Guide to Outsourcing Employee Financial Benefits

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.

The official source of Outsourcing Employee Financial Benefits is
the Outsourcing Employee Financial Benefits page at Business.com