Many companies are content to leave benefits management to a human resources department that ends up struggling to provide the best plan at a low cost. It is unfair to saddle them with this burden, and in most cases, contracting a benefits management consultant is the best choice.
First and foremost, HR professionals have so many duties to attend to that it is quite a lot to ask of them to simultaneously manage the health insurance plan and benefits packages of an entire workforce. Between mediating staff disagreements, ensuring work safety compliance and overseeing personnel and staffing efforts, there may be no time left for handling benefits.
Additionally, human resources departments, much like most other divisions within a company, are beholden to yearly budget constraints. This makes it more difficult for them to plan ahead and find the best benefits packages over the long term.
Perhaps most tellingly, most HR divisions are simply too understaffed to properly deal with benefits management and health insurance plans. Even if the time was available to them, there aren't enough specialized professionals in any given human resources department to accurately assess the variables associated with employee benefits.
