“What’s the ROI?” is the right question to ask of any benefits technology investment, but it’s often answered with vague promises. Here is a concrete framework you can apply to your own numbers.

Start with two value streams

Benefits enrollment and service ROI comes from two places: cost avoided (fewer service calls handled by people) and value created (higher participation and retention). Measure them separately, then add them.

Call-center savings

This is the most direct line. Estimate it as:

  • Monthly interactions × deflection rate = automated interactions
  • Automated interactions × fully loaded cost per interaction = monthly savings
  • Monthly savings × 12 = annual call-center savings

A 65% deflection rate against typical per-interaction costs adds up quickly. Use your fully loaded cost (labor, tooling, overhead), not just agent wages.

Participation lift

Higher participation is harder to put a single dollar figure on, but it’s real: it improves the risk pool, strengthens client retention for brokers, and raises the perceived value of the benefits package. Track the percentage-point lift and the number of newly enrolled employees, and translate those into your own retention and renewal economics.

Don’t forget time-to-value

ROI is a function of time. A solution that goes live in weeks via API middleware starts returning value far sooner than a multi-quarter rip-and-replace. Factor implementation time and disruption into the comparison.

Make it concrete

The fastest way to ground these numbers is to model them against your real inputs, number of employees, monthly interactions, cost per interaction, and current participation. Our ROI calculator does exactly that, and a strategy session can refine the assumptions for your business.