Client Background
Planisware is a worldwide leader providing project portfolio management software designed to support engineering, product development, and IT business practices.
Active for over 20 years, Planisware has assisted clients in raising the value of their portfolios through innovation, forward-thinking strategies, and considered business decisions. Over 500 companies worldwide manage their projects, resources, and portfolios using Planisware products and software.
Overview
Human Resources Director Michelle Lim, SPHR, is always looking to expand benefits for the employees who make Planisware successful. She and her team had long considered fertility benefits to support their employees on their parenting journey.
“We value our employees and their families, and this was a great way to show them that we support their journey to parenthood,” said Lim. “These types of benefits are becoming more important, especially for people who want to really plan when they’re going to have kids. We want to make sure they’re supported if they end up having a hard time conceiving.”
Fertility benefits are not only a great way for companies to show their appreciation for employees — they also provide a tangible uptick in employee loyalty and satisfaction, as such benefits are not available at every company. Companies that provide fertility benefits tend to attract and retain talent, and cultivate more productive employees.
Problem
When she began considering fertility benefits, HR Director Lim was concerned that convincing Planisware leadership would be an uphill battle, especially considering the popular assumption that fertility benefits naturally fall under a company’s healthcare plan.
“It was really hard, because we have this notion that if there’s anything we offer that involves a type of medical benefit, that it has to be through a medical carrier.” Planisware leaders were concerned that forcing the whole company to pay higher premiums for fertility benefits only a few used would upset their low employee turnover rate.
HR personnel were concerned that adding fertility benefits could once more raise the cost of their healthcare plan dramatically, as well as increase the premiums across the workforce. Not every employee wants to have children, after all, and convincing the whole company to fund fertility treatments for just a few would be a challenge. “We’re not Facebook or Google,” Lim says. “It is really important for us to maximize the benefits we get per dollar invested.”
Solution
Introduced to ARC Fertility through Planisware’s benefits broker, Lim and her team were thrilled to learn that ARC programs do not carry the same universal per-employee monthly fee and these benefits need not be bundled with existing healthcare packages. This took much of the pressure off selling fertility benefits to company leadership, as the costs would only be incurred when an employee uses the benefit.
Unlike traditional insurance plans, with ARC programs, charges only activate when someone uses the benefits and fees are not distributed throughout the company at all times in anticipation of use. “When we learned about ARC Fertility, we discovered it was actually not a cost we would incur right away, but when people use it. That means I can allocate this cost later,” said Lim.
This simple, modular payment structure meant a survey of employees’ family plans helped Planisware “determine our cost risk if we offer ARC Fertility. The good thing about ARC is I don’t have to burden everyone with the cost. It’s available to everybody but we only incur the cost if someone actually uses it.”
Results
Without the prohibitive overhead of adding fertility treatments to their healthcare plan, the human resources team at Planisware were easily able to convince company leadership to adopt this increasingly popular program into their benefits package. Planisware employees are now able to access ARC Fertility programs and Centers of Excellence for services such as surrogacy and in vitro fertilization — including for same sex couples or single parents — no matter where they lived. “It was also a huge factor to find a provider that has a network that could cater to our employees that are spread out across the U.S.,” said Lim.
“ARC Fertility provided our company the opportunity to offer our employees fertility benefits without the huge price tag that we would incur if we went through our medical insurance carrier. ARC was able to customize a package for us that meets the company’s and our employees’ needs,” Lim says. “We love working with the ARC team. They value you as the employer and they show the same level of service to the employees. They are very responsive and are there every step of the way.”
There is no better proof of a successful fertility benefits program than a new healthy baby. One Planisware employee used the ARC Fertility Centers of Excellence Employer program early on, and their journey to parenthood produced a healthy baby girl on the very first try. “We are proud Planisware offers this benefit, without a huge price tag, to our employees,” Lim announced. “We support inclusiveness, diversity, and a family-friendly culture, which is easier than ever with ARC.”
