{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"Beyond the Paycheck","title":"How BambooHR Moved Comp Understanding From 50% to 90% With One Training","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":1366,"description":"SummaryOne in two employees at BambooHR said they didn't understand how their compensation was determined. After a single mandatory compensation 101 training, that number flipped—nearly 90% said they now understood. Engagement scores went up year over year. No new spend. No new vendor. Just education. In this episode, Kelsey Willock sits down with Alex Bertin, Head of Total Rewards at BambooHR, for a practical conversation about what it looks like to close the understanding gap between what a company offers and what employees actually know they have. Alex brings a finance background from FP&A at Delta Air lines and Qualtrics before finding his way into compensation—what he calls the Cinderella glass slipper moment—and he carries a grounded empathy for frontline employees into every benefits decision he makes. He and Kelsey get into why the biggest breakdown in comp and benefits isn't the package itself but the disconnect between what exists and what employees know about it, how BambooHR's paid vacation bonus (yes, they pay you to take your vacation) has become their most beloved benefit, a student loan repayment benefit that an employee forgot about twice despite it being $100/month in free money, and why the next wave of AI in benefits will be agentic tools that connect all your benefits in one place so employees stop losing track of what they have. If you run total rewards and are looking for low-cost, high-impact ways to drive engagement, Alex's perspective on education over addition will resonate.Timestamps01:42 Alex's earliest money memory: $2 bills and selling Costco candy at swim lessons04:33 How empathy for frontline workers keeps comp decisions grounded07:50 Where compensation and benefits break down most: the understanding gap10:30 The comp 101 training that moved understanding from 50% to 90%13:44 The paid paid vacation bonus and milestone increases at 5, 10, 15, and 20 years17:50 AI-driven benefits navigation: one place, one overlay, better...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/JIYEsfsi51sw9dAl9I1QhUhSrAX9V6MCXZ34oR09gz4/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS80MTA4/NDk4NWM2OTI3Nzk5/Mjk4NzUxN2UyYjI4/NTg1Zi5qcGc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}