Solving a Workday Benefits Gap without Adding Cost

Story Overview

A regional healthcare organization was migrating from a legacy Oracle suite to Workday, but the new rollout did not include Workday’s benefits module. That left the client needing a benefits administration solution that could integrate with Workday, support a complex benefits structure, and avoid an expensive, manual fallback.

Challenge

Without a new platform, the client would have had no reliable way for employees to elect benefits or send eligibility data to more than 12 carriers. For a large hospital network with complex plan rules, that created real risk: delayed enrollments, billing errors, denied claims, payroll issues, and significant administrative strain on the HR team.

IMA’s Strategy and Actions

IMA’s HR technology team acted to support the client by:

• Running a discovery process to define cost, integration, and support requirements.
• Leading an RFP with three outside vendors while also evaluating Ignite as an in-house option.
• Coordinating with producer and account management teams to streamline decisions and implementation.
• Building the solution in-house, including Workday connectivity, carrier feeds, testing, and data cleanup to reduce client lift.

IMA simplified a complex benefits transition, improving accuracy and saving the client approximately $500,000 a year.

Why It Worked

IMA did more than recommend a platform. The team matched the solution to the client’s operating reality: a tight timeline, an unbudgeted need, complex carrier relationships, and limited tolerance for another disconnected system. Because implementation and support stayed in-house, the client got faster execution, direct accountability, and a smoother rollout during a broader Workday transition.

Key Takeaways

This case shows the value of combining HR tech consulting, market evaluation, and in-house administration capabilities. IMA identified a practical option that solved the immediate gap, reduced long-term cost, and improved the client experience rather than forcing a workaround.