Return on Investment
for
Web Based Enrollment System Implementation
DATE: October 2011
NAME: Pani Tademeti
TITLE: NCFlex Program Manager
What is NCFlex?• State of NC’s pre-tax flexible benefits program
Dental AD&D
Vision Term Life
Critical Illness Health Care Spending Account
Cancer Dependent Day Care Spending Account
• 243,036 participants
• Available to state agency, university and select community colleges
Return On Investment for Web Based Enrollment System Implementation Pani Tademeti
Program Growth
NCFlex Milestones
NCFlex Program
introduced
Benefits Video
Pilot Online
Enrollment –
NCFlexOnline.org
1996 2001 2005
Enhanced
ncflex.org
launchedState gov’t
radio ads
200620042003
Enrollment Form
imaging/
Perforated Form
Flexible
Benefits
Website
launched
Benefits Guide & Enrollment Form Enhancements
Implement
Online
Enrollment
727 participants 161,551
participants
Flex Tales
No Cost
Core AD&D
243,036
participants
Growing Pains
Many payroll systems throughout the state
NCFlex coordinates with 32 payroll systems
Manual approach was no longer effective
HR services not as easily quantifiable, difficult to quantify
time savings, enrollment services, error reduction &
notification
Intangible items are also difficult to measure
Need for Process Implementation
The paper process was burdensome
Web enroll would assist with the process
The purpose of the ROI calculation was to demonstrate to the state
budget that web enrollment would result in a positive ROI
Web enrollment would result in the program becoming more
strategic for the future
Evaluation Methodology
Overhead Cost ReductionHR Teams, IT resources and Production printing and
Distribution of paper
Risk MigrationProgram Eligibility Coverage enforced uniformly across entire
population
Transaction Cost ReductionEmployee and HR time
Error ReductionCoverage, Payroll Deductions, Billing and Remittance
Evaluation Methodology
State and Vendor Data use to FormulateBest estimates used when data not available
Quantify State LiabilityTransition time between termination and notification to the FSA
vendor to limit state liability
Enhancing Website
State LiabilityTurnover %
Participants
Average Monthly Claim
Intangible ItemsOther items were listed for review that were not qualified in the
calculation
These items are intangible; therefore, they can not be included in the
calculation
However these items will further benefit the state in a positive way
Intangible Items
List of a few Intangible Items
Streamline employee data, enrollment, communication & access information
No lost forms
Ability to view benefit summary online anytime
Less data error
Ease of implementation in the future
Increase of efficiency and effectiveness
New interest in the program
Preparation for future growth
Decrease in paperwork and forms
Foreign language capabilities
Review of benefits online anytime
Evaluation Results
Elimination of PaperThe cost of paper transaction and the number of transactions per year
determine the total savings from the elimination of paper
Error ReductionThe automated system is self-editing, eliminating data and enrollment errors
The number of data and form errors and the cost per error determine
the total savings from error reduction
Time ReductionReduction of cycle time for life-event changes, as well as termination
Evaluation Results Cont.
Administration CostThe vendor no longer receive and manually input forms and negotiations
would be made to reduce administration cost in turn saving the program
money
Effectiveness & EqualityEffectively enforces the rules of eligibility and enrollment
This ensures that equally while complying with HIPPA
(Health Insurance Portability Accountability Act)
Communication Strategy
NCFlex Utilizes Technology of Web Enrollment
HR Would:
- Distribute paper enrollment
- Check forms for accuracy
- Handle illegible forms
- Make copies and mail for processing
- Deal with forms lost in mail
- Deal with forms submitted after deadlines
HR Would NOT:
- Access to view employee benefits
- Access to print out an employee benefit statement
- Accurate information
- Ease of administration of the online system
Communication Strategy Cont.
Employees:
- 24/7 access
- Accuracy of the system
- Ability to print benefit statements
- Elimination of burdensome paper process
Vendors:
- Encounter fewer errors
- Receive less forms for processing
- Accurate information
Communication Materials
- HR Web Enrollment Administration Manual
- Training Classes
Resources
Vendor Information
• The number of employees terminate with an FSA balance and the
amount of the balance.
• Number of enrollment or termination to a plan
• Error rate for processing enrollment
• Number of employees at a location
State Information
Turnover rate for the State-2005 Compensation and Benefits Report by
OSP
Average state employee salary
Used to estimate the average HR state salary-2005
Compensation and Benefits report by OSP
Resources Cont.
Calculated Best Assumptions where hard data was NOT available:
• Notification of status changes event from agency to vendor
• Time HR spends on processing a form
Enrollment
Status Changes
Forms with errors to correct
Making Change
Three Phases introducing Web enrollment
Phase 1
Web based enrollment at two Universities (NCSU, UNC Healthcare),
Wilson Community College and two agencies (DOA,DOC)
Phase 2
Implementation throughout the Sate of North Carolina
Phase 3
Centralization of the entire enrollment process through the Flexible
Benefits Enrollment Coordination (Aon Hewitt) and interfacing payroll
through a single tape.
Conclusion
Our Web enrollment process was a necessary step to prepare our program
for future growth and expansion.
Since Implementation this process has been very successful and allowed
reduce expenses
The elimination of the paper has alleviated some of the burden of the
enrollment process as well as facilitate the concern or the environment
QUESTIONS……..
Thank You!
Pani Tademeti
NCFlex Program Manager
State of NC, Office of State Personnel
919-807-4879