Beyond the SaaS: Non-Tech Questions to Ask When Evaluating Ben Admin Tech Solutions

By Kisha Moliere

Most modern benefits administration technology (ben admin tech) platforms are offered via entities that provide Software as a Service (SaaS).  As a result, searches for ben admin tech solutions often focus solely on the ability of software to reproduce a company’s current ben admin program.  While it is imperative to confirm that a solution can replicate the technical aspects of your benefits program accurately, there are many other questions to consider during your evaluation process.  Below are a few examples to ask prospective providers.

Is the salesperson an ongoing member of my support team?  This may not seem like an important question at first glance, however nothing could be further from the truth.  Salespeople who are actual members of your ongoing support team are much less likely to overpromise on capabilities or agree to timelines the vendor is not able to deliver.  Some vendors even tie a portion of the salesperson’s compensation to retention or client satisfaction.  These are great incentives to ensure they have a vested interest in your long term success rather than just trying to “get a signature” on the contract.

What will be required of my HR team during implementation? One key contributor to unpleasant implementation experiences is a lack of clarity around the roles and responsibilities of your internal team, your broker and the ben admin tech vendor during that process.  The time and effort required should be clearly discussed up front, as this can vary greatly from vendor to vendor.  For example, some vendors will request copies of your policies and benefit summaries, and prepopulate the business rules documents necessary to configure your benefit program on their platform, while others will request that you or your broker complete the document.  This could represent several days of work depending on the number (and/or complexity) of your benefit plans.  Similarly, some vendors will accept your existing census and eligibility data in any format and manipulate it on your behalf, while others will require your team do the reformatting necessary to import it into their platform.  Configuration and data errors can completely sabotage your implementation, so partnering with a vendor that aligns with the capabilities of your team in this area is vital. 

What is the structure of the ongoing account management support?  Technology is great when it works as expected, but we all know there will inevitably be times when something goes awry.  As a result, understanding what your ongoing account management support will look like is essential to choosing a partner.  You will want to know whether you have a dedicated account manager who “quarterbacks” issues, or if your inquiries have to go to a group email box or ticketing system.  Another consideration is whether your account manager is involved from the start of implementation or if your account will be transitioned to them post-implementation.  There are definitely advantages in having your ongoing account manager participate in the implementation, since they will know how and why your account is configured the way it is from the very beginning.  You’ll also want to know if there are additional team members that will be familiar with your account in the event of absence or unfortunate need to replace your account manager. These factors can go a long way in ensuring a reduction in long term disruptions.

What is the average number of days for EDI files to go into production?  For the period of time a ben admin tech platform is not sending eligibility data to your carriers, it is essentially just an enrollment site. Having proper expectations around the time frame your team will be required to either maintain two platforms (if you are switching from an old one) or continue to manually key eligibility in carrier portals (if you don’t currently have a ben admin tech platform) is extremely important.  If the vendor’s average time to get medical file feeds into production is 90 days there could be considerable implications for your team’s workload versus a vendor with a 20 day average.

What have your client retention and satisfaction measurements been over the past 3 years? If a vendor isn’t tracking these types of statistics, it should be a huge red flag.  It is an indication that their performance on your behalf will be reactive.  Those that take these statistics seriously (and have high scores in both) usually communicate effectively with their clients and take steps to proactively ensure their product and service continue to live up to the demands of the market.

Are any of your optional services outsourced?  If you are also interested in securing optional services such as ACA, COBRA, and Spending Account Administration from a ben admin tech provider, be sure to ask whether those services are provided by in-house resources or if they are outsourced.  If those services are outsourced, it is crucial to ask what mechanisms or quality controls the vendor has in place to ensure a consistent service experience on your behalf.

How does API (Application Programming Interface) technology fit into your roadmap during the next 3 years? There is no doubt that API has transformed the way we transfer money (Zelle, CashApp), schedule travel (Expedia, Hotwire) and shop (Amazon).  This transformation is also on the horizon for benefits administration.  Weekly EDI file feeds will eventually be replaced with real time eligibility data and deduction transfers via APIs.  The impact will be a massive improvement in the lives of HR administrators in areas such as eligibility management and billing reconciliation.  Providers that are not currently planning for this are at risk of becoming obsolete as other vendors develop ecosystems that allow instant connectivity of payroll, accounting, ben admin and carrier systems.  

Although it is absolutely necessary to vet the technical capabilities of vendor platforms, there are many other factors to evaluate when reviewing solutions, as illustrated above.  Engage your Employee Benefits Consultant for more tips on how to effectively search for a ben admin technology provider that fits your needs.