Summary
What does it take to keep frontline employees past their first year? In this episode of Beyond the Paycheck, host Kelsey Willock Jones talks with Catherine Johnson, EVP and Chief People Officer at Travis Credit Union, about the financial wellness pilot that helped cut first-year frontline turnover from 50% to 14%, how she won leadership approval by framing HR investments the way the business tests new products, and why the one size fits all benefits catalog is headed for extinction. Along the way: the $5,250 tuition benefit nobody used until bandwidth entered the plan, dependent care that now spans children and aging parents, and the case for letting employees curate benefits to their stage of life. A conversation for HR and total rewards leaders building benefits people actually feel.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and meet Catherine Johnson

02:00 Inside Travis Credit Union's workforce

03:15 A paper route, a bicycle, and the meaning of a paycheck

05:00 Supporting the whole employee at Travis

08:15 Where companies fall short on benefits

10:15 The financial wellness pilot that contributed to lower turnover from 50% - 14%.

12:30 Pitching HR investments like product tests

13:05 The $5,250 tuition benefit nobody used

15:15 Staying current and listening for unexpected benefits

17:05 The personalized benefits shift HR isn't ready for

Takeaways

• A financial wellness pilot built on two hypotheses, that cared-for employees stay and that employees who trust the tool serve members better, helping cut first-year frontline turnover from 50% to 14%.
• Framing HR investments the way the business already tests products, pilot in one market and then make a go or no go call, is what finally won leadership approval.
• A benefit without bandwidth is a flop: tuition reimbursement jumped from $250 to $5,250 and usage still fell to zero until Travis started planning learning time into the workday.
• The annual one size fits all benefits catalog assumes every benefit holds the same value for every employee; life-stage curation, from elder care to pet bereavement leave, is the next shift.
• Listening channels beat headlines: twice-yearly employee benefit surveys and a Northern California credit union rewards network surface needs that never make the news.

  
  

Connect with the Guest
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cjohnson5/
Website: https://www.traviscu.org

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