In this engaging episode of Transform Your Workplace, host Brandon Laws sits down with WEX leaders Melanie Tinto and Karen Stroup to explore the transformative role of AI in employee benefits. Melanie shares insights on simplifying the open enrollment process, empowering employees with accessible benefits education, and fostering confidence in decision-making. Karen highlights WEX’s innovative use of AI, including their new Benefits Admin AI Assistant and personal advice tool. Together, they unpack how technology, culture, and strategy intersect to enhance employee experiences and optimize workplace performance.
GUESTS AT A GLANCE
Melanie Tinto joined WEX in 2018 with nearly 20 years of experience in global talent acquisition, leadership development, and organizational strategy for large corporations. As Chief People Officer, she oversees WEX’s human resources strategy, focusing on talent management, succession planning, organizational performance, and employee development.
Karen Stroup joined WEX in 2022 as Chief Digital Officer, bringing over 15 years of experience in product management, digital innovation, and SaaS solutions, primarily in financial services. She leads efforts to expand digital commerce opportunities, unify strategic vision, and enhance customer experiences through cutting-edge digital tools and technologies.
A QUICK GLIMPSE INTO OUR PODCAST
🔊 Podcast: Transform Your Workplace, Sponsored by Xenium HR
🎙️ Host: Brandon Laws
📋 In his own words: “The Transform Your Workplace podcast is your go-to source for the latest workplace trends, big ideas, and time-tested methods straight from the mouths of industry experts and respected thought-leaders.”
PODCAST EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS
The Challenges of Open Enrollment
Melanie: We conduct extensive interviews with our employees to understand the priorities and needs of our employee base. And then, how do we satisfy those needs, specifically with the benefits and services that we offer? And, in addition, it’s also about helping to educate our employees on what those benefits are. So, you can have a variety of benefits that are available to your employees, but if they don’t understand the magnitude of what’s available to them — what the different acronyms mean, how to actually leverage a life savings account, flexible spending account, or health savings account — all of that hard work goes to waste.
A Mountain of Information
Melanie: It can be overwhelming when you’re only doing this once a year. […] It can be complex if you don’t understand the fundamental parts. So many people either, a) take what they did last year and repeat it without necessarily making a lot of changes, or b) actually go into the system, really dig in to understand all the different facets and comparisons of the different programs, and determine how that pertains to their family’s needs.
Putting the Plan into Action
Karen: We want our employees to feel confident in their selections. We want them to use their benefits so that they’re healthy and happy. […] And from an employer perspective, of course, we want the right mix of benefits. We want to reduce costs and have the optimal cost profile for the employees, and we want people to use their benefits so that they have more time on the job and are bringing their whole selves to work.
AI at WEX
Karen: We have recently launched a Benefits Admin AI Assistant. This is putting a new interface on top of that LLM […]. What this enables us to do is, with all the data underneath, create a human-like interaction where you can ask questions like, “Hey, what’s my healthcare plan? Is this person covered? Can you remind me if my son is covered for vision insurance?”
It creates a conversational workflow that reads and engages with all that data and allows for back-and-forth interactions. It feels very different from the chatbots of old. We just launched this, and it is live with a few of our customers right now. We’re piloting it to understand not only how the technology works but also how it can be improved.
The second piece we have, which we’ve had for a while, is creating personalized advice. How do you deliver the right messages to the right customers at the right time to help them optimize their choices? For example, if you have an HSA but haven’t invested any funds, you might get a message like, “Did you know you’re missing out on growth opportunities?”
Streamlining the Conversation
Melanie: There’s also the simplification of removing jargon, truly understanding what employees need, eliminating complexities, and helping them navigate benefits with ease. If you think about empowering an employee, it’s about making them feel more comfortable and more informed in the decisions they’re making. As I mentioned, we also provide real-time opportunities for employees to ask questions through our online AI chatbot, which helps them navigate our solutions and benefit offerings. This makes the process feel easier for them and builds confidence that they’re selecting the right options. It doesn’t feel quite as intimidating, and, hopefully, this leads to higher engagement throughout the process and makes employees feel more comfortable about picking the right solutions for themselves and their families.
The Employee Outlook on AI
Karen: So, when you think about how an employee feels about AI and the benefits enrollment process, I would say a lot of the time, people don’t even know when they’re using AI. Melanie mentioned Netflix or Amazon — these are experiences very much powered by AI, but no one realizes it. They simply appreciate the outcomes. I remember one time on Amazon Prime, I got a pop-up saying, “Karen, did you know that you’ve saved over $500 in shipping this year?” I thought, “No, but I feel really good about my $99 Amazon Prime membership because of that.” I think we can do the same thing. Employees aren’t as concerned about whether something is AI or not. What they care about is having data that helps them feel confident in their decisions.
Starting on the Right Foot
Karen: One of the things that Melanie has done a great job of pushing us on is having shared goals. We have a fewer number of goals, but they’re shared across the organization and then cascade down. That really helps us understand what’s important, maintain consistency, and create forums to discuss those priorities. These are the topics we bring into our different executive leadership team conversations. We set goals for ourselves, and, as a result, we win or lose together. So, I think it starts with culture and alignment.
LEARN MORE
Connect with WEX leaders Melanie Tinto and Karen Stroup on LinkedIn to share ideas, brainstorm, and continue the conversation about innovation and employee benefits!