Benefits Analyst

The Benefits Analyst plays an important role supporting the HR Total Rewards team by helping to administrate the day-to-day processes, programs, and policies using specialized knowledge and skills. Must be independently capable of solving complex problems and can improve upon existing processes with a fresh perspective. This role participates in the coordination of workflows that help to maintain accurate worker data, benefit enrollments including life status changes, job status changes, and new hire events as well as open enrollment in Augusta Health’s HRIS. This role requires an understanding of benefits and payroll procedures. This role provides support for educating team members about their benefits package, assisting them with selecting the most suitable options, and guiding them through the enrollment process, ensuring they understand all aspects of their chosen plans, including health insurance, retirement savings, and other employee perks.

Responsibilities: 

• Supports the HR Total Rewards team with benefits and compensation projects and activities. 
• Delivers occasional in-person and virtual presentations to individual and group audiences as it pertains to their benefits and Total Rewards package.
• Assists the Benefits Manager with general communications and plan member resources.
• Tracks and follows-up on team member benefit and pay related escalations that require research and coordination with other areas of HR and/or payroll.
• Conducts team member outreach when follow-ups are necessary due to eligibility and enrollment changes that impact benefits and/or pay.
• Maintains knowledge of health and welfare benefit plan and retirement plan processes and procedures and contributes when there are opportunities for improvement.
• Remains informed of benefit regulatory changes, updates to plan documents, helps to ensure compliance, and can communicate benefit plan changes and notices.
• Stays knowledgeable of trends and developments with benefit vendors and related technology.
• Proficient with using common software programs to generate accurate and reliable system audits for benefit enrollment accuracy.
• Serves as point of contact for benefit event management and system testing for mid-year status changes, hires, terminations, and open enrollment.
• Able to document and investigate when more complex benefit issues must be escalated to supervisor and/or benefit vendors.
• Performs routine eligibility audits to assure the HRIS system is setup properly to offer correct benefits and pay offerings.
• Collaborates with rest of the HR team to plan, modify, and customize strategy roadmaps and assists with integrating the benefit goals within the overall annual HR priority planning.
• Updates training materials, guides, or policies as it pertains to each assigned project.
• Works as a HR Total Rewards team member and cross trains other HR professional staff when needed.
• Prior experience with administrating benefit enrollments, maintaining benefit deductions, and experience with communicating to benefit vendors.
• Adept with counseling individuals and families in one-to-one or group settings on their benefit offerings and assisting during transitional moments such as a life events or retirement.
• Reasonable appreciation for need to coordinate and collaborate with key stakeholders such as payroll, talent and onboarding, hiring managers and supervisors, as well as benefit vendors.
• Must be capable of providing clear explanation to a wide range of audience with diverse backgrounds to help them understand their benefit offerings.
• Demonstrates problem-solving, critical thinking, and organizational skills helping to resolve issues in a variety of complex situations.
• Proficient using common software programs such as MS Excel and MS Access to conduct audits and reviews of benefit enrollments and HRIS accuracy.
• Able to create step by step Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) as well as training colleagues on processes.
• Capable of working independently and managing multiple deadlines.

Education:

• Associate’s degree in HR or related field required.
• Bachelor’s degree in HR or related field preferred.

Experience:

• At least one year of experience with HR benefits administration, payroll processes, and pay practices required.
• Two or more years of experience with HR benefits administration, payroll processes, and pay practices in healthcare or other complex organizations preferred.
• Experience with absence management, disability and worksite management preferred.

Licensure/Certification:

• CEBS, InFRE, or equivalent employee benefit certification preferred.

Company Information:
Augusta Health is a mission-driven, independent, nonprofit, community health system located in Fishersville Virginia in Virginia’s scenic Shenandoah Valley. Augusta Health offers a full continuum of inpatient and outpatient which includes Augusta Medical Center a 255 bed inpatient facility and Augusta Medical Group which is comprised of 40 practice locations and four urgent care locations.

Equal Opportunity:
Augusta Health recruits, hires and promotes qualified candidates for employment without regard to age, color, disability, gender identity or expression, marital status, national or ethnic origin, political affiliation, race, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, veteran or military discharge status, and family medical or genetic information.

About Augusta Health:

Augusta Health opened in 1994 to continue a tradition of personalized care with small-town hospitality that began with predecessor hospitals in Staunton and Waynesboro. Today, our highly trained physicians and staff use state-of-the-art technology to provide top quality care with warmth and compassion. We offer many amenities so patients and families can be comfortable and close during difficult times Quick Stats for 2022 255 beds 225 active medical staff 2,450 employees 50 volunteers 74 hospice volunteers 59,573 emergency visits 10,324 admissions 892 babies delivered 549 new cancer patients 585,703 outpatient visits to Augusta Medical Group clinics 293,795 other Outpatient Registrations (this includes Home Health, Laboratory, Outpatient Surgery, Imaging, etc.) 61,166 Urgent Care Visits

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