitMall is a site for brokers who sell to small businesses, but gives quotes on employee benefits outsourcing to help you see the possible price.

Consider using a firm for HR benefits outsourcing

More and more firms are being created to provide HR benefits outsourcing info to businesses and you can choose as much, or as little, HR benefits outsourcing help as you need.

I recommend: Mercer is a large firm that offers total employee benefits outsourcing. Ascentis teams up with outsourced HR partners across the country to provide better HR benefits outsourcing. Aon is another national firm that specializes in benefits administration outsourcing.

Find a user-friendly firm for outsourcing employee benefits

Finding a quality firm to outsource employee benefits is just part of the equation when considering employee benefits outsourcing. Remember that after you decide upon the benefits package, yourself and your employees will have to continually work with that company to administer the benefits. As much as possible, try to find a firm that is user-friendly.

I recommend: Employee Benefit Specialists has a member center that has a newsletter, frequently asked questions and even calculators for flexible spending accounts and commuting costs. Instead of using large call centers, HR Xcel offers each client a management team that will handle all of its benefits administration outsourcing.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  When it comes to outsourcing employee benefits for employees who will soon approach retirement, make sure the company you choose offers several retirement account options for employees at different stages of life.
• •  Before implementing employee benefits outsourcing, survey your employees to find out which benefits they want the most. You can save money by providing those and leaving out some others.

Deciding whether or not to outsource any business task is a hard one, but looking at outsourcing employee financial benefits can be particularly difficult. Understanding how a third-party vendor will handle your employee accounts starts with knowing what terms are associated with any type of outsourcing, including financial benefit-specific terms.

Before you rely on a third-party organization to handle all your employee benefits, consider the options of outsourcing. Once you understand a few basic terms, you'll be able to make a more informed decision.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Accelerated benefit

An accelerated benefit program allows a terminally ill employee to use funds in a life insurance benefit to pay for care. The benefit reduces the payable life insurance amount after the employee dies.

I recommend: The accelerated benefit program is explained in the human resources glossary of DirectoryM.

Outplacement

Outplacement is defined as the help an employer gives an employee who has been laid off or let go in any other means. The help can include counseling, additional educational training and help finding a new job.

I recommend: Read about outplacement and the options to consider when finding an outside vendor to control your employee benefits at Human Resources Directory.

Business process outsourcing

Business process outsourcing, or BPO, is the term used to describe the use of an outside vendor to control certain aspects of any given business. The outsourcing of employee financial benefits is one example of the wide variety of BPO options.

I recommend: The business process outsourcing is defined in the glossary at HR Marketer.

Preferred provider organization

A preferred provider organization, or PPO, is a group of health providers that use the same standards when determining health care costs and insurance payments. Many health insurance plans will use a PPO plan as a way of keeping costs down for employees.

I recommend: The University of Arizona Human Resources glossary defines the preferred provider organization.

Carve out

A company can use a carve out to choose different services from a benefit vendor. While the health coverage may be chosen from one vendor, the company can carve-out other services like dental or vision and decide to choose a different vendor for these services.

I recommend: The EmployeHR.com website defines the carve out in it's glossary.

Professional employer organization

The term professional employer organization, or PEO, refers to companies that help businesses with tasks such as payroll, benefits and other human resource jobs. These third-party vendors are used as a means to outsource tasks that a company can not afford or take the time to accomplish on their own.

I recommend: The Emplicity website defines the professional employer organization. They offer a wide range of outsourcing options, but also explain many outsourcing terms and how the process works.