Has there ever been a more difficult climate for managing employee benefits? At many companies, funding for benefits to employees and retirees has been further reduced or even capped. Actual results become more and more dependent on participant behaviour. And keeping in-house benefit administration systems up-to-date requires serious capital investment.

One way smart companies are meeting this challenge is by consolidating design and administrative benefits services—comprehensive strategy, design, funding, investment management, communication, administration, and measurement—with a single outside partner. This integrated approach to benefits management produces better annual results than the traditional mix of internal staff and multiple outside firms.

Many turn to Hewitt Associates. At Hewitt, our combined services “collaborate” with each other. How? We draw on an unmatched breadth and depth of experience to give us deep insights spanning myriad organizations and industries.

Simultaneously Manage the Six Dimensions of Control

We've developed a useful framework for thinking about and managing benefits, an approach that aggregates resources across Hewitt and client teams for increased control—and superior results—in six distinct areas of benefit management.

1. Alignment to Business Strategy. Benefit programs shape the desired health and retirement behaviours of employees, retirees, and their dependants, thereby supporting organizational and HR objectives.
2. Cost Management. All benefit costs are known, predictable and acceptable, to ensure they support organizational and HR operating budgets.
3. Risk Management. All benefits risks are known and managed, to minimise operational, fiduciary, and reputational risks to the organization.
4. Optimised Processes. State-of-the-art benefit management services and tools ensure that organizations and benefit participants have the information they need, when they need it, at an affordable cost.
5. Employee Enablement. Participants know the actions to maintain or improve their health and retirement readiness, and can access information and tools in one place to act in a timely and cost-effective manner.
6. Global Execution. All benefit programmes are managed holistically, balancing global consistency and local market needs. In addition, information to facilitate effective global management, finances, compliance, and administration is readily available.

An Integrated Benefits Strategy Improves Results

Here's how clients know they are getting better results working with Hewitt:

• Execution Across All Aspects of Total Benefit Management. We have deep experience in all aspects of benefits management, from assessment, strategy, design, and actuarial to investment management, vendor management, communication, administration and measurement. And our industry and geography expertise means clients can rely on us to support them wherever they do business.
• Total Benefit Leadership. Hewitt account executives and consultants pay rigorous attention to all aspects of your benefit programmes, because we know that changes in one area must be tightly coordinated with all other areas to optimise annual results.
• Higher Performance Standards. Hewitt meets a measurably higher performance standard across the six dimensions of control.
• Lower Cost for Employers and Employees. Our proven practices improve efficiency and drop the cost of benefits for everyone involved.
• Take Control Review Meeting. Our Take Control benefit management framework and rigorous performance measures provide a solid foundation for frequent and productive discussions with clients about their state of control (both current and future states).
• Hewitt's Retirement Results Index. A comprehensive assessment of employees' retirement readiness—including the rising cost of retiree health care—for an employer's entire population (plus key segments that may be under-saving) reveals where interventions can help.

Contact us for more information on how Hewitt can partner with your company to create and implement a solution for health, retirement, or total benefits.