- Key insight: Discover how a single concierge platform addresses multiple employee life needs holistically.
- What's at stake: Fragmented point solutions risk productivity losses, higher HR administrative burden, and underutilization of benefits.
- Supporting data: Employees lost up to 17% of work time to non-work hassles; platform regained 3.2 hours/request.
Source: Bullets generated by AI with editorial review
From dealing with a home repair emergency to
While offering a different point solution for every issue isn't practical, benefit leaders can look for one that assists with
Jon Cooper co-founded concierge platform Overalls in 2021 with this type of support in mind — one place where workers can connect with experts who assist with everything from navigating benefits, to finding a good mechanic for their broken down car, to
"One early day in Overalls' existence, my basement flooded. Two days later, my head of sales had his car stolen, and we were sitting there complaining about how we got nothing done that week," says Cooper, Overalls' CEO. "That was a lightbulb moment: Why isn't there anyone there to just help you with these little curve balls that life throws at you?"
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Overalls is typically offered as a supplemental benefit and covered by employers on a workforce-size-based flat fee or utilization basis, and serves organizations including Reddit and Beatbox Beverages. When an employee submits a request, it is assigned to a Life Concierge, who, much like a personal assistant, can help manage general tasks like planning a trip. If an issue requires more specialized expertise, the user is also connected to a Life Expert — someone with deeper knowledge of a particular field, such as a certified financial planner or nurse practitioner — who can help them solve their problem.
"We don't provide financial, legal or medical advice, but it's great to know that you have someone who is a paralegal helping you find an attorney, for example, or an occupational therapist who's helping you look into skilled nursing facilities," says Cooper.
Research by Overalls and independent parties reveal the ROI of this kind of help: A study of 1,350 employees revealed they lost up to 17% of their work time from dealing with non-work hassles themselves. For employees working with Overalls, the average time it took to submit a request was two minutes, giving employees back an average of 3.2 hours for each one they brought forward and saving them six days a year in productivity.
The employer cost is "often comparable to more focused point-solutions, such as medical navigation or caregiving services," Cooper says. And while employee requests are private, benefit leaders can track their business's ROI on a dashboard that shows problems solved, hours saved, and stress and productivity improvement.
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Broad solution, streamlined care
Many of the issues employees request help with involve caregiving or medical navigation — areas for which employers commonly have more than one solution. And where there is one need, there are often several associated across different categories, says Cooper.
He cites the process of helping his mother, who lives in a different state, after she fell and broke her hip: After leaving the hospital, Overalls assisted in finding everything from rehab options to navigating Medicare to a realtor when she relocated to a house with no stairs. It also helped Cooper with things like child and pet care while he was traveling back and forth to be with her.
"By being broad, you're actually able to help people more holistically, to solve problems starting with caregiving or starting with a medical issue, but cascade across their life," he says. "[It removes] the pressure on employees of remembering which individual benefits to use, and keeps HR from playing air traffic control." If employers offer other benefits that can help with any issues Overalls is working on, a concierge will make sure employees understand them, he adds.
As an even more diverse use of the platform, Cooper recalls a mother whose first request was for help planning her daughter's quinceanera. A few months later she contacted Overalls again, this time because her parents were losing their home. Experts helped her navigate all the paperwork, figure it all out with the mortgage company and understand what government benefits her parents were eligible for.
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The ability to help at such a deep, personal level is very special, says Cooper, and the bigger picture is the ROI along with the edge this type of support lends to attracting and retaining talent.
"From a purely competitive standpoint, your peers are offering great benefits; we offer a more affordable way to do it, because you don't need to have multiple point solutions, you can solve things with one."
