Independent Case Study Outlines How Dell Realized a 347% Return on Investment on their Summary Plan Description (SPD) Management and Processes

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- HighRoads, an industry leader in employer health care compliance and benefits management, today announced the availability of an ROI case study, published by the independent analyst firm, Nucleus Research, Inc. The case study outlines how Dell received a remarkable 347% return-on-investment (ROI) and a rapid three-month payback through the use of HighRoads’ SPD Service, which streamlined the development and management of Dell’s SPDs for assured compliance.

Dell, a leading manufacturer and marketer of computer systems and related products, has 94,300 employees and has grown rapidly because of acquisitions that have included Alienware, EqualLogic, and Perot Systems. In early 2009, Dell determined that it needed to streamline processes related to its benefits SPDs. In this case study, Nucleus Research details some of the key benefits Dell achieved through its deployment of HighRoads’ SPD Service.

Before using HighRoads, Dell’s benefits department had to create SPDs for each of its benefits programs every year. Yet, creating them in a way that was still user friendly and easily understood by a wide variety of employees, while still assuring compliance with the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), was increasingly difficult given the high volume of benefits programs and a complex approval process. As a result, Dell’s benefits professionals were caught up in lengthy SPD management cycles that kept them from completing more important work, such as managing vendors, ensuring their price competitiveness, and making sure that the proper combination of benefits was being offered to Dell’s employees.

“Dell successfully used HighRoads SPD Service to improve employee productivity and reduce the costs of both summary plan description (SPD) management and benefits appeals,” said David O’Connell, senior analyst, Nucleus Research. “Our research shows that Dell achieved payback in just three months with an average annual benefit of $207,076.”

Dell has increased employee productivity by making SPDs available online and presented in a user-friendly fashion which can be easily searched so employees no longer interrupt work to contact the call center. Dell has also increased administrator productivity by significantly reducing the benefits appeals volume, which requires an average of 12 hours of labor from benefits personnel. Administrators are more productive because templates and automation from HighRoads have significantly reduced the amount of time required to create or update SPDs.

"The Nucleus Research case study explores the specific value and ROI Dell has received through the use of our SPD Services, but we see many of our clients realizing similar results,” said Kim Buckey, practice lead, SPD Services, HighRoads. “Organizations can be easily caught up in tedious, time consuming processes related to managing complex SPDs for multiple benefits plans. HighRoads’ SPD Services dramatically simplifies the SPD development and management process so that benefits managers can rest easy knowing their documents are up to date, accurate and compliant.”

For further insight into the process by which the ROI was calculated, as well as the many benefits realized by Dell’s use of HighRoads SPD Services, please visit: http://www.highroads.com/clients/case-studies/dell.php to receive your complimentary copy of the case study.

About HighRoads

The world’s largest employers choose HighRoads to gain complete control over their health care costs and compliance. With HighRoads’ service, employers have online access to benefits plan information and pricing, competitive benefits benchmarks, and complete benefits supply chain management. The privately-held company is headquartered in Woburn, MA. For more information, visit www.HighRoads.com.

CONTACT:

HighRoads Company Contact:
Petra Marino, 781-503-4031
pmarino@highroads.com
or
HighRoads Media Contact:
Erin Jones, 704-664-2170
erinj@Spiralgroup.com

KEYWORDS:   United States  North America  Massachusetts

INDUSTRY KEYWORDS:   Technology  Hardware  Software  Health  Other Health  Professional Services  Human Resources  Insurance  General Health

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