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Excellence in Benefits 2024

Where the best HR leaders see themselves in five years

By Lee Hafner
September 19, 2024 5:30 AM
Leader talking to table of employees
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HR and benefits leaders have a lot on their plates. 

They must attract and develop talent to fill in any gaps. Then at the same time, they must work to keep their current employees happy and at the company. And of course, there's delivering quality benefits and fair compensation while staying within budget. 

Today's innovators in the world of benefits know what they have to prioritize. According to a survey on HR obstacles by PricewaterhouseCoopers, leadership development, compensation, staffing, retention and benefits ranked in the top 10 concerns of companies. Leaders in benefits, tech and HR must map out the next few years to ensure they are successful in these areas and others.

EBN's 2024 Excellence in Benefits winners represent the best in this regard. These leaders know what organizations need to build engaged and healthy environments for their workforce. With plans to personalize benefits, pass their knowledge on to future managers and propel their companies forward with technology, these leaders are setting themselves and their businesses up for success for years to come.

Read more:  15 business leaders share their strategies for success

Ten of this year's awardees share their goals for the next five years.

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Victoria Bethlehem

Chief people officer at Jitjatjo
"My goal is to be sitting on a few company boards and providing consulting and advisory services to other start-ups. I get a lot of personal satisfaction from helping others and I think I could offer some great insights from the lessons l have learnt and observed during my time of working in this space."

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Karen Clark

Benefits and wellness manager at Confie
"I see myself as a strategic leader who will not only enhance physical health benefits, but whole-person care, and further efforts to sustain a dynamic and positive organizational culture. I [also] aspire to participate in projects that would support further career advancement, potentially progressing to a senior management position in benefits and wellness, or possibly expanding my knowledge and becoming a total rewards leader."
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Libby Culpepper

Director of people operations at Guild
"In the next five years, my primary goal is to elevate our organization's HR practices to be recognized as industry leading in terms of employee satisfaction, innovation and operational efficiency. I envision a workplace where our employees feel deeply valued, supported and engaged, driving both personal growth and business success."
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Valerie Francis

VP of employee benefits at HUB International Insurance New England
"My goal is to have a larger impact and leadership influence within our organization. I plan on doing this by leading with humility and elevating with ambition in a way that embodies my purpose and values."

Read more:  Best HR Teams 2024

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Yvette Marsh

Assistant VP of talent management at LSU Foundation
"Within the next five years, I plan to lay the groundwork for my successor in such a way that makes my accomplishments pale in comparison. By focusing on leadership development, institutionalizing best practices, fostering collaboration, and reinforcing our mission and values, my aim is to leave a legacy that empowers the next generation of leaders to surpass my accomplishments and take our organization to even greater heights."

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Lynn Perkins

Co-founder and CEO at UrbanSitter
"With 80% of parents requiring child care to work, my goal for the next five years is to reduce the struggle of finding and affording quality child care. I hope that through government subsidies, corporate-sponsored programs, and innovations, families will be able to maintain good jobs while accessing excellent, affordable child care. This would eliminate the tough trade-offs between quality care and family financial well-being."

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Michael Rogers

CHRO at Alight
"My goal is to bring what we do to as many organizations as possible. Increasingly, there is emerging recognition that the better the well-being of the workforce, the more successful a company will be. My goal is to increase awareness of that concept as something that's proven and commonly known, something that's tangible and real."

Read more:  2024's Excellence in Benefits winners

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Mary Rohman Kuhl

Senior director of total rewards at University of Minnesota
"By 2029, I would like to have made additional changes to our benefits, informed by quantitative data, to ensure we prioritize benefits that are the most meaningful and valued by our employees. I also want to have a plan for periodic reassessment from the employee perspective and would like to report that our salaries are competitive with what is paid in the external market."
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Brian Strom

Co-founder and chief technology officer at Elevate
"In just three years at Elevate, we've built the most automated, accurate and flexible platform in our industry. But with advances in LLMs and AI, things will look very different in five years. Elevate already leads with incorporating these technologies into our products, so I suspect you'll see some great things further helping our customers succeed."
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Whitney Van Sciver

VP of human resources at Direct Federal Credit Union
"It's likely that HR will see significant transformation over the next five years, driven by advancements in technology, a changing workforce, and an ongoing focus on employee well-being. I see Direct Federal becoming a model workplace in our industry as we continue to attract and retain top talent and foster a culture where employees feel valued, supported and empowered to succeed."
Lee Hafner
Editor, Employee Benefit News
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