Employee Well-being and Engagement, with Amy Spurling

In this podcast episode, Dr. Jonathan H. Westover talks with Amy Spurling about employee well-being and engagement. Amy Spurling is the Founder and CEO of Compt, HR software that revolutionizes employee benefits through personalized, inclusive, and tax-compliant Lifestyle Spending Accounts (LSAs). With a distinguished background as a three-time CFO and two-time COO, Amy is dedicated to fostering symbiotic growth between companies and their employees. Under her leadership, Compt has become a pivotal tool in enhancing employee satisfaction and productivity with LSAs. With over two decades of experience in venture-backed startups, Amy has driven over $200M in financing and successfully led two acquisitions to close. Her expertise and innovative approach have made her a leading voice in the HR and tech industries. Amy holds an MBA from Simmons School of Management and a BA from the University of Rochester. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

• 0:03Speaker 00

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• 0:35Speaker 00

  Amy Spurling, welcome to the conversation today.

• 0:37Speaker 01

  Thanks so much for having me.

• 0:38Speaker 00

  It is a real pleasure. Where are you joining me from?

• 0:40Speaker 01

  I am in Boston and hoping for spring soon.

• 0:45Speaker 00

  Very good. Definitely can be cold this time of year. Normally, I'm in the Salt Lake City area in Utah, also cold. I'm actually coming from Croatia today where I am for business right now. It's also very cold. It's a pleasure to be sitting down with you. And today, we're going to be talking about employee well-being and engagement, which is a topic near and dear to my heart, as I know it is for you. And I'm really thrilled to have a chance to explore this topic with you today. As we get started, I wanted to share Amy's bio with everybody. Amy Spurling is the founder and CEO of Comp, HR software that revolutionizes employee benefits through personalized, inclusive, and tax-compliant lifestyle spending accounts. With a distinguished background as a three-time CFO and two-time

• 1:28Speaker 00

  COO, Amy is dedicated to fostering symbiotic growth between companies and their employees. Under her leadership, Comp has become a pivotal tool in enhancing employee satisfaction and productivity with LSAs. With over two decades of experience in venture-backed startups, Amy has driven over $200 million in financing and successfully led two acquisitions to close. Her expertise and innovative approach have made her a leading voice in the HR and tech industries. Amy holds an MBA from Simmons School of Management and a BA from the University of Rochester. Again, it's a pleasure to be with you, Amy. Anything you would like to add by way of your background and personal context before we dive on in?

• 2:06Speaker 01

  Yeah, no, I think that pretty much covers it in a snapshot.

• 2:09Speaker 00

  Okay, very good. Maybe start with just your kind of high level overview of why employee well-being and engagement is important to you generally?

• 2:18Speaker 01

  Sure. I mean, I think we all spend a very large portion of our lives in our jobs. And that's where, you know, we spend the majority of the people that we spend the majority of our time with, the more like, that's just how you, how we live in the, in this world. And so if that's not, if employee well-being isn't something that is a focus for companies and a recognition of that, you just ignore the fact that these are humans working for you. And I think that's really important that companies take that into account and create space for people to be their whole selves, but also creating space for people to manage their own well-being in a way that matters to them. Because, you know, I'm a founder.

• 2:58Speaker 01

  I am not a nutritionist. I am not a physical coach. I am not a, like, I should not be prescribing vitamins to people, like, should be none of these things. People need to work with professionals on that. But I need to create space for people to actually have the ability to do that themselves. Because that is part of just being a human and taking care of yourself.

• 3:17Speaker 00

  Yeah, absolutely. Looking at employees, you know, as the holistic individuals that they are, i- is really important. And, you know, I think gone are the days where we can talk about, you know, check yourself, check your, your personal life at the door. Just, you know, when you're at work, do work. You know, that's the kind of the old mantra that certainly was more prevalent in, in past generations. And the reality is, everything tends to bleed together anyways. Maybe it's the reality of the modern kind of knowledge, work area, era, technology bleeding, you know, work, life and personal life together. Uh, all of that make certainly makes for a messy, complicated work integration, work,

• 3:58Speaker 00

  life kind of balanced scenario. And so we have to acknowledge it. And we, we have to acknowledge just, like you said, the humanness of the people that we, that are part of our organizations that we work with. And if we can't do that, I mean, first of all, I think there's a moral and ethical, like imperative.

• 4:14Speaker 01

  Right.

• 4:15Speaker 00

  There's force to do it. So there's that. But, but even if we. Even if we set that aside, I mean, there's a business imperative. There's a clear business case for this. If we don't do it, we're not going to get the best of our people. We're not going to attract and retain great people, but we're also not going to get the best from our people because they're not going to bring their best selves to the work that they do. And they're not going to be as creative and innovative.

• 4:37Speaker 01

  Right. They can't bring their best selves to work, like that old model of check yourself at the door and you're just here and you're going to get your job done and you should be happy to have a job. Worked in theory, I don't think it actually worked, but in theory it worked at a time period where one parent stayed home and took care of the kids and made sure everything was taken care of. And you could live off of one income. And that one income was like, look, I don't have a family as far as you know, like this is me doing my job. It just assumed a different economy. It assumed a different expectation of how marriages worked and partnerships worked. It assumed a different way that kids were going to be treated and the involvement that parents were going to have with their children.

• 5:19Speaker 01

  Like that, that worked well when people were like, oh, I was on the golf course when my kid was born. You bragging? Like, what is that? Like, gross. Like, that's not the world that we live in and that's not the world I want to live in. I want to encourage this behavior where people do feel like, hey, I can take time out to go like parental leave in our company is the same regardless of if you're physically having the child or if it's your partner having the child. Because I want good parents. I want good partners. And some of that is a little altruistic because I know if, you know, the men on my team in particular go and take their full 12 weeks and they can spread it out and do part time and whatever.

• 6:00Speaker 01

  Like if they do that, their partner can then have somebody who is a full-time partner with that child, is not mommy's little helper, is not like, well, I don't know what bath time is. No, you know when bath time is. Deal with it. Like just be part of, you know, the equal parent thing. And you have to have situations and structures that support families in that way. And family can mean people without children. It can mean anybody. And so allowing for that type of support and recognition that lives worked.

• 6:29Speaker 01

  differently means that those people can then dial in when they are at work because they have the space to do that.

• 6:34Speaker 00

  Yeah, yeah, I love that. And and just anecdotally and to share kind of my own personal experience and also just because I had a conversation about this. Now, it's evening for me right now because I'm in Croatia.

• 6:44Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 6:44Speaker 00

  So there's a time difference. It's morning for you. But I was at lunch today with with folks and I, you know, I do consulting work, but I'm also a professor. And so I I'm fortunate enough to have, you know, summers off and flexibility. Um, and it's a lot of autonomy, but and I have six children. My wife is also a professor, so she also has flexibility and autonomy. But, you know, we navigated having six children um at a time when uh paternity leave wasn't a thing. And so and and so, you know, fortunately, I was able to be around and to help out and do those things regardless, um which was great. Um, but that's not something that most people had at that time, right?

• 7:24Speaker 00

  So I was fortunate and my wife was fortunate for that. Um, but we were we were talking at lunch today because here in Croatia, there's just a mandatory one year leave uh for everyone. When they have a child.

• 7:35Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 7:36Speaker 00

  And in many places in Europe, it's like that, right?

• 7:38Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 7:38Speaker 00

  And and it's just a different mindset. It's a different uh. There's just a different priority given to it, right? In these societies than in in the US context. Um, you know, that's just the reality, you know, we you can assign whatever value to that you want, whoever's listening and and whatever your, you know, your own political and economic and whatever persuasions you you assign to that. But but that's the reality and it's it's it has all sorts of implications. And and I I certainly um have valued, you know, my ability to be very uh engaged with my family and active and involved. And and that's just one aspect of of, you know, the this this lifestyle accommodation and

• 8:23Speaker 00

  everything that we're talking about. There's obviously a lot of others and not everyone has children or, you know, there's lots of other things that that could be part of this conversation. But since we're talking about that right now, I just thought I would share like it's it's it really is important. And i- in the US, this isn't something We've always really let out on. But there are, there are forward thinking companies. Yeah, there are forward thinking companies that are, are really doing much better on this and, and, and making a big difference. So I, I definitely applaud those when I see those, um, because I do think it matters. I think it makes a big difference.

• 8:56Speaker 01

  It does. It's hard though for companies too, because you're, you're looking at like, I mean, our, our childcare system doesn't line up with our work system. You know, kids get out of school at two or three in the afternoon while work doesn't end at two or three in the afternoon. And so like companies are trying to navigate this and I do think a lot of remote work helps with that, but not everybody can be remote. And not every company wants to be remote. And so figuring out when you've got systems that don't coordinate or work together, that's very difficult. Like after school programs are very expensive and so can't afford that. What are you supposed to do with your kids? It's not like your seven year old can hitchhike home and just take care of themselves like, or they shouldn't at least. And so figuring out like, all right, how do you even navigate this?

• 9:41Speaker 01

  And then you start having multiple children and it gets cost prohibitive very, very quickly too. Like the, the systems that we have just don't line up to support people being able to work, you know, in a way that can also support their family life. And so everybody's kind of doing this dance and trying to figure out and companies are trying to lean in. But there's no like, in the countries where you do have a year of time off, it's not all paid for by companies. That is paid for by the government. Like that is part of like the, you know, the social network there. You know, you look at like Denmark, which is has a very long leave as well. Those are, those are subsidies so that companies can afford to do that. And so figuring out like, how do we grow better humans? Well, you need support for that.

• 10:22Speaker 01

  And it's just, it's an interesting like dynamic as you look at how these companies, countries navigate in different ways. And you know, I'd love to see more paid leave or mandatory paid leave in the U S because that is a huge issue. Like we're one of the only, we might be the only first world nation that doesn't have mandatory paid leave when, when kids are born. That's, that's wild to me.

• 10:43Speaker 00

  It, it, yeah, it is to me too.

• 10:46Speaker 01

  I don't have children. I don't have children and it bothers me like like I'm not this is not a personal thing for for me where I wish I had more paid leave for myself. This is a like I want good little humans being raised and they need support like like this is like we need to do this.

• 11:03Speaker 00

  Yeah, yeah. Well, so there's all these different components, right? That can lead to, you know, employee well-being, this being part of that. But you know what you do, you know, with your company, it, you know, with with these lifestyle savings accounts is a really important piece. And maybe you can talk about how that connects here. So how do LSAs contribute specifically to overall employee well-being and engagement? And and why is this important to organizational success?

• 11:34Speaker 01

  I think that the reason I wanted to start the company, like we started eight years ago before like LSAs was even a thing. Like we were working on like, what is the term? And like, did a whole dance for years around that, trying to figure out, you know, there were all these point solutions in the market. You could get childcare, you could get food delivered, you could get dry cleaning, like all these things. And each thing that you bring into your company and offer to your team, maybe you get two to three to five percent utilization. It's very low. And I was like, well, that's a lot of money. I'm a former CFO. A lot of money. Nobody's happy. HR is miserable. It's not taxed correctly. Yeah, messy. I don't like mess. And it doesn't work internationally either. Because then you start branching into this whole other thing.

• 12:16Speaker 01

  Like, well, if we're going to spend this money, and this is compensation for people, how do we create a space where people can actually be treated like adults and make their own decisions? And so when companies wellness is the predominant way that companies do this, I was thinking about a lifestyle spending account for wellness in particular. But instead of saying you can use this gym or a gym period, or, you know, you can use it for yoga or whatever, they say this is for wellness. This is what I'm comfortable with. Like, it's for your physical wellness, or maybe it's your mental health as well, or maybe some companies include financial wellness. Like, it's for your wellness here. Go do it. People are already spending money in ways that they want. Want to be supported. And so this gives the employees a mechanism to actually get

• 13:00Speaker 01

  supported in benefits in a way that matters to them. And it's not like, okay, I guess I'll sign up for the gym. I'm never gonna go, but maybe I'll go once this year. Now the company's paying for it and you're not going to use it anyways. And it's got zero health outcomes. That's not useful. Whereas if somebody needs access to GLP ones, or a therapist, or nutritionist, or vitamins, or whatever the thing is. I get a lot of hiking gear. That's what I do. And so my REI bills are being covered by my wellness, my wellness stipend. But it allows people to all be different and companies can stay out of it. Companies do not have to figure out, oh, well, you're really into this one thing, you know, rock climbing. Whereas no one else is like, why, why are we involved in this? Like, is it HR?

• 13:45Speaker 01

  That's a lot to put on an HR team. Like, figure out what every single person wants. There are wants and needs and hopes and desires and meet that. And by the way, you're a 10,000 person company. Come on, that's silly. Like, let people be adults and just say, this is the sandbox I'm comfortable with. And I want to support your wellness. Go do what you want to do.

• 14:04Speaker 00

  Yeah. So having these, these spending accounts then, describe how, how that tends to work. And your experience with some cool innovative ways that companies are using that to support their employees' wellbeing.

• 14:18Speaker 01

  Sure. So the way it works is that, you know, a company sets their budget, kind of what their guardrails are. The more broad the use case, like a lot of this is taxable income. So broad use cases tend to go very well with employees. So they may use it for a family gym membership or swim lessons, or, you know, sometimes the after school sports, because that's helping their kids stay, you know, active. Or they may use it for their own gym, like however they want to use it. And companies will put like, hey, it's got to be for your physical wellness and just for you. You can put guardrails on it if you want. Employees then go and spend the money wherever, you know, is appropriate. Upload a receipt, get reimbursed through payroll, pretty straightforward, taxed or not, depending on where they're located.

• 15:00Speaker 01

  What's appropriate to tax, what you don't have to tax. And it just makes it very. Very easy and seamless, which is why we've had over ninety percent employee participation for five years. Like, just about everybody's

• 15:12Speaker 00

  Which, which is incredible in comparison, like you said, to those other programs, right?

• 15:17Speaker 01

  Exactly. You're just gonna get much more involvement. And then it's a much more meaningful benefit. Like, if employees are not using your benefit, why are you spending money on it? It doesn't make sense. And so I'm a big, but like, if I see a company that was, you know, if they were in the five percent range, we have no one ever who has been in that range, we have in a conversation, be like, this is not for you. Like, don't spend money on this. That's silly. Don't do that. Your team is not working for them. We've never had anybody like that, but that's something that we keep an eye on is the employee participation. We have seen a lot of really cool ways that companies have leaned in or creative ways and employees have used it. You know, during COVID, we had somebody who had a family stipend, was the stipend the company had set up.

• 16:00Speaker 01

  And it was like the first couple of weeks into lockdown in the Bay Area. And this poor guy was home, kids were home, trying to figure out homeschooling, you can't leave your house. And his hot water heater blew. And the poor guy now has no hot water. And so he used his family stipend to help get a new hot water heater. You're not gonna have a hot water heater, like, benefit in a company for the one person every ten years that might need it, like. But that was what he needed at that moment in time, and it worked perfectly. HR didn't have to do anything. It was just seamless, which was really cool. Right now, what we see a lot of is groceries, a lot of groceries. Food is expensive, feeding families is expensive, people need help with that.

• 16:43Speaker 01

  And this is a way where that has dialed all the way up as people are like, look, I, I need help with that. That's, that's where I'm at. Like, it's not the, I feel like going skydiving, it's the, the day-to-day needs that people

• 16:57Speaker 01

  And so we see a lot of that right now.

• 16:59Speaker 00

  Yeah. Well, this is just fascinating and I love it. Amy, I know at the time I need to let you go. You have a hard stop coming up here, but as we wrap up, I wanted to give you a chance to share with the audience how they can connect with you, find out more about your work, your team. And then give us the final word for today.

• 17:14Speaker 01

  Sure. You can reach out to me on LinkedIn, Amy Spurling, at Amy Spurling on LinkedIn, or of course, you know, our website, compst.io, and we're happy to chat. You know, just excited to see how things evolve over time. I think it's really interesting to see when employee-driven benefits are front and center for companies, you can see companies navigate kind of economic uncertainty in a totally different way that is really supportive to both employees and company growth. And that's what's really exciting for me to kind of watch from the sidelines and see how these companies kind of navigate and our teams navigate. It's pretty cool.

• 17:51Speaker 00

  Awesome. Amy, thank you so much. It's been a pleasure. I encourage the audience to reach out, to get connected, find out more about what Amy and her team can do for you. And as always, I hope everyone can stay healthy and safe, that you can find meaning and purpose at work each and every day, and I hope you all have a great week.

• 18:10Speaker 00

  Thanks for joining us for this episode of the podcast. We hope you stay healthy and safe, and please join us again soon.