Solution Profile: Buck Consultants Employee Benefit Statements

Buck Consultants’ Technology Solutions Group Uses Elixir Opus to Print More Documents Faster, Avoids Buying New Equipment.

Buck Consultants, an ACS Company, is a global HR consulting firm that helps organizations develop, deploy and manage their human capital. With more than 2,000 professionals serving clients across the US and around the world, Buck is one of the largest and most comprehensive human-resource and benefits consulting providers in the country. Headquartered in New York, NY, Buck has offices located worldwide. Buck's technology solutions group helps companies solve complex HR issues through the creative use of data, communication and technology. Buck’s solutions include online total rewards statements, benefits and HR Websites, decision-support tools, modelers, document management tools and other print and digital communication applications.

Before: Outsourcing and Limited Functionality

Prior to licensing Opus in 2000, Buck’s technology solutions group approached personalized print engagements with a combination of in-house and contracted application development and printing. The 401(k) Defined Contribution Statements were developed by a programming group and then printed internally. For more complex applications, like total compensation document packages, Buck was outsourcing application development and printing to regional service bureaus. Their analysis of document composition software systems concluded that they could become more responsive to customer requirements and achieve considerable savings by bringing composition in-house.

Buck’s Objectives

• Speed up development cycle
• Improve the informational quality of the documents
• Improve the clarity of printed documents, including variable data
• Expand graphics, layout and digital color capabilities
• Generate designs that can be produced on a variety of printers allowing Buck to shop out their printing for best price
• Achieve cost savings by removing print costs from the equation when delivering statement images online and/or eliminating the need and costs associated with preprinted forms

Specific Objectives Not Supported by LCDS/Metacode Environment

• Data-driven pie charts and bar charts
• Multicolor support – Highlight color printers limited their offerings to one color per document or to printing on preprinted stock

Solution Evaluation Process
Buck recommended document redesign and then applied the resulting requirements to define their criteria for selection of document composition software. The decision was selecting Elixir Technologies’ Opus system which met all Buck’s objectives.

Application 1: Total Compensation Statements
This statement provides a complete snapshot of the company’s total compensation spending.

Before: Formerly, one design format that displayed the overall benefits value was in the form of a check image that showed the total estimated value of all company contributions as the check amount, with the employee’s name and benefits information laser printed onto a preprinted form.

Now: All total compensation statements developed by Buck are totally personalized, and each employee statement may include one or all of these elements: cash compensation, medical elections, 401(k) contributions, life insurance, and even 401(k) and retirement plan projections. Data-driven graphics are used heavily in these statements to give a vivid representation of employee benefits. Printed as flats or booklets, these compensation statements are also produced in Adobe Acrobat PDF for reprinting and archiving.

Application 2: Defined Contribution Statements for 401(k) Plans

Before: Buck formerly offered these as simple line data statements with one fixed-pitch font printed on pre-printed forms or plain black-and white.

Now: Statements include dynamic images, variable text messaging, and pie charts that are entirely data driven. A typical statement will outline the status of 10 to 35 funds and display 10 to 15 quarterly activities that demonstrate opening balance to closing balance cash flow. Asset allocation pie charts and fund activity tables are big selling points for them. Many of the 401(k) statements are generated for Web viewing and represent the printed statement with 100 percent fidelity. Opus flexibility has also allowed Buck to be flexible and responsive to unusual customer requirements. One such requirement utilizes the Opus DSFileIt feature to imbed key attributes within tags that are then used by Buck’s online statement viewing process.

For highly compensated individuals, the statement design can be 3 to 5 pages, depending on each individual’s data profile, which displays:

• 401(k) Plan
• Pension
• Non-qualified Retirement Plan
• Stock Equity

Application 3: Ad hoc Communications
   
Before: This type of spontaneous communication was not supported due to the developer’s statement application development backlog.

Today: Now, Buck can respond to customer requests as they are submitted. Thus far, Opus has been used to develop a wide variety of letters, confirmation statements, worksheets and statements for employees and retirees.

Buck has been able to meet or exceed client expectations with respect to personalized communications and satisfy customer requirements for document complexity.

Situation:
The administration and agents wanted a way to view reports online so they could be more responsive to customer questions and identify cross-selling opportunities.

Goal:
Since the report source was linedata, the company needed a way to convert linedata and the accompanying form overlays to PDF. Additionally, for security reasons the company needed to isolate certain parts of the mainframe linedata so that access to information could be controlled.

Synopsis:
The company implemented Elixir PageMiner to output their Xerox print files to PDF. Elixir completed the installation and testing process in two days and then helped the customer refine the index file production process. They wanted to parse the linedata based on certain target information areas. The index file was needed to specify the file name and contents of each of the parts so that they could control access. Elixir’s solution now makes it possible for the insurance agents to view PDF versions of reports online and an index file and special security function controlling access. This greatly simplifies the process of communicating with over 600 agents across several states. It also saves time, postage and paper.

Benefits

Linedata and overlays utilized for PDF creation

Situation:
The system used by this US-based insurance company to produce customer policies proved to be time consuming, expensive, labor intensive and susceptible to human error. Periodic changes in the forms were difficult to implement.

Goal:
To generate new policies faster, reduce costs, eliminate errors, and permit changes in policies without requiring IS personnel. Documents to be printed on an IBM® Infoprint 60.

Solution:
Using Elixir’s Opus to generate insurance polices, the company requires only a few hours from the time the policy is booked to when it is ready to be sent to the customer. In addition to faster product delivery, errors have been virtually eliminated. Changes in forms are easily implemented with Opus state-of-the art features.

Benefits

Policy creation time reduced from days to hours

Errors nearly eliminated

Policy revisions and new documents delivered quickly

Situation:
Because of the complexity and the constant change in their healthcare enrollment booklets, this company was struggling to keep up with the revision and production process. Millions of lines of code were required to generate output for their Xerox 4135 printers.

Goal:
The company needed a solution that would simplify and accelerate the process of creating and maintaining flexible healthcare enrollment booklets for their customer. They needed to reengineer the way booklets were produced so as to make the process easier, quicker and more cost effective.

Solution:
Elixir’s solution, Opus, cut application development time in half and document customization has improved dramatically. The company has accelerated the entire process of building, changing and enhancing applications saving both time and money.

Benefits

Development time for the booklets is cut 50%

Booklets previously represented by millions of lines of code now managed and edited in the Opus graphical design interface

Situation:
This insurance provider had a cumbersome, complex, time-consuming, and error-prone method for producing its benefits booklets. ID Cards were being produced in another system and mailed separately, resulting in high mailing costs.

Goal:
To reduce the cost and time required for generating a benefit booklet and ID card for new customers. This required a complete workflow for the efficient management and production of customized benefit booklets. The production of ID cards needed to be integrated into this process.

Solution:
With Elixir the company now has a custom workflow solution that dramatically accelerated the production process. The time from enrollment to delivery was reduced from 10 weeks to one day. Lower costs, elimination of errors, and the consolidation of products in one mailing were also achieved.

Benefits

Time from enrollment to booklet delivery reduced from 10 weeks to 1 day

Reduced mailing costs by consolidating all related documents into one package

Customer questions reduced because all information is delivered together

Situation:
The addition of Medicare administration to a state government agency presented additional workload and tested current processes.

Goal:
Ramp up the state’s equipment and process to respond to this additional program. Needed to support existing LCDS document workflow during the transition.

Solution:
Elixir software employed with new Xerox PostScript printers to enhance existing LCDS print workflow for State Medicare program administrator. Documents include EOB, claims notices, ad-hoc letters.

Benefits

Added Medicare administration to current workflow while maintaining current systems