Tandem is a trusted strategy, design, and technology partner. They deliver custom software that inspires people and drives business forward. Their unique process brings every voice to the table. Their human-centered design process brings in customers, researchers, engineers, and designers to approach every problem with a broad set of perspectives. And they partner with their clients to solve their most meaningful challenges – for their customers, employees, and the community.
As a human-centered business, employee benefits have always been important to Tandem. The company recently partnered with Launchways to take its already competitive benefits package to the next level. We spoke to Tandem CEO, JC Grubbs, to learn more about his experience with Launchways.
Before working with Launchways, Tandem already offered a robust benefits package. The talent market for tech companies like Tandem is extremely competitive, and Tandem sees its benefits as a key part of the strategy to win over top talent. Working with Launchways, Tandem sought to offer a benefits package that only took care of its team, but also offered unique, impactful benefits that would help set Tandem apart in the pursuit for top talent to join their team.
As he looked for a new broker to help him in this effort, JC Grubbs said he was attracted to Launchways because of our hands-on approach to benefits and HR,
“Our previous broker was just a broker, there was very little education with our team. I liked the Launchways approach of combining team education and HR consulting to support us as managers, in addition to the brokerage aspect of the partnership.”
Another thing about the Launchways approach that stood out to him was the fact that unlike most brokers, Launchways understood the fact that he wanted to improve Tandem’s benefits, not just cut costs at the expense of employee happiness,
“Benefits are a big part of how we compete in the market for talent and Launchways prioritized improving our benefits to make us even more competitive while at the same time saving us money.”
So what did this new package look like? The Launchways team negotiated a BlueChoice PPO that cost Tandem less than their previous base-plan while offering significantly more comprehensive coverage for employees. Launchways also educated employees about the plan changes during open enrollment. As a result, many employees switched from the previously offered plan to the newly rolled out plan.
Education was key to the success of these efforts, as JC Grubbs noted,
“Launchways has also done a great job of giving our employees access to benefits information. The Employee Navigator platform lets our team members find out what they need to know about their benefits and choose the right plans for their needs.”
Now, Tandem is spending less on its benefits, employees are spending less, and team members have better coverage than ever. At the same time, Launchways worked with Tandem to expand dental, vision, and ancillary insurance while reducing the costs of these plans.
Another major win from the partnership was the successful launch of Tandem’s HealthiestYou telemedicine implementation. As JC Grubbs commented, the telemedicine platform has been a huge hit with his team,
“As a company that is fairly young and tech-savvy, we’ve seen a lot of engagement with telemedicine. It makes a big difference to our team members who have new families. It has been very well received and is a competitive advantage to us in the hiring process. Launchways consistently brings in new ideas around benefits, suggesting solutions like telemedicine that we would not even have known existed without such an active benefits partner.”
Launchways was just as impressed by the success of the Tandem telemedicine implementation. Launchways benefits consultants on the Tandem project noted Tandem has the highest telemedicine utilization rate of any Launchways client. This success shows the potential for telemedicine to have a significant impact for companies looking to care for and attract young, tech-savvy talent.
We asked JC Grubbs if he had any advice for other business owners who are considering working with Launchways. Once again, the value of Launchways’ hands-on, personal approach shined through.
“It’s all about people, get to know as much of the Launchways team as you can. The Launchways team is super responsive, engaged, and passionate about benefits. Build some rapport and trust, which I think will come very quickly, and make your decision based on that. Because in my experience, Launchways just delivers.”