Patrick Butman
Head of Total Rewards and Analytics
BetaNXT
Episode 115
Solving HR's Biggest Challenges: The Power of Data & Pragmatic Benefits
Current chapter: Built by People Podcast features insights from world's top HR leaders
Built By PeopleJuly 9, 2025 · 5:57
Thesis
“A pragmatic, analytical approach to HR, particularly in total rewards, is essential for delivering impactful and easily consumable employee benefits. Embracing a mindset of continuous learning and problem-solving is key to navigating the evolving landscape of human resources.”
Show notes
Innovative HR Solutions and Career Journey with PatrickIn this episode of the Built by People Podcast, the host welcomes Patrick, a seasoned HR leader who shares his unexpected career journey into human resources. Patrick discusses the challenges faced with traditional employee benefit offerings and his decision to implement Previ, a private pricing network, to provide unique and cost-effective benefits to employees. He highlights the simplicity and effectiveness of Previ's platform in enhancing employee satisfaction and reducing monthly costs. Patrick also offers valuable advice about overcoming career anxieties and emphasizes the importance of eventually figuring things out.00:00 Introduction to the Built by People Podcast00:14 Sponsor Message: Previ's Employee Benefits00:41 Guest Introduction: Patrick's Career Journey00:56 Accidental Entry into HR02:07 Innovative Employee Benefits with Previ03:00 Evaluating and Implementing Previ04:25 Initial Results and Impact of Previ05:19 Parting Advice from Patrick05:51 Conclusion and Farewell
What you'll take away
- 1HR careers often begin unexpectedly, highlighting the diverse paths into the field.
- 2Analytical skills and data visualization are significant differentiators in HR, which historically has not been data-driven.
- 3Innovative benefit solutions should be easy to understand, quick to implement, and curated, moving beyond generic 'everything but the kitchen sink' offerings.
- 4Effective communication, especially through strategies like webinars, is crucial for rolling out new benefits in predominantly remote or virtual environments.
- 5Let go of the anxiety of not knowing the immediate answer; persistent problem-solving ultimately leads to solutions.
What most organizations get wrong
- •He challenges the conventional 'everything but the kitchen sink' approach to employee benefits from larger providers, advocating for more curated and unique programs.
- •His emphasis on being 'pretty analytical' and good with 'data visualization' in HR from early in his career goes against the traditional, less data-driven view of HR '100 years ago'.
In Patrick's words
“I'm pretty analytical and I'm good with data visualization. And 100 years ago when I came into the workforce, that wasn't really— you didn't see that in HR very often. It wasn't really a data-driven function.”
This highlights his early adoption of a data-driven mindset in HR, a quality that set him apart.
“I feel like with some of the bigger benefit providers, it's it's what I would say, they have everything but the kitchen sink offerings. And so what I would find is a lot of times they would have, every one of my vendors had some kind of an employee discount program, but there was nothing unique to any of those discount programs.”
This critical observation underscores the problem with generic benefit programs that lack uniqueness and impact.
“What I found with Previ is easy to understand, easy to socialize, and quick to street because there was very little that we needed to do to launch the program.”
This quote defines the ideal characteristics of a new benefit offering from an HR leader's perspective: simplicity, ease of communication, and rapid implementation.
“We specifically had great response to the fact that we could help people reduce monthly costs with cell phone plans predominantly, or insurance plans.”
This provides concrete evidence of how a focused benefit program can address employees' primary financial concerns and yield positive feedback.
“I spent a lot of my early career worried that I wasn't going to be able to figure something out or that I was going to fall short. And my advice to anybody is Eventually you figure it out. Like, there's never been a time where I've not eventually figured it out.”
This parting advice offers a powerful message about resilience, continuous learning, and overcoming self-doubt in one's career journey.
The problems this episode addresses
- •Traditional benefit providers offer generic, 'everything but the kitchen sink' discount programs that lack uniqueness and fail to stand out.
- •Making complex benefit offerings easy for employees to understand and consume is a significant challenge for HR leaders.
- •Lengthy contract negotiations and red-penning processes with new vendors delay the implementation of valuable benefits.
- •Effectively communicating new benefit rollouts to a geographically dispersed or predominantly remote workforce is a struggle.
- •Employees' number one concern is covering monthly expenses, highlighting a need for benefits that offer tangible financial relief.
- •Employees are overwhelmed by having to search through 'a directory of 5,000 promotion codes' to find relevant discounts.
In this episode
Built by People Podcast features insights from world's top HR leaders
Built by People
Getting into HR was an accident; career began in retail banking
How Did I Get Into HR?
Patrick, in previous conversations, you mentioned putting a creative lens on employee benefits
Employee Benefits Innovation: Previ
Patrick, what was your implementation strategy for rolling out Previ to your employees
Employee Benefits Rollout with Previ
Patrick O'Neill shares his advice for aspiring entrepreneurs on Built by People podcast
Patrick Whiteside on His Final Podcast
Topics covered
Organizations and entities mentioned
Full transcript
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