Miller-Merrell delivers an inspiring message for HR: “Be the change you want to see and challenge those around you to be inclusive and supportive.” HR has a critical role to play in workplace wellness, including leaning into conversations about domestic violence. “Normalize these topics,” she says and create systems to get employees what they need. Swapnil Prabha, Vice President of Workforce Wellness Solutions at Unum Group, moderates the discussion.

Unum took its Gartner Marketing Award-winning HR Trends podcast studio on the road (again) to the 2023 HR Technology Conference & Exposition, held October 10–13 in Las Vegas. Listen as HR Trends host Clare Morin and others interview some of the biggest influencers in the HR tech world. You’ll hear their expert opinions on how technology will change the HR profession and improve the employee experience through 2024 and beyond. 

Tune in to hear Boese review his 15 years at the HR Tech conference and the innovative ideas he’s seeing at this year’s Pitchfest, where startups bring new ideas to the fore. According to Boese, one of the top challenges for HR in 2024 is embracing technology more meaningfully. “AI can’t teach us how to love,” he says, so we must find ways to use technology while preserving the human touch.

Unum took its Gartner Marketing Award-winning HR Trends podcast studio on the road (again) to the 2023 HR Technology Conference & Exposition, held October 10–13 in Las Vegas. Listen as HR Trends host Clare Morin and others interview some of the biggest influencers in the HR tech world. You’ll hear their expert opinions on how technology will change the HR profession and improve the employee experience through 2024 and beyond. 

“People are struggling,” says Dr. Conrad. “IQ is down since the ‘70s; emotional intelligence has been going down; chronic conditions are on the rise. We need to figure this out because these are our people, our employees, our customers.” Hear why he believes HR needs to get more sophisticated at understanding people on an individual level.Erin Casey, Vice President of Platform Partnerships at Unum Group, moderates the discussion.

Unum took its Gartner Marketing Award-winning HR Trends podcast studio on the road (again) to the 2023 HR Technology Conference & Exposition, held October 10–13 in Las Vegas. Listen as HR Trends host Clare Morin and others interview some of the biggest influencers in the HR tech world. You’ll hear their expert opinions on how technology will change the HR profession and improve the employee experience through 2024 and beyond. 

Along with Polly Nicholas, Senior Vice President of Unum Solutions at Unum Group, Williams explores the challenges HR will face in 2024, including the multigenerational workforce, burnout, and how “40% of employees can’t come up with $400 today.” He urges HR to be bold: “We can’t go in the boardroom meek; we need to go in with ROI and a point of view.” Listen to learn about HR tech solutions that help meet this mandate.

Unum took its Gartner Marketing Award-winning HR Trends podcast studio on the road (again) to the 2023 HR Technology Conference & Exposition, held October 10–13 in Las Vegas. Listen as HR Trends host Clare Morin and others interview some of the biggest influencers in the HR tech world. You’ll hear their expert opinions on how technology will change the HR profession and improve the employee experience through 2024 and beyond. 

Organizations change every 90 days, says Stelzner, and transparency and consistency will be key to helping employees thrive in 2024. If organizations are open about what they do and don’t know, who they are and who they aspire to be, employees can self-direct and HR can enable. Listen to learn how HR can lean into leadership this coming year.

Unum took its Gartner Marketing Award-winning HR Trends podcast studio on the road (again) to the 2023 HR Technology Conference & Exposition, held October 10–13 in Las Vegas. Listen as HR Trends host Clare Morin and others interview some of the biggest influencers in the HR tech world. You’ll hear their expert opinions on how technology will change the HR profession and improve the employee experience through 2024 and beyond. 

With generative AI and cutting-edge technology, HR professionals have an opportunity to reimagine the world of work for future generations. However, Von Bank believes HR professionals must first change their mindset and become business transformation agents. Listen as she reflects on emerging technology and how HR can lead a revolution to fuel change.

Unum took its Gartner Marketing Award-winning HR Trends podcast studio on the road (again) to the 2023 HR Technology Conference & Exposition, held October 10–13 in Las Vegas. Listen as HR Trends host Clare Morin and others interview some of the biggest influencers in the HR tech world. You’ll hear their expert opinions on how technology will change the HR profession and improve the employee experience through 2024 and beyond. 

According to Harris, the most important question for 2024 is “Do we have the data?” Hear about Sapient Insight Group’s newest research and why Harris believes transformational leave management is a key HR priority this coming year. “Don’t just do change management,” she says, “manage the change. Employees are burning out. Give your executives a reality check.”

Unum took its Gartner Marketing Award-winning HR Trends podcast studio on the road (again) to the 2023 HR Technology Conference & Exposition, held October 10–13 in Las Vegas. Listen as HR Trends host Clare Morin and others interview some of the biggest influencers in the HR tech world. You’ll hear their expert opinions on how technology will change the HR profession and improve the employee experience through 2024 and beyond. 

Clare Morin speaks to Jenn Lim, bestselling author and speaker known for her work on happiness and workplace well-being, and Swapnil Prabha, Vice President of Workforce Wellness Solutions at Unum Group focusing on employee benefits and mental health. They discuss topics related to authentic leadership, mental health and workplace well-being. 

Authentic Leadership: Lim emphasizes the importance of authentic leadership in today's working world. She defines authentic leadership as being true to one's authentic self and emphasizes that it involves self-awareness and addressing both strengths and weaknesses. “Just be real and be weird and like everyone's weird in their own way. And why not cherish that and celebrate it, says Lim.” [11:55]

The Greenhouse Model: Lim introduces the "Greenhouse Model," which focuses on first nurturing one's own well-being and values. She says, “I went to more of this metaphor of growth. No matter who we talk to in the world, there's no one that wants to not grow.” Lim emphasizes that authentic leaders should start by grounding themselves and understanding their purpose and values. [16:55]

Tools for Thriving: Lim discusses tools for thriving in the workplace, including fostering psychological safety, creating a sense of belonging, embracing accountability, and building meaningful connections. Lim highlights the importance of aligning individual and organizational values: “So therefore we have a new social contract together.”  [19:35]

Looking Ahead: The discussion concludes with a focus on the future of work. Lim suggests that leaders need to prioritize well-being and encourage teams to find meaning and balance in their work. Prabha emphasizes the importance of shaping company cultures that support mental health and well-being. She encourages leaders to ask for help and hold their partners and solution providers accountable when it comes to employee benefits and mental health support. As Prabha says, “I want to see what are the clinical outcomes? Is my employee population actually getting better?” [26:05]

Featured Speakers 

Jenn Lim 

CEO at Delivering Happiness | Bestselling Author | Global Workplace Expert

Jenn Lim is the bestselling author of Beyond Happiness and has been named one of the world's top 50 keynote speakers. She's had the privilege of leading a company to the INC 5000 fastest growing list, sitting on the global Happiness Council of Work and Well-Being and working with hundreds of companies from Fortune 500 and best places to work to startups and governments. Her mission is both simple and profound to teach businesses how to create workplaces, lead with happiness and humanity that generate more profit, sustain all people at every level of the organization, and share how we can make an impact by being true to our authentic selves.

Swapnil Prabha 

Vice President, Workforce Wellness Solutions — Unum Group

A thought leader in the insurance industry, Swapnil Prabha's work is helping to shape the digital future of employee benefits. She has helped to develop solutions such as Unum Behavioral Health, which addresses the full continuum of mental health for employees from baseline measurement to a complete range of easily accessible resources and therapeutic interventions. She also leads strategic direction and capability priorities for Unum Leave Logic — an industry-leading leave education and planning SaaS solution.

Curt Burghardt and Denise Ferguson, Unum HR leaders and people analytics experts, explore how real-time data connectivity with leave and absence information transforms efficiency, transparency and downstream processes for employers managing leave in Workday.®

•  People analytics is more than just basic reporting.  [03:49]
• Real-time connectivity simplifies leave processes. [06:42]
• Simplicity saves time and creates a better experience. [08:33]
• Connectivity helps solve the challenge of intermittent leave.  [10:24]

WORKDAY and the WORKDAY logo are trademarks of Workday, Inc. registered in the United States and elsewhere. All other brand and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.

Featured speakers

Curt Burghardt 
 Vice President, People Delivery Group, Unum 

In his role as Vice President of the People Delivery Group at Unum, Curt Burghardt drives how the organization leverages cutting-edge technology to transform the employee experience — among our own employees and in close partnership with key business partners and customer facing initiatives. Curt lives in Portland, Maine with his wife and their two children. He has lived across the United States — from Hawaii to Boston and several places in between, including Chicago, San Francisco and Denver — during his previous roles with both Walgreens and United Airlines. 

Denise Ferguson 
 Assistant Vice President, People & Communications Technology 

Denise Ferguson is the AVP of People & Communications Technology. She joined Unum in April of 2015 as the AVP of HR Technology. Her responsibilities include enabling strategy through the use of cutting-edge technology and delivery of the technology roadmap for human resources, diversity and inclusion, corporate social responsibility and corporate communications. Prior to her role at Unum, Denise was the Senior Director of Human Resources Information Systems for Smith & Nephew. Before moving into dedicated technology roles, Denise held various functional HR roles in recruiting and compensation, and served as a HRBP and HR Manager for RSA Security, Inc. in Bedford, Massachusetts. Denise earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Boston University.

New research from LIMRA and EY shows that workplaces have reached a “generational tipping point.” Millennials and Gen Z employees now make up the majority of the workforce — and are on pace to constitute 60% by 2031.1 These younger workers (42 years old and under) have different benefit preferences from the Baby Boomers and Gen X cohorts for whom benefits have traditionally been designed, and greater needs when it comes to benefits education and enrollment. LIMRA’s Kimberly Landry joined John Stibal from Unum and Michael Stachowiak from Colonial Life to discuss how HR should react to this profound generational shift.

• A much broader view. According to Landry, LIMRA’s second annual Benefits and Employee Attitude Tracker (BEAT) study shows that younger employees still want core benefits above all else.  But they also want their benefits package to include a wider variety of supplemental health, wellness, mental health and other benefits. “The benefit programs of the future need to be more customizable and provide more options for employees to pick and choose from,” says Landry. [02:02]
• More choice means more confusion. As employers offer a larger number of benefits, they will need to increase their efforts to educate younger benefit consumers, according to Stachowiak. Stibal agrees that education is important to making informed decisions because with choice, “your employer is not making the decisions for you any longer.” [04:00]
• More benefits are more important. According to the LIMRA/EY Harnessing growth and seizing opportunity: 2023 Workforce Benefits Study, employers and employees both assign a high degree of importance to a fairly long list of benefit options. To compete effectively for talent, employers need to show that their benefits portfolio contains a wide range of choices to fit employees’ differing needs. “About half of the employers in our survey told us they expect to be increasing the number of benefits that they offer in the next five years,” Landry says. [06:30]
• The biggest change since last year? Importance of leave. Employer perception of the importance of paid family and medical leave benefits jumped 26% over last year, as shown in the LIMRA/EY study. “Paid family leave sounds simple, but it’s really, really complicated for employers,” says Stibal. Between complying with multiple federal, state and local leave laws and creating a good experience for employees administering leave is a challenging issue for employers. Employers may want to outsource [A1] leave management to a carrier who can provide a good combination of technology and human support. [13:00]
• How does all this factor into enrollment? As employers offer more benefits and as employees need more education, it’s important to be mindful about how you roll out your benefits enrollment. Some best practices:

1. Spread communication out over time in a drip campaign instead of bombarding employees with an overwhelming amount of information all at once. 
2. Talk about only one or two benefits at a time, so employees can pay equal attention to all their options. 
3. Communicate more about brand-new or unfamiliar benefits. 
4. Encourage employees to start enrolling early in the enrollment window, so they have time to ask questions and make informed decisions. [27:12]

Two new reports illustrate that employee expectations are high and getting higher. A March 2023 Unum survey shows that 87% of employers recognize that their employees expect more from them in terms of care and understanding.1 And the latest “BEAT” study from LIMRA shows that employees overwhelmingly value paid time off and other leave and insurance benefits, even more than flexible work schedules.2 In this episode, two of the foremost U.S. leave experts — Unum’s Ellen McCann and Angel Bennett — discuss the implications for employers in this tough post-pandemic labor market.  

• Employers are catching up.  [01:47]
• Diversity is driving change.  [04:30]
• Complexity is here to stay. [06:03]
• Paid leave is getting hotter.[07:11]
• Employers can’t do it alone. [09:40]
• Companies that outsource free up time. [10:37]
• Care impacts the bottom line.  [14:38]
• One key message? [17:28]

Read the full show notes here. 

Megan Rapinoe is the captain of the U.S. National Women's Soccer Team, an Olympic gold medalist and two-time World Cup champion. On March 2, she was named in TIME’s 2023 Women of the Year list of extraordinary leaders working toward a more equal world. In this episode, Megan joins Unum leave expert Ellen McCann for a frank and lively discussion on pay equity, inclusive leave policies and other ways employers can demonstrate care for employees facing challenging times.

• The call to “be more.” After the national team’s second World Cup victory in 2019, Rapinoe challenged everyone to “step outside of yourself, be more, be better, be bigger than you’ve ever been before.” Applying this to the HR context, she said it is a charge to make an impact on your organization and on the lives of your employees. [02:46]
• The rise of the care opportunity. Employee needs and demands for support from their employers are growing, and are key drivers of attraction and retention. According to Ellen, leave is critical in this equation: “Companies focus so much on employees at work. What about those times when our employees can’t come to work?” [07:33]
• The importance of inclusive policies. Employers show caring by implementing leave and benefit policies that are inclusive and equitable, addressing the needs of all caregivers and relationships, not just parents and children. [11:19]
• Pay equity as a signal of caring. Equitable pay shows employees that employers care about them as individuals. [12:18]
• Pay equity as a driver of attraction and retention. In a still-tight labor market, employees have new power to negotiate pay. The pay-equity fight won by the U.S. National Women’s Soccer Team has had far-reaching effects on the environment worldwide, and women are more aware than ever of what they deserve and what they require. [19:32]
• Steps to an effective pay-equity program. Think through where your company has been and where it wants to go, identifying areas where it is still falling short and why. Apologize for mistakes in the past. Make pay equity an authentic priority and act to fulfill your promises. [23:39]
• The importance of the employee experience. Caring and inclusiveness extend to the experience employees have while accessing the benefits you provide. [29:18]

Featured speakers
Megan Rapinoe
Chief Equality Officer, Trusaic

Megan Rapinoe is a difference maker on a global scale. She is the captain of the U.S. National Women’s Soccer Team, an Olympic gold medalist, and a two-time World Cup champion, renowned for her activism. In February 2022, after a lengthy legal battle led by Rapinoe, the U.S. National Women’s Soccer Team reached a historic equal pay agreement with the U.S. Soccer Federation, which included $22 million in back pay for the players and the promise of equal pay going forward. Today, Megan Rapinoe is Chief Equality Officer for Trusaic – a leading workplace equity company focused on advancing social good by solving HR's most complex challenges across people, data and analytics. 

Ellen McCann
Assistant Vice President, Leave Solutions, Unum Group

Ellen McCann serves as a leading expert in applying benefits and benefits technology to power modern solutions to more effective employee leave programs, stronger regulatory compliance and enhanced digital HR transformation.


Read more about Megan Rapinoe, one of TIME’s 2023 Women of the Year, at https://trusaic.com/megan-rapinoe-partnership/. For more information about Unum, visit https://www.unum.com/employers/solutions 

Schooling takes listeners into the macro-level conversations she’s hearing at this year’s HR Technology Conference & Exposition. HR practitioners are finally showing more interest in technology, she says, but they must keep exploring ways to effectively and responsibly use those tools. Those who don’t may get left behind in 2024. 

Unum took its Gartner Marketing Award-winning HR Trends podcast studio on the road (again) to the 2023 HR Technology Conference & Exposition, held October 10–13 in Las Vegas. Listen as HR Trends host Clare Morin and others interview some of the biggest influencers in the HR tech world. You’ll hear their expert opinions on how technology will change the HR profession and improve the employee experience through 2024 and beyond. 

Belonging is one of the most important aspects of the employee experience in today’s world of work. We talk to two powerful HR leaders, Khady Gaye of United Airlines and Kimberly Bowen of Unum, on how you can help create a culture of genuine care.

Leave has never been more important to employees than it is right now. But HR has also never had more on its plate. Listen as Unum leave experts discuss the policies, practices and technology that can make the difference between a best-in-class employee leave experience and one that misses the mark, putting your attraction and retention efforts at risk.

·       A perfect storm. Rising employee expectations, a tough labor market and increasing legal complexity are creating a perfect storm for leave management professionals. HR’s role has become increasingly strategic, and they can’t spend time being bogged down in managing administrative tasks. [02:52]

·       Emerging importance of employee experience. Nationally, employers have shifted from focusing on paid leave to making the leave experience easier and more personalized. [05:35]

·       Bad experiences work against your recruitment and retention goals. If you have great policies, but people don’t know about them or you make it hard to use them, that’s a bad experience. Education and ease of use are critical to success. Employers also need to have holistic policies that address their entire employee population, instead of just focusing on families with children. For example, caregiving needs are growing for employees with aging parents. [07:32]

·       Combine self-service, planning tools and human interaction for the best experience. Compliance is important, but don’t forget that every leave represents a challenging life event for employees.[10:15]

·       Look for ways to take the burden off HR’s shoulders.  The result will be higher retention and more people returning from leave ready to work. [14:06]

 Featured speakers
Ellen McCann
Assistant Vice President, Leave Solutions, Unum Group 

Ellen McCann serves as a leading expert in applying benefits and benefits technology to power modern solutions to more effective employee leave programs, stronger regulatory compliance and enhanced digital HR transformation. In this role, she combines more than 30 years of employment law experience with practical knowledge of the complexities of leave and accommodation management to help develop and create solutions that enable employers to address the challenges of leave and accommodations. She is an acclaimed national speaker on leave management issues including FMLA and ADA, and is a certified trainer for SHRM and CE credit.

Miyuki Iwahashi
Assistant Vice President, Leave Tech Solutions, Unum Group 

Miyuki Iwahashi drives the product strategy for new enhancements for Unum Leave Logic – an industry-leading leave education and planning SaaS solution – and supports initiatives for Unum’s rapidly expanding solutions business. In this role, Miyuki interacts with employers, employees and partners to understand how technology solutions can enhance the employee experience and revolutionize the future of leave in the workplace. Prior to joining Unum, Miyuki pioneered innovative employee programs, including a redesign of an employee-centered leave program and was recognized for her work.

Employee benefits have taken a huge leap in importance, according to two new studies from the insurance-industry research group LIMRA. Listen as LIMRA’s Kelly Landry and Unum Group’s Cindy Nevers discuss five mega trends expected to change the industry – and enrollment tips for employers to implement now. The full reports are available to LIMRA members, and previewed in this special episode for HR Trends listeners. 

• The studies: The first annual BEAT (Benefits and Employee Attitude) Tracker study surveyed employees to determine how benefits intersect with employee attitudes toward work. Harnessing Growth and Seizing Opportunity: The Future of Workforce Benefits presents megatrends to watch in the next several years, distilled from the insights of key industry stakeholders. [04:36]
• See the free LIMRA infographic [A1] on what employees think about work. [07:21]
• Money isn’t everything, especially for millennials: Only about 30% of millennials said salary was the top reason to choose an employer. The rest prioritized factors like work/life balance, flexibility and benefits. [10:38]
• Benefits education and communication are vitally important: All stakeholders agree that helping employees understand their benefits is of mounting importance, especially for supplemental benefits.
•  Rethink the emphasis on total self-service for benefits, especially for younger workers who have less experience buying and using insurance coverage [12:00]
• More is more: There is a strong correlation between employee satisfaction and the number of benefitsoffered. With five generations in the workforce, employers need to offer a large number of benefits employees can choose from based on their individual circumstances. See the free LIMRA infographic on what employees think about benefits. [20:38]
• Rethink your benefits spend: Because employees value quantity and choice, it may not always make senseto commit the vast majority of benefits spending to offering the most generous health insurance plan. Supplementing a less generous plan with voluntary benefits like accident and critical illness can offer similar protection for employees while allowing them to tailor benefits to fit their age, lifestyle, income and other circumstances. [23:38]
• Brokers aren’t going anywhere, but their role will likely change: As it gets easier to obtain digital quotes for benefits, employers will call upon brokers more for advice, guidance and strategy consultation [26:07]
•  Enlisting leadership in the communication effort will make employees feel more valued. [32:00]

Featured speakers 

Kimberly Landry
Associate Research Director, LIMRA

Kimberly Landry is an Associate Research Director for Workplace Benefits Research at LIMRA. She conducts quantitative and qualitative research on hot topics within the employee benefits industry, with a specific focus on employer and employee perspectives. 

 Cindy Nevers
National Sales Leader Voluntary Benefits, Unum Group 

In her more than 30 years with Unum Group, Cindy Nevers has held a wide range of leadership roles for both Unum and Colonial Life brands. She has led oversight for Group Client Services, Global Services/Project Implementation & Journey transformation, Field Operations and Field Compensation, and Client Management. Cindy led national broker strategy at Colonial Life and most recently became the National Sales Leader for Voluntary Benefits at Unum.  

The HR Tech conference is no longer about the latest gadget – it’s about the end results. Listen as Steve discusses how businesses can draw a straight line from employee well-being to increased productivity, talent retention and absenteeism reduction – with programs and software that create huge impacts for employees and their families alike. He also discusses what’s next for HR tech in 2023. 

“Employee leave needs to be revolutionized,” says Ellen McCann. Listen to this acclaimed national thought leader as Amanda Neely presents some key questions employers have about leave. We cover the vital importance of employee education, how digital access allows employees to do their own scenario planning, and how tech opens up holistic experiences like lactation rooms and mental health support.

Jess believes we currently have an opportunity to remake work on more equitable terms. Employers need to remove barriers for people – working moms being a prime example – instead of always demanding that people overcome those barriers. She believes gender and race pay gaps should be considered corporate criminal behavior. And why does she says technology by itself is not the solution? Listen to find out. 

Burnout is at epidemic levels in the U.S. and innovative companies are tackling this problem head-on. Adam – a winner of the HR Tech Product of the Year – discusses the deeply personal stories that led to his company’s creation. “Time off hasn’t been touched in decades,” he says. “There has to be a better way to optimize and utilize it.” Listen to find out how is AI being leveraged to improve employee experience.

Why is an insurance carrier at Workday Rising? Rich and Polly relate how Unum was the first carrier to become a software partner with Workday®, allowing the two systems to directly exchange data in real time without file feeds. Listen to learn how Unum HR Connect helps Workday users reclaim time spent on benefits administration, leave management and evidence of insurability. 

As a talent expert, Tim weighs in on the high level of venture capital investment being directed at HR tech and what it means for the future of attracting and retaining employees. Listen to hear him discuss why HR needs to improve quantitative success metrics and devise new ways to access and develop talent in a labor shortage that is not going away anytime soon. 

Swapnil stops by to talk about keeping people at the heart of HR tech. She discusses how Unum’s Behavioral Health solution centers people by being a full lifecycle solution meant for those anywhere on the mental health spectrum. And she talks about the grit HR leaders will need as the new normal of work becomes more defined. Listen to learn more. 

How can we modernize outdated performance management processes? Listen as Aitken discusses strategies to improve employee performance and in turn strengthen the performance of the company. One example: equipping managers with the tools to become more effective coaches. 

Unum took its Gartner Marketing Award-winning HR Trends podcast studio on the road (again) to the 2023 HR Technology Conference & Exposition, held October 10–13 in Las Vegas. Listen as HR Trends host Clare Morin and others interview some of the biggest influencers in the HR tech world. You’ll hear their expert opinions on how technology will change the HR profession and improve the employee experience through 2024 and beyond. 

As a talent strategist in this tight labor market, Robin gives her insights on finding ways to encourage internal mobility and expanding the candidate pool by looking at skills instead of job descriptions. And why is Robin skeptical of candidate-matching software? Listen to find out. 

Navigating the transition from working professional to working mom is no mean feat. Denise Chase of The Mom Project stops by to talk about her own journey, as well as how the Mom Project is changing the script and accelerating female workforce participation. Listen as she discusses best practices for getting parents back in to the workforce and increasing their productivity. 

The conference saw the release of new research from The Josh Bersin Company: The Global Workforce Intelligence Project. Kathi discusses such findings as the looming shortage of nurses, with insights on improving the employee experience to keep nurses in their jobs. And what creative solution is Amazon employing to help solve the shortage? Listen to find out.

Clare talks us through what's coming from our recent interviews  at the HR Technology Conference 2022 in Las Vegas. 

In the new world of work, “being human” has never been more important. Employers sit at the center of the families and communities they serve, and it's an exciting time to see how the prioritization of workers can help fuel humanity at scale. Listen as Jason and Polly discuss the importance of infusing humanity into the digital world of work, while proving that HR programs do what they set out to do. 

The swift rise in inflation and worries about a potential recession have taken a financial and emotional toll on employees. In this episode, financial and wellbeing experts — Martha Leiper, Carl Gagnon and Laurie Mitchell — share their insights about what’s driving inflation and the practical steps organizations can take to support the people that power their business. 

Key Takeaways

Several factors are increasing the inflation pressure on the economy. Many businesses are grappling with rising supply costs and shortages, as well as a tight labor market and wage inflation. And businesses are having to pass those costs to their customers. [7.12]

Workers are often not aware about their employer’s resources. Most employers offer some resources for emotional and mental health wellbeing and it’s important to build awareness around them before workers get to a place of severe stress. [12:48]

Know your risk tolerance. Take control of what you can. “A time of turmoil is not a time to panic and sell your investments, because you will be selling at low valuation. “If you’re close to retirement, you should be out of the more volatile securities,” said Martha Leiper. “But if you’re young in your career, don’t panic, these types of times tend to create good buying opportunities, and the markets will correct, and your savings will grow over time.” [13.59]

Diversify savings to ride economic cycles. Offer employees more saving options to respond to different needs, such as building an emergency savings fund, and asset diversification for their retirement plans. [17.13]

Engage employees in different ways. Find a balance in addressing the benefit needs of a diverse workforce. And offer workers easy options to engage, including in-person, phone and virtual. [22:09]

Design programs across the spectrum of total rewards. Employees want to engage, but they’re also concerned about their personal privacy. “Whether you’re dealing with financial or mental health — it’s about engaging the employees to use the tools that are there and being pleasantly surprised at what those tools can offer an employee,” said Carl Gagnon. [22:36]

Featured Speakers 

Martha Leiper
Executive Vice President and Chief Investment Officer, Unum

Martha Leiper is responsible for the investment and asset management strategies of Unum’s portfolio. She serves on the Board of Directors for the Chattanooga Food Bank and River City Company, and on the Investment Committee with the Chattanooga Community Foundation. 

Carl Gagnon
Assistant Vice President, Financial Wellbeing & Retirement Programs, Unum

Carl Gagnon is responsible for the day-to-day operations, regulatory oversight and compliance of the Unum global financial well-being and retirement programs, including the Defined Benefit, Defined Contribution and Non-Qualified retirement plans and various flex benefit programs offered within its international operations. 

Laurie Mitchell

Assistant Vice President, Global Wellbeing & Health Management, Unum

Laurie Mitchell took a slightly nontraditional career path for a registered dietitian nutritionist and has been leading comprehensive employer-sponsored population health and well-being strategy for more than 22 years. Her work focuses on actively engaging employees in their well-being through a mix of innovative programs, benefits, policies and health-forward environmental approaches. 

The pandemic didn’t create the need for workplace transformation, but it definitely accelerated it. Listen as two experts in industrial organizational psychology discuss the importance of creating an employee experience that fulfills the evolving needs of the 21st-century worker, and how purposeful employee listening can have a powerful effect on an organization’s ability to create a superior experience for their customers.

Episode details:
What is industrial organizational psychology? It’s the study of how business shapes humans and humans shape business — or how to maximize systems and experiences across all parts of the talent lifecycle to encourage people to be their best at work. [3:30]

Why is the employee experience so important right now? A huge portion of the workforce is now actively thinking about what’s important to them at work, what motivates them, what brings them joy and satisfaction. Employers need to understand these desires — in terms of culture, environment, career development, etc. — so they can keep the employees they have and attract those outside the organization who are looking to make a change.  [6:00]

Is this all because of the pandemic? The big trends affecting the workplace now — with people wanting more flexibility, inclusion, diversity and autonomy — have been bubbling up for years. What the pandemic did was drive the need for solutions. [7:30]

Where does the customer come in?  The experience you provide your employees directly affects the experience they provide for your customers. Investing in employees and listening to them helps you embed your mission as their North Star, and results will follow. [10:00]

What does “employee listening” really mean? Employee listening is the process of collecting, paying attention to and responding to feedback from your employees. Employees will only invest their time in providing feedback if it is acknowledged and if you respond by taking what actions you can. You must also be sure to communicate the actions you’ve taken. [13:30]

What are some best practices for implementing an employee listening program? Generally, employee listening takes the form of employee surveys. You need balance the frequency of your surveys with your ability to take action. As your process matures, you can increase the frequency, or add in feedback from the entire employee journey. Be sure you understand your infrastructure for feedback and taking action, as well as your culture. These will determine how quickly you can effect change. [18:00]

Featured speakers

Anna L. Hulett, Ph.D.
XM Scientist, Qualtrics

Anna Hulett is an Industrial Organizational (IO) Psychologist with over 10 years of experience leveraging data-driven insights to understand the interdependencies between business strategy and the employee experience, ultimately empowering clients across industries and organizational contexts to build a better workplace. Anna’s expertise in employee listening design and analytics, paired with her experience in strategic human capital management, allows her to provide comprehensive employee experience solutions across the employee lifecycle.

Dora Clements, J.D.
Vice President of Digital Transformation, Unum Group

Dora Clements is leading change efforts for both the Unum and Colonial Life brands — and is specifically focused on improving the customer experience through delivering digital-first experiences inclusive of customer portals, process optimization and automation. Dora has been with Unum Group since 2013, supporting business and technology in various roles in the client administration space, including managing operational teams, supporting admin platform development, and leading transformation efforts.

In the first episode of season two of the HR Trends podcast, Clare Morin speaks to Brian Kropp, Chief of Research and Distinguished Vice President at Gartner, and Polly Nicholas, Senior Vice President and Head of Solutions at Unum Group, about the fundamental shifts happening in HR and how business leaders who respond to the holistic needs of their employees will win the talent and retention game. 

Key takeaways

As the line between work and home have become blurred, it’s caused a reconsideration of the place of work in an employee’s life.  (7:55)

This requires a different approach and a new type of leader.  (9:35)

This shift can also be seen in what employers and employees want in terms of benefits. (11:40)

Supporting employees in this broader, more holistic way is also better for business. “When organizations are more effective at meeting the mental health needs, the family needs, the community needs of their employees,” says Kropp, “Those employees perform at a higher level, are less likely to quit, they are more engaged with their work, they sleep better at night, and the list goes on and on.  By improving the lives of our employees, we help the performance of our organizations.” (13:15)

Employee leave programs are becoming focused around personas. “Even the leave and time off conversation used to be this big block of people who just needed to take time off. And tomorrow, it’s about a persona,” says Nicholas. “And it’s how we begin to shift thinking about leave policies and compliance, to what does a person need who’s planning a leave? What does a person need when they have a very unplanned event and there’s an emergent moment happening? How are those needs different? And how are we surrounding them, and back to Corie Barry’s sort of scaffolding, how are we surrounding them because there’s this opportunity to offer solutions that do just that.” (28:20)

 External shocks -- the pandemic, supply chain disruptions, and the war in Ukraine -- have turned ideas about good management on their head. “The focus up to now has been on efficiency, on stripping costs as much as possible,” explains Kropp. “When we have a management strategy that is maximizing efficiency, we also have a strategy that is unwittingly maximizing fragility. It’s like inflating a balloon with as much air as possible right up to the point where it breaks. That strategy is fine if there’s nothing in the environment that can cause a balloon to break. What we’ve realized is there’s lots of things in the environment that can cause the balloon to break.” (31:00)

Featured speakers: 

Brian Kropp 
Chief of Research and Distinguished Vice President, Gartner

Brian Kropp oversees the lines of business that support Chief Human Resources Officers and their leadership teams. He works with this cadre of leaders to develop strategic plans that will attract and retain top talent. Dr. Kropp has authored more than 40 research studies at Gartner, led more than 200 strategy sessions with executive teams at Fortune 100 companies and more than 300 Executive Education sessions across the globe.  

Polly Nicholas
Senior Vice President and Head of Solutions, Unum Group

Polly Nicholas is the Senior Vice President and Head of Solutions at Unum Group. With more than 20 years of experience driving growth and operational improvement and a passion for connecting people, purpose and results, Nicholas leads Unum’s rapidly expanding solutions businesses, attracting new clients and expanding the support provided through a suite of technology-first solutions including Unum Total Leave™, Behavioral Health and Unum HR Connect solutions. Prior to Unum, Nicholas held leadership roles at global firms Alight Solutions and Aon Hewitt.

To close out the first season of the HR Trends podcast, Clare Morin welcomes futurist Ravin Jesuthasan, co-author of the new book Work without Jobs, and Greg Till, EVP and Chief People Officer of Providence Health Systems. They discuss how the pandemic has accelerated ten years of transformation in two years, and what the future holds for workers and employers.  

Key Takeaways

• The pandemic put the tech-fueled transformation of the workplace on hyperdrive. “Alvin Toffler wrote about in 1970 that we’d soon all be living in electronic cottages, liberated from the offices,” Jesuthasan says. “Yet as of March 2020, only 6% of jobs were being done remotely full time. That number went to 56% overnight.” (4:40) 
• The new focus is on flexibility, resilience, and agility. “We talk about these black swan events as though they’re the rarest of beasts, but we’ve had at least three major shocks the past 20 years—we had 9/11, we had the financial crisis, and COVID. [There’s a need] to be prepared for both shocks and opportunities, that’s what we see as really being at the heart of this pivot toward agility.” (8:30)
• Predictive hiring lets you get ahead of the labor market. “We can predict our hiring needs based on patient volumes and revenues with about 90­­–­95% accuracy,” says Till. “It typically takes five months to fill an ICU nurse role, and we can open up the requisition five months in advance of someone leaving.” (14:30)
• Reducing the dull and the dangerous through automation. Nurse scheduling, which would take a human hours to complete, can be done in about ten seconds using artificial intelligence and machine learning – while considering employee preferences and accommodating flexibility. It’s saved Providence Health an estimated $130 million. (15:00)
• Fluidity will create a more human-centered enterprise. “We’ve gone from very structured approaches to work, where people/humans were cogs in the machine,” says Jesuthasan. “Tight and precise job definitions, job architectures that were tied to the way processes were executed, one-to-one relationship between person and role.”  (18:31)
• Businesses shouldn’t be intimidated by the scale of possible change. “Don’t let it be daunting,” says Till. “A lot of things in Ravin’s book—in healthcare, because we’re highly regulated, we can’t implement wholesale.  We’re taking some really pragmatic aspects of a visionary philosophy and applying it in reality. Saving 130 million dollars and staffing more effectively to meet our community’s needs.” (28:00)

Featured speakers: 

Ravin Jesuthasan
Global Leader for Transformation Services, Mercer

Ravin Jesuthasan is the global leader of Mercer’s Transformation Services business. He is recognized globally as a thought leader, futurist and author on the future of work and workforce transformation. Ravin has led numerous research projects for the World Economic Forum including many of its groundbreaking studies on the transformation of work and the global workforce. 

 Greg Till
Chief People Officer
Providence Health Systems

Greg Till is the Chief People Officer of Providence Health Systems. In this role, Greg and his team aim to transform healthcare by bringing their innovative vision for the future of work to life. Using modern technology, unique partnerships, and grounded in Providence’s mission, Greg’s HR team has been able to effectively predict and shape labor needs, optimize workforce utilization, and significantly lower costs, while improving employee experience and strengthening the culture. 

On the heels of the Supreme Court’s stay of the private employer vaccine mandate, OSHA has withdrawn its Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) while it works on a permanent rule. In the meantime, employers remain responsible for keeping employees safe from COVID-19 at work. Ellen McCann joins guest host Nate Smith to discuss this latest development.

OSHA withdrew the ETS but has not abandoned the idea of an employer mandate. On January 25, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced it was withdrawing its ETS, thereby making the litigation in the 6th Circuit moot. Instead it will focus on crafting a proposed permanent rule, based on public comments and likely what it has gleaned from the January 13 Supreme Court ruling that stayed the ETS. 

What might the permanent rule look like? OSHA asked some specific questions in its request for public comments, which may provide some clues about what the agency will consider when crafting the permanent rule. 

Does this change the CMS health care mandate? No. That mandate, which was issued by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) not OSHA, goes forward, although it is still being challenged in a lower court. 

Are any state or local laws affected by the OSHA decision? Since OSHA withdrew the ETS, it has no impact on state or local laws. . Employers should be aware of the patchwork of city and state laws out there — both requiring and prohibiting vaccine mandates.

What should employers do next, in the midst of all this confusion? Employers should bear in mind that there is still a “general duty” clause under the Occupational Safety and Health Act which requires employers to provide their employees with a safe work environment. They should work with their counsel to determine how to fulfill this responsibility.

Featured speaker

Ellen McCann
Assistant Vice President, Unum Group Solutions

Ellen McCann is an acclaimed national speaker on leave management issues including FMLA and ADA. She is also a certified trainer for SHRM and CE credit. As a former Legal Counsel for Unum’s Employment Law Group, Ellen has advised companies on all employment-related legal issues. In her current role, Ellen serves as a leading expert in applying benefits and benefits technology to power modern solutions to more effective employee leave programs, stronger regulatory compliance and enhanced digital HR transformation.

Listen in as Bussing discusses pay equity and the gender gap. She shares advice from her conference session about looking at the work — comparing “skills, effort, responsibility and working conditions” — to get the pay right. To help employees thrive in 2024, she says, HR pros need to be more efficient and intentional. 

Unum took its Gartner Marketing Award-winning HR Trends podcast studio on the road (again) to the 2023 HR Technology Conference & Exposition, held October 10–13 in Las Vegas. Listen as HR Trends host Clare Morin and others interview some of the biggest influencers in the HR tech world. You’ll hear their expert opinions on how technology will change the HR profession and improve the employee experience through 2024 and beyond. 

What should employers know about federal COVID-19 vaccine and testing mandates, after the January 13 Supreme Court ruling? Legal expert Ellen McCann walks HR listeners through the current status of the three federal mandates and what employers should do now to ensure a safe workplace.

Background: The three federal mandates. They are (1) the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) or private employer mandate, (2) the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) or health care worker mandate, and (3) the federal contractor mandate. All three have been tied up in litigation. On January 13, the Supreme Court weighed in on the private employer and health care worker mandates. [1:19]

What does the Supreme Court ruling mean for the private employer mandate? For now the ETS is paused, which means OSHA cannot enforce it. It is not actually struck down, although the Supreme Court’s reasoning suggests that it may eventually be declared unconstitutional. [3:27]

What does this mean for employers? Employers who are only subject to the ETS have a little bit of breathing room as OSHA cannot enforce this mandate for now. The Supreme Court ruling does not prevent employers from instituting their own vaccine or test requirements. Employers should work with their legal counsel to see if they are subject to any state or local laws requiring or preventing implementation of their own program to keep employees safe at work. [5:25]

What happened with the health care worker mandate? The Supreme Court lifted the stay on this mandate, meaning most health care workers are now required to get vaccinated before coming to their workplace. The deadlines have been moved for workers in states where the healthcare mandate had previously been stayed. [8:44]

What can employers do to handle the complexity of this new HR burden? The pandemic in general and the vaccine mandate have created a record level of complexity for HR teams. Technology solutions like Unum Vaccine Verifier™ can help. Vaccine Verifier is designed to address the most complex aspects of vaccine-or-test mandates in that it not only provides a way to track vaccine status and testing compliance, it helps guide employers through the sensitive process of managing exemption requests. [10:31]

Finally, where does the federal contractor mandate stand? This mandate was stayed earlier in lower courts, so employers will need to wait and see whether it ever takes effect. But again, the stay doesn’t stop employers from adopting their own policies to protect their employees at work. Unum Vaccine Verifier and other technology solutions are available to help organize and enforce whatever policies employers have, while keeping all documentation in one secure place. [13:47]

Where should employers focus in the coming weeks, now that the Supreme Court has ruled? Sit down with your counsel and senior leaders and decide how you want to show up for your employees. What’s your corporate philosophy and culture about keeping your workplace safe and helping employees feel comfortable coming back to the work site, if that’s your goal. Also, as we saw on January 13, rules can change in a minute, so use your counsel to help you stay up to date and make sure they are on board with any policy you adopt. [14:55]

Featured speaker

Ellen McCann
Assistant Vice President, Unum Group Solutions

Ellen McCann is an acclaimed national speaker on leave management issues including FMLA and ADA. She is also a certified trainer for SHRM and CE credit. In her current role, Ellen serves as a leading expert in applying benefits and benefits technology to power modern solutions to more effective employee leave programs, stronger regulatory compliance and enhanced digital HR transformation.

To ring in the new year, CEOs from the American Psychological Association and MaineHealth join host Clare Morin to discuss why investing in behavioral health in 2022 is not just good for your employees but also good for your business. 

Key Takeaways

The psychological fallout of the pandemic has only just begun. The pandemic unleashed a tsunami of stress that will continue to be felt even once COVID-19 is gone. (3:50)

This is a long-term project for employers. Military studies have shown that people who experience traumatic events often don’t show signs of stress and anxiety until 18 months after the event had taken place. (5:40) “This is going to go on for years.” (7:00)

Behavioral health is a huge factor in retention. Employees who report feeling stressed at work are three times more likely to look for other jobs than those who do not report feeling stressed. (8:00)

Leaders should set the tone. It’s important for leaders to create space for employees to seek help by sharing their own struggles and showing vulnerability. (10:25)

Make resources easy to find. For resources to be effective, employees must be able to use them. Ensure they are accessible, intuitive, and ideally available on demand. (12:00)

Early intervention saves lives and money. Mental health is a continuum and it’s more humane and more cost-effective to intervene before an employee is in crisis. (13:15)

Ensure employees feel heard when making major decisions. Mental health problems are often caused by a feeling of a lack of control. Giving employees choices and input into decisions reduces stress. (14:40)

Showing care can help employers compete. “It’s a huge strategic opportunity for employers to demonstrate genuine and authentic caring as a retention, as a recruitment, as a development opportunity,” says Dr. Andrew Mueller, CEO of MaineHealth. (18:40)

This crisis is manageable. “If we create work environments that are supportive of mental health, making sure they have access to services when they need them, it can make all the difference for your employees,” says Dr. Evans. (20:15)

Featured speakers: 

Arthur Evans, Jr., PhD
Chief Executive Officer and Executive Vice President, American Psychological Association 

Dr. Arthur Evans is CEO of the American Psychological Association, the leading scientific and professional organization representing psychology in the U.S. With over 122,000 researchers, educators, clinicians, consultants and students as members, APA promotes and disseminates psychological knowledge to benefit society and improve lives – a mission consistent with Dr. Evans’ life work. 

Andrew T. Mueller, MD
Chief Executive Officer, MaineHealth

Andrew Mueller, MD, is CEO of MaineHealth, a not-for-profit integrated health system consisting of nine local hospital systems, a comprehensive behavioral healthcare network, diagnostic services, home health agencies, and 1,700 employed and independent physicians. With more than 22,000 employees, MaineHealth is the largest health system in northern New England and provides preventive care, diagnosis and treatment to 1.1 million residents in Maine and New Hampshire. 

Related content:
Webinar
Building a behavioral health strategy for the new world of work

November 4, 2021

Thought leaders from the American Psychological Association, MaineHealth and Unum discuss the current state of employee mental health, and key elements for a strong behavioral health strategy for 2022 and beyond.

As a follow-up to Episode 34 on the federal vaccine mandate, Unum employment law and compliance expert Ellen McCann joins guest host Nate Smith with updates for employers on OSHA’s most recent guidance, outlining what employers need to know, what clarifications occurred with OSHA’s guidance and important timelines to consider.* 

-        Employers with 100 or more employees will need to choose which route to take. Under OSHA’s Emergency Temporary Standard, employers can choose between requiring 1) All employees to be vaccinated 2) Employees to choose between weekly testing or full vaccination.  [3:15] 

-        The mandate plan has several components that relate to different type of employees. For example, employees who work exclusively from home will not be subject to this mandate. In this case, they will need to be tested before coming into the workplace. [4:58] 

-        These new requirements are set to go into effect in the near future. OSHA has published a chart on their website that shows compliance dates and requirements. [7:05] 

-        No matter which route employers take, precise record-keeping will be critical. Supportive solutions will help employers manage the complex requirements, from proof of vaccination status to testing results to vaccination exemptions. [8:41]

-        The right technology solution can help employers.  Systems like Unum Vaccine Verifier make it easy for employers to maintain an accurate, up-to-date vaccination and test result roster in one place. [15:43]

-        How do recent court rulings impact employers? The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals has issued an injunction, halting the mandate for the time-being. Be on the lookout for more information as the case proceeds. [19:24]

-        Additional resources: How the federal vaccine mandate may affect employers. 

*Currently subject to a temporary stay by the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals.  

Featured Speaker 

Ellen McCann

Assistant Vice President of Unum Solutions

Ellen McCann has expertise in leave management, specifically the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). As Assistant Vice President, Unum Solutions, she combines more than 30 years of employment law experience with practical knowledge of the complexities of leave and accommodation management to create solutions that help employers manage the complex leave process. Currently, she supports Total Leave, Unum’s digital leave management solution, and Unum Vaccine Verifier, a simple, secure way to verify vaccination status, manage exemptions and manage COVID testing compliance.

Previously, Ellen worked in the Employment Law Group, providing support to Unum’s Absence Management Center and advised Human Resources on employment-related legal issues for more than 20 years. She worked at Davis, Malm & D’Agostine law firm in Boston prior to joining Unum. She is also a certified trainer for the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM).

Enrollment season is upon us – and perhaps has never been more important. There is an increased demand for better benefits, and an enrollment experience that integrates innovative technology with authentic, individualized and human connection. In this episode, HR technology and enrollment experts share their top recommendations, including:  

• Personalized benefits are trending. Steve Boese shares insights from his role as Program Chair of the HR Technology Conference. Organizations should prioritize employee development, skill identification and an enriched career path. [2:00] 
• There must be a balance between technology and human interaction. A successful enrollment season will need to include innovative ways to connect with individual employees. [5:24] 
• There are generational differences in benefits enrollment needs and preferences. Millennials, now ranging in age from 25-40, have been challenged by the pandemic more than any other age demographic. [6:45] 
• Benefits are top of mind. A recent survey found that 8 in 10 employers believe the pandemic has made employees more aware of available benefits. [8:00] 
•  To make a real difference in the employee experience, education is key. A robust benefits offering is ineffective if employees are not well-informed. [11:28]
• Today’s employees expect varied benefits education methods. Survey results show value in both online and in-person enrollment support. [13:03]
• Expect new enrollment this year. Data shows that 80% of employees will seek out enrollment opportunities that they hadn’t engaged with in the past. [13:30]
• Use benefits to support recruitment and retention. The tight labor market and increased employee interest should encourage all employers to prioritize promoting the current benefits offering. [18:28] 
• Additional resources: Webinar, Enrollment strategies for the new world of work. 

Featured Speakers 

 Steve Boese, HR Technology Conference Co-Chair, H3 HR Advisors

Steve Boese is the Program Chair and host of the HR Technology Conference, the leading global event for the HR Technology Industry, and a technology columnist for Human Resource Executive Magazine.  Additionally, Steve Co-founded H3 HR Advisors Inc., and is a frequent author and speaker on Human Resources, HR Technology, and the workplace. He created and co-hosts the popular podcast the “HR Happy Hour Show”, which is the most downloaded Human Resources podcast since its inception in 2009. 

Marilyn Miller, Chief People Officer, Anaplan 

Marilyn Miller is the Chief People Officer (CPO) of Anaplan. Prior to Anaplan, Marilyn was the CPO at Alfresco Software. Marilyn also was the Chief Human Resources Officer at Quotient Technology and held senior leadership positions at URS/AECOM, BMC Software, and Cisco Systems. Marilyn holds a B.S. in political science and government from the University of Iowa and completed course work for her M.A. in labor and industrial relations from the University of Minnesota.

Julie Schwetz, Assistant Vice President, Product Manager, Unum 

Julie Schwetz has worked in various product leadership, change management, and operational effectiveness roles since joining Unum in 2018. She currently oversees digital transformation efforts related to enrollment and engagement of the insured, their employers, and brokers alike. Prior to joining Unum, Julie served 13 years in the U.S. Army as a logistician in numerous stateside assignments and deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. Her last military assignment was at West Point where she led core higher education functions.

The President’s vaccine mandate

Employment law and compliance expert Ellen McCann explores what we know about the President’s vaccine mandate so far. She discusses which employees are covered, how the mandate will be implemented, prospects for litigation and what it all means for employers.

The pandemic continues to disrupt daily lives as the Delta variant of COVID-19 sweeps through the country. The rate of stress-related disorders has also started to rise again amid ongoing unpredictability. In this episode, we speak to two behavioral health experts on how employers can best support employees this fall.

• Employers play a vital role in supporting employee mental health. Providing support may look different in hybrid and remote working situations, but it’s all the more important and in even greater demand. [5:00]  
• Clear communication is key. Studies show that one of the largest sources of stress is unpredictability. Clarity, patience and flexibility are critical in these times. [7:35]
• Make resources easy to find. It can be stressful for employees to have to search for support. Streamline mental health resources in one central hub to support employees, rather than overwhelm. [9:37]
• The pandemic has accelerated virtual access. With the rise of digital access, care and support can be accessed at almost any time from nearly any location with no drive-time required. [11:10] 
• Create a culture of trust. Provide a safe place for people to open up and be vulnerable about what they’re feeling to promote understanding and enhance team building. [13:42] 
• Leaders set the tone. Prioritize executive education so that employees are encouraged to access resources by seeing examples and role models among the leadership. [15:57]
• We remain in challenging times: all hands on deck are needed. Resources like Mental Health First Aidempower employees to become advocates for organizational wellbeing. [17:20] 
• Additional resources: Webinar, Supporting behavioral health at work.

Featured Speakers 

 Kerry Ressler
M.D., Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer, McLean Hospital and Professor, Harvard Medical School 

Kerry J. Ressler, M.D., Ph.D., focuses on translational research, bridging molecular neurobiology in animal models with human genetic and epigenetic research on emotion, particularly fear and anxiety disorders. He has published over 300 manuscripts, ranging from genetic basic molecular mechanisms of fear processing to understanding how emotion is encoded in the brain across animal models and human patients.

Swapnil Prabha
Vice President, Digital Offerings, Unum

With 15 years of experience in the insurance industry, Swapnil is the Vice President of Digital Offerings at Unum. Prior to joining Unum, Swapnil spent seven years at McKinsey & Company where she was a leader in the Insurance Practice, focused on Digital Services across all lines of business and Employee Benefits specifically.

You may also be interested in

Article
Harnessing employee engagement to support mental health 

May 26, 2021 

This informative article breaks down how employers can help employees get the help they need. 

Watch now

Event
Ask the legal experts: Revisiting COVID-19, paid leave and the ADA   

May 20, 2021 

In this event organized by Human Resource Executive (HRE), thought leaders discuss top-of-mind issues facing employers. 

Watch now

Tech is transforming every aspect of today’s business world, and this now includes leave and absence management. In this episode, two of Unum’s top leave experts discuss how innovations have and will continue to fundamentally transform the employee and employer experience.  

• A perfect storm for today’s HR teams. Changing conditions have been building around HR complexities, leading to a need for digital transformation. [2:15] 
• Navigating the growing complexities. With 65% of calls being claim or leave related at Unum, it’s clear this is a top priority for employees and clients alike. This sheer volume and complexity of requests is across the board in the industry. [3:30]  
• Demand for the real-time support everyone expects. Technological advancements keep employees and HR teams on the same page. [5:17] 
• Employer goals for leave are changing. Trends in leave and absence management are evolving from solely compliance-centered to recruitment- and retention-focused. [6:45]
• A state-of-the-art and modern ecosystem is needed. Multiple capabilities must be integrated and automated to better meet the needs of HR and employees. [8:30]
• Additional resources: Webinar, How tech is transforming leave management.

Featured Speakers 

Zory Harter
Vice President, Absence Management Experience, Unum

For more than 12 years, Zory Harter has been one of the most impactful operational leaders at Unum. She joined the organization to lead the voluntary benefits and bilingual team in the call center — and has since served a variety of leadership roles. Her contributions to the operations design for Unum’s newest leave offering, Total Leave, saw her driving considerable operational transformations with new technology, processes and techniques to deliver a digital-first absence management service to employees and HR administrators. Zory continues to lead absence management teams across the organization by furthering Unum’s operational digital transformation and delivering an improved digital customer experience in the leave and absence space.

Susan Stowell
Vice President, Absence Management Offering, Unum

Susan Stowell drives the strategic vision for new enhancements to Unum’s leave and absence portfolio, guiding investments that improve the user experience with a modern, digital toolset. In this role, Susan interacts with customers across the United States in helping to solve their greatest leave management pain points and driving their strategic vision and digital intelligence. Previously, Susan led Unum’s Workforce Solutions consulting team, positively impacting customers’ experiences with unplanned absences. She has also worked extensively in healthcare.

You may also be interested in

Guide
The future of leave guide 

This guide gives employers the tools they need to innovate and streamline to create a future-forward leave and absence management strategy.
Read now

 Webinar
Best practices for managing intermittent leave
July 21, 2021 

Three national experts share their insights to help HR teams address the ongoing challenges of intermittent leave and give employers the tools they need to transform their existing intermittent leave plan.
Watch now

As we move into a tight labor market in the second half of 2021, organizations will need a strong employee benefits messaging strategy to recruit and retain talent. However, for this strategy to work, organizations must educate their workforce about their benefits offering. 

In this podcast episode, Chris Bernadine, Sr., Chief Enrollment Officer at Meridio, and Rob Quell, a Vice President at Colonial Life, discuss the importance of year-round benefits education and provide tactical tips for employers to maintain benefits communications throughout the year.

• The correlation between retention and employee satisfaction. Current data shows the direct connection between how well companies are educating employees on benefits to overall employee satisfaction and retention levels. [01:58]
• Employee benefits is a recruitment and retention technique. We look at the top three reasons why employees choose to work for an employer and why they stay. [03:38]
• Take a year-round approach to benefits education. For most organizations, enrollment happens during the fourth quarter, with benefits education squeezed into that short period before open enrollment. However, organizations that communicate to employees throughout the year tend to be more successful with their benefits strategy. [05:02]
• Major life changes and events. Individual circumstances and lives are constantly changing. Employers need to remind employees to re-evaluate their benefits selection and those parts with time sensitivity during life events. [11:25]
• Six tips for year-round benefits communication. Best practices and tactical tips for employers to improve benefits education.  [14:03]
• Additional resources: SHRM webinar, The power of benefits education all year round.  

 Christopher Bernardine Sr.
Chief Enrollment Officer, Meridio 

Chris is the current Chief Enrollment Officer of Meridio, a benefit communication software and enrollment company that specializes in working with associations, insurance agencies, business consultants and carriers. In this role, he oversees the operations and enrollment of the business. Chris has over 30 years of dedicated experience in benefit communication and employee benefits. 

 
Rob Quell
Vice President of Broker and Special Market Development, Colonial Life

Rob is the Vice President, Broker and Special Market Development for Colonial Life.  In this role, Rob is responsible for leading an organization focused on developing and executing strategies to offer insurance products and enrollment services in partnership with brokers to their employer clients.  His team also works with Colonial Life’s largest and most complex clients to evaluate the strategic use of benefits programs to achieve their business objectives, as well as specialization in key industry segments including public sector.  Rob has previously held roles in Large Employer Sales, Enrollment Technology, IT Portfolio Management, Underwriting, and Claims.  He has a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Vanderbilt University and an MBA in International Business from the Darla Moore School of Business (University of South Carolina).  He is a Fellow of the Life Management Institute (FLMI) and Associate of Life and Health Claims (ALHC).

Unum employment law experts Daris Freeman and Tamika Newson join Clare Morin in the HR Trends studio to update employers on legal considerations for leave, the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) and other issues as employees begin returning to offices and worksites after the pandemic.

• Challenges from rise of remote/hybrid work: 
  • Most leave laws don’t address the complexities of remote or hybrid work. With more people working away from the company’s physical location, employers are struggling to determine which leave laws apply to which employees. Some states have provided clear guidance, while others have not. Checking with your legal counsel is the wisest course of action for making correct, consistent decisions. (1:30)
  • With workers scattered to different cities, states and even countries since the beginning of the pandemic, it’s even more important for leave administrators to ensure that employee information is up to date. They also need to put clear parameters around their policies — most will not want to administer leave for workers living in foreign countries, for example. (5:00)
• ADA and vaccinations:
  • Employers who decide to mandate vaccinations may face ADA discrimination claims from those who aren’t vaccinated. On the other hand, vaccinated employees may not feel safe returning to work with unvaccinated co-workers and may have claims of their own. (6:30)
  • Guidance on this issue is evolving daily, so employers should stay engaged to be sure they are following the latest regulations. (8:19)
  • Note: After this podcast was recorded, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued new guidance reaffirming that federal equal employment opportunity laws do not prohibit employers from requiring or incentivizing vaccination, provided they comply with ADA and other accommodation provisions.
• Return to work best practices:
  • To help employees feel safe, employers can implement in-work accommodations such as mask requirements and six-foot spacing between desks. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) have outlined some guidance in this area. (8:50)
  • Temporary work from home can also be considered an accommodation, but be sure the basis for requiring a return to the workplace is clear. Also revisit relevant job descriptions to make clear that being in the workplace is an essential job function. Consistent practices are important. (9:58)
  • For positions that transition to permanent work from home, formal standards for remote work should be implemented, such as requiring that employees have a dedicated workspace free of distractions. (11:05)

Featured speakers

Daris Freeman
Assistant Vice President and Legal Counsel, Unum's Employment Law Group

As Assistant Vice President, Legal Counsel for Unum, Daris’ primary responsibility is to support Unum’s Absence Management Center which administers FMLA, paid leave, ADA and over 200 complementary state laws. 

Tamika Newson
Assistant Vice President and Legal Counsel, Unum's Employment Law Group

Tamika Newson joined Unum after 22 years of employment law counseling and litigation as a Partner in several large law firms. Prior to joining Unum, she litigated employment matters nationwide. 

Listen in as Dr. Philip Levendusky of the world-renowned McLean Hospital joins Unum’s Swapnil Prabha, to discuss the worsening mental health crisis in the U.S. and how innovative employer behavioral health programs can help remove the barriers to care.

• A continuing trend. Mental health issues have been on the rise for the past five years.  [2:18]
• Gen Z suffering most. People aged 18 to 24 accounted for 56% of those reporting symptoms of anxiety disorder and/or depressive disorders during the pandemic. [8:21]
• Access is major difficulty. Inpatient psychological treatment, in short supply before the pandemic, reached critical scarcity, with some young people spending as much as seven days in the emergency room waiting to be admitted. [13:17]
• Stigma is continuing barrier. Employers need to take the weight off of the people in their organizations by making it clear that needing and seeking help is OK. [14:10]
• Digital benefits can help solve for access. By directing people with less serious issues to digital and self-help tools, innovative behavioral health programs can help with demand management. [16:30]
• Employer advocacy is critical. From training to policies to making sure behavioral health providers are transparent and accountable, employers have a big role to play in helping employees take advantage of the behavioral health benefits offered at work. [18:00]
• Returning to the workplace. Returning to work will have issues of its own, which employers can combat with clear communications, small steps and promotion of resources to help.  [19:45]
• Additional resources: Webinar, Supporting behavioral health at work.

<Previous episode

Featured speakers

Dr. Philip Levendusky

Director of Psychology, McLean Hospital; Associate Professor of Psychology, Harvard Medical School 

For more than three decades, Dr. Philip Levendusky has directed and/or developed more than 30 cutting-edge clinical programs at McLean Hospital. He is recognized nationally and internationally as a pioneer of integrated cognitive-behavioral treatment systems for persons with serious mental illness. In addition, he has inspired a generation of students to achieve excellence in the pursuit of their professional careers.

Swapnil Prabha

Vice President, Digital Offerings, Unum

With 15 years of experience in the insurance industry, Swapnil is the Vice President of Digital Offerings at Unum. 

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 Josh Bersin
Global Industry Analyst, Dean, Josh Bersin Academy

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• Access the recent report: Small Business Benefit Trends Report 2021.
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Lars Schmidt
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