The Employee Benefits Paradox: Great Programs No One Uses

What Do Your Employees Know About Their Retirement?

Summary In this episode of Beyond the Paycheck, Kelsey sits down with Tim Goodchild, Director of International Benefits at Take-Two Interactive (parent company of Rockstar Games, 2K, and Zynga), to dig into what's actually broken in employee benefits. Tim's argument: the packages are often strong, but most employees don't understand what they have. With nearly 20 years in HR across AOL, the BBC, The Telegraph, and Anaplan, Tim lays out why financial wellbeing is the load-bearing pillar of any wellness program, why AI is about to flip benefits from reactive to proactive, and what it means for employers who aren't building toward that now. Chapters 00:00 Welcome and Tim's background at Take-Two Interactive 02:15 Earliest money memory: saving pocket money for a motor racing helmet TV 04:00 First job: games tester at EA, a rival of Take-Two 05:30 Benefits strategy by life stage: young workforce vs. older workforce 07:30 Where benefits break down: the comprehension crisis 09:30 Gamification in benefits: interesting in theory, dangerous in practice 10:30 Financial wellbeing as the most important pillar 12:00 Elder care and the sandwich generation 14:00 Cost of living, global inflation, and financial wellbeing at work 15:30 AI and the shift from reactive to proactive benefits 17:30 Flexible and voluntary benefits: the dream of year-round personalization 19:30 How to connect with Tim Takeaways 1. Most employees don't understand their benefits package — and measuring comprehension, not just coverage, is the metric most organizations are missing. 2. Financial wellbeing is the load-bearing pillar: when finances are stable, mental health generally follows. 3. AI in benefits is shifting from reactive (employees ask) to proactive (AI tells) faster than most HR teams are preparing for. 4. Benefits strategy must map to life stage — a 25-year-old and a 55-year-old need fundamentally different things from the same employer. 5. Elder care — power of attorney, will writing, family financial planning — is becoming one of the most meaningful benefits an employer can offer. Connect with Guest LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tgoodchild/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/tgoodchild/] Website: https://www.take2games.com/ [https://www.take2games.com/] Sponsor Aura Finance helps you simplify compensation and benefits planning by bringing everything into one streamlined platform. No more juggling spreadsheets, disconnected tools, or manual calculations—Aura gives you a single place to design, compare, and communicate total rewards packages with confidence. With AI-powered insights, it takes the guesswork and busywork out of comp decisions, helps you spot pay equity gaps early, and makes it easy to model scenarios that keep your teams engaged and your budgets on track. See a demo at https://www.aurafinance.com/ [https://www.aurafinance.com/] * (00:00) - Welcome and Tim's background at Take-Two Interactive * (02:15) - Earliest money memory: saving pocket money for a motor racing helmet TV * (04:00) - First job: games tester at EA, a rival of Take-Two * (05:30) - Benefits strategy by life stage: young workforce vs. older workforce * (07:30) - Where benefits break down: the comprehension crisis * (09:30) - Gamification in benefits: interesting in theory, dangerous in practice * (10:30) - Financial wellbeing as the most important pillar * (12:00) - Elder care and the sandwich generation * (14:00) - Cost of living, global inflation, and financial wellbeing at work * (15:30) - AI and the shift from reactive to proactive benefits * (17:30) - Flexible and voluntary benefits: the dream of year-round personalization * (19:30) - How to connect with Tim

Financial Wellness Is the Frontier of Wellbeing

Summary On Beyond the Paycheck, Kelsey Willock talks with Preet Michelson, Chief People Officer at Morgan Street Holdings and its operating company TMS, about why benefits programs break down at the communication line, not the budget line. Preet makes the case that financial wellbeing is the next frontier of workplace wellness, as overdue for normalization as physical and mental health once were. She shares concrete plays, from student loan repayment paired with mandatory coaching to a midyear, personalized total compensation statement that ends with a single number. The throughline: when people can see that a company is invested in their lives and not just their output, retention and engagement follow. Built for HR, total rewards, and financial wellness leaders. Chapters 00:00 Welcome to Beyond the Paycheck 00:50 From KPMG accountant to Chief People Officer 02:30 Inside Morgan Street Holdings, TMS, and Stanley 04:30 Her earliest memory of money: independence 07:15 Where compensation and benefits break down 09:30 Why the once-a-year rewards statement fails 11:00 Marketing benefits like a consumer brand 12:45 Student loans plus mandatory coaching 14:00 Financial wellness as the next frontier 16:50 The midyear statement nobody sends Takeaways 1. The benefits problem is usually communication, not budget; employees can't value what they never see. 2. Financial wellbeing is the missing piece of workplace wellness, and financial stress shows up as distraction and disengagement. 3. A midyear, personalized total compensation statement ending in one number can change how employees see the company. 4. Treat benefits communication like consumer marketing: personalized, year-round, and specific to the individual. 5. When people feel the company is invested in their lives and not just their output, retention and engagement follow. Meet the Guest LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/preet-hansra-michelson/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/preet-hansra-michelson/] Website: https://www.tmsw.com/ [https://www.tmsw.com/] Sponsor Aura Finance helps you simplify compensation and benefits planning by bringing everything into one streamlined platform. No more juggling spreadsheets, disconnected tools, or manual calculations—Aura gives you a single place to design, compare, and communicate total rewards packages with confidence. With AI-powered insights, it takes the guesswork and busywork out of comp decisions, helps you spot pay equity gaps early, and makes it easy to model scenarios that keep your teams engaged and your budgets on track. See a demo at https://www.aurafinance.com/ [https://www.aurafinance.com/]

How BambooHR Moved Comp Understanding From 50% to 90% With One Training

Summary One in two employees at BambooHR said they didn't understand how their compensation was determined. After a single mandatory compensation 101 training, that number flipped—nearly 90% said they now understood.  Engagement scores went up year over year. No new spend. No new vendor. Just education. In this episode, Kelsey Willock sits down with Alex Bertin, Head of Total Rewards at BambooHR, for a practical conversation about what it looks like to close the understanding gap between what a company offers and what employees actually know they have. Alex brings a finance background from FP&A at Delta Air lines and Qualtrics before finding his way into compensation—what he calls the Cinderella glass slipper moment—and he carries a grounded empathy for frontline employees into every benefits decision he makes.  He and Kelsey get into why the biggest breakdown in comp and benefits isn't the package itself but the disconnect between what exists and what employees know about it, how BambooHR's paid vacation bonus (yes, they pay you to take your vacation) has become their most beloved benefit, a student loan repayment benefit that an employee forgot about twice despite it being $100/month in free money, and why the next wave of AI in benefits will be agentic tools that connect all your benefits in one place so employees stop losing track of what they have. If you run total rewards and are looking for low-cost, high-impact ways to drive engagement, Alex's perspective on education over addition will resonate. Timestamps 01:42 Alex's earliest money memory: $2 bills and selling Costco candy at swim lessons 04:33 How empathy for frontline workers keeps comp decisions grounded 07:50 Where compensation and benefits break down most: the understanding gap 10:30 The comp 101 training that moved understanding from 50% to 90% 13:44 The paid paid vacation bonus and milestone increases at 5, 10, 15, and 20 years 17:50 AI-driven benefits navigation: one place, one overlay, better utilization 20:01 Financial wellness as a founding principle, not an afterthought 21:08 The 30-day experiment: run a "use it" campaign on your most underutilized benefit Takeaways * The biggest breakdown in total rewards isn't the package—it's the understanding gap; one comp training can shift employee trust dramatically * Don't just offer benefits—actively market them to your employees the way you'd market a product to customers; it takes seven touches for a message to land * A paid paid vacation bonus that actually gives employees money to take their trip is more powerful than unlimited PTO because it changes behavior * Check which benefits employees are forgetting about; free money that goes unused is worse than not offering it at all * Run a 30-day "use it" campaign on one underutilized benefit with weekly emails, real stories, and clear how-tos—the results are binary and the cost is nearly zero Connect with the Guest Guest LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexbertin/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexbertin/] Company website: https://www.bamboohr.com [https://www.bamboohr.com] Sponsor Aura Finance helps you simplify compensation and benefits planning by bringing everything into one streamlined platform. No more juggling spreadsheets, disconnected tools, or manual calculations—Aura gives you a single place to design, compare, and communicate total rewards packages with confidence. With AI-powered insights, it takes the guesswork and busywork out of comp decisions, helps you spot pay equity gaps early, and makes it easy to model scenarios that keep your teams engaged and your budgets on track. See a demo at https://www.aurafinance.com/ [https://www.aurafinance.com/] * (01:42) - Alex's earliest money memory: $2 bills and selling Costco candy at swim lessons * (04:33) - How empathy for frontline workers keeps comp decisions grounded * (07:50) - Where compensation and benefits break down most: the understanding gap * (10:30) - The comp 101 training that moved understanding from 50% to 90% * (13:44) - The paid paid vacation bonus and milestone increases at 5, 10, 15, and 20 years * (17:50) - AI-driven benefits navigation: one place, one overlay, better utilization * (20:01) - Financial wellness as a founding principle, not an afterthought * (21:08) - The 30-day experiment: run a "use it" campaign on your most underutilized benefit

Compensation Starts with Owning Your Value

Summary Hollie Delaney, Chief People Officer at Power Home Remodeling, shares the financial independence lesson she absorbed at age 9, her 25-year career arc from Zappos to Power, and her framework for what total compensation really means. She breaks down where employees lose financial ground, why quality-of-life math matters more than salary alone, and how Power builds benefits that actually move people. Chapters 00:00 Introduction and Welcome 02:15 Hollie's Background: From Zappos to Power Home Remodeling 05:30 The Financial Independence Lesson Learned at Age 9 10:20 How a Personal Money Story Shapes Compensation Philosophy 14:00 Where Compensation and Benefits Break Down Most 19:30 The Quality-of-Life Math Most Offers Miss 23:45 Building Benefits by Listening to the Small Things 27:00 AI, Trends, and Staying Strategy-First 30:20 A 30-Day Financial Wellness Experiment Takeaways 1. Most employees evaluate offers by salary alone — Hollie's framework adds hours required, career trajectory, and lifestyle delivered to the equation before any offer is accepted. 2. The biggest compensation breakdown is not always the employer: it is employees who do not understand how their role is priced in the market and do not advocate based on that knowledge. 3. Financial independence is built through ownership — of your market value, your negotiating position, and how you evaluate an opportunity beyond the number. 4. Benefits that move people are not the big shiny ones. They are the day-to-day supports employees actually need: therapy benefits outside insurance friction, childcare subsidies, family planning coverage. 5. Strategy determines whether any trend — including AI — actually improves the organization. Tools without a clear purpose create noise, not results. Guest Links Hollie Delaney on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hollie-delaney-573b89a/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/hollie-delaney-573b89a/] Power Home Remodeling: https://www.powerhrg.com/ [https://www.powerhrg.com/] * (00:00) - Introduction and Welcome * (02:15) - Hollie's Background: From Zappos to Power Home Remodeling * (05:30) - The Financial Independence Lesson Learned at Age 9 * (10:20) - How a Personal Money Story Shapes Compensation Philosophy * (14:00) - Where Compensation and Benefits Break Down Most * (19:30) - The Quality-of-Life Math Most Offers Miss * (23:45) - Building Benefits by Listening to the Small Things * (27:00) - AI, Trends, and Staying Strategy-First * (30:20) - A 30-Day Financial Wellness Experiment

Building Total Rewards Statements That Actually Change Retention

Summary Jessica O'Leary runs benefits for 3,000+ employees across a charter school network in Dallas-Fort Worth. Her framework: treat every dollar of employee premium like your own. That means negotiating free behavioral health coaching through Cigna, building a maternity leave financial planning workshop, and creating total rewards statements that show teachers exactly where their compensation dollars go. She opens with a story about selling books on her front lawn in second grade—then connects that entrepreneur mindset to how she structures benefits today. Two core challenges emerge: school districts face severe budget constraints while competing for talent, and employees increasingly ask "what's my return on investment for working here?" Her answer includes EAPs with unlimited counseling, AI-powered enrollment tools that recommend plans based on health needs, and gift card incentives that drive 3x engagement at benefits fairs. Timestamps 00:16 From Milwaukee gamer to benefits director at a Texas charter network  02:50 First paycheck went to school clothes—and set a pattern for financial independence  05:16 Why Street Fighter and Sims taught early lessons about maximizing value  07:18 Delivering value under budget pressure: free behavioral health coaches and creative partnerships  10:25 Where compensation and benefits breakdowns happen most often  12:22 The transparency challenge: building total rewards statements that show the full picture  15:06 Mental health benefits evolve from three sessions to unlimited counseling  17:34 Measuring impact through retention and reduced out-of-pocket costs  19:28 Employees now negotiate for benefits, not just salary  22:16 Incentivizing engagement with gift cards and maternity leave financial planning workshops  Takeaways - Tap your medical carrier's budget for free resources—Jessica secured a no-cost behavioral health coach through Cigna that handles chronic conditions, weight loss plans, and mental health counseling - Build a total rewards statement that shows employees exactly where their compensation goes beyond salary, including benefits contributions and education stipends - Incentivize benefits education with Amazon gift cards—employees mentally value a $20 gift card more than $20 cash and will show up to learn - AI enrollment tools can cut decision fatigue by recommending health plans based on family needs and current conditions - Create proactive financial planning workshops for major life events like maternity leave to prevent employees from running out of PTO and going unpaid Connect with the Guest LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessica-o-leary-mba-phr-8b3a686/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessica-o-leary-mba-phr-8b3a686/] Website: https://uplifteducation.org/ [https://uplifteducation.org/] Sponsor Aura Finance helps you simplify compensation and benefits planning by bringing everything into one streamlined platform. No more juggling spreadsheets, disconnected tools, or manual calculations—Aura gives you a single place to design, compare, and communicate total rewards packages with confidence. With AI-powered insights, it takes the guesswork and busywork out of comp decisions, helps you spot pay equity gaps early, and makes it easy to model scenarios that keep your teams engaged and your budgets on track. See a demo at https://www.aurafinance.com/ [https://www.aurafinance.com/] * (00:16) - From Milwaukee gamer to benefits director at a Texas charter network * (02:50) - First paycheck went to school clothes—and set a pattern for financial independence * (05:16) - Why Street Fighter and Sims taught early lessons about maximizing value * (07:18) - Delivering value under budget pressure: free behavioral health coaches and creative partnerships * (10:25) - Where compensation and benefits breakdowns happen most often * (12:22) - The transparency challenge: building total rewards statements that show the full picture * (15:06) - Mental health benefits evolve from three sessions to unlimited counseling * (17:34) - Measuring impact through retention and reduced out-of-pocket costs * (19:28) - Employees now negotiate for benefits, not just salary * (22:16) - Incentivizing engagement with gift cards and maternity leave financial planning workshops