“Gone are the days when you could just refer someone to an EAP and hope they take it. You have to be more proactive”
Seth Turner,
AbsenceSoft
“We’re trying to marry the flexibility of the hybrid work structure with connection to each other by encouraging face-to-face interaction and coming together with a purpose”
Jen Lucas,
Tricentis
“When you get to tell some stories about somebody who walked away from suicide or how they finally got a prompting to get help for their addiction, you realize how we’re really affecting people’s lives”
Jeff Ostermann,
Sweetwater
In Partnership with
Meeting employees’ and leadership’s evolving needs
How are companies managing leave, accommodations, and other benefits? HR leaders share their strategies
Read on
Seth Turner
AbsenceSoft
Jen Lucas
Tricentis
Jeff Ostermann
Sweetwater
DeAnne M. Aussem
PwC
Industry experts
MORE IS being asked of HR than ever before, and all eyes are on HR leaders to help their organizations rapidly respond to new and unexpected challenges, such as staffing shortages, company-wide burnout, and maintaining connections among a distributed workforce.
Less than one-third (32 percent) of employees are engaged at work, and 17 percent are actively disengaged, according to a Gallup poll from earlier this year. As a result, creating and fostering an enticing employee experience is the mission statement for HR leaders, especially in such a competitive labor market. Thus, they’ve increased investment in benefits and perqs that support employees’ work-life balance, such as extended leave and accommodations.
With employees in more than 15 countries, Austin, TX-based tech firm Tricentis was already used to a distributed workforce even before the COVID-19 pandemic. Now that the company has transitioned to a hybrid model, with employees in the office at least a couple of days a week, the biggest challenge has been trying to increase connection among employees, as well as between them and the company.
“We’re trying to marry the flexibility of the hybrid work structure with connection to each other by encouraging face-to-face interaction and coming together with a purpose,” says Jen Lucas, chief people officer at Tricentis. “We’re also encouraging people to evaluate for themselves what they need and then to articulate that. That helps the process of managers and employees understanding what’s going to work for any given person at any given time.”
At a recent round table, HR leaders from AbsenceSoft, PwC, Sweetwater, and Tricentis spoke candidly about the challenges they’re facing in today’s rapidly changing landscape, sharing tips, trends, and practical strategies for meeting their employees’ unique needs.
Shifting priorities
“Ten years ago, we’d be talking about our productivity, healthcare spend and bottom-line numbers,” says Seth Turner, chief strategy officer at AbsenceSoft, a Golden, CO-based absence-management SaaS solutions provider. “Now, it’s more about the employee as a whole and how we keep them engaged while they’re at work.”
Employee well-being is of utmost importance
Of course, mental health plays a major role in employees requesting leave and accommodation.
In the US, 28 percent of employees are reporting burnout symptoms and 32 percent are experiencing moderate distress, according to a McKinsey Health Institute report in May. Since the pandemic, many employers have recognized this growing need and doubled down on providing benefits and resources to their employees. That’s expected to continue in 2023, with a recent survey by AHIP, a health insurers’ trade association, indicating that health plans are improving access to mental health services by bringing more providers into their networks.
Mental health has been top of mind at Sweetwater, a leading online retailer for music instruments and professional audio gear. Headquartered in Fort Wayne, IN, the company has hosted a series of lunch-and-learns where medical professionals come in to destigmatize the topic. Additionally, the company has hired an on-staff mental-health counselor whom employees can see for free.
“We weren’t sure whether people would trust seeing somebody like that on campus, but that concern was quickly removed, and we’ve gotten tremendous feedback from the support resource being so accessible,” says Jeff Ostermann, chief people officer at Sweetwater.
“Sometimes these programs can feel like numbers, data, and spend,” Ostermann adds. “That’s true, and we have to be disciplined and good stewards of our business, but when you get to tell some stories about somebody who walked away from suicide or how they finally got a prompting to get help for their addiction, you realize how we’re really affecting people’s lives. That transcends the conversation about the bottom line.”
PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) has tackled mental health through its recent My+ initiative, through which the professional services firm is investing $2.4 billion in its people experience over the next three years. The company has doubled the number of free visits with a mental health professional from six to 12 annually and increased the reimbursement amount for out-of-network mental health support from 70 percent to 90 percent.
As for leave and accommodation, PwC has expanded parental leave from eight to 12 weeks and, when folks return, they come back to work on a reduced schedule that fits their needs. The company has also launched tech-enabled vacation tools to make it easier for employees to plan and take uninterrupted time off. For example, after the company’s week-long shutdown in July (another happens in December), 93 per cent of surveyed employees said their time off was uninterrupted.
On top of all that, PwC offers sabbaticals, in which employees can take up to six months off while still receiving their full benefits and 20 per cent of their pay.
“We’re imagining a future where well-being is even more front-and-center,” says DeAnne Aussem, managing director and well-being leader at PwC. “The value of time and how we respect and protect people’s time when they’re taking it for non-work reasons are important, and we’ve put a lot of metrics around making sure we’re doing what we say we’ll do.”
Proving RoI
While HR leaders are tasked with meeting their employees’ evolving needs, they’re also faced with making a case to their fellow C-suite members and/or boards of directors for why greater investment in benefits, such as leave and accommodation programs, is worthwhile for the company.
Lucas says HR leaders are now at the intersection of having to express employees’ perspectives and what these programs’ impact will be on them, as well as representing the company’s investment in these programs and what impact that will have on the bottom line, in a qualitative and quantitative way. “While in the past we may have been skewed one way or the other, that holistic view is an expectation now, and being able to provide that is exciting,” Lucas says.
Just a few years ago, Turner says, senior leadership didn’t have enough appreciation for the work that goes into managing those programs and making them successful. That’s changed since the pandemic, as leaders now understand the importance of their employees’ well-being.
“It’s opened a great conversation to the senior levels,” Turner says. “Although the focus is still on metrics and program usage, total volumes and loss of workdays, there are also return-to-work metrics and other success stories that are being woven into what the senior leaders are interested in hearing.”
AbsenceSoft, an absence-management SaaS solutions provider, delivers modern, scalable, easy-to-use and flexible software to manage FMLA, ADA, disability, and other forms of leave easily, efficiently, and cost-effectively. With AbsenceSoft, companies can process leaves 10x faster than traditional methods, while ensuring compliance with federal and state regulations. By streamlining the absenteeism management process, HR can improve the employee experience during often-stressful times, resulting in increased employee satisfaction, higher productivity, and reduced turnover. AbsenceSoft is trusted by companies of all sizes and in every industry to care for employees, save time, and maintain compliance.
Find out more
Seth Turner has over 20 years of experience helping clients solve their HR and absence-management issues. As chief strategy officer, Seth is responsible for working with clients on strategic initiatives and evaluating partnerships and product opportunities. Before founding AbsenceSoft, Seth held leadership roles at Hewitt Associates, Mercer, and Reed Group, focusing on outsourcing and technology solutions for leave of absence and employee benefits. Before assuming the CSO role, Seth led the product, implementation, sales, and marketing teams at AbsenceSoft. Seth has an BA in business, management information systems from Indiana University, and an MBA from Northwestern University.
AbsenceSoft
Seth Turner
Jeff Ostermann is responsible for providing leadership to Sweetwater's human resources group while also continually developing new ways for the company to invest in the growth of its team members to further its unique and industry-leading culture.
Jeff came to Sweetwater in 2012 and for his first eight years provided leadership to the Sweet Family of Companies group of 14 businesses. Jeff holds a degree in finance and international business from Indiana University, an MBA from Taylor University, and a professional coaching certification from Duquesne University. He began his career in corporate finance working for Nortel Networks and General Electric.
Sweetwater
Jeff Ostermann
Jen Lucas is the chief people officer at Tricentis, responsible for leading the global people team. She specializes in leading large-scale growth and change, mergers and acquisitions, driving peak performance, talent acquisition, and total rewards. She is based in Austin.
Jen joins Tricentis from Frontdoor, Inc., where she served as senior vice president and chief people and communications officer. Prior to Frontdoor, she served as senior vice president and chief people officer at SolarWinds, where she led HR teams in more than 15 countries and was a key contributor to growing the company organically and through mergers and acquisitions.
Tricentis
Jen Lucas
DeAnne Aussem serves as the well-being leader of PwC US and Mexico. As a managing director, leadership development expert, and credentialed well-being coach, DeAnne draws upon more than 25 years of professional services experience supporting leaders, teams, and organizations across the US and globally. DeAnne is a recognized dynamic and innovative business leader with deep expertise in strategy, global leadership development, well-being, diversity and inclusion, and human capital, making her a trusted advisor and source of strategic insight into today’s most difficult leadership challenges and initiatives that champion the future of work.
PwC
DeAnne M. Aussem
In Partnership with
Meeting employees’ and leadership’s evolving needs
How are companies managing leave, accommodations, and other benefits? HR leaders share their strategies
Read on
DeAnne M. Aussem
PwC
Jeff Ostermann
Sweetwater
Jen Lucas
Tricentis
Seth Turner
AbsenceSoft
Industry experts
AbsenceSoft, an absence-management SaaS solutions provider, delivers modern, scalable, easy-to-use and flexible software to manage FMLA, ADA, disability, and other forms of leave easily, efficiently, and cost-effectively. With AbsenceSoft, companies can process leaves 10x faster than traditional methods, while ensuring compliance with federal and state regulations. By streamlining the absenteeism management process, HR can improve the employee experience during often-stressful times, resulting in increased employee satisfaction, higher productivity, and reduced turnover. AbsenceSoft is trusted by companies of all sizes and in every industry to care for employees, save time, and maintain compliance.
Find out more
Seth Turner has over 20 years of experience helping clients solve their HR and absence-management issues. As chief strategy officer, Seth is responsible for working with clients on strategic initiatives and evaluating partnerships and product opportunities. Before founding AbsenceSoft, Seth held leadership roles at Hewitt Associates, Mercer, and Reed Group, focusing on outsourcing and technology solutions for leave of absence and employee benefits. Before assuming the CSO role, Seth led the product, implementation, sales, and marketing teams at AbsenceSoft. Seth has an BA in business, management information systems from Indiana University, and an MBA from Northwestern University.
AbsenceSoft
Seth Turner
Jen Lucas is the chief people officer at Tricentis, responsible for leading the global people team. She specializes in leading large-scale growth and change, mergers and acquisitions, driving peak performance, talent acquisition, and total rewards. She is based in Austin.
Jen joins Tricentis from Frontdoor, Inc., where she served as senior vice president and chief people and communications officer. Prior to Frontdoor, she served as senior vice president and chief people officer at SolarWinds, where she led HR teams in more than 15 countries and was a key contributor to growing the company organically and through mergers and acquisitions.
Tricentis
Jen Lucas
Jeff Ostermann is responsible for providing leadership to Sweetwater's human resources group while also continually developing new ways for the company to invest in the growth of its team members to further its unique and industry-leading culture.
Jeff came to Sweetwater in 2012 and for his first eight years provided leadership to the Sweet Family of Companies group of 14 businesses. Jeff holds a degree in finance and international business from Indiana University, an MBA from Taylor University, and a professional coaching certification from Duquesne University. He began his career in corporate finance working for Nortel Networks and General Electric.
Sweetwater
Jeff Ostermann
DeAnne Aussem serves as the well-being leader of PwC US and Mexico. As a managing director, leadership development expert, and credentialed well-being coach, DeAnne draws upon more than 25 years of professional services experience supporting leaders, teams, and organizations across the US and globally. DeAnne is a recognized dynamic and innovative business leader with deep expertise in strategy, global leadership development, well-being, diversity and inclusion, and human capital, making her a trusted advisor and source of strategic insight into today’s most difficult leadership challenges and initiatives that champion the future of work.
PwC
DeAnne M. Aussem
In Partnership with
Meeting employees’ and leadership’s evolving needs
How are companies managing leave, accommodations, and other benefits? HR leaders share their strategies
Read on
DeAnne M. Aussem
PwC
Jeff Ostermann
Sweetwater
Jen Lucas
Tricentis
Seth Turner
AbsenceSoft
Industry experts
AbsenceSoft, an absence-management SaaS solutions provider, delivers modern, scalable, easy-to-use and flexible software to manage FMLA, ADA, disability, and other forms of leave easily, efficiently, and cost-effectively. With AbsenceSoft, companies can process leaves 10x faster than traditional methods, while ensuring compliance with federal and state regulations. By streamlining the absenteeism management process, HR can improve the employee experience during often-stressful times, resulting in increased employee satisfaction, higher productivity, and reduced turnover. AbsenceSoft is trusted by companies of all sizes and in every industry to care for employees, save time, and maintain compliance.
Find out more
Jen Lucas is the chief people officer at Tricentis, responsible for leading the global people team. She specializes in leading large-scale growth and change, mergers and acquisitions, driving peak performance, talent acquisition, and total rewards. She is based in Austin.
Jen joins Tricentis from Frontdoor, Inc., where she served as senior vice president and chief people and communications officer. Prior to Frontdoor, she served as senior vice president and chief people officer at SolarWinds, where she led HR teams in more than 15 countries and was a key contributor to growing the company organically and through mergers and acquisitions.
Tricentis
Jen Lucas
Jeff Ostermann is responsible for providing leadership to Sweetwater's human resources group while also continually developing new ways for the company to invest in the growth of its team members to further its unique and industry-leading culture.
Jeff came to Sweetwater in 2012 and for his first eight years provided leadership to the Sweet Family of Companies group of 14 businesses. Jeff holds a degree in finance and international business from Indiana University, an MBA from Taylor University, and a professional coaching certification from Duquesne University. He began his career in corporate finance working for Nortel Networks and General Electric.
Sweetwater
Jeff Ostermann
DeAnne Aussem serves as the well-being leader of PwC US and Mexico. As a managing director, leadership development expert, and credentialed well-being coach, DeAnne draws upon more than 25 years of professional services experience supporting leaders, teams, and organizations across the US and globally. DeAnne is a recognized dynamic and innovative business leader with deep expertise in strategy, global leadership development, well-being, diversity and inclusion, and human capital, making her a trusted advisor and source of strategic insight into today’s most difficult leadership challenges and initiatives that champion the future of work.
PwC
DeAnne M. Aussem
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Seth Turner has over 20 years of experience helping clients solve their HR and absence-management issues. As chief strategy officer, Seth is responsible for working with clients on strategic initiatives and evaluating partnerships and product opportunities. Before founding AbsenceSoft, Seth held leadership roles at Hewitt Associates, Mercer, and Reed Group, focusing on outsourcing and technology solutions for leave of absence and employee benefits. Before assuming the CSO role, Seth led the product, implementation, sales, and marketing teams at AbsenceSoft. Seth has an BA in business, management information systems from Indiana University, and an MBA from Northwestern University.
AbsenceSoft
Seth Turner
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“We’re imagining a future where well-being is even more front-and-center”
DeAnne Aussem,
PwC
McKinsey Health Institute
American workers battling mental health issues
28%
32%
are experiencing moderate distress
of employees are reporting burnout symptoms
Qualtrics
PTO left on the table
9.5
On average, Americans had
unused vacation days left at the end of 2021
“Employee satisfaction surveys are critically important,” Turner adds, “as we roll out new benefits, we always look at how many people are taking advantage of those benefits and using them as intended. That’s the greatest measure of success.”
Turner says clients are reporting a dramatic rise in leave and accommodation rates, as employees combat high stress and anxiety by focusing on their well-being. During open enrollment season, clients also extended their benefits packages to include time off through increased PTO, vacation time, reduced workweeks, etc. Meanwhile, AbsenceSoft has encouraged employees to step away from the laptop for periodic breaks or to pick their kids up from school.
“We continue to look at other ways we can inject some work-life balance or at least make our employees feel okay taking time for themselves,” Turner says.