Workplace & Culture Archives

6 Ways Healthcare Employers Can Tackle Burnout and Make Workplaces Safer

15 July, 2024

Amid a national nurse staffing crisis, stark data suggests healthcare employers need to urgently address burnout. It threatens employers’ ability to hire and retain talent in an already scarce environment.

Nearly one-third of nurses say they are likely to leave the profession, according to an AMN Healthcare survey. It is surprising that the figure isn’t higher, considering two-thirds of nurses say they are burned out (American Hospital Association), and 8 in 10 say they have experienced some type of violence in the workplace.

Those are staggering findings. The alarming part of this crisis is that not enough employers are addressing burnout and workplace violence head-on, according to the American Nurses Foundation. When employees feel unsafe or overworked, the likelihood of voluntary turnover (quitting) skyrockets. Research by Kronos found that up to 50% of turnover is due to burnout, and National Nurses United data shows 60% of nurses said they left a job or considered leaving due to workplace violence, a contributing factor to burnout in this profession.

Some of the reasons these issues remain unaddressed in healthcare settings, including at long-term care facilities, according to National Nurses United, are:

No reporting mechanisms exist, or they are poorly communicated
Lack of clear policies on the issues
Lack of education and training
Underuse of PTO in the nursing profession
Poor communication about employer-provided benefits, EAP offerings, or well-being solutions to address the issues
The organization doesn’t focus or invest in a culture of well-being

The nature of healthcare operations is also a contributing factor when it comes to burnout and the adverse effects of workplace violence. Nursing shortages across the industry lead to high workloads and long hours. Shifts in this profession, especially in hospital or acute care settings, typically last 12 hours to provide more continuity of care and reduce errors due to shift changes. The combination of a shortage of nurses and long hours also leads to a lack of flexibility in scheduling, especially when it comes to focusing on an employee’s well-being.

There are other things that exasperate burnout, such as:

Emotional and physical demands of the job
Lack of support from organization and/or managers
The emotional toll of patient care
Personal factors, including financial stress.

What employers in this industry need first is to prioritize employee well-being. Burned out nurses lead to medical errors, poor patient care, and higher turnover rates. We recommend developing a comprehensive guide or set of steps to reduce the effects of burnout among nurses. A proactive approach that focuses on the employee experience and well-being can create an environment of security and safety.

Here are some simple steps to get started:

Acknowledge the issues and create an initiative to reduce burnout and improve workplace security.
Communicate policies, tools, and support mechanisms to nurses.
Empower managers to monitor and support nurses around these issues.
Focus on a culture of empathy, care, and well-being.
Measure and evaluate over time.

Once that cultural and infrastructure work is in place, we recommend the following six practices to be proactive and address burnout and the effects of workplace violence that nurses face.

Demonstrate empathy. Create a culture of proactive concern around burnout, overall well-being, and personal security. Establish a system of 1:1 check-ins with employees to know how your people are doing. Train managers to know what resources are available to employees through employer-provided benefits. It is critical for leadership to set an example with a focus on employee well-being.

Establish or highlight existing health and wellness programs. Providing access to mental health services, such as therapists and counselors, helps nurses manage stress, anxiety, and trauma that result from workplace violence. Regular mental health support can prevent burnout by addressing issues early on. At the same time, wellness initiatives such as yoga, meditation, and fitness classes promote physical health and stress relief, which are essential in preventing burnout. And, addressing the whole person would not be complete without a nutritional component. Providing counseling can also improve overall health, making nurses more resilient to stress. An often-overlooked aspect of overall health and well-being is whether employees are doing routine health screenings. These regular health check-ups and screenings can identify early signs of burnout and physical stress, enabling timely interventions.

Provide financial support and key well-being benefits. Ensuring competitive pay and benefits can reduce financial stress, which can be a significant (and often unseen) contributor to burnout. Knowing that their financial well-being is secure can make nurses feel more valued and engaged. Financial counseling as part of employer-provided benefits can also help nurses manage their personal finances and reduce stress related to financial insecurity. This can be particularly beneficial for nurses dealing with the costs associated with workplace injuries or therapy. Assisting with student loans can also alleviate a major financial burden, allowing nurses to focus more on their work and less on financial worries.

Prioritize workplace safety and support structures. Start with an audit around workplace safety and security, with a focus on employees’ vulnerabilities to workplace violence. Establishing a zero-tolerance policy toward any form of workplace violence, including verbal and physical abuse, sends a clear message to employees that their safety is valued. This policy needs to be clearly communicated to all staff members, followed by training sessions, staff meetings, and clearly posting the policy on employer apps and technology platforms. Regular training on handling violent situations and recognizing early warning signs empowers nurses to feel more secure in their work environment. A critical component of this approach is establishing a reporting mechanism. Consider an anonymous reporting system for incidents of violence to ensure nurses can report issues without fear of retaliation and encourage a culture of safety and support.

Provide flexible work schedules and destigmatize time off. Implement flexible work arrangements by assessing individual needs and preferences for flexible working hours or job sharing, and back up that intention with policies that support work-life balance without compromising patient care. Given the systemic problem of nurses not using their paid time off (PTO) benefits (a culture issue that also needs attention), monitor PTO and encourage nurses who are not taking time off to use their PTO benefits to prevent burnout or help recover from an incident of workplace violence. Managers and leaders can set an example by taking PTO and communicating the positive effects of using the benefit.

Measure these initiatives. Conduct an initial assessment using anonymous surveys to gauge the levels of burnout and incidents of workplace violence in your setting. Hold focus group discussions to gather detailed feedback from nursing staff to better understand their overall well-being. Continuously monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of support programs and gather feedback, making necessary adjustments to improve the programs based on the evaluation results.

Following this simple guide could significantly reduce nurses’ burnout and address the adverse effects of workplace violence to which they are exposed. A holistic approach to employee well-being can be a major driver in the employee experience and create a more connected culture.

5 Steps to Improve Employee Satisfaction with Benefits

11 June, 2024

This article was first published in BenefitsPro.

Employee benefits are crucial to the satisfaction and productivity of any workforce. Research has consistently shown a direct link between the perceived quality of benefits employers offer and overall employee job satisfaction. For example, a study by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) found that 92% of employees say benefits are critical to their overall job satisfaction.

However, despite their importance, there is often a gap between the benefits 0employers offer and the benefits employees value most. According to research from MetLife, employee satisfaction with their benefits fell to 61% in 2023, down from 64% in 2022 and the lowest point in the past decade.

Addressing this gap is not about just adding more benefits. It can also involve enhancing (or educating employees on) the right benefits to meet their evolving needs and those of their families. More specifically, it involves advancing your communications through a variety of methods to communicate how benefits can support employees in their time of need.

What can organizations do to drive employee satisfaction with their benefits? Here are five steps that make a difference, regardless of the company type or the benefits being offered.

1. Understand your “why”

The first step is to assess your current benefits strategy. Does it align with your organization’s overall talent strategy? Does it meet the diverse needs of your workforce? More importantly, can your benefits team clearly articulate why you offer the benefits you do and how you measure their success?

It’s crucial to evaluate the effectiveness of your current program. This assessment must go beyond cost analysis to consider how actively employees engage with each benefit.

Where possible, collaborate with your benefits administration provider and broker or consultant to compare engagement levels with other clients using the same enrollment platform.

Benchmarking your benefits program against industry standards can provide valuable insights into its effectiveness. By analyzing data on benchmarks such as employee and family participation rates, claims utilization, and satisfaction levels across similar organizations, you can identify areas where your program excels and areas that may need improvement.

Understanding your “why” will help you identify the strengths and weaknesses of your current offerings and develop a more targeted strategy — one that personalizes benefits and your communication and outreach strategies for each individual.

2. Invest in deep personalization

Personalization isn’t the future of employee benefits — it’s the present. A one-size-fits-all approach to benefits design, communication, education, and employee outreach no longer works and leaves many needs unmet. A personalized benefits approach empowers individuals to choose options that align with their specific circumstances.

For instance, some employees may prioritize higher HSA contributions, while others may prefer comprehensive health coverage or wellness programs. Additionally, some individuals may need guidance to navigate and discover these valuable programs for themselves and their families.

It’s crucial to educate employees on how to choose the right benefits and effectively use the benefits they select. This ongoing education ensures that employees maximize the value of their benefits package.

By using personalized strategies based on each member’s data and behaviors, you meet employees where they are and empower them to make choices that best support their lifestyle and wellbeing. This leads to higher employee satisfaction, increased engagement, and, ultimately, a more productive workforce and better return on the dollars you and your employees invest in these plans.

3. Get useful feedback from employees

One of the most effective ways to ensure your benefits resonate with your workforce is simple: Ask them! Historically, attempts to collect feedback have been generic — surveys, focus groups, or town hall meetings. However, these methods often lead to confusing and conflicting feedback.

In today’s world of hyper-personalization, a more effective approach is to ask for feedback in real time or shortly after employees use their benefits.

Analyzing employee behavior and capturing feedback at or near the time they use their benefits offers at least three advantages:

A deeper understanding of employee needs. Real-time feedback provides more accurate and relevant insights into what employees value and require.
Behavior change. Timely education and suggestions can encourage employees to make better-informed decisions regarding their benefits. For example, notifying an employee when they become eligible for a wellness incentive or other program can increase participation.
A stronger connection between employees and benefits. Personalized feedback fosters a sense of ownership and engagement, leading to increased appreciation for the benefits offered.

By adopting a more targeted and personalized approach to feedback, you can ensure your benefits resonate with your workforce and drive higher satisfaction and engagement.

4. Leverage technology for benefits advocacy

A significant barrier to benefits satisfaction is simply a lack of knowledge about what’s available. Most employees spend less than 30 minutes reviewing information when they select benefits during open enrollment. You can have a great benefits program with many choices for individuals. But if employees never know about or understand those options, it can lead to dissatisfaction. Not only does this fail to maximize the return on investment in these programs, we might actually be diminishing the overall return.

Leveraging AI-powered tools can enhance benefits communication and education. AI-driven platforms can deliver personalized, jargon-free communications tailored to each employee’s needs and preferences. Additionally, virtual assistants can offer 24/7 support, answering employee questions and guiding them through complex benefits information.

Employers can meanwhile leverage AI-powered analytics to gain insights into benefits utilization and use this information to identify areas where education may be lacking. By analyzing pharmacy, medical, and behavioral data, employers can pinpoint specific benefits that are underutilized or misunderstood.

This data-driven approach allows for targeted communication and education initiatives, ensuring that employees are aware of and understand the full range of benefits available to them.

5. Adapt to employees’ shifting needs

To satisfy your workforce’s changing needs, consider a dynamic benefits approach that evolves alongside your people.

This means offering a range of benefits that cater to different life stages and personal circumstances. For example, younger employees may value student loan repayment assistance or financial planning resources, while employees starting families might prioritize enhanced parental leave or childcare benefits. As employees progress in their careers and lives, their needs are likely to shift toward elder care support or comprehensive retirement planning.

By leveraging technology, you can proactively identify these changing needs and tailor your benefits offerings accordingly. This data-driven approach ensures that your benefits package remains relevant and valuable to employees throughout their entire journey with your company.

Think of it like a GPS navigation system. Just as GPS dynamically adjusts the route based on real-time traffic conditions and the driver’s destination, so too should your benefits package adapt to the changing landscape, needs, and goals of your employees. This will ensure they are always on the right track to improving their overall wellbeing.

At every step: Improve your benefits with intent

The key to maximizing your benefits offering is to actively engage with, and listen to, the needs of your employees, offer them flexibility and education, and don’t be afraid to make changes.

Creating a better benefits experience makes a difference. This not only boosts satisfaction but also reinforces your organization’s commitment to its most valuable asset — its people.

Plan design, employee experience top of mind for benefits leaders

20 May, 2024

SANTA ANA PUEBLO, N.M. — A recent gathering of benefits administration leaders and practitioners in a remote New Mexico desert resort was dominated by discussions of employee mental health, rising employee expectations, and finding ways to meet employees where they are while tackling rising health care costs that impact employer-provided benefits.

Empyrean’s EVOLVE 2024 brought together over 150 attendees to discuss ways that technology and communications can change how companies support and engage their workforce, create more connected cultures, and elevate benefits in the employee experience.

“We see a direct connection between benefits and employee wellbeing and, ultimately, organizational health,” Empyrean CEO Rich Wolfe said during his opening remarks of the three-day conference. “Benefits administration is about more than plan design. It is about the holistic support of the employee experience.”

Several sessions, including the keynote address by best-selling author and CEO of Delivering Happiness, Jenn Lim, focused on treating people as a whole human being at work and beyond work.

“In the past, we’ve been all about purpose, values, and behaviors, and they are still relevant, but they are table stakes now,” she said in an interview before a book signing session. “There are already so many benefits and so much noise. If we want to help employees through this thing everyone is calling a funk, we need to be clearer with employees and simplify the message.”

Lim also warned that employee wellbeing is at an all-time low and that companies need to rethink ROI as more of a “ripple of impact”.

“As leaders in the room, we can’t fix everything, but we can be the mirrors for people to see a way forward,” she said.

Other speakers shared tips on a variety of topics from mental health to meeting employee needs to improving communications. One strategic discussion centered around gathering employee feedback to inform and continuously improve benefits strategies. Another suggested reducing the number of apps that employees use to access company information around benefits (including supplemental benefits such as pet insurance or elder care) and other important company updates and information.

Most attendees agreed one of their biggest challenges is communicating details about benefits in a way that can break through the noise.

Kassy Dewey, program manager benefits at Children’s Health, used a series of videos ahead of last year’s benefits enrollment featuring a variety of offerings in the coming year’s selections that sparked higher engagement than previous communications efforts.

“Communicating is tough, and communicating well is even tougher,” she said in a panel titled “Meeting People Where They Are”. “Believe it or not, snail mail is making a comeback, because people are overwhelmed by too many emails.”

Luis Doffo, a managing director of sales at HSA Bank, said effective communication has to consider individual factors in each employee’s life that might help communication breakthrough.

“Based on how your employees are evolving, you need to modify your communication strategies,” he said.

Some discussions at the conference focused on innovation in benefits, such as self-funded benefits plans to reduce costs, reference-based pricing strategies, and certifications for mental health allies, especially for managers, to identify employees who may need to access appropriate benefits.

Individual interviews with over a dozen benefits leaders revealed an overwhelming skepticism around reference-based pricing — an attempt by many states to make pricing more transparent at the point of care.

Benefits leaders say they have concerns about their employees’ understanding of how the approach would work, especially given the reluctance of health care providers to provide price estimates for care on the spot. They say health providers will want to wait for health insurance carriers to give exact pricing, which they said could leave patients without exact information in real-time and would undermine the spirit of reference-based pricing.

Panelist Angel Seufert, executive vice president of HR at Empyrean, shared with conference attendees a program she launched to train and certify two employees as mental health allies to identify employee needs and help connect those individuals with the resources they may need. Other HR leaders say they want to replicate that program.

“I really like the idea of the mental health ally certifications, especially if those people are managers, ” said Urvashi Saigal, director, head of benefits at Danone North America. “We look to lead from the top on removing any stigmas in mental health.”

“A lot of our employees are experiencing issues with social determinants of health and we’re sometimes having difficulty getting them the resources they need, so we’re turning to technology to create a more connected culture through benefits,” added Saigal, a co-panelists with Suefert in the sessions titled “Optimizing the Connection Between Individual Wellbeing and Workplace Wellness.”

One session, led by Empyrean’s Chief Strategy Officer, Jim Priebe, focused on the challenges that HR leaders have given remote and hybrid workforces and all the distractions that employees have in their lives at work and outside of work that make it harder for employers to communicate with their people.

He cited a few alarming statistics about how people are feeling: 47% of employees are worried, 24% are lonely, and 51% are disconnected, according to recent research by 2022 research by Blueboard.

“It isn’t just a pandemic problem. It is a growing problem,” Priebe said. “We’re just in an age where we feel more comfortable talking about these things. We need to make connections with employees a priority.”

The conference last week was interspersed with small moments of connection with the Tamayan people, who own the land operated by the Hyatt Regency. On day two of the event, about a dozen conference attendees watched the sun rise over the Sandia Mountains. The brisk morning walk was led by Tamayan Alica Ortiz. She provided an oral, guided tour through the nearby bosque — a Spanish word meaning forest. But for the locals, it represents a description of the land and their relationship to everything clustered along a stretch of the Rio Grande River.

Near the end of the conference, Navaho flutist William Clark performed native music for a 15-minute stretch on two wooden, hand-made flutes. On the agenda, his performance was billed as “A Moment of Afternoon Enchantment.” After playing, Clark asked the crowd: “Feel better?”

Tony Spangler is vice president of public and analyst relations at The Starr Conspiracy and spent 20 years as an award-winning journalist covering government, health care, and business.

Creating a Connected Workplace Culture: How to Bridge the Physical & Digital Divide

13 May, 2024

In the modern workplace, fostering a sense of connection among employees is more than a nicety — it’s a necessity. As many companies were forced to adopt remote and hybrid work models over the past few years, the challenge of building meaningful employee experiences and deep connections within teams has become even more complex. Yet, the stakes for ensuring these connections have never been higher.

Shockingly, more than half of U.S. employees feel disconnected. This disconnection is more than a personal issue — it’s an organizational crisis, directly impacting employers’ ability to attract, develop and retain top talent. In fact, employees who say they feel connected to their workplace culture are:

Over 5x as likely to recommend their organization
Nearly 4x as likely to be engaged at work
55% less likely to be looking for another job

The Challenge of Distance & Distraction

One of the primary hurdles in building a connected workplace culture is the physical separation of team members. With remote and hybrid work becoming increasingly prevalent, employees are no longer sharing the same physical space, making spontaneous interactions and informal conversations a rarity. This lack of face-to-face contact can lead to feelings of isolation and disconnection among team members, hindering the development of a cohesive culture.

Moreover, the proliferation and fragmentation of workplace apps pose significant challenges to building a connected workplace culture. With a seemingly ever-growing array of HR point solutions – from benefits to time and pay to learning and development – employees frequently encounter a disorganized maze of applications. This not only negatively impacts productivity, but also exacerbates cognitive overload and decision fatigue among employees, who often struggle to discern where to turn when in need.

So, how can organizations navigate these challenges and cultivate a connected workplace culture in an era of distance and distraction?

Developing a Connected Workplace Strategy

Connection doesn’t happen by accident. Building better employee connections in the digital age requires an intentional act of commitment, being adaptive, and understanding the evolving dynamics of the workplace.

To navigate this journey successfully, organizations must:

Act with deliberate intention in choosing strategies that resonate with your unique culture and workforce. This involves clearly defining what connection means to your organization and what the goals are, getting buy-in and participation from leadership, and measuring key success metrics that directly tie to the goals you’ve set.

Embrace tools and technologies that bridge distances, while being mindful of the human need for genuine connection. The important thing here is to not add to the noise employees already contend with, but to simplify their experience and fit naturally into their day-to-day. Ease of use and accessibility are paramount.

Cultivate clear and open communication so that every member of your team feels visible, heard, and important – wherever they are on their employee journey. One way to create this type of environment is to develop personalized, targeted messaging and touchpoints that will deliver the right information to the right employee at the right time. Technology can be a huge help here.

Soak up all the feedback you can. Good feedback practices not only light the way toward areas for growth and improvement but also reinforce the bonds that connect your teams together across digital divides. Establish your feedback channels, encourage employees to share and, most importantly, act on the input you receive.

Commit to continuous improvement, understanding that the path to deeper employee connections is a dynamic, never-ending process. In addition to analyzing and acting on feedback, be transparent and own up to the areas where you fall short, and, in equal measure, take time to celebrate where you’ve made strides.

Want to learn more about building a connected culture in the era of distance and distraction? Check our our on-demand webinar and hear how other leading employers are rethinking the employee experience to drive greater engagement, productivity and satisfaction in the workplace.

Empyrean’s Evolve24: Crafting Communications for Enhanced Employee Engagement

06 May, 2024

In the world of corporate communication, creating a seamless experience for employees is crucial for their engagement and satisfaction. Empyrean’s Evolve24 is set to host an enlightening session that delves into the intricacies of effective communication both on and off digital platforms. Led by Misty Guinn, Sr Manager of Communication Strategy, this session will showcase the art of synchronizing various communication channels to deliver a unified and impactful employee experience.

This workshop titled “From Design to Delivery: Creating a Seamless Experience for Maximum Engagement & Employee Satisfaction” will explore the entire spectrum of content creation and deployment. Attendees will learn about crafting compelling content, launching targeted campaigns, and the alignment required to develop a comprehensive communications strategy. Through detailed analysis and sharing of best practices, the session will offer a roadmap for effectively executing across diverse channels.

Misty will delve into creating meaningful educational touchpoints and custom communications that inform, connect, and resonate with employees. The discussion will cover the essential elements that make communications impactful, focusing on how to enhance a benefits strategy’s effectiveness through clear, consistent messaging. Attendees will walk away with actionable insights and practical tips to transform the way they communicate with their teams, aiming to boost engagement and achieve measurable results in employee satisfaction.

Learn more about Empyrean’s Experience Lab and how you can create custom communications for your employees.

Cultivating Connection: Strategies for HR in the Digital and Distracted Era with Jim Priebe

08 March, 2024

The upcoming EPIC conference, scheduled for April 25th, will feature a particularly relevant session for HR professionals, titled “Build a Connected Culture in the Age of Distance and Distraction.” Presented by Jim Priebe, Chief Strategy Officer at Empyrean, this session will delve deep into the opportunities and challenges of cultivating a connected organizational culture in today’s fragmented and distraction-laden environment.

The statistics are telling: nearly half of the employees surveyed in a recent study report feeling disconnected and distracted, with significant percentages battling feelings of loneliness and disconnection from their work. In the era of digital saturation and hybrid workplaces, the imperative to forge meaningful connections is more critical than ever. Yet, what does ‘connection’ truly mean? This session aims to unpack this question, drawing on extensive research and insights from Empyrean’s vast experience with employee engagement.

For HR professionals, understanding the multifaceted concept of wellbeing is crucial. It extends beyond mere benefits and individual behavior change to encompass a holistic approach that meets employees where they are, enabling their success and fostering genuine connections.

Priebe’s presentation will offer valuable perspectives on how wellbeing can serve as a foundation for building a resilient and connected organizational culture, providing actionable guidance and approaches for putting these insights into practice. Attendees learn how to navigate the distraction-rich environment of today’s workplace, ensuring they can enable employee success and maintain meaningful connections.

This is a must-see event for HR professionals committed to fostering a vibrant and connected workplace culture and looking for the tools necessary to thrive in the evolving landscape of work.

EPIC 2024 presents an unmatched chance to forge essential relationships and discover innovative, transformative strategies that exceed standard best practices, aiming to nurture a flourishing, people-focused culture in your organization.

Register for EPIC here and attend Jim Priebe’s session along with a multitude of speakers and keynotes aimed to ignite positive change in your organization.

Transforming Your Business and Employee Experience with Precision Benefits

29 February, 2024

On Tuesday, March 5^th Empyrean will attend the LIMRA Enrollment Technology Strategy Seminar. Tammy Kaplan, a Strategic Account Advisor at Empyrean will be participating in a panel discussion sharing insights and a case study about the impact Precision Benefits has had for a client and their employees. Precision Benefits is our AI enabled technology that empowers employees with personalized benefits recommendations fueled by their individual health data.

Tammy has a strong passion for delivering positive benefit experiences and lives the Empyrean mission to connect benefits and enrich lives. As Product Consultant within Empyrean’s Strategic Account Advisor team, Tammy consults with clients on best practices in using our data-driven benefits engagement tools. She also leads the client governance program for these capabilities, including oversight of medical and carrier engagement, communication planning, optimizing configuration of communication tools, delivery of reporting and insights, and continued servicing of the program with year-to-year changes in benefits strategy and workplace programs.

CLIENT

A Professional Services Firm with more than 16,000 employees located across the U.S. was having service issues with their previous benefits administration vendor and their health plan costs were over-budget. They wanted to maintain the same level of choice for employees while driving them to right-sized plans through a powerful and engaging benefits experience and needed a partner to help them accomplish these goals.

CHALLENGE

It was important to the client that their new platform would make it possible for employees to understand the value of the benefits offered, leading to better enrollment and utilization decisions and a stronger connection to their company culture. It was also important to the client that their new benefits platform could create a positive employee benefits experience through convenient and trustworthy benefits decision-making and healthcare navigation tools. They found it critical that their new solution could educate employees on the best plan options for their individual lifestyles while offering a data-driven benefits shopping experience that would drive better enrollment and utilization decisions, and ultimately better outcomes for both their employees and overall organization

SOLUTION

Precision Benefits empowered the client’s employees to use their own health data to help predict their out-of-pocket costs. It also helped them evaluate how other benefits such as an HSA, Healthcare FSA, hospital indemnity, accident and critical illness plans could help offset their medical plan costs. Once enrollment was done, Empyrean provided one platform for employees to access and engage with their benefits while connecting them to programs that support their wellbeing. Empyrean also partnered with the client to deliver robust communications and education to help improve year-round benefit decisions.

Learn more about how Precision Benefits can elevate the lives of your employees.

Empyrean Announces an Expansion of Solutions That Champion a Connected Culture Across the Employee Journey

22 February, 2024

Empyrean expands its business model, offering two solutions that work independently or in concert to help organizations build a connected culture—increasing employee productivity, wellbeing and retention.

HOUSTON — (Feb. 22, 2024) — Empyrean, a company committed to building better corporate cultures, today unveils a business expansion to help organizations build a connected culture by supporting the entirety of the employee experience through two solutions: Empyrean Benefits and Empyrean Connect.

Empyrean’s move comes in response to the critical market need for more integrated and connected work cultures. Numerous workplace research studies show that employees want to work at organizations where they feel connected to the company purpose and the C-Suite has recognized that a cohesive employee experience leads to higher employee engagement, productivity, and ultimately retention.

“We’re living in a new employment era where it is more important than ever for employers to connect employees with their brand, culture, and employer-provided resources that exist to support the entire employee lifecycle,” said Rich Wolfe, CEO of Empyrean. “The focus of Empyrean’s solutions on creating a connected culture is the answer organizations need to bring their employee value proposition to life; whether it is through recruiting, life events, day to day productivity, or communications.”

Empyrean Benefits is a full-service benefits administration, integrated ancillary services and benefits guidance solution. Empyrean Connect is a robust employee engagement solution that transforms the way organizations create, deliver, and measure internal communications, employee productivity tools and programs, and wellbeing initiatives. While Empyrean Connect offers deeper levels of customization, both solutions can be client-branded and configured to meet the unique needs of an organization.

Empyrean’s expanded market position brings together their innovative technology, a service-first approach, and a deep focus on employee experience. Though Empyrean Connect can be sold independently of Empyrean Benefits, when paired together, Empyrean clients gain a comprehensive support system for the entire employee journey, reinforcing Empyrean’s vision of building a connected culture and helping clients to retain talent.

“More than just robust technologies and great capabilities, companies want a partner that can support the well-being of every one of their employees and create a more connected and accessible employee experience across every touchpoint,” said Jim Priebe, Chief Strategy Officer of Empyrean.

Empyrean customers are already seeing success in the new approach to building a connected culture:

“We have seen a tremendous increase in benefits adoption and overall employee engagement from our highly dispersed workforce. We attribute that change to the power of having a single company app with integrated BenAdmin, all powered by Empyrean,” said Felecia May, benefits director at NextTier Oilfield Solutions.

Learn more about Empyrean Connect: click here.

Learn more about recent enhancements to Empyrean Benefits: click here.

About Empyrean

Established in 2006, Empyrean is a leading technology SaaS company empowering organizations with innovative technology and a service-first approach that accelerates employers’ benefits and employee retention strategies. Empyrean’s platform and services enhances the wellbeing and workplace engagement of over 6.5 million people, fostering stronger connections between employees and employers. By enriching employee experiences, Empyrean not only strengthens employer brands but also cultivates vibrant workplace cultures for organizational success. Visit us at goempyrean.com.

Empyrean Launches the Experience Lab – Transforming Client Engagement Through Customized Content

15 February, 2024

Empyrean is announcing a new strategic creative communications and content service called The Experience Lab. This service is seamlessly integrated with the Empyrean Platform, providing a comprehensive suite of services to enhance client support. These services include consulting, strategy development, custom content creation, campaign execution, and detailed performance analysis and reporting.

With The Experience Lab, you can unlock the full potential of your benefits program, creating a more fulfilled and motivated workforce.

Strategy

Crafting a benefits strategy is only effective if your employees are aware and engaged with what’s offered. Empyrean’s solution addresses this by delivering a tailored, omnichannel communication strategy to meet your organization’s unique needs. This approach not only enhances the visibility and impact of your benefits but also strengthens your organizational culture by demonstrating your commitment to your workforce.

By leveraging our tailored communication methods, your organization can enhance its culture through a deeper, more meaningful engagement with benefits.

The Workshop

The journey with Empyrean begins with an engaging strategy workshop, a crucial step in comprehending your specific challenges and goals. Our primary focus is to align our strategies closely with your objectives, undertaken with precision and attention.

The structure of the workshop is crafted to encourage clear and effective communication. It’s a way for both Empyrean and your team to exchange ideas and viewpoints openly. This interactive session sets the stage for constructive dialogue, helping us to establish key analytical benchmarks that will steer the creation of a tailor-made plan.

This plan, born out of the insights gained during the workshop, will be specifically designed to tackle your identified needs, ensuring a smooth transition into a solid partnership.

Insight Report

Following the workshop, Empyrean will present a detailed insight report. This document will highlight crucial findings, offer strategic advice, and present a customized roadmap designed specifically for your needs. The insights from the workshop will be converted into an actionable plan that aligns with your corporate objectives.

Empyrean understands that the effectiveness of a benefits strategy is measured not just in its creation but in its ongoing management. To this end, we provide structured, regular reporting. Expect quarterly updates, which will give a clear view of the progress made towards the established goals. These reports are essential for monitoring real-world results and making timely adjustments to adapt to any changing needs or circumstances.

Enabling Your Strategy

Our dedicated benefits communication team is poised to develop and implement a comprehensive year-long strategy that will enhance your benefits program and actively engage your workforce. We specialize in creating custom campaigns tailored to meet your organizational goals, complete with all the necessary assets to bring each campaign to life.

The Experience Lab is not just about creating content; it’s about forging strong partnerships. We collaborate closely with employers, consultants, and brokers to support all facets of custom content and communication strategy needs.

In fact, one of the first brands to work with Empyrean’s Experience Lab was able to reduce the portion of employees who declined health benefits coverage in 2024 by 7%, compared with the previous year. At the same time, the company encouraged 44% of employees to enroll in a newly offered PPO.

Our aim is to be your trusted partner, working together to enhance the way you connect with your people. With The Experience Lab, Empyrean is set to redefine client engagement, offering an unmatched level of service and expertise in the realm of communication strategies.

Empyrean Launches Enhanced Benefits Capabilities to Support a Richer, More Connected Employee Experience

01 February, 2024

Enhancements to benefits and engagement technology as well as the launch of in-house content and strategy services are all designed to create a better benefits experience for employers and employees.

HOUSTON — Feb. 1, 2024 — Empyrean, the company committed to building better corporate cultures through benefits, today announced the launch of enhanced benefits technologies as well as an in-house content and strategy service to create a more connected experience for employees and their benefits.

The moves reflect Empyrean’s continuous innovation, dedication and focus on addressing the needs of employers, HR teams and end-users.

“Empyrean is already known for its powerful platform for ben-admin, and this is just the next evolution of our commitment to innovating the technologies and services that help employers elevate benefits in the employee experience,” said Rich Wolfe, CEO of Empyrean.

To further advance a connected employee experience, in response to evolving market demands, Empyrean has made significant updates to its mobile app and desktop experience.

Together, the mobile and desktop experiences emphasize personalized engagement and now include access to a robust library of educational content and ready-to-deploy campaigns.

Unlike other benefit administration experiences, the app and desktop solutions provide seamless and consistent user experiences. Further, to build trust and increase employer affiliation, the app icon and overall mobile experience will automatically update to match the client’s branded desktop experience after login. Empyrean’s market-leading approach to the employee experience offers its clients a unique way to deepen brand loyalty and increase employee engagement.

The enhanced technologies also integrate new approaches to AI that are more personalized and human-centric. Empyrean’s conversational AI chat has been enhanced to now include automated tasks, enabling immediate and accurate responses to employee queries and requests. The company is also making substantial AI updates to its service center operations, focused on enhancing the quality and efficiency of customer interactions.

“Empyrean is committed to AI that augments human interactions to bring a personal touch as well as positioning AI as a collaborative partner to HR. We believe employees need a more connected experience with employer-provided benefits, and AI can play a critical role in improving that experience across the board,” said Colleen Waymel, COO of Empyrean.

Empyrean is announcing a new creative communications and content service — The Experience Lab — to provide support for multi-media campaigns, educational content development and related collateral. Clients can now leverage Empyrean’s expertise in benefits communications to support their annual benefits program objectives and connect more effectively with employees in multiple mediums.

One of the first brands to work with Empyrean’s Experience Lab was able to reduce the portion of employees who declined health benefits coverage in 2024 by 7%, compared with the previous year. At the same time, the company encouraged 44% of employees to enroll in a newly offered PPO.

To learn more about similar success stories and Empyrean’s enhancements, visit our blog.

About Empyrean

We believe everybody deserves a workplace culture that supports their total well-being through benefits. Since 2006, Empyrean has provided hundreds of employers of varying size, industry, and benefit plan complexity with the innovative technology and best-in-class service necessary to accelerate their benefits strategies and bring their benefits programs to life. Empyrean’s platform and services are designed to create connected employee benefit experiences that enrich lives, strengthen employer brands, and improve workplace cultures for over 6 million people. Visit us at http://goempyrean.com.

Empyrean’s Approach to the AI Revolution

04 December, 2023

In an era where Artificial Intelligence is evolving at an unparalleled pace, and where innovative products are emerging daily, defining an AI strategy is imperative for organizations in benefits administration and healthcare. AI is more than just a trend; it’s the future unfolding now.

As these technological advancements promise to transform healthcare and benefits, it’s crucial for tech companies to develop a framework guiding the adoption and use of AI. This ensures not only seamless integration into daily operations and tech stacks, but also provides essential support to all teams and employees. It’s about making the most of AI’s capabilities in a way that’s effective and ethically responsible.

We must acknowledge that rapid change is not only the new normal, but that it is only going to accelerate.

Empyrean understands this shift. We’re enhancing every interaction with intelligent technology, ensuring our clients and their people are supported by sophisticated AI.

We’re not replacing the human element; we’re amplifying it.

We believe AI’s true potential lies in its ability to augment human service, bringing a personal touch to technology.

At Empyrean, our commitment goes beyond technology – we’re dedicated to enhancing the human aspect of Human Resources with AI. We partner with our clients on their journey, constantly evolving our technology to create a future-ready business.

Personalization Beyond Prediction

Empyrean goes beyond using AI for decision-making and efficiency, our focus is to personalize the employee experience.

Our AI doesn’t just automate; it understands and adapts, providing a unique experience for each user, whether it’s an employee selecting benefits or an HR professional looking for insights.

At Empyrean, AI means personalized interaction at scale. Our AI listens and learns, tailoring each interaction to meet individual needs and preferences.

It’s not about replacing the human element—it’s about amplifying it.

Partnership Alongside Performance

While many technology platforms emphasize AI’s role in driving results, Empyrean sees AI as a collaborative partner. Our AI works alongside Empyrean team members and HR and Benefits teams, enhancing their skills and amplifying their efforts, without overshadowing the human expertise.

Empyrean’s AI is more than a tool for performance, it’s a collaborative partner in progress. It works with your team, providing insights and support that complement and enhance human capabilities, never replacing them.

Progression Ahead of Automation

In a market often focused on automation, Empyrean prioritizes AI’s role in fostering progressive learning and evolving intelligence. Our AI isn’t a static tool but a dynamic learner, continuously improving and pushing boundaries to keep our clients at the forefront of innovation.

With Empyrean, AI is about constant movement forward. Our technology is a beacon of progression, constantly advancing to not just keep pace, but setting the standard in benefits administration technology.

Empyrean’s AI in Action: Elevating Every Interaction

1. Enhanced Participant Experience

Personalized Support
Through advanced API connections and our continued advancements in Learning and Language Modules (LLM), we provide support tailored to each individual, ensuring every digital or telephonic engagement is personalized. Our AI assistant knows each of your employees and can provide real and impactful support. Plus, our 24/7 AI assistant is always available, ensuring employees have the support when they need it.

Personalized Recommendations
Precision Benefits is our AI-enabled technology that empowers your employees with personalized benefits recommendations fueled by their individual health data. It provides year-round guidance and personalized communications, helping employees make the most of their benefits for themselves and their loved ones.

2. Client Support Operations

Smart Assistance for HR
Our 24/7 AI assistant guides HR administrators through our platform and provides training and support to access relevant insights and reports.

Streamlined Implementation
AI-driven configurations ensure quick, precise platform setup, reducing the need for extended meetings and accelerating implementation, all tailored to client needs.

3. Internal Efficiency

With AI-enhanced support, our service team is equipped with tools to provide unmatched service. This means faster response times, more personalized assistance, and an overall smoother experience for our clients and their employees. Our AI-powered systems work constantly in the background, allowing our team to focus on what they do best – understanding an organization’s unique needs and delivering top-notch service.

Call Review
We use AI to review 100% of service calls in real-time to ensure we are staying true to our Service First mission.

Auto-Generated Call Summary
AI-generated case notes streamline our service operations, reducing wait times on calls.

Intelligent Listening
Our AI-driven listening delivers faster, high-quality customer support.

4. Product Development Innovation

Quality at Speed
AI assists in quality assurance, code stability, and security to bring our clients features that are not only advanced but reliable.

Forward-thinking Development
Our AI-driven code generation accelerates innovation, keeping our clients ahead of the curve.

Cybersecurity
AI-driven anomaly detection and behavioral analysis strengthen our cybersecurity, proactively identifying and mitigating threats.

Conclusion

At Empyrean, AI is the powerhouse behind our team, enhancing — not replacing — human expertise. It’s about support, not substitution.

AI sharpens our work, making the complex simple and the routine rapid.

We harness AI to fortify your decisions, elevate your operations, and enrich your workforce’s experience. Because in the business of benefits, it’s human insight paired with intelligent technology that creates enduring value.

At Empyrean, we bring together cutting-edge technology with a Service First approach. We understand that exceptional service and innovative technology go hand in hand.

It’s the balance that helps you foster a healthy and supportive workplace culture and connect your people to life-enriching benefits year-round.

About Katie Carroll

Katie Carroll is Empyrean’s Director of Product Marketing. She serves as the voice of our clients and their employees, bringing new technologies and services to market in ways that build workplace cultures, strengthen employer brands, and improve employee outcomes both in and outside of work.

With over 15 years of diverse industry experience, Katie’s consumer-focused background brings a unique perspective to redefine how people choose and use the best benefits available to them as individuals to support their daily lives.

Katie is a key contributor in driving Empyrean’s product strategies and messaging to help organizations deliver the personalized benefit journeys and people experiences needed to holistically support their employees and reach their company goals.

Protecting Your Digital Presence: Cyber Safety for the Holiday Season and Beyond

22 November, 2023

Digital interactions play a huge role in our daily personal and professional lives. Employers and employees alike are vulnerable to cyberattacks and scams, making everyone susceptible to potential cybersecurity threats.

In this informational session, Empyrean and NortonLifeLock show you how to best protect your digital presence during the holiday season and throughout the year. From phishing scams to fake websites and malicious links, it’s critical to safeguard your personal and financial information – especially if you plan to take advantage of all those Cyber Monday deals!

Overcoming the Top 5 Benefits Service Challenges

21 November, 2023

Navigating the world of employee benefits is no small feat for HR professionals. Ensuring their employees are receiving the best possible service and support from their benefits administration partner is critical to the well-being and satisfaction of their entire workforce.

Among the myriad of benefits service challenges faced by employees, five stand out the most:

Accessibility Challenges: Reaching a service representative shouldn’t feel like a marathon. Yet, for many employees, inconvenient service center hours and prolonged hold times lead to frustration and delayed resolutions. This could force employees to seek direct support from their HR team.
Inconsistency in Service: When service teams aren’t adequately trained, it leads to inconsistent and sometimes incorrect information reaching employees. This creates confusion and erodes trust. In the worst cases, employees make critical health and wealth decisions based on misleading information.
Technological Hurdles: A clunky website interface and malfunctioning systems can turn simple tasks like password changes into a daunting ordeal. This hinders employees’ access to vital information and services.
Impersonal Interactions: Employees need personalized, empathetic service. Feeling undervalued and unsupported negatively impacts engagement and productivity.
Lack of Proactive Support: Without proactive guidance, employees are left to navigate complex benefits alone. This leads to confusion and underutilization of available benefits.

In the dynamic ecosystem of employee benefits, aligning with a strategic partner is not just an option – it’s a necessity. Benefits administration is a complex terrain with potential pitfalls that can disrupt the well-being of any workforce. A dedicated partner understands that swift responses, precise guidance, and prompt resolutions are paramount. When selecting a benefits administration partner, employers must consider the following criteria when it comes to service and support.

Response Time: Employers need a partner who can swiftly address questions and resolve issues to ensure employees get the support they need exactly when they need it.

Expertise: Benefits administration is intricate, with evolving regulations, varying plan designs, and industry-specific complexities. A partner with comprehensive expertise and a focus on service excellence can help HR and benefits leaders navigate hurdles and anticipate employee needs.

Customization: Every organization has a unique culture, goals, and workforce demographic. Creating personalized benefit experiences for employees is essential for meeting them where they are at work and in life.

Benefits play a key role in any organization’s ability to achieve its people-related goals, whether it be through building a positive workplace culture, better attracting and retaining talent, supporting diversity and inclusion, or improving employee health and wellness.

This means it’s critical that your benefits administration technology and service partner can deliver positive people and benefit experiences through its platform and service model.

Empyrean blends innovative technology with a service-first approach to empower your workforce, fostering a sense of ownership and control over their health and financial futures. Precision Benefits, our proprietary AI-powered decision support tool, provides employees with personalized recommendations and guidance based on their own health data.

Find out how Empyrean can help you overcome your benefits service challenges and any obstacle that stands in the way of the well-being of your workforce.

Disaster Recovery & Business Continuity: Empyrean’s Resiliency Program

15 November, 2023

As the risk of disruptions to business operations mounts in the face of severe weather, cybersecurity breaches, global pandemics, terrorism, and even war, many organizations have found themselves struggling to protect themselves from evolving threats.

Unfortunately, it is often not until businesses find themselves at immediate risk that they take action to prepare for the worst. As natural and human-made disasters continue to rise in both volume and severity, a proactive, formalized, and well-practiced approach to business continuity and disaster recovery has become even more critical.

At Empyrean, we’ve seen first-hand how crucial thoughtfully designed disaster recovery and business continuity programs are for corporate resiliency. Our headquarters is located in Houston, Texas, which has a climate prone to extreme weather events. Over the last few years, the Houston area has experienced severe natural disasters that have included hurricanes, flooding, extreme heat, power outages, and even freeze events.

But even through these states of emergency, we have had little to no disruption to our regular business operations. The redundancies, controls, technologies, and training we have provided to our teams have made us well-positioned to weather any type of storm – be it a hurricane, power crisis, or even a global pandemic.

Corporate Resiliency at Empyrean

Empyrean’s resiliency program is a framework of policies, procedures, and controls that are designed to protect our organization from a large range of threats, including those of natural, technological, biological, adversarial, incidental, or human-caused origin.

Our commitment to corporate resiliency is a year-round, ongoing effort that allows us to comprehensively avoid or reduce the impact of these potential threats by predicting, preparing for, and practicing our response to crises.

Our standards and guidelines apply not only to Empyrean team members, but to contractors, sub-contractors, and their respective facilities supporting Empyrean business operations, wherever Empyrean data is stored or processed, including any third-party contracted by Empyrean to handle, process, transmit, store, or dispose of Empyrean data.

The strict framework we follow maintains Empyrean’s compliance with our SOC1, SOC2, and ISO 27001 requirements, and helps to ensure the integrity and availability of our critical systems. This type of protection and oversight is essential for maintaining the trust of our stakeholders, partners, and (most importantly) our clients and their employees.

Here are some of the key features of our own resiliency framework, which includes best practice standards that are key pillars for any business continuity and disaster recovery roadmap.

Business Impact Analysis (BIA)

A business impact analysis (BIA) predicts the consequences of a disruption to your business and gathers information needed to develop recovery strategies. Through this systematic process, organizations can evaluate the potential effects of an interruption to critical business operations resulting from a disaster or other emergency and explore vulnerabilities and potential threats.

Our business impact analysis (BIA) is the core of our resiliency program and contains the key information and data we use to make decisions that pertain to our continuity, response, and recovery. Through this annual detailed analysis, we take action to guard against any identified vulnerabilities and develop plans to reduce any risks tied to the potential threat. Our BIAs also allow us to proactively prioritize all critical function areas based on their potential impact and likelihood of occurrence and implement or identify existing controls to mitigate downtime.

Some of the plans that we’ve built through our BIA include our Business Continuity, Disaster Recovery, Application Recovery, Technical Recovery, and Crisis Management Plans.

Training & Plan Execution

A plan is only as good as a team member’s ability to understand their role and respond in the event of a crisis. Our standard operating procedures (SOPs) provide detailed, step-by-step guidance to execute our response plans in a detailed, systematic, and effective manner.

Responding to a disaster or emergency event requires the involvement of multiple stakeholders and careful coordination to ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of sensitive company information. We carefully train our teams responsible for implementing controls, providing clear instructions, guidance, and training materials to ensure each team member understands how to execute a response plan should the need arise.

To do this, our SOPs include clearly defined roles, responsibilities, and redundancies. In addition to weekly meetings of our Resiliency and Crisis Management Teams, we conduct regular drills and practice exercises on an ongoing basis.

We also conduct an annual resiliency program review to assess the current state of our BIA and associated plans to ensure we consistently re-evaluate potential issues that could threaten Empyrean’s ongoing operations while addressing gaps and lessons learned from our ongoing exercises and/or actual real-life events.

Resiliency training is offered both as part of our annual compliance training and our ongoing quarterly response simulations. Through these training events, our team practices executing our SOPs, using our Mass / Emergency Notification System (M/ENS), and utilizing other tools incorporated into our disaster response programs. These drills also give us the opportunity to monitor controls to ensure they are functioning as intended.

Through this training, we provide our employees with valuable experience to ensure that any real-life events can be executed thoughtfully and in accordance with our resiliency planning. These exercises also help identify and evaluate potential gaps in our plans so that we can take the necessary steps to begin resolving and mitigating additional risks.

Internal Auditing & Corrective and Preventative Actions

In addition to our practical training programs, we also maintain strict processes for identifying and addressing nonconformities and areas for improvement identified through internal audits, management reviews, and other monitoring activities. These practices ensure that nonconformities are quickly corrected and that preventive actions are taken to prevent their recurrence.

These internal audits include the quarterly assessment of any changes to our business environment, shifts in tools and technologies used throughout the business, changes to regulations and standards, incidents and near-misses, and feedback from our key stakeholders.

If any nonconformities are identified through our team’s audits, we conduct a root cause analysis to identify the underlying cause(s), take swift correct actions based on our findings, put preventative actions in place to ensure the issue does not arise again, and then conduct careful monitoring to verify the effectiveness of measures taken.

Third-Party Auditing and Reviews

While we conduct internal audits on an ongoing basis, we also rely on annual third-party audits to review the overall effectiveness of our processes and related controls. Through these ongoing reviews, our third-party partners can identify potential areas for improvement and ensure that Empyrean remains compliant with or exceeds all required standards.

We also participate in annual third-party audits to maintain compliance with our SOC1/SOC2 and ISO 27001 certifications. Our annual SOC1/SOC2 audits and ISO 27001 surveillance review include an extensive examination of functions across a wide range of criteria to identify any gaps or non-conformance.

Empyrean also undergoes an intensive IS 270001 recertification audit every three years.

Continuous Improvement

Threats evolve at a rapid pace, so we maintain a process of continuous improvement to ensure all of our business continuity and disaster recovery programs remain effective and aligned with our strategic goals.

To do this, we maintain a strict schedule that includes:

Identifying opportunities for improvement that may include changes in the organization’s context, new or updated regulatory requirements, or changes in technology.
Evaluating (and re-evaluating) best practice standards, includingexternal benchmarking, industry standards, or guidance from professional associations.
Adopting new technologies in alignment with industry standards and our resiliency posture.
Implementing changes to procedures, tools, and ownership, including updating SOPs, controls, and any policies as needed.
Ongoing internal and external monitoring of the effectiveness of changes made as part of Empyrean’s continuous improvement process.

A strong corporate resiliency posture is critical in today’s business environment. While it may feel daunting to shift to a proactive approach, a thoughtful and well-tested business continuity and disaster recovery program will provide your organization’s stakeholders with the peace of mind and protection necessary to be successful.

Trust us, we’ve seen it firsthand.

We’re not Just Surviving, We’re Thriving.

ABOUT RICK MILLER

Rick Miller is Empyrean’s Vice President, Information Technology and has been with Empyrean since 2010. Rick has overseen Empyrean infrastructure, security practice, and business continuity and disaster growth since joining the company. Rick continues to lead the organization’s security, BCP/DR, audit, and procurement practices.

Does Your WorkTech Stack Support Your DEIB Efforts?

20 July, 2023

Why Workplace Accessibility is About So Much More than the ADA

When the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was passed in 1990, it was a landmark civil rights law prohibiting discrimination “against individuals with disability in all areas of public life, including jobs, schools, transportation, and all public and private places that are open to the general public.” This included ensuring that people with disabilities – permanent and temporary – are given access to the same opportunities as everybody else through reasonable accommodations to a job or work environment.

While the ADA has set important standards for accommodating employees with disabilities, going beyond the ADA to create an inclusive workplace requires a shift in mindset from one of mere compliance to one of inclusivity and belonging. Building a truly inclusive workplace means considering more than just legal requirements, and fostering a workplace culture where people feel truly valued.

An inclusive workplace acknowledges and respects the entire spectrum of human abilities, recognizing that everyone brings unique strengths and perspectives to the table, regardless of physical ability, learning style, or sensory perception.

The positive organizational outcomes driven by diverse and inclusive organizations are well documented. In fact, 87 percent of the time diverse teams make better decisions than non-diverse teams, inclusive teams are shown to be over 35 percent more productive, and inclusivity is known to be a key aspect of a healthy workplace culture.

However, even if an organization is committed to its DEI efforts, if the technology it uses is not accessible, it limits its potential to create a fully inclusive workplace where all team members feel like they belong.

Tech Accessibility is Workplace Accessibility

The workplace has changed significantly in the 30 years since the ADA was signed into law. As reliance on technology continues to grow across U.S. workplaces, so too does the need to ensure that everyone can access and benefit from digital advancements.

According to a recent Gartner report, the average desk worker uses more than 11 applications each workday, up from just six in 2019. The pandemic also created a shift towards organizations expanding their WorkTech stack to include new collaboration, productivity, and HR tools. HR technologies that include self-service capabilities have also grown in popularity, including benefits administration technology.

The digitization of the modern workplace has dramatically shifted the way people work. As this evolution continues, ensuring the accessibility of workplace technology and the tech used to support employees becomes even more critical.

Tech accessibility is at the heart of workplace inclusivity. It ensures that individuals with disabilities can participate fully and meaningfully in all aspects of work. It also acknowledges the variety of ways that people interact with technology, be it due to physical disability, age-related limitations, or other factors like neurodiversity.

Empyrean’s User Experience Team is led by Belinda McCall, Director of UX, who has a clear and unwavering passion for ensuring that our technology is designed to be accessible to everyone, regardless of ability.

We sat down with Belinda to learn more about Empyrean’s approach to accessible tech, how and why it’s important, and the passions that drive her on her quest to ensure everyone can use the Empyrean platform to make better benefits decisions for themselves and their families.

Hi Belinda, we are excited to sit down with you today. To start, how do you define tech accessibility and what does it mean to you?

Thank you. I am excited to share my passion for accessibility and our approach to it here at Empyrean.

I have a holistic view of what it means for something to be accessible. For me, it’s about people being able to have an experience. That doesn’t mean that everyone has to have the exact same experience, because we all interact with the world differently. But everyone should be able to have an experience that allows them to complete a task or reach a goal. In other words, everyone must be able to participate in an experience.

Technology plays a significant role in our work lives. It helps us manage our tasks and enables us to communicate, collaborate, and create in incredibly efficient ways. If an employee cannot interact with their organization’s technology because it’s not designed with accessibility in mind, they are unable to participate, complete their job responsibilities, or reach their goals.

They will never be able to fully connect with their organization, or fully feel like they belong.

Why are you so passionate about creating user experiences that are accessible to everyone?

For me, accessibility is synonymous with inclusivity. We all want to feel like we are a valuable part of something and that we belong. The feeling of belonging, or not belonging, can have a tremendous impact on how one experiences the world.

As a deeply empathic child, and now adult, I always remember the feeling of being “the new kid in school.” The feeling of not belonging, of feeling forgotten or ignored, always stuck with me – that feeling that you’re not part of the group or not part of the community. It’s a terrible way to feel for any stretch of time as a child or an adult.

My goal is to remove any barrier that I can to ensure that the people who rely on Empyrean never feel forgotten, ignored, or like they don’t belong. Nobody should have to face any more difficulties than they’re already navigating.

Helping people feel like they belong goes way beyond digital accessibility and I feel lucky that I get to lead a team that makes sure each person using the Empyrean platform has a great experience and feels like they belong.

What shaped your passion for tech accessibility?

Earlier in my career, I supported the Computer/Electronic Accommodations Program (CAP) that was a part of the Department of Defense (DoD). The work I performed in this role opened my eyes to all the different ways people need technology to be accessible and how we play an important role in ensuring that accessibility.

CAP provides assistive technology (AT) and devices as reasonable accommodations (RA) to support individuals with disabilities and wounded, ill, and injured Service members throughout the Department of Defense in accessing information and communication technology.

As a part of my support to CAP, I worked with stakeholders and software engineers to manage the development and accessibility of their public-facing website and their internal request and procurement system. Additionally, every deliverable I created – every email, prototype, PDF, and document – all had to be accessible. The steps it took to ensure accessibility looked different for each deliverable provided.

My work took on a new meaning and the experience prompted significant and lasting shifts to my own behavior. One of the first things I learned was that my presentation style had to change. A great example of this was during one of my first stakeholder presentations, where one of the people in the room was unable to see and another was unable to hear.

I quickly realized that I needed to properly describe any visuals so that everyone in the room could follow. I needed to talk at a slower rate so that the sign language interpreter could translate what I was saying. Finally, I realized that I needed to present concepts in bite-sized chunks and pause to answer any questions before moving to the next concept or idea.

By presenting in this way, it made my presentation easier to comprehend for everyone, not just a few select stakeholders. Again, it comes down to making people feel like they belong and that they can actively participate. As the presenter, it was my responsibility to set that standard and uphold it. Everyone in that room needed to understand what I was presenting because their feedback and participation is valuable. People are valuable.

Additionally in that role, I learned about the technical aspects and laws related to accessibility such as web content accessibility guidelines (WCAG), the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and Section 508 compliance. But underneath all those legal requirements – at the root of everything – what I was really learning was how to empower people to have a meaningful and positive experience regardless of their abilities.

Why should everyone care about accessibility?

I truly believe that an accessible work environment is better for everyone. Not only does having an accessible workplace signal that your employer cares about your well-being, but you truly never know when you yourself will benefit from it directly.

Accessibility isn’t only important for people with permanent disabilities, it’s for every person of every ability. When you design an experience with accessibility in mind from the beginning, it can create an improved experience for all of us.

When we think about disability, we oftentimes just think about permanent mental or physical limitations. But there are temporary disabilities, like injuries. For example, I had a recurring wrist injury years ago and was unable to use the hand that moves my computer mouse – that is a temporary disability where I benefited from tech accessibility.

There are also situational disabilities. Consider the new mother who has a sick baby crying loudly next to her, but today is the deadline for her to register for her health benefits. Her deadline is looming but she’s unsure of what benefits she needs, so she’s trying to watch a video that tells her what a certain benefit is or about the coverage it provides. If the video has closed caption capabilities it is accessible to her in her moment of need. And that matters.

How does Empyrean’s shared passion for tech accessibility set us apart?

Our commitment to building accessible experiences means that accessibility is at the forefront of our minds and not an afterthought.

Many organizations design things and then figure out how to make them accessible. Our team makes sure our platform is accessible from the start.

Designing with accessibility in mind is built in to our everyday processes. And that culture of inclusivity filters throughout the Empyrean organization to our developers, our designers, executive leadership, and everywhere else.

For us, technological innovation isn’t solely about creating new gadgets or systems—it’s also about enabling more people to use them.

Our UX team is also constantly learning and advancing our skill sets. We are all enrolled in online coursework at Deque University, which specializes in training in every area of digital accessibility.

We’ve come a long way to recognize the different types of accommodations someone might need – whether it be at home, in the classroom, or at work. We keep all categories and types of disabilities in mind when we are designing Empyrean’s user experience.

In addition to our developers following best practices for writing accessible code, we frequently consider the wording or instructions we provide on screen. We know that in this country there is already a knowledge gap when it comes to employee benefits, so we take care to be as concise and clear as possible with our language.

Some of the other aspects of design we consider are font, icon, and component styles that are all tied to a design system created with accessibility in mind.

We are proud that we play such an important role in building positive people and benefit experiences that help everyone – regardless of their abilities – thrive and succeed in the workplace.

By actively creating a more inclusive workplace, we not only help those with disabilities to thrive, but we also foster a healthier, more creative, and more productive environment for all. In the end, a truly inclusive workplace isn’t just about compliance – it’s about demonstrating our commitment to dignity, respect, and equity for all.

Editor’s Note: Belinda’s passion for tech accessibility extends beyond the Empyrean platform. She will also be leading the charge in ensuring the accessibility of all Empyrean market-facing assets, including the upcoming redesign of the Empyrean corporate website.

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