bswift, a leader in software and services for employee benefits administration, today announced the launch of Version 5.0 of its software-as-a-solution (SaaS) technology platform.
Much more than simply an “enrollment system,” bswift 5.0 is an employee portal designed to enhance the employee experience, improve two-way employee communication, reinforce the “employer brand,” stimulate employee engagement and provide a means for employee recognition. It features quick-to-configure automation on numerous year-round benefit tasks such as age updates and billing. bswift 5.0 enables human resources (HR) and benefit managers to focus on strategic HR by providing easy access to critical data, and bswift has a proven track record in reducing benefit costs by more than $150 per employee per year.
Long noted for its highly configurable, flexible, robust and user-friendly system, bswift 5.0 is a significant leap forward in all of these areas and offers many powerful new features that reflect the company’s deep understanding of the complex and rapidly changing world of employee benefits and health care.
Unique and powerful aspects of bswift 5.0 that set it apart from other benefit enrollment and administration systems available today include:
Employee Self-Service: A new and improved enrollment design allows employees to “shop” for benefits in a streamlined step-by-step process that incorporates educational content.
bswift “Dashboard”: The Dashboard gives the HR department instant access to important data housed in the system using easy-to-read charts and graphs. From monthly premiums to employee turnover rates to the cost impact of specific health care reform provisions, the bswift Dashboard is unique in its ability to provide managers with actionable data and answers to strategic HR and benefit questions.
Recognition Tool: bswift’s online Recognition Tool is integrated into the employee portal homepage and allows for peer-to-peer recognition rather than relying on top-down, bureaucratic processes. It allows management to recognize staffers, AND staffers to recognize each other. The new tool promotes employee recognition that is frequent, timely and specific –critical factors driving positive employee impact. Recognition “call-outs” can be posted quickly at any time by anyone for actions big and small.
Dependent Verification Process: CFO magazine1 notes that 5 percent of health care costs can be saved by enforcing eligibility rules. bswift 5.0 provides a unique, simple and cost-effective means for verifying dependent eligibility during the enrollment process.
Incorporation of Credits and Surcharges into Enrollment Process: Many companies now offer employee discounts on health insurance premiums for participation in Wellness programs or surcharges for other situations (e.g., smoking/tobacco use). bswift 5.0 incorporates credits and surcharges into the enrollment process so that employees see how their choices impact their cost of benefits in a timely manner.
Seamless Integration with Insurance Carriers: given that most clients use bswift as a benefits portal to simplify the employee experience for enrollment and other year-round tasks, bswift has built seamless connectivity and integration with numerous leading carriers. Whether an employee needs to complete an online EOI form, check claim status or account balances, or enroll in a Critical Illness plan, he/she can log in directly to the carrier’s site from bswift using a Single Sign On (SSO) process and complete transactions on that carrier’s site. The completed data is then automatically transmitted back to the bswift system on a real-time basis for employees to see on their confirmation statements. Because bswift remains the central repository for all enrollment data, this consolidates and simplifies not only the enrollment process but also the payroll deduction feed process, reducing the amount of time and effort spent on administrative tasks, and freeing HR for more strategic priorities.
Employee Alerts: bswift 5.0 enhances proactive employee communication with customized alert messages that appear on the employee portal upon login and are also sent to employees via email.
Configurability and Personalization: bswift 5.0 expands the substantial flexibility of bswift clients to manage their benefit programs and portal. For example, numerous new benefit rules been are now available to administer new benefit plan designs, and bswift clients now have a wider variety of options to configure and personalize not only the “look and feel” but also the functionality of their home page.
“Rapid changes in health care and employee benefits – driven by both the public and private sectors – make the challenge of benefits automation a ‘moving target’ for most companies and one that is best served by agile technology focused on the task. More than any system on the market today, bswift combines streamlined benefits enrollment functionality with easy-to-access and relevant content that engages and informs employees. The result is a higher ROI on the employer’s substantial investment in employee benefits – including greater productivity, lower turnover and reduced healthcare costs,” explains bswift CEO and founder Rich Gallun.
Source:http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/press/technology-platform-version-50,1418550.html
