As a broker, you’re an expert in all things Human Resources. You’re taking on a variety of responsibilities, from strategic planning to execution, for numerous clients. That’s a huge workload to manage, especially as you’re simultaneously marketing yourself and meeting with prospective clients.
Many HR brokers are turning to technology vendors to help them streamline their to-do lists. Using HR technology, you can get more done in less time. HR tech helps you manage your daily tasks and stay competitive by knowing the best tech options to recommend to your clients. Digitization helps you:
– Save time
– Save money
– Optimize efficiency
– Grow your business
Digitization helps you manage your workload, and it also gives your clients better results by more effectively engaging their workforce.
Employees want digital HR experiences
Most employees, especially as more Gen Z enter the workforce, want seamless digital experiences. Gen Z, along with millennials, are called “digital natives,” because they grew up surrounded by technology, using it for everything from social connections to learning in school. These generations make up a huge percentage of the American workforce:
– 35% of American workers are millennials, making them the largest generation in the workforce. By 2030, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that the percentage will increase to 75%.
– While Gen Z only makes up 11.6% of the U.S. workforce currently, by 2025, this generation is expected to be 27% of the global workforce.
As older workers retire and younger workers take their place, HR teams will increasingly turn to digitization to engage and connect with employees. Especially as more workers clock in remotely—51% of employees work from home full-time or hybrid—HR processes are relying on technology. Experts are calling it the “HR digital revolution.”
Brokers: It’s your job to lead the way
As a broker, your clients will be looking to you for answers on how to digitize their processes. You’ll be leading the HR digital revolution, setting your clients up for long-term success. But who do you turn to when you need guidance?
Having so many HR technology options can be exhausting and confusing, which is why we compiled this list of vendors you can rely on for support. Keep reading to learn your best options to help you lead the HR digital revolution.
Five best vendors to support HR brokers
1. Gusto
Gusto is one of the most popular Human Resource Information System (HRIS) systems among employers. Thanks to its popularity, many employees already have experience using the platform. Even with no Gusto experience, it’s simple and easy-to-use for both employers and employees.
This HRIS is all about simplifying HR processes—everything from payroll, to automated tax filings, to employee benefits tools. Out of all the HRIS platforms we looked at, Gusto has the longest list of features, but most of them are specific to payroll, taxes, and benefits. In fact, the platform is missing many classic HR features, leading some to claim it’s “not entirely” an HRIS.
Gusto isn’t the best option if you want an all-encompassing HRIS. Out of all of Gusto’s plan, it’s Concierge plan offers the best support for HR teams.
However, if you’re a benefits broker, you may want to avoid Gusto. Its coverage of health insurance is limited to 39 states. You’ll also want to avoid Gusto if you’re serving enterprise clients.
2. Workday HRIS
Our top HRIS choice is Workday HRIS, which can scale to businesses of any size. This HRIS has payroll and workforce management, similar to Gusto, but it has a wider variety of HR-specific features, including:
– Human capital management (HR, employee experience, help, knowledge and case management, planning, compensation and benefits)
– Talent management (talent acquisition, learning, and performance optimization)
– Analytics and reporting (workforce, and operational analytics; benchmarking; and data management)
The analytics and reporting feature of Workday HRIS especially sets this option apart from others, because it allows you to quantify your impact when you increase rates or look for new clients. It also helps you plan for your clients and move forward more strategically, to increasingly drive better results.
As for benefits, Workday HRIS is not the best choice. It provides basic benefits management, but its benefits analytics features are not fully supported, and it doesn’t provide recommendations for benefits plans.
3. Rippling
Up until now, we’ve been focusing on HRIS systems, which digitizes all HR services. Now, we’ll be switching gears to focus on Benefits Administration systems (BenAdmin).
Rippling is a great BenAdmin choice, allowing employers to manage all employee benefits on one platform. Rippling also provides comparisons of benefits plans from leading insurance companies, making it easier to pick the best, most cost-effective plans. Plus, using this platform, you can connect new benefits to existing plans, without making employees re-enroll.
This BenAdmin system covers:
– Benefits
– Health insurance
– 401(K)
Aside from benefits, Rippling has core HR functions, including payroll and automating new hire enrollment. It can partner with the software you already use with third-party app integrations with Google Workspace, Slack, Microsoft Office 365, and more.
4. ADP
Another BenAdmin system that integrates with other software solutions is ADP. Ranking as our top BenAdmin choice, ADP has over 70 years of experience, with a trustworthy, impressive track record. It’s technically more than a BenAdmin system, with other features including:
– Payroll processing
– Time tracking
– Performance management
– A recruiting system
– Hiring and onboarding capabilities
– Talent management
As for benefits management, ADP allows you to access a network of 700 health insurance providers—both nationally and regionally. You can compare the benefits plans and prices through ADP, and use its analytics to help you make strategic benefits decisions.
This BenAdmin platform also provides guidance to employees, with personalized ranking on plans to help them choose what’s best for them. It provides plan calculators, so employees can accurately analyze them further. We love that ADP is available to employees on their mobile devices.
5. LearnYour Benefits
Out of all the HRIS and BenAdmin platforms we’ve reviewed, they’re all missing important features: they don’t teach employees about their benefits, or how to use them. This is an issue, because 31% of American workers don’t understand the benefits they selected during open enrollment. That means that an HRIS or BenAdmin system isn’t enough to help your clients get the most out of their benefits.
“We found that the key drivers of employee retention,” says Ruth Hunt, co-author of Buck’s 2022 Wellbeing and Voluntary Benefits Survey, includes “effective communications that raise awareness of their employer’s offerings.” Hunt continues, “To continue to attract and retain top talent, it’s critical to implement and promote programs that address whole-person well-being.”
Rather than just posting benefits, LearnYour Benefits helps you promote them. It provides a platform for benefits content marketing efforts. Marketing benefits creates an increased and more effective adoption of them, leading to a healthier, happier workforce. LearnYour Benefits is also mobile, meaning employees can learn about their benefits anytime, anywhere.
With LearnYour Benefits, we’ll help you create multiple one-stop benefits education sites for numerous clients, at a low cost. The platform scales with you and your clients. Plus, we don’t just hand it off to you to do all the work—we do the heavy-lifting, from open enrollment, to onboarding, to year-round promotions. We’ll set up the benefits communications and automate them, saving you hundreds of hours of work.
Request a demo today to learn more.
