From putting out fires to finding more focus: How Seismic enhanced their leave of absence experience

Seismic is a global leader in AI-powered enablement software. Trusted by 2,000 organizations worldwide, including household names like IBM and Experian, Seismic gives customer-facing teams across industries the AI-driven insights and tools they need to grow revenue and foster greater customer relationships.

Behind Seismic’s platform are approximately 1,400 employees in eight countries. Along with equity, bonuses, and retirement plans, Seismic offers employees comprehensive medical insurance and mental health programs, fertility and family planning benefits, and parental and caregiving leave.

“Everyone’s personal health and family journeys look different, so we try to meet employees where they’re at,” said Allison Dunsmore, Director of Talent Operations at Seismic.

To achieve that goal, Seismic partners with Sparrow for full-service employee leave management.

The challenge: Navigating leave in an evolving regulatory landscape

Before working with Sparrow, Seismic’s talent team was navigating the complexities of leave management with their previous leave administrator.

“We didn’t have the bandwidth to manage leaves entirely in-house, which was aspirational for us,” said Dunsmore. “For starters, we wanted to bring processing employee checks back to our Payroll team to limit disruption to the standard pay schedule.”

The process had significant room for improvement. “We experienced discrepancies with pay reconciliations and inconsistent leave timelines,” she explained. 'We knew there had to be a better way to manage the end-to-end process.”

Dunsmore and her team wanted more visibility into what they were responsible for at each stage of the process, as well as the power to further enhance the employee experience.

“After several months of hands-on troubleshooting for employees on medical and parental leave,” Dunsmore said, “we realized we needed a more specialized, dedicated solution."

They decided to explore leave management vendors in search of more expertise and personalized support during the leave process. After hearing great things from Sparrow’s clients, they made the switch.

“Instantly, managing leave was a night and day difference,” said Dunsmore.

"Instantly, managing leave was a night and day difference."

The solution: Using Sparrow to support every part of leave

When Seismic brought Sparrow into the fold, everyone’s experience of leave—from the talent team managing it to the employees taking it—transformed. The first major point of improvement was the newfound administrative efficiency.

Now, instead of reconciling payments themselves, Seismic’s payroll team relies on Sparrow to set up automatic payroll calculations and generate custom reports.

“For our payroll team, having a partner to reconcile payments is gigantic,” explained Dunsmore. “Being able to pay our people on our consistent pay cycle prevents so many problems downstream.”

"I love that we don't have to be leave of absence experts. We rely on Sparrow to support us and our people, and it allows us to focus on our other priorities to support the business." 

Sparrow also creates individual leave plans for Seismic employees, completes state benefits paperwork on the company’s behalf, and tracks leaves on the Sparrow dashboard.

“Our managers and HRBPs get access to Sparrow dashboards, too, which they really appreciate,” said Jas Valdez, Talent Solutions Specialist at Seismic. Managers and HRBPs can view big-picture leave timelines, check specific employee leave dates, and see which documents have been uploaded and which ones still need to be submitted.

“Our payroll team loves the Sparrow dashboard, and so do I,” Valdez said. “When I have to sign off on a document or check something, everything is easily accessible on the front page.”

Another critical area of support Sparrow provides is compliance with state and federal leave laws. “Thanks to Sparrow, we don’t have to be responsible for keeping up with changing leave laws when we already have so much else to do,” said Dunsmore.

Sparrow stays on top of legislative nuances to make sure Seismic stays compliant and gives distributed employees the full leave benefits they’re entitled to.

“Compliance is a lot less of a headache now,” Valdez agreed. “I can just take it off my to-do list.”

"Compliance is a lot less of a headache now. I can just take it off my to-do list."

Guiding Seismic employees through leave

Sparrow handles backend admin for Seismic’s talent and payroll teams, but they also coordinate directly with Seismic employees, from the moment they request a leave until after they return.

“It’s a real partnership,” said Valdez, who took her own maternity leave once Sparrow was in the mix. “You pair up with a Sparrow Leave Specialist right from the beginning, and they collect all your information upfront.”

"For our payroll team, having a partner to reconcile payments is gigantic. Being able to pay our people on our consistent pay cycle prevents so many problems downstream." 

During one-on-one intake calls with employees, Sparrow Leave Specialists explain how Seismic’s internal leave policy works, the state benefits employees can take advantage of, which forms and documents they need, and how payments shake out.

“I was in constant communication with my Sparrow Leave Specialist,” said Valdez. “They answered my questions the same day and were so patient with me as a first-time mom.”

After the initial phone call, Sparrow completes and submits state paperwork on the employee’s behalf, and Sparrow Leave Specialists liaise with state agency representatives and health insurance providers to get extra forms or medical certifications as needed.

“Anytime you’re dealing with insurance providers or government benefits, it can be really overwhelming and anxiety-inducing to get started,” said Dunsmore.

“Being able to rely on a subject matter expert, someone who makes sure you’re providing the right information and sending everything at the right time, it’s honestly priceless,” she added. “You can’t place a dollar amount on that level of guidance and reassurance.”

Sparrow’s hands-on help also saves the talent team time coordinating with employees. “We get fewer questions now because employees aren’t confused,” Valdez said. “It makes a big difference for us on the operational side.”

Dunsmore and her team have fewer issues to resolve as a result. “We went from receiving an overwhelming number of leave-related support tickets a month, to only a handful,” she explained. “I don’t even know how we would reduce our leave management workload further, it’s so minimal.”

"Our payroll team loves the Sparrow dashboard, and so do I. When I have to sign off on a document or check something, everything is easily accessible on the front page."

The result: More bandwidth and reassurance

Working with Sparrow to facilitate leaves and manage backend admin has been nothing short of game-changing for Seismic. The talent and payroll teams can rest assured knowing leaves are compliant and paid out correctly, and that Seismic employees have a direct point of contact when they’re gearing up for leave.

“I love that we don’t have to be leave of absence experts,” said Dunsmore. “We rely on Sparrow to support us and our people, and it allows us to focus on our other priorities to support the business.”

Valdez especially appreciates Sparrow’s ongoing communication. “I can message somebody on the Sparrow team, and know they’re going to respond that same day and keep us in the loop—we never have to chase them down,” she said.

Ditch your disconnected leave management systems. Sparrow streamlines leave from start to finish, for every person involved. Learn more about our solutions or book a demo today.