Beyond the Paycheck

Aura Finance
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Beyond the Paycheck brings you candid conversations with CHROs and top people leaders who are rethinking how compensation and benefits impact more than just employee bank accounts. From the first paycheck to financial wellness programs, we explore how money shapes identity, equity, purpose, and power at work, and how forward-thinking companies are using pay and perks to transform lives, not just attract talent. This podcast is sponsored by Aura Finance, the financial wellness platform designed to help employees feel confident, secure, and in control of their money. See more at aurafinance.io

  1. Empathy, karma, and the coming skills based workforce

    قبل ٧ ساعات

    Empathy, karma, and the coming skills based workforce

    Summary On this episode of Beyond the Paycheck, host Kelsey Willock sits down with Sarah Gonzalez, SVP of Total Rewards at Switch, the hyperscaler building the data centers powering today's AI boom. Sarah traces her path from a self described "late bloomer" who fell in love with compensation, the place where the math nerds of HR end up, to a leader scaling total rewards inside a high growth company. Drawing on her own early experience of financial strain as an Army spouse, she makes the case that great total rewards leaders never forget what instability feels like. She challenges the industry habit of stacking benefit programs that reach only a fraction of the workforce, argues for benefits as fluid as the people who use them, and explains how a core value built on karma drives real retention. It's a candid, practical conversation for HR and total rewards leaders, people leaders, and anyone rethinking how companies support the whole person. Chapters 00:00 Introduction 01:15 Finding the place where the math nerds of HR go 03:35 Scaling total rewards inside a high growth company 04:55 First job at Sbarro's and the truth about that first paycheck 06:55 How a money story shapes the way you lead 09:35 Supporting the whole person without falling into the program trap 12:15 Building benefits as fluid as the people who use them 15:25 Getting back on the ground to listen to frontline workers 17:35 Why support and output are connected, and the karma value 21:35 Financial wellbeing, killing the shame, and the skills based future Takeaways Once your own income is stable, it is easy to forget what financial instability feels like. The best total rewards leaders hold onto that memory and never assume everyone has a six-month safety net.Stacking benefit programs creates the illusion of coverage. Fourteen offerings can still reach only 15 to 20% of your people.Real personalization is not just person to person. The same employee needs different support at different moments of their own life, so benefits should bend instead of multiply.The annual survey is mismatched to reality because lives change far more than once a year. Listening to a frontline workforce often means getting back on the ground in person.A value built on karma, what you give is what you get back, turns whole person support into genuine retention, and the workforce of the future will increasingly want a work to live, skills based flexibility.Connect with the Guest LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-gonzales-wilson-ccp-phr-46165b8/ Website: https://www.switch.com Sponsor Aura Finance helps you simplify compensation and benefits planning by bringing everything into one streamlined platform. No more juggling spreadsheets, disconnected tools, or manual calculations—Aura gives you a single place to design, compare, and communicate total rewards packages with confidence. 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/

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  2. From CD changers to FICA: a head of HR on money, AI, and people

    قبل ٥ أيام

    From CD changers to FICA: a head of HR on money, AI, and people

    Summary Patrick Lopez, Head of HR at CMIT Solutions, joins host Kelsey on Beyond the Paycheck for a conversation that runs from a teenager's first paycheck to the future of work in the age of AI. Patrick shares how a 10-disc CD changer and an unexpectedly small JCPenney check taught him about taxes at 16, why he still sees new hires learn that same lesson, and how his money story shaped the way he leads. From there the conversation widens: how AI has quietly crowded out the whole-person conversation about wellbeing and benefits, how HR has evolved from an admin function into the company's strategic conscience, and why, even in an uncertain market, clear communication is the benefit that matters most. It's a grounded, hopeful listen for HR leaders, people managers, and anyone thinking about financial wellbeing at work.   Chapters 00:00 Intro 01:15 From radio booth to head of HR 04:45 A first paycheck and a 10 disc CD changer 05:45 Meeting FICA: the tax lesson school skipped 07:45 How your money story shapes the way you lead 10:45 When AI drowns out the whole person conversation 13:45 The Great Resignation and the swing back to people 16:45 How HR became the company's thought leader 18:45 Putting AI to work on the ops side at CMIT 20:45 Money confidence, benefits, and the power of communication  Takeaways - Financial confidence starts with the basics. Patrick learned about FICA and take-home pay from his first JCPenney check at 16, and he still sees college grads ask the same question. Helping people understand their own pay stub is a small act of leadership that builds lasting trust. - AI is taking all the oxygen, and the whole-person conversation has gone quiet. The talk about wellbeing, benefits, and work-life balance that dominated the Great Resignation has been steered toward AI. Patrick expects the pendulum to swing back. - The cloud era is the cautionary tale. Fifteen years ago every leader wanted to "move to the cloud" without knowing how. AI is following the same pattern, so substance has to catch up to the ambition. - HR has become the company's conscience. The role has shifted from admin to strategic thought leader, and HR leaders are quietly building the case for keeping people at the center as AI matures. - Communication is the real benefit. Even while expanding benefits, Patrick's top rule with leadership is to communicate every decision clearly and make the team part of the process, because people can handle uncertainty when they don't feel it's being done to them. Connect with the Guest LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrickmlopez/ Website: https://cmitsolutions.com   Sponsor Aura Finance helps you simplify compensation and benefits planning by bringing everything into one streamlined platform. No more juggling spreadsheets, disconnected tools, or manual calculations—Aura gives you a single place to design, compare, and communicate total rewards packages with confidence. 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/

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  3. Money, mind, and movement: supporting the whole employee

    ٣٠ يونيو

    Money, mind, and movement: supporting the whole employee

    Summary  On this episode of Beyond the Paycheck, host Kelsey sits down with Pam Tavilla, Head of People at Leyton, a global consulting and professional services firm. Drawing on nearly 20 years in HR, Pam makes the case that the line between work and personal life has dissolved, and that supporting employees means supporting their whole day, financial, mental, and physical. She explains why financial wellbeing is a universal need rather than a generational perk, why learning and development only works when it leads to a real career path, and what the coming shift toward personalized benefits will mean for HR leaders. It's a practical, people-first conversation for anyone who builds compensation, benefits, and growth programs.   Chapters 00:45 Welcome to Beyond the Paycheck 01:35 Meet Pam Tavilla and Leyton 02:45 Her first job and first paycheck 03:45 Supporting the whole person 06:35 Why financial wellbeing matters 08:25 Making the case when the spreadsheet won't 10:15 When training needs a destination 12:25 Staying current in HR and benefits 16:25 The coming shift to personalized benefits   Takeaways Support has to be active, not stated. Saying you back work-life balance means little unless managers actually let people step away and trust them to return refreshed. The whole person comes to work. Financial, mental, and physical health all cross into the workday, so being present and noticing the signs is part of the job. Financial wellbeing is universal. It matters across every generation because it shapes how people live and survive, and it benefits the business as much as the employee. Training needs a destination. Learning and development only pays off when it connects to a clear career path, or it becomes box-checking. Personalization is the next shift. The standard benefits package is fading in favor of equal budget and access for everyone with individual choice in how it's used. Connect with the Guest   LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pam-tavilla/ Website: https://leyton.com Sponsor Aura Finance helps you simplify compensation and benefits planning by bringing everything into one streamlined platform. No more juggling spreadsheets, disconnected tools, or manual calculations—Aura gives you a single place to design, compare, and communicate total rewards packages with confidence. 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/

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  4. The Benefit Almost Nobody Uses, and Why It Pays Off

    ٤ يونيو

    The Benefit Almost Nobody Uses, and Why It Pays Off

    Summary On this episode of Beyond the Paycheck, Kelsey Willock sits down with Ken Wechsler, VP of Total Rewards at Akamai Technologies, to dig into why the most measurable parts of a pay package are often the least differentiating. Ken makes the case that comp is the "sexier side" of rewards but benefits are what build loyalty, that financial stress quietly destroys engagement, and that the best benefits are sometimes the ones almost nobody uses. Along the way he covers pay transparency, AI in compensation, and two financial-wellness experiments anyone can try. It's a practical listen for total rewards leaders, benefits practitioners, and anyone rethinking what actually keeps people. Chapters 00:00 Meet Ken Wechsler, VP Total Rewards at Akamai 01:30 The coin-collecting kid and his earliest money memory 03:45 First job, first car, and saving with intention 05:10 A $1,212 paycheck and what younger workers need now 07:15 Comp is the sexier side, but benefits build loyalty 10:30 Maslow, remote work, and financial wellness 12:45 When the story beats the dollar 15:00 Pay transparency: the why over the where 18:30 AI in total rewards and the human touch 21:00 The reverse pyramid and the 48-hour rule Takeaways The most visible part of a pay package, cash, is the part competitors can most easily match. Financial stress destroys engagement, so financial security is a precondition for it, not a perk beside it. A benefit can be worth keeping for the story it tells even when almost no one uses it. On pay transparency, employees care more about understanding the why than seeing the where. Use AI to do the math in comp work, but keep humans to interpret the data and make the call. Connect with the GuestLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ken-wechsler-sphr-ccp-a452734/Website: https://www.akamai.com/ Sponsor Aura Finance helps you simplify compensation and benefits planning by bringing everything into one streamlined platform. No more juggling spreadsheets, disconnected tools, or manual calculations—Aura gives you a single place to design, compare, and communicate total rewards packages with confidence. 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/

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  5. The Missing Conversation in Every Open Enrollment

    ٢ يونيو

    The Missing Conversation in Every Open Enrollment

    SummaryBeyond the Paycheck sits down with Tia Larsen, Director of Benefits at FJ Management, to trace the compensation comprehension gap back to its source: a financial literacy system that never taught employees how to read a pay package. Tia draws on 16 years managing benefits, a portfolio of 16,500 employees across six industries, and her own experience of living paycheck to paycheck to make the case that total rewards statements and open enrollment education are solving for the wrong moment. The episode covers workplace clinics, the pay-yourself-first habit, and why the missing ingredient in every benefits strategy isn't better data — it's the right conversation at the right time. Chapters00:00 Tia Larsen and the FJ Management portfolio04:30 Earliest memories of money and earning08:30 The pay-yourself-first habit12:00 Where employees get total compensation wrong15:00 Why total rewards statements fail17:30 The open enrollment timing problem19:00 On-site clinics that changed employees' lives22:30 The ROI case for workplace clinics24:30 Pay transparency and flexibility as coming expectations Takeaways Employees who chase base salary without factoring in benefits cost, 401(k) match, and flexibility frequently end up with less take-home pay after switching jobs.Total rewards statements fail not because of their design, but because they land months before employees need the information they contain.On-site workplace clinics create predictable costs for employers while eliminating the impossible choice some employees face between medication and groceries.Benefits comprehension is built through repeated, plain-language conversations across the year, not through a single annual enrollment presentation.Pay transparency is already happening whether employers lead it or not — employees are comparing salaries, and legislation is coming regardless.Connect with the GuestLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tia-larsen-mshr-ccp-cpsp-shrm-scp-5125602a/Website: https://fjmgt.com/ Sponsor Aura Finance helps you simplify compensation and benefits planning by bringing everything into one streamlined platform. No more juggling spreadsheets, disconnected tools, or manual calculations—Aura gives you a single place to design, compare, and communicate total rewards packages with confidence. 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/ (00:00) - Tia Larsen and the FJ Management portfolio (04:30) - Earliest memories of money and earning (08:30) - The pay-yourself-first habit (12:00) - Where employees get total compensation wrong (15:00) - Why total rewards statements fail (17:30) - The open enrollment timing problem (19:00) - On-site clinics that changed employees' lives (22:30) - The ROI case for workplace clinics (24:30) - Pay transparency and flexibility as coming expectations

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  6. What Do Your Employees Know About Their Retirement?

    ٢٨ مايو

    What Do Your Employees Know About Their Retirement?

    Summary In this episode of Beyond the Paycheck, Kelsey sits down with Tim Goodchild, Director of International Benefits at Take-Two Interactive (parent company of Rockstar Games, 2K, and Zynga), to dig into what's actually broken in employee benefits. Tim's argument: the packages are often strong, but most employees don't understand what they have. With nearly 20 years in HR across AOL, the BBC, The Telegraph, and Anaplan, Tim lays out why financial wellbeing is the load-bearing pillar of any wellness program, why AI is about to flip benefits from reactive to proactive, and what it means for employers who aren't building toward that now. Chapters 00:00 Welcome and Tim's background at Take-Two Interactive02:15 Earliest money memory: saving pocket money for a motor racing helmet TV04:00 First job: games tester at EA, a rival of Take-Two05:30 Benefits strategy by life stage: young workforce vs. older workforce07:30 Where benefits break down: the comprehension crisis09:30 Gamification in benefits: interesting in theory, dangerous in practice10:30 Financial wellbeing as the most important pillar12:00 Elder care and the sandwich generation14:00 Cost of living, global inflation, and financial wellbeing at work15:30 AI and the shift from reactive to proactive benefits17:30 Flexible and voluntary benefits: the dream of year-round personalization19:30 How to connect with Tim Takeaways Most employees don't understand their benefits package — and measuring comprehension, not just coverage, is the metric most organizations are missing.Financial wellbeing is the load-bearing pillar: when finances are stable, mental health generally follows.AI in benefits is shifting from reactive (employees ask) to proactive (AI tells) faster than most HR teams are preparing for.Benefits strategy must map to life stage — a 25-year-old and a 55-year-old need fundamentally different things from the same employer.Elder care — power of attorney, will writing, family financial planning — is becoming one of the most meaningful benefits an employer can offer.Connect with GuestLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tgoodchild/Website: https://www.take2games.com/ Sponsor Aura Finance helps you simplify compensation and benefits planning by bringing everything into one streamlined platform. No more juggling spreadsheets, disconnected tools, or manual calculations—Aura gives you a single place to design, compare, and communicate total rewards packages with confidence. 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/ (00:00) - Welcome and Tim's background at Take-Two Interactive (02:15) - Earliest money memory: saving pocket money for a motor racing helmet TV (04:00) - First job: games tester at EA, a rival of Take-Two (05:30) - Benefits strategy by life stage: young workforce vs. older workforce (07:30) - Where benefits break down: the comprehension crisis (09:30) - Gamification in benefits: interesting in theory, dangerous in practice (10:30) - Financial wellbeing as the most important pillar (12:00) - Elder care and the sandwich generation (14:00) - Cost of living, global inflation, and financial wellbeing at work (15:30) - AI and the shift from reactive to proactive benefits (17:30) - Flexible and voluntary benefits: the dream of year-round personalization (19:30) - How to connect with Tim

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  7. Financial Wellness Is the Frontier of Wellbeing

    ٢٦ مايو

    Financial Wellness Is the Frontier of Wellbeing

    Summary On Beyond the Paycheck, Kelsey Willock talks with Preet Michelson, Chief People Officer at Morgan Street Holdings and its operating company TMS, about why benefits programs break down at the communication line, not the budget line. Preet makes the case that financial wellbeing is the next frontier of workplace wellness, as overdue for normalization as physical and mental health once were. She shares concrete plays, from student loan repayment paired with mandatory coaching to a midyear, personalized total compensation statement that ends with a single number. The throughline: when people can see that a company is invested in their lives and not just their output, retention and engagement follow. Built for HR, total rewards, and financial wellness leaders. Chapters 00:00 Welcome to Beyond the Paycheck 00:50 From KPMG accountant to Chief People Officer 02:30 Inside Morgan Street Holdings, TMS, and Stanley 04:30 Her earliest memory of money: independence 07:15 Where compensation and benefits break down 09:30 Why the once-a-year rewards statement fails 11:00 Marketing benefits like a consumer brand 12:45 Student loans plus mandatory coaching 14:00 Financial wellness as the next frontier 16:50 The midyear statement nobody sends Takeaways The benefits problem is usually communication, not budget; employees can't value what they never see.Financial wellbeing is the missing piece of workplace wellness, and financial stress shows up as distraction and disengagement.A midyear, personalized total compensation statement ending in one number can change how employees see the company.Treat benefits communication like consumer marketing: personalized, year-round, and specific to the individual.When people feel the company is invested in their lives and not just their output, retention and engagement follow.Meet the GuestLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/preet-hansra-michelson/Website: https://www.tmsw.com/ Sponsor Aura Finance helps you simplify compensation and benefits planning by bringing everything into one streamlined platform. No more juggling spreadsheets, disconnected tools, or manual calculations—Aura gives you a single place to design, compare, and communicate total rewards packages with confidence. 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/

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  8. How BambooHR Moved Comp Understanding From 50% to 90% With One Training

    ٢١ مايو

    How BambooHR Moved Comp Understanding From 50% to 90% With One Training

    Summary One in two employees at BambooHR said they didn't understand how their compensation was determined. After a single mandatory compensation 101 training, that number flipped—nearly 90% said they now understood.  Engagement scores went up year over year. No new spend. No new vendor. Just education. In this episode, Kelsey Willock sits down with Alex Bertin, Head of Total Rewards at BambooHR, for a practical conversation about what it looks like to close the understanding gap between what a company offers and what employees actually know they have. Alex brings a finance background from FP&A at Delta Air lines and Qualtrics before finding his way into compensation—what he calls the Cinderella glass slipper moment—and he carries a grounded empathy for frontline employees into every benefits decision he makes.  He and Kelsey get into why the biggest breakdown in comp and benefits isn't the package itself but the disconnect between what exists and what employees know about it, how BambooHR's paid vacation bonus (yes, they pay you to take your vacation) has become their most beloved benefit, a student loan repayment benefit that an employee forgot about twice despite it being $100/month in free money, and why the next wave of AI in benefits will be agentic tools that connect all your benefits in one place so employees stop losing track of what they have. If you run total rewards and are looking for low-cost, high-impact ways to drive engagement, Alex's perspective on education over addition will resonate. Timestamps 01:42 Alex's earliest money memory: $2 bills and selling Costco candy at swim lessons 04:33 How empathy for frontline workers keeps comp decisions grounded 07:50 Where compensation and benefits break down most: the understanding gap 10:30 The comp 101 training that moved understanding from 50% to 90% 13:44 The paid paid vacation bonus and milestone increases at 5, 10, 15, and 20 years 17:50 AI-driven benefits navigation: one place, one overlay, better utilization 20:01 Financial wellness as a founding principle, not an afterthought 21:08 The 30-day experiment: run a "use it" campaign on your most underutilized benefit Takeaways The biggest breakdown in total rewards isn't the package—it's the understanding gap; one comp training can shift employee trust dramaticallyDon't just offer benefits—actively market them to your employees the way you'd market a product to customers; it takes seven touches for a message to landA paid paid vacation bonus that actually gives employees money to take their trip is more powerful than unlimited PTO because it changes behaviorCheck which benefits employees are forgetting about; free money that goes unused is worse than not offering it at allRun a 30-day "use it" campaign on one underutilized benefit with weekly emails, real stories, and clear how-tos—the results are binary and the cost is nearly zero Connect with the GuestGuest LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexbertin/ Company website: https://www.bamboohr.com Sponsor Aura Finance helps you simplify compensation and benefits planning by bringing everything into one streamlined platform. No more juggling spreadsheets, disconnected tools, or manual calculations—Aura gives you a single place to design, compare, and communicate total rewards packages with confidence. 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/ (01:42) - Alex's earliest money memory: $2 bills and selling Costco candy at swim lessons (04:33) - How empathy for frontline workers keeps comp decisions grounded (07:50) - Where compensation and benefits break down most: the understanding gap (10:30) - The comp 101 training that moved understanding from 50% to 90% (13:44) - The paid paid vacation bonus and milestone increases at 5, 10, 15, and 20 years (17:50) - AI-driven benefits navigation: one place, one overlay, better utilization (20:01) - Financial wellness as a founding principle, not an afterthought (21:08) - The 30-day experiment: run a "use it" campaign on your most underutilized benefit

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Beyond the Paycheck brings you candid conversations with CHROs and top people leaders who are rethinking how compensation and benefits impact more than just employee bank accounts. From the first paycheck to financial wellness programs, we explore how money shapes identity, equity, purpose, and power at work, and how forward-thinking companies are using pay and perks to transform lives, not just attract talent. This podcast is sponsored by Aura Finance, the financial wellness platform designed to help employees feel confident, secure, and in control of their money. See more at aurafinance.io

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    Aura Finance
  • سنوات النشاط
    ٢٠٢٥ - ٢٠٢٦
  • الحلقات
    ٦٣
  • التقييم
    ملائم
  • حقوق النشر
    © Wizards PR
  • موقع البرنامج على الويب
    Beyond the Paycheck