3 Helpful Hints to Remain Compliant in Regards to Employee Benefits

Are you fully aware of the privacy policies that are in effect when you’re onboarding a new employee? What about the most recent changes to government policies? Between hiring new staff members, performance reviews and your daily work, it can be challenging to stay up-to-date on all the latest information around compliance in regards to employee benefits. Perhaps one of the easiest ways to ensure your staff is always taking the right steps to respect the privacy of others is to implement proactive software tools that will protect both individuals — and your organization.

Here are three helpful ways you can remain compliant when administering employee benefits.

1. Proactively Mentor HR Employees on Privacy

All staff members should understand the importance of privacy when it comes to things such as tenure, special bonuses and staff pay. However, human resources team members are privy to a great deal more information even than hiring managers. Be sure to share detailed recommendations on privacy with all HR staff members, most especially those who may be filling in on a temporary basis. Doing a one-time training truly isn’t enough in this instance, and you may find it beneficial to schedule mandatory privacy training during each employee benefits cycle.

2. Stay Up-to-Date on Changes in Government Policies

Are you regularly reading blogs and looking for clarification on government policy changes? If not, someone on your HR team should be actively pursuing this information on a regular basis. While government privacy requirements do not have significant changes, there are shifts over time of which you should be aware. Having a proactive healthcare benefits partner allows you an additional opportunity to learn about changes that may affect your organization — and how to ensure that you remain fully compliant to government policies and avoid major fines.

3. Utilize HR software to protect staff and your organization

Printed human resources and employee benefits forms are nearly a thing of the past and for good reason! In previous eras, it was all too easy for HR staff members to accidentally learn something confidential in their day-to-day work around employee details. The introduction of HR software allows you to create business rules that reduce the possibility that someone will see information that is confidential in nature. Employee benefits are particularly sensitive items, as they can contain not only personal financial information but health-related details as well. The broader focus on consumer safety has created additional regulations that protect employees from having their personal information viewed by others.

Compliance can be a disaster for the employee benefits team, but it doesn’t have to be! Follow these steps and you’re well on your way to full compliance with government regulations.

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