Katey Bey on Creating a Workplace That Cares

Katey Bey, global head of total rewards for Sedgwick, is tasked with ensuring that the thirty-thousand-some people on the organization’s plans have the right benefit coverage to live their best lives, while also keeping an eye on the company’s costs. 

In her role, Bey oversees global compensation strategy including salary and bonus plans as well as global benefits, in addition to serving as an advisor to other countries for benefits and identifying global vendors for the Naperville, Illinois-based organization.

“I have a strong passion for the total rewards space,” she says. “I always wanted to help people, so I folded in HR and my analytic mind. The compensation and benefits space provides the opportunity to flex both of those skills.” 

Bey, who leads a team of about ten and reports to the global head of human resources, has been in the compensation and benefits industry for her entire career. She joined Sedgwick almost a year and a half ago when the opportunity presented itself.

Notably, even as far back as her Sedgwick interview, the panel asked her how she folds empathy and caring into her work. “One of the things that resonated is they have a very strong colleague value proposition statement—it wasn’t just words, but it’s actually a part of their day-to-day and how they do business,” she recalls. 

Bey says she wants her colleagues to feel supported in many different facets of their lives, so it’s important to both have a clear understanding of the workforce and cater offerings to that workforce. As such, one of the initiatives she’s been working on is to implement a cost transparency plan that allows workers to shop for not only providers but also have visibility into the cost of their services.

“So if you’re going to get an MRI, you can choose exactly what MRI facility you want to go to and what the price is, so it removes the guessing game,” she explains. “It’s allowing a colleague to be a smart consumer when they’re purchasing healthcare and being able to anticipate cost allowing them to feel empowered in a complicated healthcare system.”

From a communications perspective, Bey says she tries to look at topics through the colleagues’ lens. For example, Sedgwick offers three medical plans that differ on the preferences around paycheck contribution levels and spending at the point of service preferences, then works to provide accessible education on these and other initiatives throughout the year.

“We create an annual communication calendar, and we will fold in strategically placed monthly topics, and whether it’s a broad communication across all of the workforce or if it’s targeted,” she says. “We try to be really prescribed in how things are issued to keep their attention.”

When it comes to running a team, Bey prioritizes building trust and strong relationships based on what each colleague brings to the workplace as an individual. “If we can understand the foundation of each of the team members, it allows us to collaborate and work better together,” she explains.

Bey is dedicated to staying up on current regulations and has written blog posts and articles on current trends including rethinking benefits as part of a broader recruitment and retention strategy as well as pay transparency.

“Pay transparency is driving a lot of change around how transparent employers are with their workforce [as] many states are implementing new compliance regulations,” she says, explaining that in around twenty states, colleagues can now inquire about their compensation range. “Employers are being forced to become more transparent with their pay strategies, which then enables pay equity.”

Writing articles and reading about what her peers are doing enhances all her work on Sedgwick’s benefits strategies, Bey explains, and helps the industry move forward. “It allows us to collaborate, to talk about topics,” she says. “It’s an area of passion for me to be able to highlight initiatives and offerings we offer as part of the employment experience working at Sedgwick.” 

Having grown up watching her parents live healthy, active lifestyles sparked Bey’s interest in working in the wellness space. “I know sometimes it can be a challenge to change habits, and change in general is hard,” she says. “In the benefit space, we offer so many cool tools and resources that are there to support our colleagues and their covered family members to help drive some of that change.”

Bey advises others to seek out work that they’re passionate about, and to make sure their own missions match that of their company. “It will make every day so much more fulfilling,” she says.

Her favorite part of each day is that each one is completely different. “I get to partner with different teams,” Bey says. “I really enjoy getting to work with a lot of different people. You get to flex different skills, and it’s a nice mix of dynamics.”