From recruiting and retention to company culture and the latest in HR tech, HR Brew delivers up-to-date industry news and tips to help HR pros stay nimble in today’s fast-changing business environment.

HR Brew

Kristen Parisi

hr-brew.com

four babies, around six months old in a daycare setting. three have bows on their heads, all looking content

The US birth rate increased by 6.2% in 2021, as workers got lucky with WFH benefits.

What the country’s rising birth rate means for parental leave

Aman Kidwai

The Nylas Alumni Fund is a unique employee benefit

The Nylas Alumni Fund is investing in employees who leave to start their own business.

How one tech company is experimenting with a unique employee benefit

Black graduation cap, a diploma, white ladder, a small book on a table, depicts an attempt for students to achieve the goal or gain success in higher education.

Talent attraction consulting firms

Andersen consulting is the latest to enter the fray, with its own MBA program.

Consulting firms use higher ed perks to attract, retain talent

Benefits guide text on pamphlet next to cup of coffee

Benefits

Adam DeRose

Leave management software platform Tilt announced Tuesday a shift in thinking when it comes to managing leaves of absence with its new leave experience management platform, powered by AI.

The move introduces an entirely new category of HR tech: leave experience management, according to the startup, reimagining the approach companies take to administering and managing leaves of absence with more transparency and hands-on control by companies and their HR teams.

“The problem isn’t that HR doesn’t want to be involved in leave at all. The problem is they’ve never had the right tools to be involved in the right way,” said CEO Jen Henderson, who founded Tilt in 2017. “The long held belief was that you had to outsource the entire function, but the real job to be done was to eliminate the administrative burden like complex math, the endless forms, the broken data streams. No one ever wanted to be fully removed from the human connection.”

Leave can be an important strategic and cultural asset for companies when it comes to retention, Henderson added during a demo at the HR Technology conference this week in Las Vegas, NV.

Handling requests, processing, and administering leaves of absence often requires a complicated, multistep, and multi-stakeholder operation that involves a lot of personal information on the part of the employee, and compliance expertise on the part of the employer (or vendor), and lots and lots of paperwork.

Tilt last month completed a $15 million Series B funding round, led by Bramalea Partners, with participation from HearstLab, Firework Ventures, Origin Ventures, and Techstars, bringing its total funding to $37 million.

Henderson said Tilt emerged to better serve businesses looking to do right by employees in the very space “where work and life, quite literally, collide.”

“The most critical, vulnerable moments in an employee’s journey should be handled by the people who know them, who know the names of their family members, know the names of their children, not by a stranger,” she added.

Leave of absence, Henderson suggested, is often outsourced to mitigate compliance risk and maintain efficiency on the complicated processes . However, when employees need to use leave to address something in their personal lives, navigating the “black box” of a vendor’s processes can impact an organization’s employee experience, and doesn’t always free HR teams from headaches.

“This broken model erodes the very culture that you’ve worked so hard to build,” Henderson said. “It pushes your best talent towards the door and leaves you legally exposed with no direct control over the process you’re ultimately liable for.”

Tilt’s new LXM platform leveraged “intelligent automation” to create a workflow and dashboard that serves both the HR pro and the employee. AI is allowing humans back into the leave of absence process, Henderson contends, because the technology can help with the administrative, accounting, and compliance burdens, while providing employees, managers and HR teams with the necessary information about the employee leave in one central platform, managed by HR.

“AI could finally sever the link between administrative complexity and human empathy. It could automate the tedious work to finally liberate the humans that are involved in leave,” Henderson said. “You should be in control of supporting your employees’ critical life moments as HR.”

"Out of office" written on a heart-shaped note posted on a calendar. Credit: Francis Scialabba

Introducing a new HR tech category: Leave experience management

This leave management platform is betting that AI can help HR take back the reigns of leave management.

Speakers

Questions?

Many companies pour resources into benefits programs, only to see dismal engagement rates that waste budget and leave employees underserved. This session unpacks why traditional benefits miss the mark and shares proven strategies to dramatically boost utilization when it matters most.

Clipboard with a check mark on a dark green background.

Why Employees Aren’t Using What You’re Offering (And How to Fix It)

Where’s the ROI on your benefits spending? And what is your organization actually getting for said investment? Your C-suite is asking these tough Qs, and if you don’t have the answers in hard numbers, you’re not alone. The problem: Your MSK benefits could be broken. The game changer: Sword’s $1 million guarantee.

If your organization doesn’t save money in your first 12 months with Sword, they’ll pay you $1 million. (Nope, this isn’t marketing theater.) Read their white paper to get all the details on how this works and to learn how Sword can help you stop bleeding money on benefits that don’t work.

Sword Health

The $1 million guarantee setting a new standard for employee healthcare

Mikaela Cohen

Love it or hate it, everyone in HR has an opinion on unlimited paid time off.

Just 7% of US companies offer unlimited PTO, the Wall Street Journal 

. And 30% of private employers that don’t, instead offer their employees an average of 10–14 PTO days a year after one year on the job, according to 

 from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Employees with unlimited PTO take an average of 16 days off annually, a 2024 SHRM 

, while those afforded a specific number of days take an average of 14.

Some HR pros have said that unlimited PTO policies can be 

, which can lead to over and underutilization of the benefit. The latter can lead to higher rates of 

That was the case at Bolt. Its CEO, Ryan Breslow, 

 in July that the fintech company “killed unlimited PTO” because “it’s totally broken.”

“We looked at the data really on how often people were taking time off internally,” Kelly Lawson Pihl, Bolt’s head of people operations, told HR Brew. “[It] skewed towards higher performers were not taking enough time off, and others maybe took a little bit more advantage of that ambiguity.”

Bolt’s unlimited PTO policy dates back to its founding in 2014 and was the norm for its remote workforce of about 130 full-time employees in North America, Europe, Asia, and Africa until July. Its new policy grants all global employees a specific amount of PTO annually. Bolt’s roughly 80 US-based employees, for example, get 20 PTO days. (PTO taken prior to the policy change will not be counted toward the 20 days this year, Lawson Pihl said.)

Lawson Pihl said she wanted to address the “high discrepancy” between employees taking too much and too little time off. Under the unlimited policy, she said some employees, especially high performers, were taking as little as one or two days off per year, while others were taking more than 20 days.

“There’s too much confusion on how to utilize this unlimited policy. I think it sounds really progressive and good on paper, but in practice, again, it created this imbalance, created this discrepancy, and then confusion,” she said.

In switching to a traditional PTO policy, Lawson Pihl said she hopes more employees will feel empowered to take time to relax and recharge, especially high-performing employees, who may be more prone to burnout.

“To provide that clarity really gave people the ability to say, ‘Okay, I have this. I know it’s expected, and I know that I should be taking this off,’” she said. “‘In fact, my team, my managers, leaders, people ops, really expects it. It’s not just ambiguous and there.’”

Different countries have different cultural expectations when it comes to time off, Lawson Pihl said. US employees, for example, 

 time off than their counterparts in other Western countries. People leaders can help encourage them to take more time by setting a standard for the “sacredness” of days off, she said.

“[Make] sure that managers discuss with their team a clear point of contact when that person is off, to not ‘at’ them or ping them in Slack messages, if at all possible, and to do schedule sends for when they’re back on,” she said. “Those day-to-day tactical things that managers and team members can do to help make this more of an actual time that people can unplug.”

HR leaders reevaluating their PTO policy should solicit employee feedback on what is and isn’t working so they can make a data-driven decision, Lawson Pihl advised.

“Figure out the problem that you’re trying to solve first and then work backwards from there,” she said. “Give folks the resources and tools to be able to understand and utilize fully whatever policy you go with.”

illustration of post it that reads out of office

Why fintech company Bolt eliminated its unlimited time off policy

The goal was to close the gap between employees over and underutilizing the benefit, Kelly Lawson Pihl, Bolt’s head of people operations, tells HR Brew.

An illustration of reporter Courtney Vinopal's headshot.

Courtney Vinopal

If you’re a total rewards leader who’s just hearing about an 

individual coverage health reimbursement arrangement (ICHRA)

, it’s likely because the option has only been around for the last five years.

It may also be because this type of benefit—which allows employers to offer pre-tax dollars so employees can purchase their own individual health plan, rather than elect coverage through a group plan—is not currently the predominant form of employer-sponsored healthcare. Just 4% of firms offering health benefits gave workers funds to purchase non-group health insurance in 2024, according to a 

Still, this option may be of interest to small employers that wouldn’t otherwise be able to offer health coverage to their workers, or businesses with specific employee populations. Here are three questions for HR teams considering offering an ICHRA, according to industry experts.

The answer to this question depends on the size of the employer and how they view their role as a benefits provider, said Josh Miley, ICHRA solution leader with consulting firm WTW.

“If you’re a small employer or a startup, the reason why you would do an ICHRA is because it gives you a manageable entry point into offering benefits,” he said. Employers with fewer than 50 workers aren’t required to offer health insurance, but ICHRAs generally have a lower barrier to entry, as they don’t have requirements such as minimum participation rates.

Larger employers that are thinking about switching from a group health plan to an ICHRA will need to consider “cost and complexity,” Miley said. As health costs 

 and HR teams are tasked with “the administrative burden” of managing a complex ecosystem of brokers, vendors, compliance, and regulatory professionals for their healthcare, they may want to evaluate whether these efforts are commensurate with the value employees get out of the benefits, he said.

When doing an analysis to determine whether an ICHRA makes financial sense for the organization, HR leaders should look at not only how the cost of group-sponsored plans compares to the cost of similar plans on the individual market, but also whether workers would have “meaningful choice” if offered an ICHRA, said Miley. The price and quality of individual plans can vary greatly in different states, so employers should consider factors like how many carriers are located in the regions where their workers are based, or whether they offer lower-deductible plans, such as a gold plan.

HR leaders should also try to get a sense of employees’ appetite for ICHRAs when considering who would benefit, said Julia Zuckerman, VP and senior consultant in Segal’s compliance practice. Many companies take a “paternalistic” approach to healthcare coverage, and employees are typically happy to let them lead. But she noted “there are definitely some people interested in more choice, and who are more sophisticated and motivated to think about the best coverage options for them.”

Should your executive leadership team decide they want to offer an ICHRA plan to the workforce, there’s a fair amount of change management that has to happen ahead of the rollout, particularly for larger employers switching from group coverage.

HR teams should anticipate questions from employees about what the process looks like for buying a health plan themselves, as well as communicate about issues that may come up when the employer isn’t managing the plan for them, Miley said. Workers should know that they may lose coverage if they miss a premium payment, for example, or see a dependent lose coverage when they turn 26.

Successfully transitioning from an ICHRA requires “educating your employee population,” said Ben Light, VP of partnerships with Zorro, an ICHRA platform. Leadership can help employees understand that this is a new way to elect healthcare coverage, and make sure they know what information to secure ahead of time—such as potential doctors, facilities, and medications—in order to choose the right plan.

Illustration of an open hand with a coin on the left and an open hand in a doctor's white coat with a heart that has a cross in the middle

How to decide if an ICHRA is right for your company

Giving workers money to purchase their own health plan isn’t yet a widespread practice, but it may be the right call for certain types of organizations.

3 questions to ask when considering an ICHRA 

GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic gained traction in the press for helping many, 

, lose significant amounts of weight quickly.

But today, Ozempic and other semaglutide drugs, first approved for treating diabetes in 2017 and for obesity in 2021, are no longer just the favored (off label) weight loss method of Hollywood stars. Spending on GLP-1s rose to 

 in 2023, up 500% from five years earlier. Employers are also 

 GLP-1 drugs for weight loss, though the high price tag has prompted some to pull back on the benefit.

Aflac is one such employer. Last year the insurance company stopped covering GLP-1 drugs for weight loss over cost concerns, Tricia Griggs, Aflac’s manager of wellness and safety, told HR Brew. Around the same time, it expanded access to gym memberships through Wellhub for its 6,000-person US workforce.

Why Aflac says it no longer covers GLP-1s. 

In the summer of 2023, Griggs says she started having conversations with her team about ending coverage of GLP-1 drugs for employees seeking weight loss treatments. Aflac had covered the drugs for as long as they’d been on the market (the FDA first approved a GLP-1 precursor to semaglutides for obesity in 2014), and in 2022 they started seeing a major increase in workers seeking them out, Griggs said.

The decision was “strictly financial,” Griggs said, and had nothing to do with the efficacy of the drugs. Some studies have shown GLP-1 users 

 of 10% to 15% of their body weight in the course of a year, with more effective GLP-1 medications even leading to a 20% reduction. The drugs have a hefty price tag, though, as out-of-pocket costs 

 to be around $1,000 a month. More than one-quarter of employers reported GLP-1 drugs for weight loss represented more than 15% of their total annual claims in 2024, 

 from the International Foundation of Employee Benefits Plans.

“Unfortunately, the spend was outrageous,” Griggs said, estimating Aflac was spending “millions of dollars a year” on GLP-1s. She expressed concern about GLP-1 spending potentially affecting Aflac’s ability to pay for other medical coverage, such as a cancer claim. Aflac still covers GLP-1s for diabetes.

Around the time Aflac discussed dropping GLP-1 coverage in 2023, Griggs and her team realized they were already paying for about 300 people to be on a starter gym plan through Wellhub, the corporate wellness platform that was formerly Gympass.

“What would it look like if we just paid for all Aflac employees to have access to the starter plan for free?” she recalled asking. “It wasn’t bad. So that’s what we did.”

About 44% of Aflac employees use Wellhub, according to Griggs, which offers access not only to gyms and fitness studios, but also apps geared toward financial health, meditation and sleep, as well as therapy.

Since Aflac began covering starter plans for gym memberships through Wellhub in 2023, about 1,300 employees have signed up for it, Griggs estimated. She said not all employees see the fitness offerings as a substitute for GLP-1 coverage, and some even email her to inquire about when Aflac might start covering the medications for weight loss again.

“We have that small group who are just determined that [a GLP-1 is] the only answer, and they’re not going to attempt anything else,” she said. A larger share of employees, though, are open to pursuing other methods for weight loss, like a gym membership, she added. (Medical experts say the drugs are most effective 

 with dietary changes and exercise, and as such some employers are incorporating these offerings into their benefits plans alongside GLP-1s.)

, they’re also experiencing “pressure around pharmaceutical interventions,” said Carolee Gearhart, Wellhub’s chief revenue officer. Platforms like Wellhub may appeal to employers who want to promote exercise and healthy lifestyles.

Some research suggests employers may eventually see a return from investing in GLP-1s for their workers, despite the high costs. An 

 of US commercial health claims conducted by Aon found that while costs jumped during the first year GLP-1 medications were prescribed, cost growth rates for GLP-1 patients trended downward the second year, averaging half of the growth rate for patients who weren’t taking the drugs.

“We thought that was encouraging, because what it tells us is that there is a bending of the cost inflation,” said Anthony Scattone, deputy chief people officer with Aon. He noted that GLP-1 users saw their risk of hospitalization from “major adverse cardiovascular events,” such as strokes or heart attacks, drop by 44%.

Griggs said she’ll be keeping a close eye on research related to GLP-1s and how they might affect Aflac’s spending on other conditions, like high blood pressure or chronic diseases. “It is a topic that is not completely off the table,” she said.

A photo composite of two hands hold a semaglutide pen next to a woman exercising with a kettleball.

Inside Aflac’s decision to drop GLP-1 coverage 

The insurance company stopped covering GLP-1 medications for weight loss due to cost concerns, and now offers all US employees free gym memberships. 

Why Aflac dropped GLP-1 coverage and expanded its wellness offerings 

An illustration of a photo of HR Brew reporter Paige McGlauflin.

Paige McGlauflin

Navigating benefits strategy is tough for any HR pro in today’s business environment.

 and niche, organizations must juggle providing a competitive total rewards package while managing challenges like 

. For Kate Phillips, Bank of America’s global head of benefits, one key part of her team’s multi-pronged approach to crafting offerings for the bank’s over 200,000 employees is simply through feedback.

“An important part of my job is making sure I’m staying connected to: What are our teammates’ needs? What do they want? How are those needs and priorities evolving for them?” Phillips told HR Brew.

For example, her team sources feedback via an enterprise-wide employee survey. They parse through the comments to gauge what workers’ needs or wants are, how priorities are changing, and incorporate that into their strategy planning. Last year, employees responded with more than 40,000 benefits-related comments on the survey.

One example of a successful offering coming from this approach is the firm’s sabbatical program, launched in 2023, which is eligible to employees after 15 years of service.

“We were listening to our teammates, looking for a way to recognize them,” Phillips said. “It’s been incredibly rewarding to hear and see the feedback from our teammates. I get letters, notes, emails all the time from teammates who go on sabbaticals, talking about what a really life-changing experience, for some of them, it has been to take time away really focused on whatever it is that they want to do.”

This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

What’s the best change you’ve made at a place you’ve worked?

In 2023, we launched our sabbatical program which has become one of our most popular benefits. The program provides four-to-six weeks away from work after 15 or more years of service. By the end of 2024, more than 21,000 employees had taken a sabbatical, including me! We expect an additional 14,000 teammates to take their sabbatical by the end of 2025.

What’s the biggest misconception people might have about your job?

People may think of HR as a department that’s siloed off from the rest of the organization, but our team can’t and doesn’t work that way. We’re embedded across the company with an ear to the ground and a seat at the table because being a great place to work isn’t just something we like to say, it is core to our business strategy.

What’s the most fulfilling aspect of your job?

The most fulfilling part of my job is the ability to speak daily with teammates about their experiences working here. I love being able to connect with them individually and understand what their needs are, while gathering feedback on programs that are working well. That is extremely rewarding.

One of the best parts of my job is receiving notes from people when they come back from a sabbatical telling me about the amazing things they were able to do with their time off. It ranges from “I went on the trip of a lifetime” to “I paved my driveway and reorganized my closets” or “I got to spend more time with my grandchildren.” It’s pretty special to lead a program that’s enabling wonderful experiences and creating lifelong memories for tens of thousands of people at the company.

What trend in HR are you most optimistic about? Why?

We’re at an interesting inflection point in the industry right now, but I think one trend that I’m excited about is more personalization for teammates. As consumers, we’re used to having incredibly personalized experiences. We’ve been trained to want things to look good, to feel good, to be easy to navigate—and our teammates want the same things from their benefits. Figuring out how we can personalize our offerings and adapt to what our teammates need is something I spend a lot of time thinking about. Another trend I would be remiss not to mention is AI and HR automation. Evaluating ways in which AI can enhance and support us as HR professionals— see a lot of opportunity here, and that is exciting.

What trend in HR are you least optimistic about? Why?

I wouldn’t say there’s any one thing right now that leaves me lacking a sense of optimism. In fact, I view a core part of my role as being intellectually curious and ensuring I understand what is happening in the marketplace. But like some things in life, there are times when trends or focus areas can feel like a phase—or everyone is just using the same buzzword.

I try to look at each phase or trend and find the opportunity to learn something and hopefully grow or be better. Whether that’s skills-based hiring, people analytics, holistic wellbeing, workplace flexibility, or AI, I am always optimistic about potential opportunities.

Kate Phillips, Bank of America's global head of benefits