Beyond a salary, employers must provide mandatory & supplemental benefits to their employees. Benefits administration means managing these benefits. Learn more.
Organizations across the globe are competing for the world’s top talent. To do so, companies with a competitive edge offer excellent benefits packages. However, benefits administration is not just about standing out from the competition. There are also mandatory benefits that organizations must offer employees for regulatory compliance.
Let’s take a look at various types of benefits and how you can manage benefits for global employees.
Benefits administration is managing the various benefits that your organization offers to employees. It’s not enough to just offer a benefits package — offering a benefits plan requires a process. You need to first design it, communicate with vendors, and then help employees access these benefits.
Typically, either the internal HR team or a third-party organization will manage your benefits program. The goal is to optimize costs without sacrificing employee well-being. Another crucial objective is to comply with legal requirements in your jurisdiction.
There are also two types of benefits — statutory and optional.
Statutory benefits are mandated by the government. Each country sets out its own labor laws, which have a list of benefits employers must provide for their workers. These generally include things like social insurance, medical insurance, and retirement plans.
In addition to statutory benefits, most companies also offer a supplemental benefits package. This helps you compete for top talent in an increasingly fierce hiring market. Here are some of the benefits a supplemental package may include.
When you or a third party manages benefits, there are several key steps to keep in mind.
1. Plan & Design
Your company, usually human resources, should select the benefits to offer employees. This may include anything from medical and dental insurance to retirement plans and fun perks. Your plan should include who is eligible, the coverage you will provide, and other features of the benefits package.
2. Enroll Employees and Communicate Their Benefits
Benefits administrators should educate employees on what benefits are available to them. They should also help employees through the enrollment process. To help familiarize employees with your benefits offering, consider distributing benefit guides and organizing employee education sessions.
3. Manage Enrollments
Once the benefits system is in place, it will require continuous management. You’ll need to enroll new employees and remove those who leave the organization from the roster. You’ll also need to coordinate with insurance providers to ensure correct enrollments and records.
4. Compliance and Regulatory Requirements
Benefits administration involves ensuring compliance with applicable laws and regulations. This will vary by country, so you’ll need to be aware of local entities that manage employee benefits. That usually includes state pension funds, public health providers, and often tax bureaus.
5. Vendor Management
In addition to public entities, you’ll need to liaise with insurance carriers and other service providers. Your interactions may include negotiation, sign-ups, resolving any issues that may arise, and generally making sure that everything runs smoothly.
6. Claims Management
Benefits administrators oversee benefit claims. This is a time-consuming task with many stakeholders involved. You may also need to respond to employee questions and help them properly fill out claims to receive the benefits they deserve.
7. Ongoing Benefits Support
Last but not least, benefits administrators provide ongoing support to employees. They answer questions and concerns as well as inform employees of any changes to the benefits structure. Benefits administrators serve as a point of contact for employees, advocating for their needs and ensuring a positive benefits experience.
Borderless helps you compliantly onboard and retain top talent from around the world. We help you craft the perfect benefits package for your employees across 170+ countries. Book a demo to learn how Borderless can help.
