Summary
What if the most valuable benefit in your package is the one without a line item? In this episode of Beyond the Paycheck, host Kelsey Willock Jones sits down with Robert Lazenby, Senior Director of Total Rewards at Hays, to explore why flexibility beats richer perks, why financial stress is a business issue disguised as a personal issue, and why the next decade of benefits belongs to healthcare savers rather than healthcare consumers. Bob shares his path from frontline sales to total rewards, the story of a denied healthcare bill stuck to an employee's refrigerator, and how Hays is using HSAs, auto-enrollment, and year-round communication to build real financial security. A candid conversation for HR and total rewards leaders rethinking what support for the whole person actually means.

Chapters

00:00 Welcome and introduction

01:45 From frontline sales to total rewards

03:05 First paycheck and a first lesson in money

04:15 Start them with a smile

06:15 Flexibility as the most valuable benefit

10:15 A wellbeing experiment that backfired

13:10 Financial stress as a business issue

15:50 HSAs and financial education at Hays

17:55 The shift to healthcare savers

20:15 Final thoughts beyond the paycheck

Takeaways

-Flexibility is one of the most valuable benefits an organization can offer because it gives employees more capacity in their lives without adding cost to the business.

-Financial stress is a business issue disguised as a personal issue, affecting engagement, productivity, retention, and wellbeing.

-HSAs are among the most underutilized and least understood financial vehicles, especially for younger workers, and can build long-term wealth when funded early and invested.

-The next five to 10 years will bring a shift toward helping employees become healthcare savers rather than just healthcare consumers as traditional plan costs become unsustainable.

-Year-round communication, auto-enrollment, and easy enrollment are what turn benefits from November decisions into tools employees actually use.

Connect with the Guest
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/boblazenby03/
Website: https://www.hays.com

Sponsor

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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/