WEST DES MOINES, IOWA (February 28, 2017) – Businessolver, a leader in SaaS-based benefits administration technology, finished 2016 making significant strides in product innovation, community involvement, and industry thought leadership – maintaining its focus on delighting clients and delivering exemplary service, backed by a commitment to quality. In 2016, Businessolver’s continued its year-over-year revenue growth and commitment to profitability, resulting in a CAGR of approximately 35% over the last five years. It also benefited from key client wins which will drive even greater success in 2017.
Client Wins Span Industries Across the Fortune 500
In the second half of 2016 alone, Businessolver gained key client wins spanning diverse public and private industries, including banking, healthcare, education, and entertainment media. Its new private-sector clients include three companies in the Fortune 500 with combined annual revenues of more than $100 billion.
“We’re proud that even in a contentious election season with high stakes for U.S. businesses, we gained clients’ trust and confidence to serve their employees well,” said Jon Shanahan, Businessolver President and CEO. “As we take our first steps forward with a new president, Americans find themselves in an era of uncertainty. But as Lee Iacocca once said, ‘If we wait until we’ve satisfied all the uncertainties, it may be too late.’ So, at Businessolver, we plan boldly for the future based on what we know for certain: that we have an unwavering service model and an aggressive drive toward innovation, built on our simple mission to grow our business and delight our clients. We know that by staying true to our mission and values, we will thrive and succeed – and help our clients do the same.”
Leading-Edge Product Innovations Address Pressing National Challenges
In the second half of 2016, Businessolver added new health savings account (HSA) functionality to allow more flexibility, better alignment with IRS guidelines, and position the platform on the leading edge as congressional efforts to overhaul, repeal, and/or replace the Affordable Care Act point toward expanding HSA availability to more Americans. Businessolver’s updated HSA solution makes the HSA process easier and more efficient for employees, and helps reduce their questions and concerns.
Businessolver also announced it will launch system functionality to provide employer matching funds as a benefit to assist employees repaying student loan debt, which carries a collective $1.3 trillion price tag for U.S. workers. The new benefit option allows an employer to offer a dollar-for-dollar or percentage-based match that would go toward student loan repayments. While the match would be taxable under current law, pending legislation considered this year by Congress would allow such contributions to be non-taxable. According to a survey from American Student Assistance, 76% of respondents said their choice to take a job could be swayed or decided based on an employer’s willingness to help repay student debt.
Across its entire technology platform, Businessolver’s system enhancements reflect the transformation of the benefits experience from a one-time selection process to an ongoing engagement. The company made significant investments to enhance its technology platform with the end user in mind. Grounded in deep research of the user experience, Businessolver’s 2016 system refresh streamlined its enrollment interface and member homepage to be simple, concise, and consistent. Now, the platform can be configured to meet the unique needs of each user and enables easier navigation throughout the site, driving greater engagement and utilization among members throughout the year.
“Nearly 92 of every 100 employees participating in the last annual enrollment period completed their elections through employee self-service. Our continued focus on enhancing the employee experience allowing employees to access our system any time and any place will continue to drive our product development roadmap in 2017,” Shanahan said.
Among its 2016 product enhancements with an eye toward end users, Businessolver introduced the next evolution of its MyChoice recommendation engine. For employers, the new analytics tool provides data-driven insights about the enrollment process, illuminating which plans are being selected and how employees are electing their benefits. For employees, the recommendation component helps guide the selection process by asking thoughtful questions about behavior and preference to give a personalized recommendation for which benefits plan to choose.
According to Shanahan, employers look forward to using the data to drive 2017 benefit strategies. “More than 78% of millennials using MyChoice answered that they know little to nothing about employee benefits – and the other generations in the workforce did not fare much better. Also, nearly half of millennials shared they would feel panicked if faced with an emergency room bill, highlighting the need for recommendation tools to help improve benefits understanding and prevent such financial stress.”
Thought Leadership and Community Involvement Earn Local and National Distinctions
After launching its inaugural Workplace Empathy Monitor in the early part of 2016, Businessolver’s research was featured in a December 2016 Washington Post article to further drive a national conversation around the importance of empathy at work. Additionally, Businessolver’s campaign to promote the Workplace Empathy Monitor earned the company an In2 Sabre award, which is given to companies and agency partners that raise the bar in communications and marketing and showcase an organization’s ability to navigate and thrive in the increasingly complex and fast-moving world.
“We’re thrilled to be in the same company as previous In2 Sabre honorees like McDonald’s, Universal Pictures, and Microsoft,” says Shanahan. “The only thing more gratifying than the award itself is the brighter spotlight it brings to the critical issue of bringing more empathy to the workplace.”
Businessolver also worked to foster greater empathy through its philanthropic branch, the Businessolver Foundation. In its first year, the Foundation built on Businessolver’s already deep commitment to the community by rallying employees to volunteer hundreds of hours to local and national organizations, including Everybody Wins! Iowa, Junior Achievement of Iowa, Habitat for Humanity, and Susan G. Komen.
In November 2016, Businessolver was honored by the Greater Des Moines Partnership and Des Moines Business Record with the Economic Impact Award for its contributions to the greater Des Moines area.
Additional highlights from Businessolver’s banner year are detailed in its 2016 Annual Snapshot, a 24-page report that details how the company achieved its mission to grow its business and delight its clients. Framed by the company’s four mission values – Perform, Engage, Innovate, and Give Back – the report explores how each inspired Businessolver’s work over the past year and will drive the year ahead.
“We’re grateful to our clients for their partnership and humbled by their trust and confidence in
Businessolver to help them deliver results in 2016,” Shanahan says. “We look forward to working together to achieve their benefits goals and drive e
ven greater industry innovation.”
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About Businessolver
Since 1998, Businessolver has delivered market-changing benefits administration technology supported by an intrinsic responsiveness to client needs. It creates client programs that maximize benefit program investment, minimize risk exposure, and engage employees with easy-to-use solutions and communication tools to assist them in making wise and cost-efficient benefit selections. Founded by HR professionals, Businessolver’s unwavering service-oriented culture and secure SaaS platform provide measurable success in its mission to provide complete client delight.