Leveraging Technology to Solve the Hybrid-Work Disconnect

BY Susan Kelly | October 09, 2022

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Breaking the GLP-1 Cost Cycle for a Healthier Workforce, Lower Costs, and Smarter Care

The American workplace faces a costly challenge: how to offer access to high-demand weight-loss medications without overwhelming benefits budgets. With monthly prices exceeding $1,000, these treatments are becoming powerful tools in talent retention strategies across corporate America.During a From Day One webinar, Cody Fair, chief commercial officer at digital health company Noom, shared just how dramatically these drugs are influencing employment decisions. GLP-1 medications have revolutionized obesity treatment, delivering substantial weight loss for millions of Americans. But their high price tags have triggered what benefits experts describe as a “cost cycle,” posing a serious threat to the sustainability of employer healthcare budgets.Jennifer Jones, a clinical solutions architect at Noom and registered dietitian, outlined the financial stakes during the session. “Members that have obesity, their overall health care costs can be up to six times higher than someone that’s just overweight,” noting obesity's connection to more than 16 chronic conditions. With obesity rates exceeding 42% nationally and projected to surpass 50% within five years, employers face mounting pressure to act. Traditional approaches have proven inadequate. “What we’ve been doing isn’t working,” Jones said.Perhaps no one understands the frustrations of accessing these medications better than Fair himself. Despite having a prescription for two years, he was only able to obtain his GLP-1 medication for seven months total and never for more than two consecutive months. Each time, the same obstacles emerged, the pharmacy was out of stock, prior authorization created lengthy delays, or the medication simply vanished from shelves by the time approvals came through. His frustrating cycle mirrors the experience of countless patients nationwide.The root cause of these shortages may surprise those unfamiliar with pharmaceutical economics. Pharmacies are losing money on every GLP-1 prescription they fill. “We’ve even talked to the head of pharmacies at major major corporations that say, ‘I should just staple a $20 bill to the script when I send it out the door, because that’s what I’m losing every time,’" Fair said. This financial reality has led many pharmacies to avoid stocking these medications entirely.Kelly Bourdet, journalist and founder of Apparata Media, moderated the discussion with Fair and Jones of Noom (photo by From Day One)Even when patients successfully obtain these medications, the lack of comprehensive support threatens their efficiency in the patient’s daily life. Jones described what the company calls the “GLP-1 care gap,” the void between receiving a prescription and achieving sustainable weight loss.“When people have that first script, and they get that medication, that’s often the end point of the interaction with the healthcare system,” said Jones. Without guidance on nutrition, exercise, and side effect management, many patients discontinue treatment prematurely.  Often, patients fall prey to a faulty system, regaining weight and potentially ending up less healthy than before.Research presented during the session suggests that combining medication with behavioral support yields approximately 40% greater weight loss than medication alone. Patients receiving comprehensive support were also 1.6 times more likely to successfully taper off the medication while maintaining their weight loss.To address these challenges, some employers are exploring alternative coverage strategies. Noom’s approach involves separating GLP-1 medications from traditional pharmacy benefit management and handling them as a distinct supplemental benefit. This structure offers more flexibility and potentially lower costs, about $200 less per monthly prescription after rebates, says Fair.This model allows employers to customize their contribution levels, perhaps covering 25, 50, or 75% of medication costs. By guaranteeing medication delivery within five days through specialty pharmacy networks, access issues that plague traditional distribution channels are directly addressed.Noom reports a 4.1 fold return on investment over two years when implementing comprehensive healthcare approaches, achieved through careful patient selection, early identification of non-responders, and supporting appropriate candidates in tapering off medications.Unlike providers who assume indefinite GLP-1 use, Noom has developed protocols that help suitable candidates successfully transition off these expensive medications. Jones reported that approximately 30 to 35% of patients, particularly those experiencing situational weight gain, can maintain their weight loss after tapering, when given proper support.“I don’t know a lot of people, honestly, that want to be on medication for the rest of their life,” Jones said. Through Noom's four-month tapering protocols and continued access to coaching, nutrition guidance, and exercise programs, patients are 1.6 times more likely to successfully maintain their weight without medication compared to those who stop abruptly, Jones says. This approach not only addresses patient preferences but significantly reduces long term costs for employers.As more GLP-1 medications approach market approval, including oral formulations that could broaden access for injection-averse patients, employers must develop sustainable strategies. The speakers emphasized that successful programs require more than just coverage decisions, they demand comprehensive approaches that treat obesity as the complex chronic condition it is. As these medications reshape the landscape of workplace health benefits, the challenge isn’t simply whether to provide coverage, but how to do so in ways that deliver lasting value for both employees and organizations.Editor’s note: From Day One thanks our partner, Noom, for sponsoring this webinar. Chris O’Keeffe is a freelance writer with experience across industries. As the founder and creative director of OK Creative: The Language Agency, he has led strategy and storytelling for organizations like MIT, Amazon, and Cirque du Soleil, bringing their stories to life through established and emerging media.(Photo by Alones Creative/iStock)

Christopher O'Keeffe June 12, 2025

Measuring the Impact of Your Leadership Development Programs

How do you measure the true impact of leadership development? Despite significant investment in leadership development, many organizations continue to struggle with quantifying its impact. As companies pour billions into cultivating future leaders, measurable indicators of return remain elusive Only 24% of organizations feel like they’re doing a good job of measuring the impact of their leadership development programs, emphasized leadership experts at a From Day One webinar. At Otter Tail Corporation, a Minnesota-based holding company with utility and manufacturing businesses, CHRO Paul Knutson transformed the company's leadership approach after joining in 2012. “The board had just gone through their long term strategy, and one of the three imperatives had to do with developing our talent,” Knutson said. “The talent at our leadership level was lacking, and those that had been in leadership roles were not staying as long as we had wanted them to.”The revamped program Knutson implemented identifies and connects high potential leaders across divisions empowering employees to solve real business challenges between previously unconnected avenues of collaboration. This cross-functional approach has generated unexpected bottom line benefits for Otter Tail throughout the frameworks of their enterprise, he says.  “We wanted to create a sense of belonging within the corporate enterprise, to create an enterprise mindset so that people within each company weren’t thinking only about themselves or only about their company,” he said. Fostering a culture where the norm is reaching out to colleagues in other divisions creates a denser organizational network that accelerates innovation and decision-making.Real Problems, Real ResultsAt Sundt Construction, a 135-year-old employee-owned builder with 4,300 employees, leadership programs directly tackle business challenges.“Our executive team identifies pain points from our strategic plan,” said Melissa Moreno, vice president, director of administrative talent development at Sundt. “They tell our leadership teams, ‘Here’s a problem. It’s your opportunity to solve it.’”Erik Williams of MDA Leadership spoke with leaders from Otter Tail Corp., and Sundt Construction (photo by From Day One)This approach produced tangible results when one team addressed field engineer training deficiencies. They created a boot camp program that has become an essential part of Sundt’s operations. “That program is now in its fourth year,” Moreno said. “Many of the leaders who developed it are now instructors, and over 130 field engineers have completed the training.”Enacting Measurement Principles Progressive companies using advanced measurement techniques can trace the ripple effects of leadership development across their organizations. By going beyond traditional surveys and tracking cross-functional collaboration among leaders, they’re seeing improved employee retention.“Your measurement strategy needs to match your program objectives,” said Erik Williams, principal consultant at MDA Leadership. “If you’re trying to break down barriers between departments, measure cross-functional interactions. If developing future executives is the goal, track promotion rates and succession readiness.”At Otter Tail, all leadership program participants reported spending more time developing talent on their teams after training, with 65% of their managers independently confirming this observation.Despite economic pressures, companies like Sundt Construction are doubling down on leadership development. Its strategic plan through 2035 includes continued investment in its leadership pipeline. “The outcome of these types of programs, where you get leaders, you give them the opportunity to develop, to accelerate their leadership capability, to stack hands with one another. And over time, those relationships continue to deepen,” said Williams.For organizations considering similar investments, the panelists offered practical advice. “Start with an effective assessment process,” Knutson said. “Self-awareness is the foundation of development.”Moreno emphasized the importance of manager involvement. “Definitely include the managers of the participants. Early and often, they need to understand how they impact the success of their employees going through this program, what the expectation is for them, and how they can help them throughout the process.”For skeptical executives demanding ROI evidence, Knutson offered his perspective: “Be clear about what’s not working and the cost of it not working. What’s going to happen if we don’t take care, if we don’t meet our needs, if we don’t fill this gap.” Especially today, leadership development may be less about creating individual stars and more about building networked teams equipped to navigate uncertainty together.“The organizations that thrive will be those that can rapidly assemble diverse perspectives around emerging challenges,” Williams said. “That doesn’t happen by accident, it’s cultivated through intentional development that connects people across traditional boundaries.”Editor’s note: From Day One thanks our partner, MDA Leadership, for sponsoring this webinar. Chris O’Keeffe is a freelance writer with experience across industries. As the founder and creative director of OK Creative: The Language Agency, he has led strategy and storytelling for organizations like MIT, Amazon, and Cirque du Soleil, bringing their stories to life through established and emerging media.(Photo by Nansan Houn/iStock)

Christopher O'Keeffe June 09, 2025

Peace of Mind: How Employers Can Help Workers Get Their Final Wishes in Order

Have you thought about your end of life wishes? “As of 2025, 24% of Americans have a will, although 67% of Americans acknowledge that this is a very important document,” said Paul Fried, founding member of I Made the Arrangements.Fried spent a year and a half building a website focused on end-of-life planning. Through the lens of human resources, this kind of benefit, like offering a will and encouraging employees to document their plans, can create a meaningful partnership between employer and employee, he shared during a thought leadership spotlight at From Day One’s Minneapolis conference. It also gives employers a way to approach support with compassion—recognizing that employees are whole people with complex lives. By offering a tool to ease the logistics of difficult life circumstances, companies can show care beyond the workplace.Paul Fried, founder of I Made the Arrangements, led the thought leadership spotlight The website includes features like a “wish capture,” where users can document their end-of-life preferences and share them as a PDF. It also offers a will builder with advanced directives. Employees can then designate a wish keeper, or someone who will receive access to these documents after the employee’s passing. The employees can write their own eulogy, obituary, or video eulogy, final thoughts, e-mail your children every year, and upload videos that can be synced with music. “While over six in 10 (63%) older adults say they have had an end-of-life conversation with a loved one, far fewer have made end-of-life preparations like preparing a last will and testament (36%) or a living will (33%),” according to Cheryl L. Lampkin in Thoughts on End of Life: For Most, Concerns do not Equate to Action. Moreover, less than half of the adults aged 45 and older who have not made these or similar preparations, say it is very likely they will.Most employees don’t leave jobs because of pay, they more often leave because they are not appreciated, Fried says. End of life planning support helps build a genuine feeling of appreciation and value for workers, says Fried. Employees might not remember how much their bonus was, or how many steps they took in a wellness app but they will remember the company and the employers that helped guide them through life’s most challenging situations. Fried created I Made the Arrangements with a clear goal: to take the stigma out of end-of-life planning and turn a traditionally taboo topic into something approachable and empowering. By offering creative, compassionate benefits like this, employers can do more than support their teams, they can strengthen employee loyalty, deepen trust, and improve retention by showing they care about the full arc of their employees’ lives.Editor’s note: From Day One thanks our partner, I Made the Arrangements, for sponsoring this thought leadership spotlight. Tabitha Cabrera, Esq. is a writer and attorney, who has a series of inclusive children's books, called Spectacular Spectrum Books.(Photos by Travis Johansen for From Day One)

Tabitha Cabrera June 06, 2025