How Platform Science upgraded their employee leave experience

Platform Science builds telematics and fleet management tools for industry leaders at every stage of the supply chain. On a mission to make transportation smart, Platform Science combines integrated driver apps with insightful enterprise tools, so fleets can develop, deploy, and manage their commercial vehicles’ mobile devices in one central location.

In early 2025, Platform Science acquired Trimble global transportation telematics business units to give their customers even more options and accessibility.

Behind the scenes at Platform Science are over 1,200 innovative employees around the world. The company is dedicated to celebrating employee wins and giving people the resources they need to succeed—in and out of the workplace. When Platform Science’s HR team needed a more effective way to guide employees through leaves of absence, they connected with Sparrow.

The challenge: Managing employee leaves in-house for a growing team

Before seeking out Sparrow for full-service employee leave management, Platform Science managed employee leaves in-house.

“We did everything on spreadsheets,” said Karla Cisneros, Senior HR Generalist at Platform Science. “We had one spreadsheet to track leave dates and another to calculate payroll.”

Managing payroll was particularly cumbersome. “We would often have to recoup money because we would double pay employees,” Cisneros explained, “then once a quarter we would do payroll reconciliation for paid time off.”

"Our employees have a lot of peace of mind that their Sparrow Leave Specialist will be an expert in their state laws or in their type of leave. That's expertise that I don’t have as an HR generalist."

“The whole system was choppy—there were a lot of different pieces that happened at different times and it wasn’t very accurate,” she added.

Aside from the administrative hassle of managing leaves manually, Platform Science’s employee leave experience was suffering. Employees weren’t getting the information and guidance they needed to apply for state benefits on their own.

When Cisneros went on maternity leave two months after starting at Platform Science, she had firsthand insight into the employee leave experience. “It was such a laborious process to apply for state benefits,” she said. “One day when I was freshly postpartum, I was on hold for five hours with the Employment Development Department.”

"So many of our employees have told me how grateful they are that their Leave Specialist guided them through the whole process, or that their Leave Specialist was always willing to hop on an additional call, or how Sparrow’s approach is so aligned with our internal HR team."

Cisneros’s personal experience solidified what she witnessed in her role: employees needed more support before and during leave. “When someone goes on leave, they shouldn’t have to worry about paperwork or pay—their only focus should be the reason for their leave, whether it’s to bond with a new baby on parental leave or rehabilitate on a medical leave,” Cisneros said.

“Platform Science takes the employee experience seriously, so we needed a change,” she added.

When she and her team began researching leave vendors, Sparrow checked all their boxes. “Sparrow had the best employee engagement, which was critical for us,” Cisneros explained. “We really liked how Sparrow checks in with employees at the beginning of their leaves, and tailors their service for the client.”

The solution: Partner with Sparrow for end-to-end leave management

When Platform Science partnered with Sparrow, Cisneros felt confident they could improve the employee leave experience and get much-needed backend support with compliance and payroll.

“I always tell our employees that I’m happy to act as a liaison, but they have a lot of peace of mind that whoever they get paired with as a Leave Specialist will be an expert in their state laws or in their type of leave. And that’s expertise that I don’t have as an HR generalist,” Cisneros said.

Sparrow kicks off the relationship with Platform Science employees with a one-on-one call to review which benefits employees are entitled to, explain how their specific state handles benefits applications, and let them know when to expect their pay.

From there, Sparrow submits benefits paperwork on employees’ behalf, and Sparrow Leave Specialists coordinate with insurance providers and state agency representatives as necessary.

“The fact that Sparrow has been able to minimize our employees’ administrative burden is the most important part for me as an HR person.”

“So many of our employees have told me how grateful they are that their Leave Specialist guided them through the whole process, or that their Leave Specialist was always willing to hop on an additional call, or how Sparrow’s approach is so aligned with our internal HR team,” said Cisneros.

The comfort she’s found in Sparrow has been invaluable. “The fact that Sparrow has been able to minimize our employees’ administrative burden is the most important part for me as an HR person,” Cisneros explained.

However, employee experience isn’t the only upside of working with Sparrow. Sparrow Leave Specialists also shoulder the administrative burden for Cisneros and her team. Not only does Sparrow stay up to date on compliance nuances in the 40+ states Platform Science employees are in, Sparrow also fills out and submits paperwork on Platform Science’s behalf.

“Before we had Sparrow, we had fewer than 300 employees and maybe 10 leaves at any given time,” Cisneros said. “Now, we’ve tripled in size, leave cases have gotten a lot more complex, and my leave work hasn’t increased at all, which says a lot about how much time Sparrow has saved us.”

“Before we had Sparrow, we had fewer than 300 employees and maybe 10 leaves at any given time. Now, we've tripled in size, leave cases have gotten a lot more complex, and my leave work hasn’t increased at all, which says a lot about how much time Sparrow has saved us.”

Sparrow’s vast knowledge of leaves gives Cisneros and her team total peace of mind when it comes to compliance. “Sparrow’s expertise in state leaves has allowed me to keep my generalist scope in HR,” she explained. “If we didn’t have Sparrow, we would need to hire an actual leave specialist that solely managed compliance.”

In addition to handling paperwork and compliance, Sparrow also sets up automatic payroll calculations for Platform Science and creates custom payroll reports. The result: less manual work and greater accuracy.

“I love that Sparrow is so customizable and adaptable,” Cisneros added. At every stage of the partnership, Sparrow works to understand Platform Science and accommodate their unique and evolving needs.

“Every time we roll out new policies or tweak current policies, Sparrow is great about incorporating those changes into their workflow. And every time they roll out a new feature or tech upgrade, they do a wonderful job of explaining its value and giving us the choice of whether or not to implement it,” she explained.

“Sparrow is so customizable and adaptable. Every time we roll out new policies or tweak current policies, Sparrow is great about incorporating those changes into their workflow.”

Prioritizing synergy and long-term success

Relying on Sparrow for end-to-end employee leave management has saved Platform Science’s HR team and employees significant time and stress.

Thanks to Sparrow, leave management is one less thing the company has to worry about in their next chapter. “Right now, we’re working on building the synergy between the teams that were acquired,” said Marisa Halcomb, Global Director of People Experience and Benefits at Platform Science.

“In this life cycle of the company, we’re looking more closely at how we bring value to our employees in terms of our benefits,” Halcomb explained. “So we’re evaluating internal systems and identifying the platforms that will help us further the company’s mission—while also giving our employees the meaningful, tangible support they deserve.”

Partnering with Sparrow for full-service leave management is a win for everyone—from HR and payroll teams to employees. See what we offer or book a demo to get started today.