Ziff Davis streamlined employee leave management without compromising the employee leave experience

Ziff Davis (NASDAQ: ZD) is a vertically focused digital media and internet company whose portfolio includes leading brands in technology, shopping, gaming and entertainment, health and wellness, connectivity, cybersecurity, and martech. Founded in 1927 as a publishing company, Ziff Davis has managed to maintain relevance, evolve, and grow for nearly a century.

Today, the company has over 2,000 employees in the United States and 20 offices across North America, Europe, and Asia. And Ziff Davis is committed to caring for employees and their families in and out of the workplace.

“Our goal is always to meet employees where they are, and give them coverage and resources that allow them to bring their best selves to work,” said Georgina Mena, Director of Global Benefits at Ziff Davis.

Along with comprehensive health insurance and employee equity, Ziff Davis offers employees family planning assistance; medical travel reimbursement; flexible time off; wellness programs, including memberships to Calm Health, Lose It!, and Cleo; annual fitness membership reimbursements; and up to 16 weeks of paid leave.

When the company needed more behind-the-scenes support for employees taking leave—and the benefits team managing leave—they turned to Sparrow.

The challenge: Scaling with manual and time-consuming systems

Employee leave management hasn’t always been seamless for Ziff Davis. Before partnering with Sparrow, the company relied on a different leave administrator.

“But leave still felt like it was managed in-house,” Mena said. “There were a lot of manual processes and Excel sheets.”

Payroll was particularly difficult. “Our administrator never gave us a great payroll report,” said Alison Crooks, Lead Benefits Specialist at Ziff Davis.

“We had to calculate payroll ourselves,” added Alicia Berland, Senior Benefits Specialist at Ziff Davis. “And we have employees in every state, so we were dealing with different state requirements and benefits which was challenging.”

“We save so much time creating leave plans and calculating payroll with Sparrow.”

Maintaining compliance with state leave laws also proved complicated, not to mention time-consuming. Mena said it was becoming increasingly challenging to stay on top of leave nuances and changes from state to state.

Administrative work was just one of two major challenges the benefits team faced—another issue was the employee leave experience.

“Employees were frustrated with parts of the process not moving quickly, and just generally not having a cohesive experience,” explained Mena. “They were getting one thing with the vendor, and another thing with us. The paperwork was always a question, too.”

As Ziff Davis’ workforce grew, the benefits team realized they needed a more efficient leave management system, not only for themselves, but for Ziff Davis employees taking leave.

“We need to scale and not rely on spreadsheets and disjointed systems,” Mena explained. The team wanted to automate aspects of leave management, to deepen their understanding of leave laws, and to give employees a more personalized, less stressful experience.

Around the same time that the benefits team started exploring other third-party leave administrators, Ziff Davis acquired theSkimm, a media company that had partnered with Sparrow for years.

“We had firsthand experience using Sparrow’s platform via theSkimm and we loved it,” Mena said.

“I really appreciate seeing payroll information right next to the leave plans in Sparrow.”

The solution: Use Sparrow to tighten up leave management from end to end

Ziff Davis relies on Sparrow for all things leave management-related, from tracking leaves and submitting paperwork to following state leave laws and coordinating with employees taking leave.

To initiate a leave, all the benefits team has to do is input the employee’s information in the Sparrow dashboard. From there, Sparrow creates an individual leave plan, reaches out to the employee, and gets started on paperwork.

“We save so much time on creating a leave plan, not to mention calculating payroll,” Berland said. The Sparrow dashboard includes an overview of company leaves, as well as individual leave timelines showing when each employee’s leave begins and ends.

“I really appreciate seeing payroll information right next to the leave plans,” she added. Sparrow breaks down leave payments, showing when employees will receive the payments and which portions come from the company versus disability insurance versus the state.

Sparrow also sets up automatic payroll calculations, creates custom payroll reports for Ziff Davis, and assists with payroll reconciliation.

“Sparrow has saved us a lot of time and frustration by giving us a clear understanding of where everybody’s at.”

“It’s very clear when we get Sparrow’s payroll reports—and we can cross-reference them,” said Berland.

The best part: all stakeholders have access to the Sparrow dashboard, including HR, managers, and employees taking leave, so they know exactly what to expect. Plus, Sparrow sends email notifications to managers and the benefits team to alert them to any changes with leave dates or payments.

“It’s saved a lot of time and frustration to have a clear understanding of where everybody’s at,” added Berland.

Dedicated attention for Ziff Davis employees on leave

Sparrow Leave Specialists work hand in hand with Ziff Davis employees before, during, and after their leaves, saving the benefits team time and guaranteeing employees one-on-one support.

“Knowing that Sparrow is reaching out to our employees, getting all the right paperwork, and following up with them as well as their physician—that hands-on support has created such a better workflow for us and our employees,” Berland said. She estimated that she saves at least five hours every two weeks thanks to Sparrow.

Sparrow starts every leave with an introductory call to go over an employee’s benefits and state options, explain how the process of applying for benefits works, and answer questions. From there, Sparrow Leave Specialists fill out and submit paperwork on the employee’s behalf, then coordinate with health insurance providers and state agency representatives to fill in any gaps and gather additional paperwork.

“I’m confident our employees are getting the attention we want for them,” Crooks said.

“I don’t think I’ve had one person contact me to say they didn’t get what they needed from Sparrow,” added Berland, “which makes me really happy.”

“Knowing that Sparrow is reaching out to our employees, getting all the right paperwork, and following up with them as well as their physician has created such a better workflow for us and our employees.”

The bonus: A yes attitude all the way

For Ziff Davis, the appeal of partnering with Sparrow isn’t just a faster, more thorough leave management system—it’s the ease of working together.

“This is the first time we’ve had a vendor who doesn’t say no when we ask for something, whether it’s a customization or a compromise,” Mena said. “It’s very refreshing that Sparrow is so willing to accommodate us.”

Berland agreed. “The Sparrow team has a yes attitude—you don’t feel like you’re burdening them.”

“The Sparrow team has a yes attitude. You don’t feel like you’re burdening them.”

Crooks, for her part, appreciates Sparrow’s proactive communication and responsiveness. “It feels like we’re having a regular conversation throughout the day, whether Sparrow is sharing new information, touching base, or getting back to me,” she explained. “I never have to dig through information or wait to find out what they’re working on.”

That’s because the Sparrow team is invested in Ziff Davis’ success. “Sparrow really feels like an extension of our team,” said Mena. “They truly want the best for our employees, just like we do.”

Sparrow transforms the leave management process from end to end, upping efficiency and raising the bar for customer service. Learn more about our solutions or book a demo today.