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Sara Richards spent her twenties in Ireland, a country with a dual healthcare system that has private and public options. After returning to the US and learning more about how the system worked in the states, she was shocked.
“I was really floored to find out that your healthcare is related to your employment and if you didn’t have a job, you didn’t have healthcare,” Richards reflects. “To see the way the system worked, I was just like ‘What is this insanity?’” She knew there had to be ways to make the system easier for the average person.
That urge to transform the industry was the catalyst for what would become an impactful career in benefits for more than a decade. Starting on the consulting side of the field, she helped companies develop targeted benefit solutions to address employee needs. Today, she’s the director of benefits at Red Bull North America. She provides leadership and direction to the benefits team and other talent functions tied to employee benefits, retirement, leaves of absence, and communication.
Sara Richards on Getting Buy-In When Thinking Outside the Box
“When implementing ideas that might be less-than-conventional, getting buy-in is key. Even if an idea is met with skepticism, making the connection between the business need that you’re solving for and the healthcare outcomes of your members, and framing conversations around why not to put something in place, has often helped me push the program partners I’ve worked with for change.”
In those capacities, she’s also responsible for designing, developing, and implementing programs that help attract, engage with, and retain employees. Her approach includes a commitment to questioning the status quo, reducing barriers to care, and asking, “Why not?”
“Instead of asking, ‘Why should I do this?’ ask, ‘Is there a good reason I shouldn’t do this?’” she reflects. “Do your due diligence, because sometimes there might be. However, in working with my consultants to look at studies out there, what I’ve found is that a lot of times there isn’ta good reason not to do something other than, ‘It’s just not typically done that way.’”
Since moving into her role in 2020, Richards hasn’t been afraid to think outside the box to better serve Red Bull employees and their families. She has implemented free at-home preventive, cancer, and STI testing through Color, as well as more personalized wellness programs that empower employees to take the reins of their wellness. She focuses on meeting employees where they’re at when it comes to their health.
“Color proudly partners with leaders like Sara, who understand that sometimes traditional healthcare conventions need to be refreshed in service of better employee experiences,” says Othman Laraki, CEO of Color Health. “Our proactive partnership addresses often-delayed health screenings by directly engaging employees and guiding them through each step.”
“I fully believe that mental health is foundational for all of your other wellness. So, I’m always looking at what can be done to remove barriers and allow people to access care that has clinical evidence behind it,” Richards says.
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A shining example of how the company applies the “why not” thinking is how it supports mental health and families. The company provides medical enrollees with access to twenty-five free visits to a Lyra Health therapist each year and unlimited and free support to parents with children as old as eighteen.
“A lot of employers provide parenting support just through the toddler years. But why? Because having a teen is less complex than having a toddler? Are you kidding me right now?” Richards exclaims.
“Do you see what these teens and tweens are going through and how these parents are living through completely unprecedented times?” she continues. “We’re all in this space of figuring it out together, so why not give them access to people who can help them navigate their family dynamic. Because if you can reduce the stress and anxiety that parents are experiencing by giving them a better relationship with their kids at home, you’re also improving their work life. You’re taking stressors off their plate to help them show up as their best selves at work and home,” she says.
Leaders in healthcare who want to become a change agent at their organizations should heed this advice. She recommends them to question the status quo and do their part to figure out if the way issues have always been handled is for good reason—or if most people just do not question it.
“Then, become an agent of change to make healthcare better for your employees. If everyone in benefits did this, I think we’d see amazing shifts in healthcare norms,” Richards says.
And as benefits leaders wade through an avalanche of emails and proposals about potential solutions, vendors, and innovations to implement, Richards emphasizes they should lean on consultants to find the best ones.
“No one can personally keep up with all the different vendors that are out there, so you really need your consultant to keep you up to speed on what the next innovation is,” she says. “If they can’t give you a rundown of the best vendors, find another consultant. They should help you narrow things down so that you’ll only have to meet with the top two that you’re recommended.”
For over eight years, Color has worked to improve population health outcomes where traditional care cannot. We partner with leading organizations to deliver care where life happens—offering convenient care solutions for millions. Designed in partnership with the American Cancer Society, Color’s cancer detection and care solution helps employers take back control of cancer to improve the lives of employees and reduce cancer-related costs. Built to support populations at scale, the program drives member engagement, completion of screening-to-care, and offers pre-, peri-, and post- diagnosis support to drive better health outcomes for employers.
