Why You Need a Partner with Workflow: How Modern Tech Solutions Erase Administration Pain Points
HSA, FSA, and HRA administrators frequently hear a few painful words from their technology platform partners: “days” “cutoff” “later” “stuck” and “years.”
While those words are perfectly fine in certain contexts, they are not so friendly when you hear this feedback from your tech partner:
- "That payment should go through in the next couple of days."
- "You need to submit your January groups by the September cutoff."
- "That error report will be available later."
- "The funds are stuck. Let's wait until tomorrow to see if it clears."
- “That enhancement has been on the roadmap for seven years.”
Sound familiar? If you’re hearing these terms, you're likely working with a partner using an outdated batch-oriented system.
With Elevate's workflow-based platform, we use words like: “now” “already” “seconds” “real-time” and “next”. See the difference:
- "Send the employer, census, and enrollment now, and cards will be generated in seconds."
- "Your HSA reimbursement is already in your bank account."
- "The claim was adjudicated in seconds."
- “That change you wanted is in the next product development sprint.”
How are we able to provide such a drastically different experience? It’s all in the workflow. A modern, workflow-based engine is the foundation for Elevate’s improved experience approach. It allows our platform to handle each process individually, eliminating the need for multi-step batches with long run times and once-a-day execution.
“We engineered our system from the ground up to be faster, stronger, and more flexible. Our workflow engine helps us deliver significantly better experience on all of these fronts compared to batch-oriented systems,” said Brian Strom, co-founder and CTO of Elevate.
“With this infrastructure in place, we can distribute the processing load across numerous smaller units of work throughout the day rather than relying on long running batches that added even longer processing times as the customer base expands.”
Why Workflow Engines are Superior
Modern workflow processes lead to several advantages in the account administration space.
- Faster processing. Workflows allow each event to be handled on its own timeline, enabling faster processes with no schedule dependencies. Batch processing has a time delay as tasks wait to accumulate in a queue and then are processed on a schedule—often serially. This delay can be detrimental, especially when real-time is expected.
- Scalability. Batching can tax a system, causing more delays. Elevate’s workflow model, on the other hand, performs a continuous and steady flow of tasks without overwhelming the system.
- Responsiveness. Batches require a predefined set of tasks to be completed before processing begins, which limits a response to changing circumstances. With Elevate, workflow processing allows for a more responsive approach.
Workflow Engines Deliver Faster Benefits
How does a workflow engine apply to the consumer benefit accounts world? The answer is, almost everywhere. Elevate uses workflow processing in everything that we do - claims processing and payments, payment card mailings, billing and funding, even product development. This way, we can tailor the path of events at the individual event level, instead of routing events en masse.
Let’s look at claims. With workflow-based claims processing, each claim is handled on its own timeline as soon as it is received. When coupled with AI, claims are processed, reviewed, and approved instantly. When more attention is needed, users receive immediate feedback clarifying what’s needed. Since instant claims processing provides faster resolutions to claims, consumers have a more positive overall experience. Contrast this with the potentially lengthy waiting periods associated with traditional batch processing, and the winning process is clear.
As we mentioned, a key benefit is scalability. With Elevate, billing and replenishment are also workflow oriented, and as a result, more scalable for the entire process. This improves the employer experience, as well as minimizing resources needed from the administration side.
A workflow engine also increases agility for implementing changes and enhancements. Unlike batch-oriented systems requiring complex sequencing and testing, our workflow engine facilitates isolating and updating individual processes through simple logic changes and additions. This means changes are made faster—and don’t sit on the roadmap for seven years.
Embrace the New
The limitations of traditional technology solutions—time delays, fragile systems, and inflexibility—are driving businesses toward more efficient and adaptable workflow models. With a workflow engine built into our core, Elevate reduces processing times, delivers better customer experiences, quickly adapts to changing circumstances, and provides continuous improvements.
The message is clear: change what you’re hearing to “now,” because modern tech is replacing the traditional. It's time to demand more. Request a demo.
