Small employers need commoditised tools to help them comply with auto-enrolment, a report has concluded.
The Auto Enrolment Advisory Group created a 12 page whitepaper on how to deliver auto-enrolment support to SMEs.
The document outlines the challenges faced when it comes to delivering auto-enrolment support to the estimated 1,198,361 employers yet to stage and how this affects professionals in the market place delivering their solutions.
The company conducted a survey with accountants asking how employers would choose support to help comply with auto-enrolment.

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The research revealed:
• Employers who would be happy to pay a higher price for a consultancy based solution - 28%
• Employers who would opt for a lower cost "In a Box" style solution designed to help an employer comply but with simple step by step - 64%
• Employers who felt confident fully understanding and meeting their obligations without any external help - 8%
• Less than one in ten employers who still need to comply felt they don't need any form of support in order to comply with auto enrolment regulation.
• Less than three in ten employers who still need to comply felt that they would look to comply using a consultancy based solution.

Auto Enrolment Advisory Group director Chris Daems said: "It's clear from the accountants and employers we speak to that the market is changing.
"For automatic enrolment to continue to be successful in the realm of the small employer there needs to be commoditised tools designed to help these employers comply.
"The results are surprising in some areas and expected in others.
"However the key factor is a desire from most employers to handle auto enrolment using a simple low cost commodity based method as opposed to a high cost high touch consultancy approach.
"Our research shows most employers (just over three fifths) will be looking for a low cost and low touch solution in order to comply with the upcoming regulation, for the majority of Small and Micro employers looking for help, a key factor is cost. "However they still need significant help and support."

Mr Daems said for professionals to effectively provide a service the smaller end of the SME and micro market they need to take four steps:
1. Identify the gap (what's delivered by professionals in the consultancy model) and automate these tasks as much as possible.
2. Simplify the consultancy process
3. Reduce the costs accordingly to accommodate a larger scale but which enables employers to comply easily.
4. Make complying with automatic enrolment as easy as possible for the SME/Micro market.