January 28, 2004Employee Benefit NumbersNearly Eight in Ten U.S. Employees Register for Benefits Online; Companies Use Online Decision Support Tools to Drive Emerging Health Care Strategies LINCOLNSHIRE, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 27, 2004--Online enrollment for benefits continues to be the number one choice for U.S. employees, with 77 percent using the Internet to enroll this year. This is an increase of seven percent from 2002 and more than 25 percent from 2000 according to research conducted by human resources outsourcing and consulting firm Hewitt Associates. As online enrollment has increased, use of other channels and paper confirmations has decreased. In fact, the number of companies that eliminated paper confirmations of enrollment increased 74 percent this year. In addition, only four percent of participants enrolled through interactive voice response (IVR) and 19 percent through call centers, compared to eight percent for IVR and 23 percent for call centers in 2002. "Smart companies recognize it's not enough to offer a Web option to drive paperless enrollment and improve efficiency; they must provide value-added services and tools to drive Web traffic, enable self-service and support consumer-driven strategies," noted Maureen Kincaid, Hewitt's Health Management practice leader. During this past open enrollment season, which typically runs from late September until early December, Hewitt successfully enrolled more than 10 million employees, retirees and their dependents on behalf of nearly 140 clients. Ninety-six percent of these clients offered online enrollment (up from 59 percent in 2000), and more than one-fifth of them had more than 90 percent of their participants enroll online. While extremely complex situations can be handled through Hewitt's customer service call centers, nearly 15 percent of firms require self-management, meaning that participants must use the Internet or IVR to enroll. Online Enrollment Tools Grow in Importance and Functionality As health plan choices become more complex and costs continue to rise, companies are offering employees more educational content and enhanced decision-support tools, such as health plan comparison charts, flexible spending account estimators, health plan cost calculators and provider information. Through surveys conducted during enrollment, employees indicated that they value and use these tools to aid in their decision making. Sixty-two percent of participants noted that the health plan cost calculator tool helped them to consider at least one plan different from their current plan, and 32 percent said that, based on the information in the tool, they would likely choose a medical plan different from their current one. Sixty-six percent indicated that the health plan comparison chart prompted them to consider a plan different from their current choice, while 27 percent said the tool influenced them to likely choose a different plan. Fifty-five percent of participants used the health plan comparison tool to make their final enrollment decisions, and fifty-one percent said that the tool helped them gain a better understanding of plan changes. "Online tools are a must-have for all employers, especially those who need to drive employee behavior change and enhance consumerism to advance emerging health care strategies," added Kincaid. "Employees have more skin in the game than ever, and employers are working hard to provide the information and decision support necessary to empower them." High Satisfaction Among Users Efforts to add greater value to the online enrollment experience are paying off, not only in terms of usage, but also in terms of satisfaction. Hewitt data shows that 93 percent of employees enrolling for benefits online were satisfied with the overall enrollment process, and 96 percent were satisfied with the ease of use and time it took to enroll. With nearly 90 percent of participants indicating that they had online access to all the information they needed to enroll, calls to the customer service center decreased five percent over the previous year. About Hewitt Associates Hewitt Associates (www.hewitt.com) is a global human resources outsourcing and consulting firm. It provides services from offices in 38 countries. BUSINESS WIRE: The Global Leader in News Distribution Posted by Craig at January 28, 2004 03:29 PM |