Large Employers | COBRAPoint White Papers

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Large Employers

Large Employers
COBRA Administration Services

The Current State Of Affairs
Why are our HR processes so complex?

Let’s face it: Given the current state of affairs, managing human resources departments is an inefficient and costly business process. The inefficiencies of this process don’t lie in how the managers of these departments structure and manage their staff. Rather, they reside in the manner in which they communicate with various vendors.

Consider the simple occurrence of hiring a new employee:

First, HR must notify the respective group benefit carriers/administrators, the payroll provider and the COBRA administrator, and the employee’s personal data must be input into the human resource information system. In addition, specialized correspondence must be mailed informing the employee of the plethora of federal and state regulatory notices.

Have you ever tried to count the number of stand-alone databases in which employee data resides? Now reverse this process when an employee is terminated. The actual number of steps varies depending upon the number of internal and external vendors HR must notify.

Each step in this process requires risk management, policies, procedures, forms, employee training and expense to be performed properly. Both federal and state governmental agencies insert their own rules and regulations into this process as well. The complexity is enough to give employers a year-round headache.

The Challenge
How do we manage our data efficiently?

Large employers have attacked this business process problem from many different angles. First, many have invested large dollars in all-encompassing HRIS systems and spent months migrating to the new system only to find harnessing its full potential is a daunting task in and of itself.

Second, vendors have emerged that attempt to vertically integrate the flow of information pertaining to the employee’s tenure with the company. Third, large employers have developed systems using internal databases, such as Access, SQL or Oracle to streamline the flow of information. Often times, outside consultants and programmers are employed to deliver the desired outcomes. Both development methods are extremely expensive and slow. And many times, it’s difficult fo HR to get the necessary funds budgeted to build the system they need.

Finally, there are a host of specialized niche players that focus on certain elements of the HR process. For example, employers are not lacking in choices when it comes to Section 125 flex administrators, payroll service providers and COBRA administrators. These vendors fall into a broad category defined as Business Process Outsourcing (BPO). BPOs can be expensive to engage and difficult to terminate the relationship since the employer’s data is housed elsewhere. In the very best scenario, a BPO’s cost is a zero sum game. What the employer saves in labor and systems costs, it spends in BPO fees

At the end of the day, employers and their HR departments are liable for mistakes made by BPOs because, just like paying taxes, regulations and laws affecting employees will always be the employer’s responsibility. To fix the inefficiencies of the process, employers need a better way to manipulate and disseminate information. This is where COBRApoint can help.

The Solution
COBRApoint has developed BUSINESS IN A BOX solutions

The Benefit
Harness the hottest technology to simply your life

The Technology
The power of an effective application service provider

About the Company
COCO Development, LLC

COCO Development, LLC, provides cutting-edge, business-to-business solutions that facilitate and streamline the complex tasks of managing human resource functions. All COOC Development solutions are accessible in an Application Service Provider environment. Employer customers may access tier-1 technology solutions without significant capital investments or computiong infrastructure reconfiguration

Founded in 2003, COCO Development is being recognized as a leader in innovative HR compliance process applications. Every member of the development and management team has amassed in depth technical and practical knowledge about COBRA compliance administration and instills every facet of COBRApoint with this collective knowledge. For more information, visit www.cobrapoint.com.


>>	Large Employers

	Large Employers COBRA Administration Services The Current State Of Affairs *Why are our HR processes so complex?* Let’s face it: Given the current state of affairs, managing human resources departments is an inefficient and costly business process. The inefficiencies of this process don’t lie in how the managers of these departments structure and manage their staff. Rather, they reside in the manner in which they communicate with various vendors. Consider the simple occurrence of hiring a new employee: First, HR must notify the respective group benefit carriers/administrators, the payroll provider and the COBRA administrator, and the employee’s personal data must be input into the human resource information system. In addition, specialized correspondence must be mailed informing the employee of the plethora of federal and state regulatory notices. Have you ever tried to count the number of stand-alone databases in which employee data resides? Now reverse this process when an employee is terminated. The actual number of steps varies depending upon the number of internal and external vendors HR must notify. Each step in this process requires risk management, policies, procedures, forms, employee training and expense to be performed properly. Both federal and state governmental agencies insert their own rules and regulations into this process as well. The complexity is enough to give employers a year-round headache. The Challenge *How do we manage our data efficiently?* Large employers have attacked this business process problem from many different angles. First, many have invested large dollars in all-encompassing HRIS systems and spent months migrating to the new system only to find harnessing its full potential is a daunting task in and of itself. Second, vendors have emerged that attempt to vertically integrate the flow of information pertaining to the employee’s tenure with the company. Third, large employers have developed systems using internal databases, such as Access, SQL or Oracle to streamline the flow of information. Often times, outside consultants and programmers are employed to deliver the desired outcomes. Both development methods are extremely expensive and slow. And many times, it’s difficult fo HR to get the necessary funds budgeted to build the system they need. Finally, there are a host of specialized niche players that focus on certain elements of the HR process. For example, employers are not lacking in choices when it comes to Section 125 flex administrators, payroll service providers and COBRA administrators. These vendors fall into a broad category defined as Business Process Outsourcing (BPO). BPOs can be expensive to engage and difficult to terminate the relationship since the employer’s data is housed elsewhere. In the very best scenario, a BPO’s cost is a zero sum game. What the employer saves in labor and systems costs, it spends in BPO fees At the end of the day, employers and their HR departments are liable for mistakes made by BPOs because, just like paying taxes, regulations and laws affecting employees will always be the employer’s responsibility. To fix the inefficiencies of the process, employers need a better way to manipulate and disseminate information. This is where COBRApoint can help. The Solution *COBRApoint has developed BUSINESS IN A BOX solutions* The Benefit *Harness the hottest technology to simply your life* The Technology *The power of an effective application service provider* About the Company *COCO Development, LLC* COCO Development, LLC, provides cutting-edge, business-to-business solutions that facilitate and streamline the complex tasks of managing human resource functions. All COOC Development solutions are accessible in an Application Service Provider environment. Employer customers may access tier-1 technology solutions without significant capital investments or computiong infrastructure reconfiguration Founded in 2003, COCO Development is being recognized as a leader in innovative HR compliance process applications. Every member of the development and management team has amassed in depth technical and practical knowledge about COBRA compliance administration and instills every facet of COBRApoint with this collective knowledge. For more information, visit www.cobrapoint.com.

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