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
Patrick Butman's entry into HR was, by his own description, an accident. He started in retail banking, ended up in an accounts receivable and payable department, and stumbled sideways into human resources. What he brought that most HR professionals didn't have at the time: he was analytical, comfortable with data, and good at visualization. "100 years ago when I came into the workforce," he says, "that wasn't really what you saw in HR."
Now Head of Total Rewards and Analytics at BetaNXT, Patrick works at the intersection of benefits design and people data. His most pointed critique of traditional benefit programs: they're "everything but the kitchen sink" offerings that bury employees in optionality — a directory of 5,000 discount codes, every vendor under the sun — without giving them anything they'll actually use. He went looking for something different: simple to understand, easy to socialize, quick to launch, and genuinely useful for reducing monthly costs. What he found with Previ specifically resonated because it concentrated on a small number of things employees actually care about — cell phone bills, insurance — rather than diluting attention across hundreds of barely-relevant categories.
His career advice is the most honest in recent memory: "I spent a lot of my early career worried that I wasn't going to be able to figure something out. Eventually you figure it out. There's never been a time where I haven't eventually figured it out."
- Why Patrick brought an analytical and data visualization lens to HR before it was expected — and how it differentiated him
- The "everything but the kitchen sink" benefits problem — and what actually drives employee engagement with benefits
- What he looked for in a new benefits offering: easy to understand, easy to socialize, quick to launch
- How BetaNXT communicated new benefits to a predominantly remote workforce
- The career mindset that got him through 25 years of figuring it out as he went
This episode is brought to you by Previ — the employer network Patrick describes as "easy to understand, easy to socialize, and quick to street." Learn more.
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
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