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A guide to navigating benefits technology for better employee experiences.
Your benefits package is a “destination” for your employees, offering a variety of options and features they can tailor to their needs and preferences. The goal — for them, and for you — is to make each benefit experience work in a way that’s efficient, valuable, and pleasant enough to repeat.
The key to making it happen? A great guide.
And with so much in society and the workforce changing so rapidly, good guidance to better benefit management is more important than ever.
Benefits are evolving, and so are employee expectations
With up to five generations in the workforce, employee benefits need to meet an increasing number of diverse needs, so existing talent stays, and new talent wants in. That takes effective benefit management: Offerings need to be accurate for each employee, and ready to go not just on day 1, but the minute employees need them.
But managing benefits is a monumental task with a number of challenges. Tech integration problems, outdated reliance on manual processes, and inaccurate windows into utilization are just a few of the roadblocks many employers encounter. In other words, it’s easy to “get lost.” And that can lead to misunderstandings about offerings, poor employee experiences, and lower benefit utilization.
That’s why employers and brokers should consider a completely integrated benefit technology (bentech) ecosystem. Backed by a knowledgeable, responsive team, the right bentech helps save time, reduce errors, and deliver better benefit experiences, so benefits work when they’re supposed to, and employees take more frequent advantage of their value.
Like experienced tour guides in ever-changing locales, Guardian’s technology practice leaders (TPLs) guide employers through the bentech that helps with setup, implementation, and management, so they take the best, most intuitive routes to great benefit experiences.
Here’s what they can tell us about leveraging bentech for successful benefits management.
Benefits management challenges grow without action
The lives of working people demand more choice when it comes to their workplace benefits. But the need for more choice only puts more strain on outdated benefits management methods. In working one-on-one with their clients, Guardian TPLs find that employers who don't find better methods risk losing their talent to the competition.
Employers want to do right by their employees, but the processes and systems they’ve come to rely on could be getting in the way.
Enrollment data administration can be difficult and error-prone, with some still working manually from spreadsheets, all on their own.
What’s more, the employers’ challenges spill over to the broker: Benefits that do not work as they should, or aren’t utilized effectively, can negatively impact client satisfaction scores.
6 in 10 employers say that to meet objectives around employee benefits, they'll need to integrate more of their HR systems.¹
Technology integration problems.
The systems that manage employee benefits often don’t talk to each other, creating more work in the form of time-consuming setup. And that work is prone to errors, creating even more problems that require more time to solve.
Manual processes and too much paper.
It can be frustrating to have to chase down employees for their evidence of insurability forms. So is the redundancy of having to reconcile multiple bills for different benefits from multiple carriers.
No windows into claims.
Not having a centralized, coordinated claims process for benefits can cause a lack of transparency, on top of inconsistent lead times for claim payments. Plus, the picture is blurry for employers when it comes to claim types and frequency, meaning they can’t make insightful decisions about benefit needs more quickly.
Step 1: Don’t go it alone
Ideally, your insurance carrier can also serve as your full-service technology partner.
“Pick a carrier that has the knowledge and experience to connect you to the right benefits technology based on what you need,” says Michelle Bertrand, Head of Technology & Specialty Solutions, Guardian. “Also, make sure that carrier is forthright with you if they don’t offer a solution that would work best. They should point you in the right direction even if it means that might direct business away from themselves.”
Step 2: Find a technology partner connected to your benefits administration platforms
An insurance carrier with the right strategic relationships with leading benefits administration platforms will help save employers time and eliminate errors during crucial points in benefits setup.
Step 3: Streamline the basics
EOI: Your technology partner should help you find ways to make common processes easier. For example, Guardian offers a hands-free, direct-to-employee evidence of insurability process for its benefits, as well as automatic status updates on progress through our Guardian Anytime service portal.
Billing: If you’re getting a bill for each line of coverage, find out if it’s possible to get one bill for multiple lines (this is standard practice at Guardian).
Step 4: Create a common-sense approach to claims
Your claims process should be simple and transparent, both for employees, and for you. When they need their benefits the most, there is no need to make it harder to access them. For example, you only need one customer service number regardless of the claim type at Guardian. And proactive coordination occurs across multiple claims to deliver benefits more efficiently.
Your ben tech can be the key to completing these steps.
And it’s your benefits technology partner’s job to help ensure you’re connected to the right capabilities for a smoother experience.
Pick a carrier that has the knowledge and experience to connect you to the right benefits technology based on what you need.
Let’s tour some benefits technology
So when you’re talking about ben tech, what comes to mind? A number of processes and systems can be attached to this term.
Guardian Access: Our API suite
Help make benefits administration easier: Offer real-time connections with leading benefits administration platforms specializing in the markets we serve.
Guardian Anytime®
Reduce paperwork and save time with Guardian Anytime, our secure online service portal that serves as a comprehensive benefits administration tool for brokers, employers, and employees.
Electronic Data Interchange: Our EDI suite
Send member data quickly and securely via data feed connections with more than 300 benefit enrollment platforms, payroll service providers, and strategic partners.
EMMA™ (Enrollment Mapping and Management Application)
Take the back-and-forth out of sending enrollment data with EMMA, a smart-mapping technology solution that helps you upload, validate, and submit member information directly to Guardian.
Review your benefits administration platforms and how they create synergies in your current benefits package
Assess how your APIs (if you use them) help you deal with the data
Connect with your broker about bentech options that could better serve your needs
Michelle Bertrand
Head of Benefits Technology Solutions, Guardian Life
Sarah Mitchell
Benefits Technology Practice Leader, Guardian Life
Trennie Williams
Benefits Technology Practice Leader, Guardian Life
Sherry Koch
Benefits Technology Practice Leader, Guardian Life
Caroline Ball
Benefits Technology Practice Leader, Guardian Life
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1 Guardian 13th Annual Workplace Benefits Study, 2024
EMMA is a trademark of Guardian and cannot be used without express written authorization. ©2026 The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America. None of the entities listed herein are affiliates, or subsidiaries of The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America (Guardian). Any reference to the term “partner” refers to the API connectivity and does not necessarily connote a service provider relationship between Guardian and the entity. Platform overview provided by each partner. API integrations timing are best estimates and are subject to change.
