IBS Tools and Technology

Independent Benefit Services is committed to using the best of breed tools, technology and resources to support and empower our clients. As a charter member of UBA we have access to current technologies, publications and guiding trends to assist our clients.

In today’s busy workplace, HR and benefits managers can use an extra hand. IBS is here to assist with HRinsiderSM, a web-based tool that serves as your desktop assistant.

HRinsiderSM helps you work more efficiently and effectively, keep current with legislative and benefit issues, better manage your time, and focus on more strategic functions.Legislative Guides - Provide up-to-date information about COBRA, Flex/§125, FMLA, HIPAA, HIPAA Privacy, and USERRA. Each section also contains FAQs, related forms and instructions, and legislative updates (as needed)

What’s New Section - Highlights the latest resources, documents, or forms uploaded to HRinsiderSM to keep the pre-loaded information current

Resource Center - Access to helpful directories:
(1) Document Center-- library containing ready-to-print/use disease-specific brochures, benefits surveys, and other relevant HR and benefits communications for you and your employees

(2) Links Library-- a collection of professionally-screened resource links relating to health and welfare and general HR functions, management and employment issues, diseases and conditions, work/life, safety, and wellness

Daily News & Information Service - Keeps you informed of what’s happening in the HR world via a highly focused daily news and information service

An Employee Benefit Center (EBC) is an online employee benefits handbook. The technology behind an EBC simplifies many time-consuming tasks for HR professionals, improves employee communications, and saves time, money, and energy!

Statistics show that most employees don’t know the basics of their benefits until they need them. Furthermore, most HR staffs know that traditional methods of benefits communication have not been very successful.

Your benefits advisor can provide you with a customized EBC that will greatly increase the effectiveness of your benefits communication to employees. Consequently, you can focus on the more strategic functions of your job and respond more effectively to a changing benefits environment.

Organizes HR information in an easy-to-use format. Gone are the days of hunting for forms, provider directories, or orientation presentations

Increases your efficiency by eliminating routine benefits inquiries

Saves money by eliminating printing and distribution costs when plans or policies change

Integrates previously prepared documents and spreadsheets via links to a private library on your EBC, your company website, or Intranet/ExtranetAll company benefits information resides in one place. Your message stays the same any time it’s accessed, reducing the possibility of employee misunderstanding or miscommunication

A search feature allows quick access to benefits information, provider directories, SPD’s, FAQ’s, forms, and other content

Built-in Wellness Manager includes an illustrated medical encyclopedia, drug interaction checker, chronic care guides, hospital quality ratings, and more

Built-in Life Events section provides information to help manage lifestyle issues facing employees and their families

Built-in Financial Planning Calculators help educate and assist employees with managing their finances

It is estimated that over $50 billion is spent annually on duplicative paper processes in the administration of group insurance products.

benefitsCONNECTSM offers a web-based employee benefits enrollment and management system. It is designed to streamline the enrollment process, enhance benefits management, and improve information sharing among employees, employers, brokers, TPAs, and insurance providers, thus enabling HR professionals to focus on more strategic functions.

The UBA PriceMODELERSM enables IBS to provide clients with accurate projections of the cost implications of changes to their benefit plan designs. Companies can now easily explore a wide range of cost-saving options, while immediately seeing the impact on total costs and premiums.

What are the benefits?

Determine the cost implications of:
Changes to Medical/Rx plan designs
Changes in demographics
Changes in locations
Changes to retention costs or trend
Develop Premium Equivalent rates
Analyze regional variations in utilization rates and average medical costs

Today’s human resource professionals are assuming a greater role as strategic business partners. Consequently, as HR functions become more closely aligned with the company’s core business, the focus of human resources has shifted more to developing the workforce and implementing long-range strategies to ensure their organizations’ profitability.

Never before have today’s HR professionals needed more access to multiple resources to help with the demands of their ever-changing responsibilities. That’s why we are excited to offer you the benefits of a prepared knowledge base which can help you deliver positive innovations and practical solutions to challenges within the workplace.

Think how much smarter you could work with these additional HR resources ¾ including checklists, forms, job descriptions, sample policies, in-house training materials, handouts, letters, posters, and best-practice case studies ¾ to strengthen your individual compe-tencies.

Prepared by HR.BLR’s 30-person editorial board (including HR attorneys and benefit analysts), we think you will find that HR.BLR’s materials provide a solid foundation for managing today’s HR challenges.