Online benefits offer sound advice. (Human Capital).

THE PAYBACK FOR ONLINE BENEFITS IS OBVIOUS: IT CAN SIGNIFICANTLY reduce the cost of running a human resource department by allowing employees to manage their benefits from the convenience of their desktop. According to the "2002 Employee Benefits Trend Survey" by MetLife, this year 44 percent of employers used the Internet for benefits enrollment, up from 15 percent last year.

At companies with more than 5,000 employees, the rate of usage jumps to 71 percent. Many issues contribute to the rise of online-benefits administration, one of which is the common practice of te