A quick summary:
Did you know UK businesses lose £60 billion annually to admin tasks? That’s £1,932 per employee and 7% of work hours wasted. Outdated systems are a major culprit, with 77% of HR professionals citing them as a top challenge. But there’s a solution: digital benefits platforms. These platforms simplify HR processes, reduce admin time, and improve employee engagement. Here’s how:
- Automated Benefits Setup: Automatically update eligibility and enrolment.
- Centralised Data Management: Manage all benefits in one platform.
- Employee Self-Service: Let employees manage their own benefits.
- Built-in Reporting: Access real-time insights and generate reports effortlessly.
- Smart Wellbeing Matching: Personalised recommendations for employees.
- Direct Messaging: Communicate updates instantly with high engagement rates.
- Quick Approval Workflows: Automate requests and approvals.
- Scalable Growth Management: Handle onboarding and benefits as your team grows.
Switching to digital systems can save £690 per employee annually, with potential nationwide savings of £21.4 billion. Platforms like Heka even help 97% of users achieve HR goals and boost productivity by 83%. Ready to make HR admin easier? Let’s dive into the details.
How to reduce manual work by 40% with HR automation tools?
Key HR Admin Challenges
HR departments dedicate 20% of their time to administrative tasks, matching the time spent on consultancy work. The biggest hurdles fall into three main categories:
Manual Systems and Data Management
A significant 72% of HR professionals cite manual systems as a major reason for lost productivity.
Communication and Benefits Awareness
A lack of clarity around benefits is a common issue. 28% of UK employees either don't know they have benefits or believe their employer doesn't provide any. Similarly, 29% of HR professionals admit that employees struggle to access benefits information. This confusion can result in wasted budgets and employees missing out on valuable support
Employee Engagement and Retention
Benefits play a key role in employee decisions. 74% of employees consider benefits essential when accepting a job offer, and 71% factor them in when deciding whether to sta. However, juggling multiple vendor platforms increases admin time, pulling HR teams away from more strategic efforts.
Next, we'll look at 8 digital benefits features designed to address these challenges effectively.
1. Automated Benefits Setup and Changes
Simplify benefits setup and updates to reduce manual work.
Smart Onboarding and Updates
Key setup features include:
- Automatic updates for eligibility and employee enrolment in plans.
- Proactive prompts to guide employees through enrolment steps.
These features tackle the common issues with manual data handling and communication.
"Heka handles all our wellbeing benefits, freeing our team from admin" – Shakira Beach, People Director, The Goat Agency
Up next, we'll explore how centralising data management builds on this automation to save even more admin time.
2. Single-Platform Data Management
After setting up automated benefits, a centralised platform takes things further by bringing all benefit data together. This allows for real-time reporting and easy updates with just one click. Once automated enrolment is in place, centralised data management keeps all records up to date without extra work.
Unified Data Control
Using a single platform gives HR teams the ability to:
- Access real-time insights into engagement, spending, and satisfaction
- Generate reports across all wellbeing programmes in one place
- Manage benefit changes easily through a central interface
Key Efficiency Gains
- One data entry point eliminates the need for repetitive updates
- Automated reports pull information from all sources instantly
- A single dashboard provides a complete overview
These features save time by simplifying processes, especially after onboarding. The user-friendly dashboard makes it easy for HR teams to handle all benefit-related tasks, monitor engagement, track spending, and check satisfaction levels - all without jumping between systems.
Next, learn how built-in reporting and analytics can further optimise HR processes.
3. Built-in Reports and Analysis
Heka streamlines reporting by cutting out manual data collection and providing insights with just a few clicks. This feature enhances efficiency while making data more accessible.
Real-Time Dashboard Analytics
Heka's dashboards offer real-time metrics that are easy to customise. You can track key data points like benefits usage, employee engagement, programme participation, budget allocation, and departmental trends - all in one place.
Smart Filters
The platform includes filters to help HR teams break down data into meaningful segments. You can organise information by categories such as:
- Demographics: Age, gender
- Organisation: Department, location
Automated Report Generation
Good platforms simplify reporting by allowing you to save and rerun queries. Reports can be exported in multiple formats, and you can tailor views for specific stakeholders.
Trends and Easy Sharing
Spot trends that help you refine benefits programmes and share tailored reports instantly with stakeholders, ensuring everyone stays informed.
4. Smart Wellbeing Matching
Heka uses a smart matching algorithm to analyse employee preferences and suggest tailored benefits. This approach has led to an impressive 97% uptake and an 83% boost in productivity. The platform recommends options such as mental health support, fitness classes, training programmes, and financial tools, all based on individual needs. Employees can explore and choose benefits from any device, saving HR teams from the hassle of manual pairing.
Tailored Recommendations
Heka's matching technology simplifies the process of connecting employees with the right benefits. It not only reduces admin workload but also ensures a more personalised and engaging experience for employees.
Live Engagement Insights
HR teams gain access to intuitive dashboards that display key metrics like engagement rates, popular benefit categories, usage trends, and budget tracking. With automated reporting, time-consuming manual data collection is eliminated, giving HR teams more time to focus on strategic tasks.
5. Quick Approval Process
Digital platforms speed up approval workflows by using smart automation. They handle tasks like routing requests to decision-makers, updating eligibility, and creating benefit plans in real time. Thanks to API connectivity, all data stays synced seamlessly. HR teams can monitor pending approvals through consolidated dashboards, allowing them to spend less time on admin and more on higher-priority tasks.
This approach simplifies the process for employees too. They can submit leave or benefit change requests online and get fast, accurate responses with minimal manual effort. It’s a win-win for both efficiency and employee satisfaction.
6. Easy Team Growth Management
Digital platforms simplify and streamline benefit administration as your team grows. With 82% of UK companies experiencing headcount growth last year, managing benefits manually becomes increasingly challenging. These platforms handle tasks efficiently with features like automated onboarding and approval workflows.
Automated Onboarding Workflows
Digital platforms ensure new starters receive a consistent benefits setup. HR teams can pre-configure packages and set eligibility criteria, leaving routine tasks to the system while staying compliant.
Centralised Document Management
Store all benefit-related documents in one place, eliminating the need for multiple files for each hire.
Tools to Maintain Company Culture
Standardise benefit communications to ensure everyone has equal access and a consistent experience, helping to preserve your company culture during periods of growth.
Scalable Analytics
Generate reports that automatically adjust to track engagement and usage without requiring extra manual analysis.
These tools allow HR teams to focus on strategic goals. In fact, 97% of HR teams report improved goal achievement with scalable platforms. As one leader puts it:
Up next, we’ll compare digital and manual systems to better understand these efficiency improvements.
Benefits of Digital vs Manual Systems
After reviewing six time-saving features, it's clear that digital platforms have a strong edge over manual processes.
Here are four key ways digital benefits systems outshine paper-based methods:
- Automated workflows remove the need for manual paperwork and data entry. This frees up HR teams to focus on more strategic tasks instead of getting bogged down in admin. Plus, as mentioned earlier, automation reduces processing time and minimises errors.
- Centralised data management keeps all information up-to-date in real time, eliminating the chaos of scattered spreadsheets. As noted in section two, having everything on one platform revolutionises how teams handle and update data.
- Self-service tools allow employees to take charge of their own benefits, cutting down on HR queries.
- Built-in analytics provide instant insights without the need for manual reporting. This supports the reporting benefits highlighted earlier, offering clear, real-time visibility into programme performance.
Implementation Landscape
Even with these clear benefits, adoption rates remain lower than expected. Only 40% of HR departments prioritise process updates, and fewer than 30% focus on innovation. For organisations willing to act, this gap offers a chance to stand out and gain an edge over competitors.
These features lay the groundwork for a straightforward shift to fully digital benefits management.
Conclusion
Heka customers have shared impressive outcomes: 97% achieve their HR goals, 83% see increased productivity, and 82% experience a 46% annual growth in headcoun. These results are closely tied to the platform's use of automation, centralised dashboards, self-service tools, and data-driven insights.
For businesses in the UK aiming to streamline HR processes, digital benefits platforms can help cut down on administrative delays while offering employees tailored wellbeing options. This blend of efficiency and personalisation helps businesses stay competitive and run HR operations more smoothly.
