The aerospace company valued Sparrow’s hands-on employee support.
Astra is on a mission to improve life on Earth from space by creating a healthier and more connected planet. The aerospace company provides low-cost orbital launch services for small satellites, in addition to their Spacecraft Engine, an industry-leading electric propulsion system for satellites.
In 2021, Astra made headlines as the fastest company in history to deliver its first commercial launch to low Earth orbit, just five years after getting started in 2016.
Behind Astra’s success is a team of 100 innovative employees, most of whom work onsite at the company’s headquarters in Alameda, California.
After going private, when Astra’s People Team needed a way to improve the employee leave experience while streamlining their administrative tasks, they reached out to Sparrow.
The challenge: Managing a leave vendor that created extra work for the team
Prior to partnering with Sparrow, Astra worked with a different leave management provider—but the experience didn’t match their standards for employee care.
“There was a lot of miscommunication with our employees, and their customer support for employees wasn’t great,” said Astra’s People Team. Astra employees had little guidance about how to apply for state leave benefits, and were left waiting for replies when they asked for help.
“Oftentimes employee pay was incorrect or miscalculated, which resulted in employees occasionally owing money back to the company,” The People Team added.
The People Team described the entire leave workflow as choppy. After introducing their previous vendor to Astra employees via email, Astra’s previous vendor wouldn’t immediately follow up to kick off the process, sometimes leaving Astra employees in limbo for weeks.
Not only was this stressful for employees who needed time to prepare for leave, but the lack of follow-through increased the team’s workload.
“We’re a small company and needed something cost-effective. Sparrow came in at what we budgeted for.”
The People Team
“We’re already so busy with responsibilities and events beyond HR, but we started having to monitor emails to make sure our vendor was actually responding,” they explained. “It might have only taken a few minutes here and there, but that few minutes eats into your day and really matters when you’re a small team.”
“With HR operating lean after going private, to have to hold our vendor’s hands to do what we thought they would do was too much for us administratively,” they added.
The final straw was when an Astra HR team partner went out on her own maternity leave. “Her experience with our previous vendor was so bad,” The People Team explained. “They didn’t respond to her emails or calculate her pay correctly.”
The team knew they needed a system that worked better for everyone, so they started researching alternate leave vendors. Sparrow stood out for a few reasons: 1) their easy-to-navigate platform, 2) their friendly and attentive customer service, and 3) their cost-effectiveness.
“We’re a small company and we needed something cost-effective,” The People Team explained. “Sparrow came in at what we budgeted for.”
Another selling point was shared values. “We incorporate our values into everything we do, including how we choose vendors and how we process things,” said The People Team.
“Two of Astra’s core values are simplicity and reliability. And Sparrow has been both of those things for us.”
The solution: Partnering with Sparrow for full-service leave management
“Two of Astra’s core values are simplicity and reliability. Sparrow has been both of those things for us.”
The People Team
Partnering with Sparrow checked all the boxes for Astra’s People Team, offering them excellent employee support and administrative simplicity.
“I don’t think people realize how valuable having a leave management vendor is,” Astra’s People Team shared.
Sparrow’s legal expertise is vital. A member of the People Team added, “Their attention to detail is key. They’re professionals with answers and resources. I can’t imagine trying to handle this internally and making sure it’s organized and standard across the company, especially with a lean people ops team.”
In addition to knowing the ins and outs of state benefits and filing processes, Sparrow also tracks key deadlines, coordinates with state agency representatives, and fills out paperwork for Astra.
The result is more time and less stress for the People Team. Leave management became a very low lift, which is super important because the HR team is a team of one. With Sparrow, it cuts down on the follow up, their process is pretty hands-off, meaning the employer doesn’t have to do much. Sparrow takes care of it all. Sparrow Leave Specialists schedule one-on-one calls with employees to explain which benefits they’re entitled to, discuss the steps of applying for state benefits, and answer questions.
The People Team also loves Sparrow’s dashboard, which offers an at-a-glance look at all the pending, upcoming, and current leaves at Astra, as well as an in-depth breakdown of leave types, dates, and special accommodations. Sparrow’s technology is very simple and intuitive. If someone on our team is out, other people can easily step in and figure it out. In addition, the support employees get is invaluable.
Along with setting up automatic payroll calculations for Astra employees on leave, Sparrow creates custom payroll reports for Astra and assists with payroll reconciliation.
At every stage, Sparrow maintains excellent communication with Astra’s People Ops and payroll teams. Afterward, Sparrow fills out and submits paperwork on employees’ behalf, then Sparrow Leave Specialists jump in to liaise with state agency representatives and insurance providers as needed.
“It’s worth researching to find a leave vendor that works for you. I can’t imagine not having Sparrow now.”
The People Team
The result: More peace of mind and time for growth initiatives
Teaming up with Sparrow has given Astra’s People Team more time and confidence in the company’s employee leave experience.
Sparrow’s support has improved Astra’s employee leave experience tenfold, while minimizing the administrative and emotional work it takes to give employees that seamless leave experience.
“It’s worth doing the research to find a leave vendor that works for you—I can’t imagine not having Sparrow now.”
Partnering with Sparrow lessens your employee leave management work, while leveling up your employee leave experience. Find out how we help or book a demo now.