Professional Services Company: Delivering Unified Benefits Experience Across M&A

Our professional services client faced significant challenges in managing benefits across multiple mergers and acquisitions: 

• Frequent M&A Activity: The company’s benefits team faced the daunting task of integrating benefits for over 20,000 employees and new employees from acquired companies, all while maintaining compliance and competitiveness in the market.  
• Complex Systems Integration: Multiple legacy systems and annual technology upgrades required a solution that could accommodate rapid changes and seamless integration.
• Rising Health Care Costs: The need to control costs while offering attractive, legally compliant benefits was critical for talent retention and recruitment.
• Administrative Burden: The HR team needed to reduce manual workload and help ensure a smooth experience for employees across all business units. 

In 2022, the professional services company selected Benefitfocus as its benefits administration partner for the 2023 open enrollment plan year. The decision was driven by Benefitfocus’s reputation for innovation, flexibility in handling frequent M&A activity and robust integration capabilities. Key elements of the solution included: 

• Dedicated Project Team: Benefitfocus assigned a specialized team to manage implementation, providing detailed project plans and regular communications.
• Comprehensive Toolset: Employees benefited from educational resources such as videos and checklists, making the transition easier and improving understanding of benefits options.
• Rapid Implementation: The solution was rolled out in just four months, enabling effective integration of benefits for a growing workforce. 

Products and Services Used

• Benefitplace™ (Benefits administration, eligibility and enrollment)
• Mobile App
• ACA Compliance
• COBRA Administration
• Health Insights (health care data analytics)

The partnership with Benefitfocus has yielded improvements for our client.  

• Consistent Employee Experience Through M&A: The agency completed its third annual enrollment with Benefitfocus for plan year 2025, delivering a unified and positive experience, even as the workforce continued to grow.
• Reduced Administrative Lift: The benefits team reported a significant reduction in workload, with the team leader confident enough to take vacation during open enrollment.
• Strategic Support: The partnership provided ongoing strategic guidance, regular updates and new functionalities to meet evolving needs.
• Cost Savings: An independent dependent verification audit resulted in an estimated $777K in savings for 2024.