There are more advantages to the new approach. Online enrollment provides more tailored information, which helps workers make more informed decisions about benefits choices that may previously have left them frustrated and confused. It is being done to improve service to employees and to consolidate services,'' says Steve McCormick, in Washington, D.C., a senior consultant in e-HR with Watson Wyatt. Online it allows for personalization, for modeling tools. The programs often run through basic information about each plan and let employees determine with a few mouse clicks how much various options will cost them.
Many programs let workers print out information if they want a hard copy to share with a spouse.
Companies that offer traditional paper enrollment or online sign-up say they're finding employees repeatedly picking the online approach. A lot of our employees requested it,'' says Dean Manheimer, at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, which allows workers to sign up online. We were very pleasantly surprised. She also covered workplace for the Des Moines Register and city government at The Daily Tribune in Ames, Iowa.