Last Reviewed: December 9th, 2024

Best Benefits Administration Software Of 2024

What is Benefits Administration Software?

Benefits Administration Software is an invaluable tool for companies to manage and streamline their employee benefits program efficiently. Addressing the challenges of manual, time-consuming benefits management, inaccurate data entries, and legal compliance, this software has significantly transformed HR tasks. By enabling centralized control of benefits plans, easing enrollment process, and ensuring regulatory compliance, the software enhances efficiency and accuracy. Typical features include benefits plan creation, open enrollment management, and reporting. A noticeable emerging capability is AI-powered personalization for engaging employees. The prime beneficiaries are HR professionals, both in small businesses and large corporations. However, the software may not be cost-effective for very small businesses and may require initial training. To conclude, Benefits Administration Software simplifies complex benefits processes, ensuring error-free management while improving employee experience. This digital tool not only augments administrative efficiency and accuracy but also enhances employee engagement by offering seamless benefits administration.

What Are The Key Benefits of Benefits Administration Software?

  • Streamlines benefits management
  • Reduces administrative errors
  • Ensures regulatory compliance
  • Saves HR professionals' time
  • Enhances employee engagement
  • Simplifies program enrolment
  • Centralizes benefits information
  • Improves reporting accuracy
  • Offers personalized user experience
  • Encourages consistent communication
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Overall

Based on the latest available data collected by SelectHub for 167 solutions, we determined the following solutions are the best Benefits Administration Software overall:

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Why We Picked Workday HCM

Workday HCM is suitable for businesses of all sizes. It is a simple and easy-to-use product with multiple functions that contain all HR data in one place. Payroll and benefits are easy to view and verify. Some improvements are required in the mobile app and system speed. Otherwise, its payroll, timesheet tool, ease of use and unified structure can bring a lot of benefits.

Pros & Cons

  • Intuitive: 95% of users who mentioned ease of use observed that the software has an intuitive interface, making it easy to navigate and find information, even for novice users.
  • Multiple Functionality: 90% of users who mentioned functionality state that Workday HCM acts as a one-stop shop for many HR tasks.
  • Payroll and Benefits: All reviewers who mentioned payroll had a positive experience, with the ability to track hours, collect tax forms, log pay stubs and more.
  • Slow: Of reviewers who mention user interface, 5% noted some processes are slow, causing the system to show errors.
  • Requires Training: For first-time users, there’s a bit of a learning curve to get started, requiring training.
  • Clunky Mobile App: 85% of reviewers who mentioned the app noted that it has issues quite often and doesn’t include schedules, forcing users to use a separate app.

Key Features

  • Payroll: Workday HCM offers payroll capabilities for the U.S., U.K., France and Canada. All transactions compile in the payroll module. It includes a calculation engine, which enables running reports and calculations for groups and individuals at any time. A compliance dashboard shows information about upcoming changes as well as the areas of greatest impact within your organization. 
  • Benefits Administration: The software supports a variety of plans, such as health, flex, wellness and retirement. Tools such as the ACA dashboard ensure proper coverage as well as aid managing forms and regulatory changes. The system supports integration with hundreds of providers. 
  • Talent Management: This feature includes onboarding and career and development planning components. New hires can access messages, videos and more from a single dashboard, and there’s also support for international and internal transfers. Pulse surveys and a skills cloud provide insight into your workforce. Additionally, you can set goals, perform reviews, manage succession plans, aid employee career development and pinpoint retention risks. 
  • Learning Management System: Equipped with LMS capabilities, this module helps your organization deliver and track a variety of training materials. Elements include scoring, quizzes, learning campaigns, video, learning paths and more. You can also offer courses to external groups. For extended training, the Workday Content Cloud grants access to third-party content directly from Workday HCM. 
  • Compensation Management: With this feature, you can build customized compensation packages for global use by choosing from over a dozen compensation plan types. It supports international currencies and allowance plans based on local limits. The toolset includes a grid worksheet, events coordination for things like new hires and promotions, pay-range segments, tracking of pay equity, configurable statements, and unified data from other Workday HCM modules such as payroll and benefits. 
  • Workforce Planning: The Workday Adaptive Insights Business Planning Cloud provides tools to create models, compare what-if scenarios and build hiring strategies. It also facilitates collaboration along with evaluation of metrics like costs and workforce breakdown. The platform provides review and approval workflows and integrates data from other organizational systems. 
  • Global Compliance: The solution’s flexibility enables you to configure the pre-built frameworks based on your company’s needs. It contains support for 240 countries, 1,500+ reports, 170 absence plans, geographic controls such as privacy preferences and date formats, and over 3,000 localized data fields. You can automatically translate into over 30 languages, receive free legal support across 58 jurisdictions and control all aspects of the setup. 
  • Workday Marketplace: You can extend the capabilities of Workday HCM by connecting it with third-party integrations for case management, hiring, training and other processes. Partner solutions include LinkedIn Learning, Salesforce Worker and Salesforce Chatter, Saba, HireRight Background Check, and Humanity Employee Shift Scheduling. 

Pricing

License/Subscription Cost
  • Based on key metrics such as total company revenue and employee size, not just per user
  • Support, maintenance and automatic upgrades are included as part of the annual subscription cost
Maintenance Cost
  • Based on the service hours of support purchased
Installation/Implementation Cost
  • Implementation costs are typically 1.25 times the annual cloud subscription cost and involve project consulting costs, such as those for a Project Implementation Advisor, a Functional Implementation Advisor, a Technical Implementation Advisor, etc.
  • Other important factors are the service provider chosen for initial implementation, production support, modules selected and complexity of the implementation
Customization Cost
  • Will vary depending on the type of optional functionalities added-on
Data Migration Cost/Change Management/Upfront Switching Cost
  • Includes the cost to switch from the existing product to Workday. The enterprise will need to invest in change management
Training Cost
  • It varies depending on the training option selected and whether it’s classroom training, virtual training, onsite training or on-demand training
Recurring/Renewal Costs
  • Typical Costs:
    • Renewal Cost (Year 1): Base cost (1 + X% + CPI)
    • Renewal Cost (Year 2): Renewal Year 1 Subscription Fee (1 + X% + CPI)
  • These are the average renewal costs, but sometimes they also include recurring costs for integration tools or other add-on technologies not included in the base package
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Why We Picked UKG Pro

UKG Pro is a cloud-based platform that’s designed to streamline global human capital management across all industries. It brings together key functions like payroll, benefits, recruiting, onboarding and learning management in one place.

Some standout features include an advanced scheduling tool that helps balance staffing levels and control labor costs. AI is a big player here, enhancing HR tasks with things like schedule optimization, retention forecasting, sentiment analysis and candidate matching.

From what I've seen through the demo, the mobile app lays everything out in a simple, direct way with menu options like time off, pay, HR help, benefits, goals, notes and learning. Under learning, there's a variety of helpful courses, including security awareness, conflict management and mindfulness training.

Completing requests seems quick and straightforward. Click HR Help and find requests to ask for a shift change, PTO or travel expense.

Manage assignments by viewing "To-Dos," including what's waiting for completion and what's crossed off your list already. Plan effectively with a headcount under metrics, showing who is on leave or on the clock in real time.

On the subject of planning ahead, UKG Pro scores a perfect 100 under succession management, with talent matrix, talent pool and talent insight functionalities.

Document management is also a top feature, earning 100 for its capabilities. It includes access controls, document search, automatic tax document generation and the creation of employee handbooks and policies.

Managing performance can be challenging, especially with a large team. It's important to ensure that everyone feels valued, but time constraints can make this difficult. UKG Pro’s talent dashboard helps by highlighting top performers and potential flight risks, making it easier for you to address issues and make necessary adjustments.

One thing I really liked was that there's a page for work-life balance with improvement ideas, including resisting multitasking, expanding team goals and introducing flexible work schedules. This helps employees feel valued, which ultimately fosters more productivity and job retention.

Additionally, I thought it was admirable there’s a "Giving" option on the platform for creating employee giving programs and tracking donations. This is a great source for team building, increasing engagement and building a more positive work environment.

Using the live chat, I selected customer support and then UKG Pro, which led me to FAQs. After hitting thumbs down to request a representative, I asked for an in-depth demo. The chatbot offered alternative solutions or the option to end the chat. When starting a new chat, the previous conversation was visible, but there was no option to start a new chat from scratch.

Pricing starts at $100 per user per month with a per-user model, and you can request a free trial.

Pros & Cons

  • Employee Data Management: Users commend UKG Pro for its robust employee data management capabilities.
  • Payroll Processing: Reviewers consistently highlight UKG Pro's payroll processing feature for its efficiency, accuracy and intuitive interface.
  • User Interface: Some users found the UI slightly outdated based on confusing design elements, unclear wording choices and inefficient grouping that collectively hinder intuitive navigation within the system.
  • Reporting: Some users describe UKG Pro’s reporting feature as ineffective and lacking user-friendliness.

Key Features

  • Payroll: Incorporate a scalable, configurable engine for accurate, streamlined pay processing. This feature also includes:
    • Role-based access to ensure data security.
    • Prebuilt tax compliance, automatic tax updates every quarter and GIS-powered search to ensure accurate taxes based on employee location.
    • End-of-year reporting tools, including a task checklist.
    • Pay modeling calculator, enabling employees to calculate information on their own.
    • Integration support for global payroll providers and TurboTax.
    • Dashboards showing alerts and metrics.
  • Benefits: Provide help videos and documentation to assist employees. Key components include plan recommendations and side-by-side comparisons, process automation, search filters, compliance reporting, transaction records, admin tools and connectors to hundreds of carriers.
  • Workforce Scheduling: Ensure effective shift planning and workforce management with advanced scheduling capabilities previously found in UKG Dimensions.
  • Workforce Planning and Optimization: Make strategic planning and resource allocation a breeze. UKG Pro now packs the workforce planning and optimization tools from UKG Dimensions.
  • Time and Attendance: Optimize timekeeping and absence management with UKG Pro's enhanced time tracking and attendance features, which are now integrated from UKG Dimensions.
  • Learning: Aid employee learning and development by providing:
    • On-demand, mobile access to training materials in multiple languages.
    • Gamification, rewards and social tools foster engagement.
    • Blended learning, a drag-and-drop interface for content creation and a course marketplace with more than 3,000 courses.
    • Channels for employees to capture and share knowledge with coworkers.
  • Recruiting: Make talent sourcing and acquisition for recruiting teams and candidates easier and more efficient.
    • Recruiters: Dashboards show candidate and opportunity status and AI scoring reveals applicants that are the best match. Multi-language, multiple job board postings and screening questions also included.
    • Candidates: Applicants can submit their LinkedIn profile, receive open position suggestions based on basic information and provide an in-depth picture of themselves by sharing details like motivators and behaviors.
  • Onboarding: Access a dashboard that has a timeline for tasks they need to complete, job-related videos and training material, and required forms, which they can fill out electronically. They can also create goals and connect with teammates.
  • InTouch DX: Give managers and employees flexible, real-time access for time and attendance processes. This timeclock device is designed for an hourly, mobile workforce.
    • Features include configuration options, real-time data, a touchscreen, native intelligence capabilities and multiple integrated readers.
    • Managers can track employee information, confirm transactions and ensure schedules are followed.
    • Employees can request PTO, view time cards and schedules, punch in and out, receive push notifications, and receive suggested actions based on upcoming tasks.
  • BI Reporting: Display real-time data in a clear, user-friendly format, empowering managers and executives to monitor and analyze KPIs. They offer both prebuilt and customizable reports. It provides insights for:
    • Human resource metrics like headcount based on local and global demographics.
    • Benefit plan costs and employee participation.
    • Financial information like overtime cost, pay equity and payroll totals.
    • ACA filing data, including risks, deadlines and eligibility.
    • Recruiting costs and sourcing data.
    • Employee performance, retention estimators and 9-box assessment.
    • Pay factors ranging from expenses and revenue to total compensation at the global level.
    • Survey data, including participation, engagement details, historical trends and metric performance based on industry benchmarks.
  • Compensation Management: Reward employees based on achievements through salary planning, customizable compensation plans, merit rules and analytics. It supports targets based on units, flat amounts or a percentage of base pay.
  • Performance Management: Drive employee engagement and growth while giving managers insight into individual and team performance. Features include tracking dashboards, automated reviews, goals, achievement ratings and real-time feedback.
  • Surveys: Gather employee sentiment using AI, natural language processing and machine learning. They offer a question library, templates, mobile-friendly design, custom dashboards and curated improvement suggestions.
  • File Management: Organize and manage employee documents with a central repository along with role and type-based permissions. Templates automatically fill in employee details, and a compliance assist feature ensures global adherence.
  • Succession Management: Develop a talent pipeline, ensuring your employees are prepared to take on new roles. There are plans for any level in the company, alongside talent evaluation, predictive analytics, reporting and personal development tools.
  • Integration Hub: Support developers in enhancing the system through integrations by offering:
    • A collaborative community, a developer portal and APIs.
    • Sample code and instructional articles to speed up deployment.
    • A marketplace of product and service partners.
  • UKG Talk: Facilitate engagement and inclusivity within your organization by supporting various communication methods like:
    • Company-wide announcements.
    • Direct messaging.
    • Team group chats.
    • Employee feedback and participation through celebrations, idea collection and achievement recognition.
    • Provide actionable insights by measuring communication impact and engagement metrics.
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Why We Picked ADP Workforce Now

ADP Workforce Now is a popular PEO and HR solution for businesses that need a comprehensive HCM for payroll, time and attendance, benefits administration, reporting, and compliance assistance. It’s ideal for small teams, mid-sized organizations and larger businesses looking to improve their time tracking, ensure payroll accuracy and go paperless with document management.

Standout features include automated time tracking, collaborative scheduling, talent acquisition, configurable work rules, employee self service and data syncing.

Time and attendance features support productivity by ensuring proper staffing, tracking time via desktop or app, and providing time clocks or ADP® Kiosk access. Additionally, it supports online schedule management, time-off requests and approvals.

It also facilitates benefits administration, SmartCompliance, financial wellness support, and performance and compensation management, fostering a positive employee experience.

Additionally, ADP Workforce Now has AI capabilities that can automate repetitive tasks, analyze workforce data for insights, find tax forms, access company policies, and submit PTO requests through mobile devices or myADP. AI-driven analytics aid decision-making across key HR functions like recruiting, compliance and time management.

Users commend ADP's time tracking for its efficiency and user-friendly interface. However, some users report drawbacks, including customer service issues and a learning curve during implementation.

As a PEO, ADP offers assistance with workers' compensation, claims management and tax support in all 50 states.

Overall, ADP Workforce Now is an inclusive HR solution that provides essential features for payroll, time tracking, and HR management while also offering custom reports, automation and AI capabilities to all business sizes.

Pros & Cons

  • Users generally have positive feedback about ADP's time tracking, highlighting its ease of use for clocking in and out, viewing time cards, and requesting time off.
  • Users highlight quick access to paystubs from current and past jobs. They appreciate having all paystub information in one place and find it easy to download. There are also detailed breakdowns of earnings and deductions.
  • 60% of users appreciate reporting capabilities, particularly the custom reports feature, finding it helpful for generating tailored insights.
  • 64% of users find the system intuitive and user-friendly, praising easy navigation and accessibility of features.
  • While some users appreciate backend support, such as assistance with 401k information, 73% of users express frustration with customer service, citing long wait times.
  • 47% of users experienced a learning curve with features during implementation. Some users mention poor implementation support, leading to a confusing onboarding experience for employees.
  • 40% of users express reports have room for improvement, noting the reporting functionality can be complex and not intuitive enough, with limitations in filter prompts.
  • 36% of users note difficulties with integration between features and occasional slowness and feel that certain aspects are scattered.

Key Features

  • Payroll: Access employee pay data on a dashboard. Automate deductions for benefits and other compensation.
    • Manage tax filings and access historical pay summaries.
    • Prorate pay during a cycle or apply it to previous runs.
    • Identify payroll errors via warning notifications.
  • Time & Attendance: Offers tracking and scheduling capabilities with digital time clocking, visual schedules and clocks with finger scan functionality.
    • Facilitate absence management with absence analysis, leave tracking and more.
    • Secured Time Tracking: Reduce time theft (like buddy punching) with finger scanning, facial recognition and geofencing.
    • Time Tracking Options: Employees can clock in and out using their mobile device, kiosk app, web timesheet, tablet or smart time clock. The time kiosk application enables pin codes or facial recognition for an added layer of security.
    • Scheduling: Assign shifts and let employees swap as needed, reducing productivity bottlenecks. Configure scheduling work rules like max hours/days.
    • Scheduling by Skill: Ensure efficiency by matching specific employees to jobs based on their skills, licenses and certifications. Use skills-based scheduling to assign employees with the required language and training provisions.
    • Dashboards: View absences, schedules, hours worked and overtime. See timecard statuses to help wrap up time details without delaying payroll.
    • Time and Attendance Compliance: ADP’s compliance on-demand option gives clients access to a team of consultants for guidance on key practices. Access a content library with info on federal, state and local laws, and regulations.
  • Talent Management:
    • Recruiting and Hiring: Automatically create job descriptions and job postings. Offers screening, compliance mandates by location, hiring-practice guidance, credential verification and background check tools.
    • Management and Growth: View employee performance, deliver learning programs and offer leadership skill improvement tools. Reduce talent gaps and plan ahead with succession management.
  • Benefits Administration:
    • With ADP AE Snapshot™, managers can access employee metrics on enrollment preferences and decisions.
    • Access ranks of different plans, compare options, calculate and evaluate various scenarios, and configure plan selections with PlanFit.
    • Enroll and manage benefits through the mobile app.
    • Use eligibility, enrollment activity and plan summary reports.
  • ADP® DataCloud: Reference reliable industry data and compare company trends and data to information from similar organizations. Predict turnover and discover contributing factors using big data through Turnover Probability Explorer.
  • ADP® StandOut: Personalize digital coaching content and use 15-minute strength assessments. Offers:
    • Real-time team engagement, custom and performance pulse surveys.
    • Light-touch check-ins with employees.
    • Coaching intelligence and insights.
  • Learning Management: Allow employees to self-enroll for courses. Custom build or upload training content. Provides:
    • 41 pre-packaged compliance and development courses.
    • Course tracking dashboards.
    • Publishing and tracking of instructor-led training.
    • Online demos
  • HR Assist: Features include:
    • Federal and state compliance reporting, along with regulatory expertise and guidance.
    • Job description templates and wizards.
    • Employee handbook assistance.
    • HR doc library and toolkits with guides, forms, documents and policies.
    • ADP TotalSource®: Offers support for benefits, payroll, hiring and compliance across all 50 states. Has features like full-time recruiters, applicant tracking, ZipRecruiter integration, mobile-friendly career sites, background checks and onboarding.
  • Workforce Management: Effectively plan projects and assign tasks, even on the go. Managers can remotely view time off, hours worked and timecards. There’s also overtime and absence analytics and reporting for helpful insights.
  • Digital Record Keeping: Store confidential company data securely in the cloud. Upload data in batches to save time. Search and audit information.
  • Onboarding: Facilitate a fully integrated onboarding experience for new hires. Capabilities include:
    • Digital onboarding
    • Digital I-9 processing.
    • Identification of employee payment preferences.
    • Onboarding completion reminders.

Pricing

License/Subscription Cost
  • Based on recurring subscription fee model (monthly or annual)
  • Costs may vary depending on usage of the application, number of users and frequency of transactions
Maintenance Cost
  • Included in the subscription cost
  • Provides ongoing customer support through a dedicated customer support team to resolve issues quickly
Installation/Implementation Cost
  • Included in the upfront and subscription cost
Customization Cost
  • Will vary depending on the functional requirements such as configurable dashboards, type of data elements required for tracking, complexity of workflows and UI changes.
Data Migration Cost/Change Management/Upfront Switching Cost
  • Dependent on your current software, amount of data to be migrated, availability of migration tools, complexity of data and gaps between the existing system and the new system
Training Cost
  • Provides ongoing training and support for users, available with a service fee
  • Offers a Professional Employer Organization (PEO) option, where ADP handles responsibilities like payroll, benefits, regulatory compliance, workers’ compensation, claims management and tax support.
  • Provides HR services, including a helpdesk, HR checkups and strategic guidance
  • Organizations can take advantage of ADP’s outsourcing solutions for talent, pay and tax admin, compliance, strategic HR, and benefits admin
Recurring/Renewal Costs
  • A recurring monthly fee is charged at the beginning of each month, which typically includes maintenance, monitoring, upgrades, training and support
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Why We Picked Oracle HCM Cloud

According to our data, Oracle HCM Cloud leads in succession management, reporting, applicant tracking, and recruiting and payroll management.

Oracle HCM Cloud is tailored to meet diverse human capital management needs across various industries for businesses of all sizes. Users commonly appreciate its seamless integration capabilities and user-friendly mobile access. The platform's robust management features ensure reliable maintenance and security for data privacy.

However, initial setup can be challenging, requiring a learning curve for new users. Feedback from users highlights areas such as referral tracking, interview feedback workflows and job offer processes that lack customization options.

Additionally, some users have noted limitations in the reporting functionality, suggesting room for improvement in data analysis capabilities.

Oracle HCM Cloud operates on a pricing model starting from $4 per employee per month, making it accessible for varying business sizes. It offers a free trial for prospective users to explore before committing.

Training resources include live online sessions, videos and webinars. It also has comprehensive support options such as email, phone, chat, FAQs, forums, a help desk, knowledge base and a ticketing system. 24/7 live support ensures assistance is available whenever needed.

Industries commonly leveraging Oracle HCM Cloud include technology, finance, healthcare, manufacturing, and retail sectors, benefiting from its scalable solutions and tailored industry-specific functionalities.

Oracle HCM is well-regarded for its user-friendly interface, effective integration of HR functions, and strong customer support. It provides significant benefits in streamlining HR processes and enhancing data reliability.

In contrast, it struggles with customization, mobile application robustness and user communication. The quarterly release cycle can also be a hurdle for some organizations, though it typically becomes more manageable over time.

Organizations with robust in-house IT capabilities are particularly well-positioned to deploy and manage Oracle HCM Cloud effectively, maximizing its potential benefits for their HR management needs.

Pros & Cons

  • Usability: Oracle HCM is praised for its intuitive and visually appealing user interface, which makes it easy for beginners to learn and navigate. The system’s workflows streamline processes, enhancing productivity and minimizing non-value-added work.
  • Functionality and Integration: The tool excels in integrating various HR functions into a single platform, offering good connectivity and the ability to define and execute global templates. This integration supports enhanced analytics, real-time reporting and a unified HR experience across different countries.
  • Customer Support: The sales and technical teams are noted for their people-oriented approach and strong support. Oracle HCM has improved its customer engagement model and actively works to understand and respond to customer feedback.
  • Flexibility and Adaptability: The product's extensible configuration allows it to adapt to an organization’s specific needs, making it easier to tailor the application.
  • Customization Limits: While the system is generally flexible, it has limitations in areas such as user rights management and the ability to introduce new ideas to Oracle Development. There’s room for improvement in how user rights and areas of responsibility are managed.
  • Communication Inconsistency: There is a noted inconsistency in user communication within the app. For example, email notifications and other communication features vary in sophistication, affecting the overall customer experience.
  • Quarterly Releases: The frequency of updates (four times a year) is viewed as too frequent by some users, creating challenges in managing and implementing these updates effectively. While initially challenging, users generally adapt over time.

Key Features

  • Global Human Resources: The software streamlines global, local, and industry-specific needs, driving efficiency across cultures and countries. It offers work-life solutions, an HR help desk, a workforce directory, strategic planning, modeling, predictions, and payroll and benefits management.
  • Employee Information: Employees can manage their personal information, benefit enrollments, absences and leaves, as well as view reimbursement slips and total compensation.
  • Worker Lifecycle: This feature supports end-to-end employee management — hiring, management and termination — keeping applicable legislation and global practices in view.
  • Rule-Driven Processing: The suite helps manage unions, collective labor, worker agreements and policies while staying compliant.
  • Talent Management: The talent management cloud empowers talent lifecycle stages so employers can hire the right people, nurture growth and employee development, manage succession, and more.
  • AI Apps: Artificial intelligence and data-driven functionalities improve the candidate pool quality, increase employee engagement, decrease time to hire and optimize organizational processes.
  • Advanced HCM Controls: This function helps control exception workflows, automate analysis to comply with privacy regulations like GDPR and prevent payroll errors.
  • Workforce Management: Workforce management solutions help talent managers build an agile workforce through effortless time and labor tracking, time calculation, cost control, and managed compliance risks.
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Why We Picked Zoho People

Zoho People is a good solution for growing companies as it supports businesses of all sizes and is easy to use. The ability to create and add custom modules, using tabs and forms, is a noteworthy functionality. The biggest drawback at this time is the absence of payroll and recruiting modules. It also suffers from bugs and has an under-featured mobile app. However, it’s time and performance management capabilities have a lot to offer. All in all, it’s a good value for the price with some great features and benefits, best for companies that don’t mind using third-party payroll and recruitment solutions.

Pros & Cons

  • Easy to Use: 64% of users who refer to the UI indicated that it’s user-friendly, which makes it easier for new users to adapt to the platform.
  • Customization: Great levels of customization, especially with forms, are available, according to 75% of reviews mentioning customization.
  • PTO and Timesheet: All reviewers who reference this element found that Zoho People is a good tool for managing PTO and timesheets for employees.
  • Performance Management: All reviewers who mention this feature stated that the tool allows managers to handle the performance of several employees individually, with specific reports for all critical metrics.
  • Inability to Edit: According to 100% of reviews referencing this feature, all editing is controlled by the administrator, preventing individuals from doing even basic edits such as for personal details.
  • System Bugs: 85% of users mentioning this aspect observed the presence of bugs, some of which affect essential features and cause the mobile app to crash.
  • Ineffective Mobile App: The mobile app doesn’t have all features of the web version, and it’s difficult to find details such as certificates and documents or upload new documents, according to 100% of reviews referring to the app.
  • Lacks Recruitment and Payroll: According to 80% of reviewers that mention this shortcoming, the lack of payroll and recruitment tools requires users to find another solution in addition to Zoho People, which can be cumbersome and unfeasible.

Key Features

  • Employee Database Management: Zoho People provides a central database for managing employee information. You can split people into groups, bulk add employees, and centralize records from different countries. It also includes an org tree and communication tools for group or department collaboration. Automatic syncing between the platform and other integrated systems ensures data accuracy and eliminates manual entry. 
  • Leave Management: The software allows you to customize leave management rules for simplified calculation of PTO, rollovers and more. It also supports a global workforce with configuration options for different regional holidays. Different views let employees quickly see their leave data and automatic scheduling tools allow you to convert absences into leaves for administrative purposes. 
  • Analytics: Reports and dashboards provide insights into every aspect of HR management. You can track metrics like turnover, hiring vs. attrition, growth rates, tasks, employee counts, time logs and more. 
  • Performance Management: The system supports feedback from multiple sources for more accurate assessments. It also facilitates review cycles where employees and managers can engage in 360-degree feedback. Tagging allows employees to show what skills they have, which you can then match with job requirements. Key Resulting Areas (KRAs), goal setting and tracking, and skills work together to reveal performance, and you can use competency ratings to evaluate employees. Finally, analysis and reporting tools reveal performance insights. 
  • Mobile App: Native apps for iOS and Android devices support all HR functions, giving users full capability anywhere. Many actions only require a single click to complete. 
  • Case Management: With this feature, your organization can handle all cases and requests created by employees. You can build categories and include documents such as FAQs and policies for easy access. Comment functionality within individual cases removes the need for email exchanges, and you can manage other case details directly from each case’s tab. 
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Why We Picked SuccessFactors

SuccessFactors provides full integration with all HR modules and can connect to other SAP solutions, such as finance to materials. With extensive customization, integration and analytics, it can be of great use for planning, developing and implementing HR strategies.

According to our analysts, SAP SuccessFactors scores a 79, leading in applicant tracking and recruiting, document management, and succession management.

It includes AI-assisted screening, LinkedIn applicant prospecting, automated tax documents, succession planning, offline course access and employee lifecycle tracking, helping HR cover core tasks today and plan for the future.

It’s gotten praise for its strong support team, which is responsive and customer-focused, although users sometimes experience delays in resolving issues. The platform excels as a comprehensive HR solution, integrating various functions into a single system that streamlines processes and reduces costs.

While there's a learning curve for most, the majority found it worth the work to centralize all things HR, especially with its AI capabilities. Recent updates have improved the UI design, though some users indicate growing pains with release-related glitches and complex integrations.

SAP SuccessFactors pricing starts at $10 per user per month with a free trial.

SuccessFactors makes recruitment easier with tools for job postings, tracking candidates, evaluating resumes and managing interviews. Its AI-assisted screening matches candidates to job requirements more efficiently.

The onboarding module speeds up the process for new hires by automating paperwork, setting up training and ensuring a smoother transition into the company. Overall, SuccessFactors helps identify and nurture internal talent for future leadership roles, creating a smooth succession plan and minimizing the impact of turnover.

Pros & Cons

  • Support Quality: The support team is highly regarded for its responsiveness and customer service. It’s praised for being helpful and treating customers well, although there can be occasional wait times for resolution.
  • One-Stop-Shop for HR: Most users appreciate the system's ability to integrate various HR functions into a single platform, which can streamline processes and reduce the total cost of ownership (TCO).
  • Goal Setting Flexibility: The learning module is seen as robust and flexible, making it easy to set and manage goals. Users can select from a library of goals or add their own, which facilitates effective goal setting and tracking.
  • Recruitment Management: According to most users, the recruitment module eases the entire process, including job postings, candidate selection, resume evaluation, interview scheduling and offer management. The applicant tracking and AI-assisted screening features were noted for improving time to hire.
  • Getting Started: Many find SAP SuccessFactors complex, especially for new users. The system is described as intricate and sophisticated, leading to a steep initial learning curve.
  • Reporting Woes: Users find the reporting options pretty restricted, with not much room to customize dashboards and reports. This lack of flexibility makes it tough to tailor reports to fit specific needs.
  • User Experience and Interface: The user interface (UI) has received mixed feedback. Some users feel it's outdated and clunky, with hiccups like confusing time-off calculations and cumbersome goal-setting processes.
  • Updates: While the support team is effective at troubleshooting integration issues, some users have experienced release-related breakdowns. On the flip side, other users noted recent updates have improved the UI, making it easier to navigate with new icons and better drill-downs.

Key Features

  • Joule: Use a virtual assistant to guide employees through the feedback process with easy-to-follow steps and prompts. Joule lets employees update their info right away (like location and working hours) without bouncing around multiple screens. It also streamlines promotion requests by guiding managers through the process and setting effective dates.
  • Automatic Tax Document Generation: Generate essential tax documents automatically, reducing administrative workload and ensuring compliance with tax regulations.
  • Payroll: Simplify payroll with automated pay calculations while ensuring compliance with both local and international rules to function globally. Plus, the self-service option lets employees easily access their information.
  • Time and Attendance Management: Automate time-consuming tasks like calculating hours worked and managing absences to make scheduling more efficient.
  • Recruiting and Onboarding: Create profiles, apply for jobs and track applications through a career portal. Employees can share openings and earn rewards for referrals. Recruiters can manage interviews based on candidate availability and location and provide a personalized onboarding experience.
  • Learning and Development: Use the earning management system (LMS) for all your learning needs, from succession planning to career development. It handles assessments, offline courses, training schedules, and tracking employee progress and course completion.
  • Performance and Compensation: Track employee performance to find top talent while providing feedback to help your team set and achieve goals. Reward employees with compensation programs and keep your numbers in line with budget modeling.
  • Workforce Planning: Modeling and analysis features provide insight into financials and scenario-based outcomes. Allocate resources effectively with budget planning, anticipate staffing requirements with workforce forecasting and reduce schedule conflicts with alerts.
  • Personalized Recommendations: The benefits plan recommendation tool offers a personalized ranking of benefits plans, providing employees with tailored recommendations to better meet their specific needs.
  • HR Analytics: Understand your company's data with insights on performance, turnover, diversity and more. Benchmark against peers and analyze HR data in detail. Use dashboards and reports to identify issues and spot trends.
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Why We Picked Dayforce

Dayforce, a popular AI-powered HCM solution, caters to businesses across various industries on a global scale. It’s perfect for large teams and companies needing a scalable and adaptable platform. Most of its features are user-friendly, making it relatively easy to learn and navigate.

Dayforce stands out with its mobile time-off requests, smart benefit enrollment recommendations, TeamRelate, Dayforce Wallet and automated payroll calculations. It also offers robust support for day-to-day operations, including reports and dashboards, org charts, shift trades, and compliance.

The mobile app and self-service platform give employees the freedom to handle tasks like accessing pay stubs, viewing schedules, and submitting time-off requests independently, which reduces the need for admin intervention.

Dayforce tackles common HR challenges like managing varied payroll and compliance needs, dealing with tricky reporting, and making employee self-service easier. While users appreciate its mobile features and schedule management, they’ve mentioned that reporting can be a bit complex and time-consuming, sometimes leading to long waits for customer support.

The demo reveals a comprehensive hub serving as a centralized dashboard, providing news updates, team objectives, pending tasks, and recommended applications like performance management and recruiting.

Personally, I thought the scheduling module looked a little cluttered/complicated for beginners, but you can use filters to narrow down results and make it look less busy/cleaner.

Payroll processing demands a hawk's eye when it comes to details. I thought Dayforce had a reasonably straightforward payroll design.

Engagement surveys offer compact insights into employee sentiment and effectiveness, while customizable dashboards and scorecards display key metrics on workforce dynamics, such as availability, recruitment metrics, and turnover rates.

Automated alerts and integration with job boards enhance recruiting, and self-service features support career development, HR and benefits enrollment.

The chatbot provided a brief welcome and directed me to the Help Center after I chose support. The chat ended there, and I encountered the issue of the conversation not clearing when the page was reopened.

Pricing is competitive, based on user numbers and selected modules (charged per month).

Overall, Dayforce is a comprehensive HCM software that effectively supports managing people, pay and compliance.

Pros & Cons

  • Easy PTO Tracking: Dayforce simplifies requesting and viewing PTO and tracking employee hours.
  • User-Friendly Interface and Features: Dayforce receives praise for being easy to set up and navigate.
  • Comprehensive: Dayforce is effective for managing payroll, benefits, and workforce management (WFM), providing real-time data and streamlined record-keeping. Custom reporting, time management and compensation planning are highlighted as strong features.
  • Consistency: The system integrates well across various functions such as HR, payroll, and time management, helping to consolidate processes and improve efficiency.
  • Reporting: Report creation can be cumbersome and not very user-friendly. The ability to convert fixed reports into customizable formats and access more diverse formats is limited.
  • Outdated Employee Self-Service: Some users found this feature outdated without improved auditing and traceability features for payroll elections.
  • Frequent Updates: Some updates lead to slow down and create a learning curve for some users.
  • Implementation Process: Users reported implementation can have high up-front costs, take longer than expected and cause frustration.
  • Customer Support: Users experienced long response times and additional fees.

Key Features

  • Core HR: Centralize employee info, manage performance, carry out recruiting, oversee payroll and get reports for data-driven decision-making.
  • Employee Self-Service (ESS): Let users enroll in benefits, view pay details, update personal information, access learning resources and stay current on announcements.
  • Payroll: Roll out a variety of payroll tasks, including tax management, employee verification and data entry for unique situations like retroactive payments. Dashboards provide insights and reporting tools support payroll reconciliation.
  • Benefits: Fast track enrollment by letting employees independently enroll for coverage. Admins can access enrollment totals, a library of qualification rules, on-demand calculations and streamlined COBRA management. It also integrates with hundreds of carriers and incorporates features to ensure ACA compliance.
  • Talent Management: Manage every phase of an employee lifecycle, from recruiting and onboarding to succession planning. Track performance in a holistic view, plan budgets effectively and reskill current employees with AI talent tools.
  • Workforce Management: Process payroll, manage sick days or vacation time, and view reports on key trends like spending for proactive planning.
  • Compliance Support: Safeguard sensitive information with role-based access and ease multi-jurisdictional tax filings with tax services for federal, state and local jurisdictions.
  • Customer Support: Get help with questions and concerns through live chat or phone. Access additional resources on the website like the help center and webinars.
  • Dayforce Wallet: Provide employees access to their earned wages before payday. This flexibility improves financial wellness and reduces employee stress associated with waiting for a paycheck. It also provides functionalities such as budgeting tools and financial planning resources. Note: The amount available depends on completed shifts and standard transfer time is between 1-3 business days. Faster transfers require additional fees.
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Why We Picked Netchex

Netchex is a cloud-based HR management software that has garnered positive user reviews, particularly for its user-friendly interface, comprehensive features, and affordability. Users appreciate the ease of accessing their data and managing daily tasks, along with the abundance of training videos available. The dedicated service team assigned to each client ensures personalized support and familiarity with individual accounts. Netchex effectively integrates and automates various HR processes, such as recruiting, hiring, onboarding, and payroll, allowing businesses to focus on other priorities.

However, some users have reported challenges with Netchex. Setting up the software can be difficult, and customer support responsiveness can be inconsistent. Several users have noted limitations in the payroll feature's flexibility, requiring additional time and effort to manipulate data. Issues with the biometric clock feature, including problems uploading punches, have also been reported. While Netchex frequently introduces innovative product offerings, delays in development and testing can leave users waiting for anticipated features. Occasional glitches and automatic logouts have caused disruptions for some users.

Despite these drawbacks, Netchex remains a solid choice for businesses seeking a comprehensive HR management solution, especially those that value ease of use and affordability. However, businesses requiring a more straightforward and user-friendly HR solution may want to explore alternative options. Ultimately, the suitability of Netchex depends on the specific needs and priorities of each business.

Pros & Cons

  • Payroll Functions: Netchex's payroll features are frequently praised for their user-friendly interface and efficiency. The platform also offers automated tax calculations and filings, which can save HR professionals valuable time and reduce the risk of errors.
  • Benefits Administration: Netchex simplifies the complex task of benefits administration. The platform allows HR teams to easily manage employee benefits, including health insurance, retirement plans, and paid time off. This streamlined approach can improve efficiency and accuracy in benefits management.
  • HR and Compliance: Netchex provides tools and resources to help businesses maintain compliance with labor laws and regulations. The platform offers features such as document management, employee handbooks, and compliance reporting, which can assist HR teams in staying up-to-date with ever-changing regulations.
  • Reporting and Analytics: Netchex offers robust reporting and analytics capabilities, empowering HR professionals with valuable insights into their workforce. The platform provides customizable reports on various HR metrics, such as employee turnover, payroll costs, and benefits utilization. These insights can inform strategic decision-making and improve HR operations.
  • Customer Service: Users report challenges in getting timely and effective support from Netchex's customer service team, leading to frustration and unresolved issues.
  • System Glitches: Frequent system glitches and errors disrupt workflows and cause inconvenience for users, impacting productivity and efficiency.
  • User Interface: The user interface is often described as clunky and outdated, making it difficult to navigate and find necessary information quickly.
  • Reporting: Generating reports can be cumbersome, and the customization options may not meet the specific needs of all businesses.

Key Features

  • Integrated Payroll Services: Aggregate all information into one platform to eliminate user error and simplify paying out. One login provides access to any account or additional service within the platform. 
  • Mobile App: Make changes to payments and deductions while having access to payroll reports via smartphone. Access individualized payment details and history from anywhere in the world with the flexibility of a smartphone. 
  • Training: Find tutorials for set-up, use and troubleshooting in the employee, administrator and manager support portals. Read blogs and step-by-step video guides for all elements of payroll and HR management. 
  • Flexible Changes: Adjust payroll, make exceptions and correct errors from within the payroll grid without backtracking or losing progress. 
  • Preview Processing: Alert managers with exceptions and pre-processing reports to warn of any errors or abnormalities before paying out. View net and gross pay data and analysis for each pay period, fixing costly mistakes before you even make them. 
  • Integrated Taxes: Withdraw local, state and federal filing automatically. Keep up with ever-changing tax laws and run quarterly tax statements and W-2 previews. 
  • Paycards: Use the Skylight PayOptions Program from Netspend to offer payroll cards giving workers instant access to payment. Give employees instant access to pay while saving money by eliminating paper checks. 
  • Other Services: Integrate HR, time and attendance and benefits, all within the existing platform. Run time collection, scheduling, and COBRA compliance in one robust software to simplify all HR needs. 
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Key Features

  • Single System of Record: PeopleStrategy is built as a unified platform. All data is stored in one central location, so it’s easily accessible and any changes made automatically reflect across the system. This reduces errors caused by needing to enter the same set of data more than once. It also provides a searchable directory of employees. 
  • Performance Evaluation: The performance module lets you trade paper reviews for digital tools. Employees can go through a self-review and rate their performance. Then managers can include their own rating and compare the two side by side. It also supports e-signature for completed reviews, configuration of performance criteria and automatic notifications for tasks. 
  • Communication Portal: You can share important company news and announcements with this feature. For example, posting educational materials and links to benefits plan information to help employees select the right coverage. 
  • Career Site: PeopleStrategy allows organizations to create configurable, branded career sites for external and internal use. You can view applicant documents, sort candidates, schedule interviews and more. The career sites come with single sign?on capability. 
  • Job Posts: With this feature, you can create job requisitions and descriptions, which can then be posted to hundreds of job sites in a single click using Job Target. 
  • Background Checks: Through a partnership with InquireHire, PeopleStrategy offers integrated background screening as part of the talent acquisition module. You can check criminal history, conduct drug tests, verify education and certifications, and screen candidates for tax credits among other things. 
  • Managed Services: PeopleStrategy offers access to experts who can help minimize risk of non-compliance. Their range of support covers benefits administration support and compliance services, including COBRA administration, EEO reporting and more. 
  • Security: PeopleStrategy exercises security in several ways. As a hosted application, it’s delivered from two different data centers that have strong security measures in place. It’s also SSAE-16 certified. 
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Why We Picked Paycom

Paycom users in the past year have expressed both enthusiasm and concerns about the software. Many praise its user-friendly interface, mobile app convenience, and comprehensive feature set, which includes payroll, HR, benefits administration, and talent management. Compared to competitors, users find Paycom to be more intuitive and integrated, streamlining HR processes and saving time. Additionally, customer service is often lauded as responsive and helpful. However, some drawbacks are also mentioned. Implementation can be complex and require significant initial effort. Pricing concerns surface, with Paycom perceived as costlier than some competitors. While offering a wider range of features, this may not be necessary for all businesses, leading to potential overpaying for unused functionalities. Overall, Paycom seems to be a powerful and user-friendly option for companies seeking a one-stop HR and payroll solution. However, its complexity and cost warrant careful consideration, especially for smaller businesses or those with simpler needs. Comparing features and pricing with competitors is crucial to ensure Paycom aligns with your specific requirements and budget.

Pros & Cons

  • User-Friendly: 85% of reviews mentioning the interface noted the platform has an intuitive layout, with all features organized and easy to locate.
  • Customer Service: Customer support is highly responsive, as asserted by 100% of reviews referencing it.
  • Employee Self-Services: All users referring to self-service observed that employees can easily upload documents, view information and track performance.
  • Performance Reviews: An open dialogue tool makes employee performance reviews more effective, as indicated by 70% of reviews mentioning this feature.
  • Use Anywhere: The mobile app is easy to use and has all desktop features available, as asserted by 100% reviews on this feature.
  • Customization: Customization for most features helps cater to a company’s unique requirements, as noted by all reviews on product customization.
  • Login Process: All reviews on the login process observed that employees need to log in every time they open the software, as there’s no password save feature.
  • Challenging Transition: Transitioning between the client and employee side is challenging and cumbersome, as users need to log in to both systems, according to all reviews on this aspect.
  • Learning Curve: All users reviewing learning noted that the platform has a steep learning curve, making adaptation difficult for new users.
  • Integration Capabilities: The system doesn't provide integration with major third-party platforms without using SFTP or API, as indicated by 100% of reviews on this feature.

Key Features

  • Applicant Tracking System (ATS): Build customizable databases to view relevant applicant information and track candidates as they move through the application process. Managers can search and sort applicants by information such as degree, specific skill sets, work history and more. 
  • Compensation Management: Define budgets, award bonuses and integrate with payroll to ensure that all employees receive fair compensation without overspending. 
  • Job Posting: Allows managers to post open positions to thousands of job boards. Managers can also rely on recruitment data to build reports to determine if their recruiting efforts are working. 
  • Payroll: Calculate taxes, process payroll, account for employee expenses and more, directly through the platform. Automate payroll processing, ensuring that employees are always paid the accurate amount at the correct time. 
  • Performance Management: Schedule and facilitate employee performance appraisals directly through the platform. 
  • Reporting: Leverage Paycom’s built-in analytics to generate reports on a variety of processes, including payroll, time and attendance, compensation and more. 
  • Scheduling: Create and edit employee schedules and approve requests for time off through the system’s calendar. Automate time tracking and integrate with payroll to streamline pay processing. 

COMPARE THE BEST Benefits Administration Software

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Employment Hero

by Employment Hero
Employment Hero
Employment Hero is a comprehensive software solution designed to streamline Human Resources tasks, including payroll, recruitment, onboarding, performance management, and employee engagement. It is particularly well-suited for small to medium-sized businesses seeking to automate and simplify their HR processes, thereby enhancing efficiency and compliance. The platform offers significant benefits such as reducing administrative burdens, improving employee satisfaction, and ensuring regulatory compliance. Popular features include automated payroll processing, integrated recruitment tools, customizable onboarding workflows, and performance review systems. Users often appreciate the intuitive interface and robust reporting capabilities, which provide valuable insights into workforce metrics. Compared to similar products, Employment Hero is frequently praised for its user-friendly design and comprehensive feature set, making it a preferred choice for many businesses. Pricing details for Employment Hero can vary based on the specific needs and size of the organization. It is recommended to contact SelectHub for a tailored pricing quote. This ensures that businesses receive the most accurate and relevant information for their unique requirements.
User Sentiment User satisfaction level icon: excellent
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$10 or less
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Buyer's Guide

Benefits Administration Software Is All About Automating the Process of Managing Employee Benefits and Eligibility

Benefits Administration Software BG Intro

Whether you're running a small business or a large enterprise, benefits administration software is your secret weapon for easily managing employee benefits and eligibility. It's the ultimate solution to streamline your benefits processes, boost employee satisfaction, and ensure compliance, all within your in-house HR software.

In this guide, we'll dive deep into the world of benefits administration software. We'll explore its core benefits, essential features, smart comparison strategies, pricing considerations, top software options, key questions to ask and your next steps toward efficient benefits management.

Executive Summary

  • Benefits administration software streamlines employee benefits program management, handling tasks like enrollment, contribution tracking, regulatory compliance, and easy employee access to benefit details.
  • Selecting the ideal benefits administration software requires thoroughly evaluating your specific software needs, considering factors like time constraints and budgetary considerations.
  • To make an informed decision and ensure successful implementation, it's essential to ask pertinent questions, both internally and externally. This approach will enable you to conduct a robust analysis of the various options available in the market and choose the product that best aligns with your needs.
What This Guide Covers:

What Is Benefits Administration Software?

A benefits administration software is a comprehensive solution designed to streamline the management of employee benefits programs. It helps businesses efficiently handle benefits enrollment, track employee contributions, manage compliance with regulatory requirements, and provide employees with easy access to their benefits information.

Selecting the Right Deployment Approach for Benefits Administration Software

As you’re hunting for the ideal benefits administration software, it's crucial to consider your deployment options and your choice’s underlying reasons. You’ll likely have two deployment methods to choose from, each with unique advantages:

  • On-premise deployment: This approach involves hosting the software on your company's local servers. While it may not be the most cost-effective solution for small and mid-sized businesses, on-premise deployment offers unparalleled customization capabilities, allowing you to tailor the software to align perfectly with your company's specific requirements and industry regulations.
  • Web-based deployment (cloud-based or SaaS): Web-based deployment, often called cloud-based or software-as-a-service (SaaS), grants your company access to the software through the cloud. About half of all businesses opt for this approach due to its convenience and cost-effectiveness.

Additionally, benefits administration software often integrates with larger HR or human capital management (HCM) software suites.

This holistic approach enables you to craft optimized employee benefits packages while efficiently tracking company expenses related to employee welfare.

However, it's essential to note that standalone solutions, known as point solutions, often excel in terms of functionality depth and expertise by focusing their resources and development efforts exclusively on refining and enhancing a specific area. This narrow approach results in a high level of proficiency.

Primary Benefits

In the dynamic landscape of modern HR management, benefits administration software is the unsung hero, silently revolutionizing how organizations manage employee benefits programs.

From efficient enrollment processes to data-driven decision-making, let’s break down how this software reshapes how HR teams operate and how employees experience their benefits.

Primary Benefits of Benefits Administration

Efficient Employee Enrollment

Benefits administration software simplifies benefits enrollment, allowing employees to select and manage their benefits effortlessly, saving time, reducing errors and ensuring employees get the coverage they need.

Accurate Reporting and Analytics

With robust reporting and analytics tools, businesses gain valuable insights into their benefits programs. Track costs, participation rates, and employee preferences to make data-driven decisions that optimize your benefits offerings.

Streamlined Compliance Management

Staying compliant with changing benefits regulations is a complex task. Benefits administration software automates compliance tracking, ensuring your benefits programs adhere to local and federal laws. This proactive approach minimizes the risk of penalties and legal issues.

Key Features & Functionality

Benefits administration software isn't just a solution; it's a comprehensive toolkit designed to simplify and elevate your HR operations. From empowering employees through self-service portals to ensuring regulatory compliance with automated tracking, these capabilities are the gears turning the engine of efficient benefits management.

Employee Self-Service

Employee self-service portal empowers employees to easily manage their benefits themselves, reducing administrative burdens on HR teams. Whether it’s comprehensive plan details, reviewing coverage options and making necessary adjustments, self-service portals free up your HR team to focus on other duties.

Compliance Management

Ensure compliance with local and federal benefits regulations effortlessly, including but not limited to HIPAA, ACA, and FMLA. The software updates you on changing laws, automates compliance-related tasks and generates accurate reports for audits. Automated alerts for impending compliance deadlines add an invaluable layer of convenience.

Enrollment Management

Your workers need their benefits, but manually enrolling everyone can be incredibly time-consuming. Enrollment management lets employees enroll in and manage their benefits independently, quickly and easily. It includes options for adding dependents, selecting coverage levels, and making changes during life events.

Carrier Connectivity

Seamless integration capabilities with insurance carriers and benefit providers are pivotal for efficiency. The software should facilitate electronic data exchange with these stakeholders, streamlining the premium billing, claims processing, and eligibility verification process. Automating these tasks reduces manual data entry and minimizes the margin of error.

Reporting and Analytics

Your benefits administration software should have robust reporting tools to provide administrators with comprehensive insights into benefits utilization, costs and employee preferences.

These tools should be customizable, enabling HR teams to generate reports encompassing various facets of benefits administration. These insights are invaluable for making informed decisions and optimizing benefit offerings.

Software Comparison Strategy

Selecting the right benefits administration software demands a strategic approach that prioritizes your employees' well-being while aligning with your organization's financial considerations and policies. Here's a step-by-step guide to help you make an informed choice:

  • Assess Your Needs: Begin by engaging in comprehensive discussions about your company's benefits administration expectations and create a requirements checklist. Identify key organizational stakeholders across all tiers, including HR administrators, operations and employees.
  • Evaluate Current Solutions: Benchmark your existing solution, if any, against available options in the market. Compare its strengths and weaknesses with the available alternatives.
  • Define Must-Have Features: Categorize essential features and functionalities for a clear criteria list. Distinguish between must-have and optional features.
  • Shortlist Potential Vendors: Identify vendors aligning closely with your requirements, considering factors like scalability and user-friendliness.
  • Assess Cost-Benefit Ratio: Evaluate the cost-effectiveness of each vendor, comparing pricing structures against offered features and benefits.
  • Schedule Demos and Seek Clarifications: Before finalizing your choice, schedule product demonstrations with selected vendors, addressing questions about functionality, customization and support.

By following this approach, you'll confidently navigate the benefits administration software landscape.

Cost & Pricing Considerations

Investing in benefits administration software is a pivotal decision, and smart budgeting is paramount. According to Zylo, waste is rampant in SaaS companies — to the tune of 44% of licenses going unused on average in 2023. To avoid wasting your hard-earned capital and ensure a seamless financial alignment, keep these factors in mind:

  • Per-Employee-Per-Month (PEPM) Costs: With PEPM pricing, you'll pay a set amount for each employee monthly. Note that this cost typically doesn't cover services like ACA reporting and employee call center support.
  • Implementation Fees: Expect setup fees, usually ranging from 5% to 20% of the annual PEPM cost. Also, consider possible charges for carrier integration.
  • Bundle Pricing: If you're considering benefits administration as part of a comprehensive HR suite, remember that the entire solution will likely be bundled.
  • Additional Services: Don't overlook the potential costs of extra services. When negotiating with a vendor, be aware of possible charges for services like data integration with your existing core HR suite, FSAs, HSAs, HRAs, billing services, employee call center support, COBRA administration, ACA tracking and reporting, and plan decision support tools. Some services may also come with implementation fees, and vendors may require you to include them alongside their products.
  • Scalability and Flexibility: Consider how changes in your workforce size, switching benefits providers or introducing new benefits programs impact your overall costs.

The Most Popular Benefits Administration Software

With so many options on the market, picking the right benefits administration software can be like finding a needle in a haystack. We’ve done the heavy lifting for you, narrowing down a few of the highest-rated benefits management software options to ease your search:

Workday HCM

Workday HCM is a SaaS solution offering a unified platform to streamline your HR processes. Its suite of modules helps organizations operate globally, run payroll, administer benefits, manage talent and facilitate learning, making managing the entire employee life cycle a breeze.

Designed to cater to both medium-sized enterprises and large corporations, Workday HCM has built-in audit tools and robust security capabilities. It also offers mobile apps for easy, flexible access on the go.

Workday HCM

A look at Workday HCM’s benefits management dashboard.

UKG Pro

UKG Pro is a web-based HR powerhouse that excels in core HR capabilities. It goes beyond basic functions, using advanced AI, machine learning and predictive analytics to empower decision-making and enhance overall employee performance.

At its core, UKG Pro delivers a unified suite of HR functions that cater to various sectors like health care, hospitality, manufacturing and more.

UKG Pro

A look into UKG Pro’s payroll management module.

ADP Workforce Now

ADP Workforce Now is a cloud-based platform for handling payroll, time and attendance, talent management, benefits administration, and other HR processes. It enables organizations to manage the complexities of the employee life cycle efficiently. Built on a single, configurable database, it facilitates data syncing across different departments to reduce manual entry and data errors.

It’s embedded with protective layers such as physical security, intelligent detection, fraud defense, and other enhanced security and data privacy mechanisms.

ADP Workforce Now

A look at ADP Workforce Now’s internal pay profile dashboard.

 

 

Questions To Ask

As you embark on this journey, ask yourself these key questions:

  • What’s your budget?
  • How many employees will use the software?
  • Do you have in-house technical resources for implementation and maintenance?
  • What are the issues with your current process or software, and how can a new system solve them?
  • Which features are essential to address the pain points you’ve identified?

Benefits Administration Key Questions To Ask

When comparing vendors, ask:

  • How many years of industry-specific experience do you have?
  • What are your customer support and training options?
  • Is the software customizable to our needs?
  • How does data security work?
  • What are the integration capabilities?
  • What are the software’s core strengths and weaknesses?

Next Steps

Selecting the ideal benefits administration software is pivotal in enhancing employee benefits management. Your choice is the linchpin for ensuring a seamless benefits experience, from enrollment to ongoing management.

The good news is that finding the perfect benefits administration software doesn't have to be overwhelming. With a well-researched list of requirements and a thorough evaluation of various software solutions, you can simplify the selection process and make an informed decision. Your HR team and employees will reap the rewards.

Ready to take the next step? Explore our free, comprehensive comparison report. This interactive tool empowers you to compare product ratings, read user reviews, and assess feature requirements side by side. You can also request pricing details and demos for your top choices, putting you on the path to efficient benefits administration. Make the right move for your organization today!

Product Comparisons

Additional Resources

About The Contributors

The following expert team members are responsible for creating, reviewing, and fact checking the accuracy of this content.

Technical Content Writer
As a SelectHub Technical Writer, Olivia Edens loves helping readers navigate through the world of HR, payroll, field service, PSA, and time and attendance software. Olivia earned a B.A. in English from the University of Phoenix. When she's not researching or editing, she loves rewatching The Office, scootering around the city and taking her cat for a walk. Fun fact: In high school, she won an award for most ideas per minute.
Technical Research By Nithin Shetty
Senior Analyst
With experience in research and consulting going back to 2015, Nithin Shetty is an asset to SelectHub's research team. In his Senior Research Analyst role, he works on projects in categories like HR, CRM, EHR and ERP. He's also a big movie buff and sports fan. When he isn't watching his favorite film or game, he's usually volunteering his free time to causes like blood drives and environmental cleanup.
Technical Review By Jaisri Narasimman
Principal Analyst
A graduate of NTU Singapore, Jaisri Narasimman honed her data mining and curation skills during her post-graduate education, focusing on developing strategies to help businesses make the most of their data. In her role at SelectHub, her research spans categories like HR, CRM and EHR.
Edited By Joe Evans
Content Editor
Joe Evans is an Editor and Senior Market Analyst at SelectHub. A seasoned professional wordsmith, he has a bachelor's degree in journalism and electronic media and a decade of professional expertise in crafting top-tier digital content for niche online brands. He leads his small yet formidable team in producing helpful, compelling content in vital categories like HR, payroll, talent management, performance management, marketing automation home health, MES. When not editing and writing, he enjoys sports, quality time with family and dogs, and remains constantly in pursuit of something new and interesting to read or listen to.