Recent Topics
Favorite HR books that actually helped you?
I'm looking for book recommendations that are actually useful in real-world HR work. What books helped you build better processes or think more strategically? Bonus points if the book is an easy read, but I’ll take all suggestions! Thanks in advance!
Onboarding Documents Report
An Onboarding documents report would be helpful to mass download each employee's onboarding document compared to how it is designed currently with having to download one by one under each employee's account.
What’s the best way to respond when an employee brings you another offer and asks for a counter?
Is it ever worth making one, or do you believe it's better to let them move on?
Voluntary Life - Increments above GI for Renewal Year
In year 2 if a Vol Life plans allows employees to purchase additional coverage w/o EOI employees who were approved for an amount above GI are prompted to submit EOI even if they are purchasing an amount allowed by the plan. Add another "Additional GI
What’s one onboarding mistake you’ve learned to avoid?
With new hire onboarding setting the tone for retention, I'm worried we're making some mistakes that are impacting our turnover. I would love to hear about your experiences!
Minimum Amount for Critical Illness Plans
Currently, an employee can elect $0 as there is no "Minimum" setting on critical illness plans, only maximums. An employee can technically elect $0 as a coverage amount. This creates confusion when enrolling the employee and causes discrepancies on EDI
Change Voluntary Life election to Waive when EOI is auto denied
When a pending EOI has not been approved or denied within a set window, the system will auto-deny the EOI. If this results in the coverage amount being $0, reports will reflect a voluntary life election of $0. If denial results in $0 of coverage, it would
Master Age Report
Hello, It would be helpful to be able to run a master age report for all clients in BerniePortal to determine who is turning a certain age in the whole book of business. Right now you can only run one age report at a time per client, which is very time
Any tips for avoiding common Form 1095-C errors?
How are you ensuring accurate ACA reporting this tax season?
How long do it take to get my certificate
Hi, to whom it may concern I completed one of my certification and passed the test for it. I was wondering how soon will I get the certificate through email?
Has anyone transitioned to an unlimited PTO policy, and how did that affect your company culture and productivity?
We’ve been using a points-based system for PTO, but I’m starting to see complaints from employees that it feels too rigid. I'm trying to rethink all policies before the new year, so if a different system would work better we can implement it starting
Is it fair for companies to offer higher salaries to employees who negotiate, even if it creates pay gaps for the same role?
Looking for insight on negotiation culture and whether companies should take more responsibility for ensuring equal pay.
How do you navigate holiday scheduling conflicts and PTO requests?
I have many employees trying to take time off simultaneously, and it can get overwhelming. Any tips?
Alert when future EOI will be required when Waiving
Most Ancillary carriers allow new hires or new groups to enroll at their first opportunity without requiring an Evidence of Insurability (EOI). Can a flag or alert be added so that this is clear to new hires before they commit to waiving the benefit?
Dashboard
Two things on the Dashboard: 1. On the total enrollment wheel, the gray area show "not enrolled" number. This includes "not eligible" employees. It would be better to see the not enrolled number as just those that are eligible. If you have 100 "not eligible"
Should employers allow employees to wear political gear in the workplace, or should political expression be limited to avoid divisiveness?
Recently encountered this issue at work and looking for insight on how to approach it! How do you go about limiting political expression if that's the best course of action?
Enrollment Window Notification Enhancement
The new hire enrollment window notification is currently only configured to be sent to the account owner and can't be toggled on or off. An idea would be to allow this notification to also be saved in the "Email Notifications" settings under the account
What's the story with Benefit Booklets?
From the Broker Service Team side (Benefits/Booklets) I can export a Benefit Booklet for any of our clients. I wasn't here when this feature was setup and, though there are improvements I'd love to see, I can edit it to easily create a resource for our
Adding Qualifying Event Dates
When an employees account is unlocked due to a qualifying event, would it make more sense to have the employer enter the qualifying event date instead of the employee? If an employee is past their window when they go in to make changes they could put
Standard Emergency Contact Form
We have many groups for that have requested Emergency Contact Forms, they all have the same general components... this seems like a great opportunity for Bernie to offer a standard form for groups to utilize.
I9 Document Clarification
The employee view can be confusing for employees when completing their I9. Is there any way to make it clearer? When employees try to upload I9 documents, they are given the two lists, but they don't always get the correct document in the correct list.
What relationship policy does your organization have in place, and how do you effectively communicate it to employees?
I recently watched the HR Party of One episode on relationship policies and was wondering how other HR leaders approached workplace relationships. Looking for insight!
Benefits/Provider Details - Make Multiple Group Numbers Available
Allow Broker Users to input different group numbers within the same Insurer/Carrier. For instance, we may have Medical, Dental and Vision all with United Healthcare, but the carrier uses a different policy number for each of the benefits. Currently,
What is the best team-building activity you have ever done?
We want to make this fun and energizing for our employees. Please share!
How can I reduce the stigma around PIPs at my organization?
My employees have traditionally seen PIPs as a punishment. How can I frame PIPs in a way that ensures my employees feel supported and motivated to improve?
Is it fair to offer different benefits to different levels of employees?
Should executives and higher-level employees receive better benefits than entry-level employees, or should benefits be equal across all levels? What are your thoughts?
What are some possible flaws in the hiring process?
We are re-evaluating our hiring process and looking for any tips to uncover whether a candidate is the right fit. Currently, we do 1 phone screen and 2 one-hour interviews, one with a hiring manager and the other with a team member or a panel. Thoug
What are the best recruiting agencies for HR positions?
I am trying to advance my career in HR. What are your tips?
When is it time to ask for a raise in your own HR role?
I've been angling for a raise, but I think I need to be more assertive. When is a good time to ask, and what projects do you use to highlight your accomplishments that your boss acknowledged as raise-worthy?
Reinstate "Made Mistake" Enhancement
After an employee is reinstated once in the portal, the "Made Mistake" option no longer shows after terminated/reinstating a second time. It would be helpful if this option appeared all of the time as mistakes can happen more than once. Additionally,
Enrollment Window
The new hire enrollment window seems to only apply when an employee is added to the portal for the first time. It would be helpful for the enrollment window to apply to terminated employees that are reinstated with a new hire date, OR employees that were
Status Change- Election
When there is an election due to a change in Status moving from Part time to full time- there should be a way to indicate that or to see that in the portal. On the election sheet it could say, change in sub group with the date. Or as well as having the
Mailing Address Option
Can we have an option for mailing address? Or rename Address to Mailing address? For example, some employees who live in rural areas have a PO BOX rather than having their mail delivered to their homes. Most people will put the PO Box, but a few will
EOI on Children
We need the ability for the EOI to be required on children in some instances. Not all insurers automatically approve children VTL or Critical Illness. Some require them to complete EOI before each child can be approved if they declined coverage when
All Data - Employee Username
For employees who are onboarded without an email address, it would be a good idea for the All Data Report to display their username saved under the employee's profile within the portal.
Age Rated Dental Plan
We are a broker in Washington State, and we have several carriers with age-rated dental plans. Currently BerniePortal doesn't have the ability to build a dental plan with that rate structure. Has anyone else encountered this, and how have you handled
Reinstated/Made Mistake No Notification Election Sent
There is no email that is sent to the Interested or Employee when an employee has been Reinstated/Made Mistake. So if an employee is terminated there is not a way of knowing of if the employer made a reinstated/made mistake action on this employee without
Trailing spaces in BerniePortal Reports
When our agency generates reports out of BerniePortal that contain a SSN or zip code the column contains trailing spaces at the end of the number. It causes issues when we try to copy paste the information into another spreadsheet or carrier website.
Employee E-Signature for Employer Prompted Changes
Currently, when an employer makes a change that prompts a new election PDF, e.g. salary change, termination, benefit reduction, etc, the PDF shows the Employee E-Signature as if the employee signed off on the change. It would be better if there was no
What's your company's PTO policy after maternity leave?
Does this change at all? I'm curious how others handle this or if it is left exactly the same depending on whether they decided to use PTO to extend their leave.