For Lindsey Cushman, benefits director of Maxar Technologies, HR is an extension of psychology

Lindsey Cushman, director of benefits for Maxar Technologies, is interested in what makes people tick. 

Cushman first fell into benefits as she considered how to apply her psychology degree to professional life. While she yearned to help people, Cushman felt her "heart was too soft" to be a therapist, and decided to take a chance on human resources instead. After gaining benefits experience at Chipotle and DigitalGlobe, Cushman landed at space tech company Maxar, where she now serves a diverse set of employees — from manufacturing teams to PhD engineers and scientists — by digging into their core needs. 

"In human resources, I can apply those learnings about how and why people think the way that they do," says Cushman. "I got really lucky to land where I did." 

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Leaning into her psychology background, Cushman has worked hard to increase mental health care access at Maxar. During the pandemic, she spearheaded virtual check-in sessions, and in 2022, she led a partnership with mental health care provider Lyra Health, which specializes in creating personalized guidance and therapy recommendations. The feedback for such efforts has been positive, she says. 

"One of the things people always struggle with is finding out what kind of care they need, whether it's finding a psychiatrist, psychologist or coach," says Cushman. "It's a big passion of mine to create a psychologically safe workspace, and part of that is making sure that we give people easy and affordable access to mental health care." 

In addition to mental health, Cushman has made a push for more affordable healthcare. In 2022, she partnered with Everside Health to open a primary care clinic for employees in Northern California. Employees and their families have 24/7 access to the service and can use it with little to no out-of-pocket costs. Similar clinics are located throughout the country in Florida, Virginia and Colorado, and by encouraging preventive care, the company has seen ER use drop by almost 50%, according to Cushman. 

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"I often think about benefits like building a house," says Cushman. "There's certain foundational things that have to be in place for every bit. Everybody needs access to good care. You fence in the financials. Then the roof on top is the innovation." 

Cushman says she is always on the lookout for new ideas and technologies to help people, and leans into feedback and surveys. HR continues to be  an extension of her time studying psychology — an investigation into people's needs and how employers and employees can work together to meet them. 

"My big driver is being innovative," says Cushman. "I love the benefits that help us bring the person back into that conversation."