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Jennifer Prentice initially joined Clarivate as a benefits manager to optimize and improve its health and retirement programs for thousands of professionals around the globe. It was 2017, and Prentice was eyeing a position from which she would have an even greater opportunity to create and implement platforms that truly impact employees and their families.
The veteran HR leader ultimately became the company’s director of global benefits. As she researched emerging trends and key components employees expect in modern benefits programs, one thing rose to the top, and that item quickly became Prentice’s primary focus—well-being.
For Prentice and Clarivate, addressing emotional and mental health needs is an imperative. “Well-being is the future of benefits,” she says. “It’s something many people asked me for on a regular basis. If you’re paying attention in the benefits world, you are moving into this space.”
Many factors paved the way. Employees at Clarivate and elsewhere have all experienced changing political cycles, the murder of George Floyd, school shootings, a global pandemic, remote work, inflation, social unrest, climate change, war in Europe, burnout, and other acute stressors. Prentice says those who provide well-being benefits differentiate themselves as employers by helping their employees feel “seen, heard, and taken care of.”
“Well-being is the future of benefits. It’s something many people asked me for on a regular basis. If you’re paying attention in the benefits world, you are moving into this space.”
Jennifer Prentice
Clarivate’s eleven thousand global employees help more than forty-five thousand customers accelerate their business innovations. The publicly traded analytics company, which owns Ex Libris, ProQuest, and others, offers subscription services for biopharma, medtech, healthcare, intellectual property, and other research areas. Clarivate makes it easier for its clients in these industries to identify, market, and monetize novel inventions.
Before formalizing robust well-being offerings, Clarivate, which operates in more than forty countries, already had several solutions in different parts of the world. Prentice saw an opportunity to do more. “I wanted to bring everyone together and make sure all of our many employees had access to the same benefits because that really builds corporate culture,” she says.
That drive compelled Prentice and her colleagues to find a strong partner to launch the program. Clarivate worked with Virgin Pulse to establish a global well-being platform and partnered with internal colleagues on a communications plan to increase employee awareness and engagement. A clear vision, internal support, and the right external partner enabled everyone involved to move quickly. Clarivate Analytics announced the program in the US and introduced it to all employees worldwide just six weeks later.
While these solutions were created to make a difference, Prentice decided to take things one step further. She opted to add a Whil (now RethinkCare) plug-in to the Virgin Pulse. RethinkCare offers podcasts, webinars, and mini courses on popular and relevant topics like resilience, anxiety, insomnia, mindfulness, and relationships.
These important steps complement what Clarivate was already doing to support employees through the ongoing COVID-19 disruption. In 2020, the company started to host weekly live Q&A sessions with its CEO and other top leaders. It also recommitted to its existing global employee assistance program, expanded child and elder care benefits, allowed rollovers and midyear election changes to pretax spending accounts in the US, increased paid time off, changed its 401(k) program, and began a financial hardship assistance program that ultimately brought $2.78 million in assistance to employees and their families.
In leading global benefits, Jennifer Prentice works with a diverse team of five professionals who help shape programs and create culture at the large company. A unique background helps her thrive in the role. Although she’s originally from the Jersey Shore, her father’s job with the US Department of State took Prentice to places like Liberia, Kenya, Cyprus, France, Egypt, and Yemen.
“I saw that deeply understanding people and addressing their needs and wants is of critical importance, and I saw the positive change the services we provide can bring them.”
Jennifer Prentice
Overcoming culture shock and learning to adapt to new cultures helped her become a tolerant, well-rounded person who looks for and appreciates different perspectives and points of view. Those traits have helped her in the global roles she’s held throughout her career.
John Zutter, CEO of Employer Direct Healthcare, says, “Jennifer’s dedication to driving positive change for Clarivate, and her compassion for the well-being of others, make her an impactful leader and partner. As one of her partners, we know firsthand how committed she is to continued improvement and tangible, meaningful results.”
Prentice also studied international affairs at Northeastern University. She began her career as a temporary worker at the front desk for a partial hospitalization program at Hartford Hospital. Although it was a short-term job, she ended up staying with the organization for twenty years.
At first, the young Prentice didn’t even realize she was working at a mental health facility. “I thought it was a school,” she explains.
But once she realized what her colleagues did—their service and dedication to vulnerable populations—she was hooked. Prentice spent the last half of her tenure with Hartford Hospital in their clinical psychology department, where she developed bereavement materials and coordinated patient-facing programs. In doing so, Prentice discovered a passion that still guides her work with Clarivate today.
“I saw that deeply understanding people and addressing their needs and wants is of critical importance, and I saw the positive change the services we provide can bring them,” she adds.
While Jennifer Prentice and her team carry these efforts forth, they’re starting to see tangible results. Comprehensive wellness platforms are known to increase productivity, decrease absenteeism, attract talent, and create a healthier and happier workforce. Clarivate plans to build on this foundation, and Prentice hopes to add financial well-being tools and other holistic features in the coming months and years.
In 2019 Jennifer Prentice, Director, Global Benefits at Clarivate, began searching for a solution that would increase the value of their benefit offerings, especially related to access and affordability of care. Their search led them to SurgeryPlus™, a solution focused on transforming access to specialty care and the market leader in the Center of Excellence space. We look forward to our continued partnership with Jennifer and Clarivate.
