NEWSROOM

The Tech Team Updates for this month offer more news you can use concerning Ease and its transition to Employee Navigator, which is continuing in 2026.

What’s New?

Below are highlights of the most recent Employee Navigator enhancements:

 

Coming Soon: Making “Class” Optional

In coming weeks, "Class" will become an optional field to simplify company setup. Since Payroll Group now determines pay frequency and Employment Type can be used for benefit eligibility. “Class” is no longer required by default. All existing Class-based eligibility rules, plan assignments, and reporting will continue to work just as they do today. You can still mark Class as "HR Required" and use it throughout the system whenever needed. We expect to make this application change at the end of January. If you have questions about how this change might affect your setup, please contact Support.

AI Plan Build Tool: New Terms/Fee Acceptance and Billing Workflow

While the AI Plan Build tool remains enabled for all users beginning this month, the Beta Testing period is coming to an end in February. Since this will become a paid, à la carte paid feature on February 9th, Employee Navigator requires a Licensee Admin to complete a feature acceptance workflow at the Licensee-level in order to continue use after that date. 

Payroll

Employees rehired via payroll integration will now receive the “Welcome Rehire” email, instead of the “Welcome New Hire” email. Rehires who have never logged into Employee Navigator will receive the “Welcome New Hire” email to facilitate account creation.

Partner

You will now save time when renewing plans using carrier APIs, the Rate Library, or the AI Plan Build Tool because 834 and Vendor Data Mapping rules using the PlanID as a condition will automatically include the renewed plan. Support Partner users within a Hosted Licensee will no longer have access to inactive brokerages from the Licensee Home Page.

W&B Support

Reach out to your W&B sales team to discuss next steps in requesting W&B support for Ease and Employee Navigator. 

An Intake Form is required to collect the information needed for your group and plan build requirements. Get the latest Ease Setup Request Form Instructions in Word & Brown’s Insurance Forms Library. Or download the Employee Navigator Setup Request Form Instructions. 

As access and features are released by EN, we will keep our Employee Navigator Build Guide updated with the most current information.

Also, make sure you sign up to receive W&B emails. We regularly distribute information on Employee Navigator training sessions as they are announced. 

Employee Navigator Training Resources

Check out the links below to access the resources and guides available for your agency and your groups on Employee Navigator. 

• HR Training Resources    
• Broker Training Resources    
• Employee Experience (6:37)
• HR Experience (4:57)

Learn more by contacting your W&B representative.