Benefit managers have several resources aside from consultants when it comes to researching and implementing employee benefits programs.

"There are organizations that provide companies with benefit support tools and information including modeling tools, surveys, tools for annual enrollment, sample communication material, plan design, networking opportunities, benchmarking, vendor management and many other useful tools," said Charlie Miracola, manager of corporate benefits at Public Service Enterprise Group Inc. in Newark, N.J.

These organizations, which usually charge a membership fee, include the Benefits Roundtable, which Mr. Miracola tapped to survey other employers' experience when PSEG was designing a commuter benefits program.

Cynthia Vivian, director of human resources for the American Library Assn. in Chicago, said she may use the tools and services of the Management Assn. of Illinois rather than rely on a consultant for some services.

Other organizations that provide similar resources include employer coalitions, the Society for Human Resource Management, the National Business Group on Health and, for nonprofits, the American Society of Association Executives.

"In downturns, companies tend to be more active in these various organizations," said Bob Leone, principal and solutions and strategy leader for Hewitt Associates Inc.'s retirement and financial management practice in Minneapolis.

In addition, health insurers and other vendors "increasingly are offering consultative-type services to employers," said Mike Thompson, a principal with PricewaterhouseCoopers L.L.C.'s human resources practice in New York.

Chris McSwain, director of global benefits for Whirlpool Corp. in Benton Harbor, Mich., said he is "trying to leverage our partners' core competencies to complement our benefits team." The companies' partners include pharmacy benefit managers, pharmaceutical companies, health plans, third-party administrators for the 401(k) plan, and local hospitals, he said.

"All have a number of resources in their organization to support our account that we already pay for in the fees we pay them," Mr. McSwain said.

For example, he said, partners "can offer us prepared communications collateral" to use to relay benefits information to employees. "This shortens the cycle and reduces costs."

"I don't have to go out and reinvent the wheel," Mr. McSwain said. "All of our partners have consultant-level professionals. We're taking our innovation and trying to tap into theirs to try to complement each other." He declined to provide details, saying the effort was just getting under way.

Mr. McSwain said he also is working with the Employers Health Coalition of Ohio Inc., the San Francisco-based Integrated Benefits Institute and the St. Louis-based Center for Health Value Innovation.

Without using a consultant, Mr. McSwain's team developed a five-year strategic plan documenting its collaborative strategies. IBI will "help measure our baseline and our improvement over time as we implement our plan. I don't have to have a measurement person on my team," he said. With the path laid out, high-level consultants will be used "along the way," he said.