Historically there's been a reticence to embrace new technology either out of a concern for its legality, how it might negatively affect the client relationship, and whether it will even work. Still, society has relied on the advancements of technology and this industry is no exception.
It used to be, enrollment meant a pen and an application. Industry professionals remember the switch to scanning application technology, which often required a specific color pen. That gave way to laptop enrollments where an enroller had to download his or her daily enrollments onto a disk and send that in to the company. This lead to a simple download to the enrollment technology company via a dial up modem; Several hours, days or weeks later, the enroller could unplug the computer from the dial up.
Fortunately, hi-speed Internet access made the downloading substantially less painful, and now, because of wireless technology, there has been an explosion of Internet-based enrollment systems. There is also an abundance of leave-behind systems that are utilized mostly by HR departments, but are certainly an effective selling point for many brokers. Of course, during this adaptation, telephonic enrollment became popular, and now some are doing a combination of telephonic and Web-based enrollments.
Evolution of enrollment
The Web-based self enrollment is being utilized more and more. Some, like Jim Christenson, who predicted this at the last Benefits Selling conference, see a day in the not-so-distant future when enrollment will be a click away on a BlackBerry or I-Phone, or whatever the new hot PDA might be.
Fact is, enrollment technology continues to march on and the industry is embracing it. This is motivated by different pressures -- sometimes the broker community has demanded that carriers catch up with them.
A good example of these rare phenomena is telephonic enrollment. Many carriers were hesitant to embrace the telephone as an acceptable means of doing an enrollment mostly due to legal concerns. The same could be said of PIN signatures (even after the Clinton-era law allowing for them), but brokers, enrollment firms and enrollment system companies worked with the carriers to open them up to their possibilities and ease.
Other times, the carriers are the driving force. A prime example is the concept of the electronic enrollment system. The system in theory saves the carrier time and money by reducing errors in completing the application and keying an application. It should also speed up the issuing process. Brokers and enrollment companies save time and money as well; Fewer errors in the application process generally means a shorter time in issuing policies and a quicker time in getting paid.
Getting Out of the Wilderness
One of the most important concepts for a benefits professional whether broker, carrier or anyone in between, is to accept that technology is a tool to help them achieve their ultimate goals and to embrace the technology that allows them to do so most effectively and efficiently. There are still a large number of voluntary brokers that won't give up their black ball point pens, even though they've witnessed the laptop enrollment revolution and are now watching the Internet enrollment system continuation.
Some carriers also have tended to wander the modern technology wilderness. While most have advanced beyond the punch card system, several still lag behind in being able to fulfill the today' evolving benefits broker and the benefits market. Sometimes it is an issue of costs; often it is an issue of not recognizing where they need to be to compete. They are not effectively using the tools available to them and often are being lapped by their competitors. This certainly impacts enrollment systems, but also means affects back-office technology (which will in time devastate a carrier), or not having an effective interactive Web presence or a variety of other tools.
Social Networking a Beacon of Change
One still untapped opportunity for both carriers and brokers are the evolving social networking sites. Facebook and Twitter can be effective and inexpensive methods of getting out your message to consumers. Many brokers and carriers are still stuck on how to make the most of their Web page, so it's no surprise they have yet to embrace social networking.
It's time to face up to an entire generation that will be raised on "Facebooking" and other predecessors as their primary means of communication and will rapidly replace e-mail as their chosen means to receive and give information. Brokers will need to have a complete Web presence, which includes an interactive Web page and integrated social networking communities.
The savvy and most successful brokers and carriers will continue to look at the newest technology, and will adapt and find ways to make it work to increase their customer service capabilities, their marketing capabilities and their bottom line. History teaches that one solution will not fit every broker, every carrier and every group.
Many profitable carriers and brokers will utilize a combination of enrollment methods, back-office technology and communication technologies. They will tailor the tool to the needs of their clients and will help their clients recognize exactly what those needs are. After all a good broker is not just an order-taker. A good broker knows what tools will work best with which clients and will work with their clients to deliver that technology.
