The number of brokers considering a human resource information system (HRIS) PPACA compliance tool is staggering. It’s the number one topic of conversation at every industry function I attend. I just spoke at a carrier’s top producer event and when I told a group of attendees that we have not only fully embraced a tool for this, but make it a mandatory piece of doing business with us, some jaws dropped.

Certainly, the number of options has proliferated in the last couple of years. Please excuse me for being blunt, but if you are considering an HRIS now, you are way too late! If you don't already have a single system you work with and the people in house to manage and build that system, you are way behind. Many brokers I talk to think that picking and paying for a system is a big decision and a big investment. Well in my experience, that's the easy and far less expensive part. By far, the bigger piece is having the in house experts needed to build the tools for each client, educate each client, and get the employers and employees dependent on it for their day-to-day benefits-related concerns (and that little thing called IRS codes 6055 and 6056). In my agency, our in house lead, Joan, can get me from employer decisions to open enrollment ready in under four hours!

In my humble opinion, this tool is not something you use for your biggest and/or best clients. After all, there is a huge learning curve for most of us on this technology and that curve is only elongated if you use the system sparingly. Instead, if you embrace it fully, wrap your arms around it and give it a big hug, it becomes more valuable to you and your clients in a far quicker fashion.