Automox Builds Leading Perks Program With Benepass

Background

Automox was founded in 2015 to pursue a disruptive new vision: give IT operations teams the ability to act quickly and easily across all their endpoints. Automox’s unified, cloud-based cyber hygiene platform allows IT and SecOps teams to automate endpoint patching, configuration, and remediation and gain control of all their endpoints without the need to deploy costly infrastructure. With Automox, IT admins have a recognizable impact on company success—and sleep better at night.

A growing workforce 

“I feel lucky to work at a company where we invest in employee benefits.” – Elspeth Arnold, Manager, People Experience

Automox has grown significantly over the last 18 months and gone fully distributed in the process. Elspeth Arnold, Manager, People Experience, has been at the forefront of selecting and establishing the company’s HRIS. Before her start, Automox began testing the waters of wellness and benefits programs with another vendor that went out of business during the pandemic. 

Why Benepass 

As Automox began its vendor search, Benepass’s user-friendly interface and VISA-based credit card were a clear win. “We wanted to have a way to reward employees monetarily that was administratively easy for us,” Elspeth said. “We weren't trying to keep track of gift cards or anything like that.” 

Elspeth also sought out a vendor that didn’t charge for items or services until after employees used them. With Benepass, “we aren’t wasting money on gift cards that employees will never use,” Elspeth said. She also found the platform and reimbursement feature easy to use for employees. The VISA-backed credit card is widely accepted, whereas the card offered by the previous vendor was sometimes declined due to incompatibilities with the merchant ID. 

Today, the Automox team highly rates Benepass onboarding, training, support, program design capabilities, and employee engagement (5/5). 

Building an engaging LSA program

Automox’s wellness program quickly expanded to an LSA with a $50 stipend per month for employees. Lifestyle Spending Accounts (LSAs) are growing in popularity as HR leaders and People Ops teams realize that employees and candidates are demanding flexible benefits that better align with their values and priorities. 

The LSA is the most-utilized perk by Automox’s employees, with an engagement rate of 80%. Employee engagement rates for LSAs are typically substantially higher than traditional single-merchant programs since employees can select the merchants and vendors that are most suitable to their unique location and needs. To Elspeth, an LSA encompassed a wider definition of wellness than a traditional wellness program. 

“I think wellness means different things to different people. While it might mean a gym membership for some, it could mean financial wellness for someone else.” – Elspeth Arnold, Manager, People Experience

Data supports Elspeth’s inclination that the meaning of wellness goes way beyond a gym membership. A survey by PWC found that financial challenges contribute the most stress to employees' daily lives. A small additional financial contribution by the employer may reduce this stress, leading to a happier and more productive workforce.

Unlike funds contributed to an HSA, employers only pay for the amount employees spend. This can lead to cost savings at the end of the year while providing the employee with 100% of the benefit. Automox spends an average of $39 per employee with the majority spending their benefits on physical health and fitness. 

Supporting remote work and professional connections

Automox offers its employees a robust benefits program with several other perks, including a home office stipend of $750. Closing the physical office has led to cost savings for the employer through reduced real estate, utilities, and supplies. Employees often report feeling empowered by working remotely. It allows them the time to handle personal obligations, invest in professional development, and even cut down on extraneous costs and commuting time. 

Another unique program offered by Automox is AX Connect, which is designed to foster professional and social connections among employees. A fun feature is built right into Slack called “random coffee” where employees are paired for a physical or virtual coffee date they can pay for with Benepass funds. AX Connect is a highly utilized feature of the perks program with an engagement rate of 66%. 

“We added the AX Connect as just a way to say, have coffee on us. We don't care what they use it for, that's the thing about these Benepass funds. We trust employees to use them the way that they're intended,” Elspeth said. 

Finally, Automox Perks was designed as a way for managers to say thank you to their employees. Instead of a gift card or spot bonus, employees can use the funds how they wish. They also established a peer-nominated $200 monthly culture award that awards employees who display the five company values.

“Employees prefer to have money added to Benepass because it's permission to spend it on something that isn't utilities or groceries,” Elspeth said. “They can spend it on something for themselves.”

Partnering with the Benepass team

“I think it's important to allow people to be their authentic selves at work. It's always going to increase productivity. If you allow people time for themselves, they're going to be able to bounce back faster.” – Elspeth Arnold, Manager, People Experience

For Elspeth, one of the great things about working with Benepass has been the support system. “I don't have to go to some portal and create a ticket. It's just really convenient. The response time is always super fast,” Elspeth said.

Key results

“Employees prefer to have money added to Benepass because it's permission to spend it on something that isn't utilities or groceries. They can spend it on something for themselves.” – Elspeth Arnold, Manager, People Experience

• Benefits aligned with company mission: With Benepass, Automox built an enhanced perks program to improve culture across a remote workforce. 
• Increased flexibility: Giving employees more choice in how they use their wellness dollars has led to higher engagement and satisfaction. It has reduced unnecessary spending on gift cards for Automox, too. 
• Robust data: Benepass allows Automox to see which programs have the highest engagement rates and which categories within those programs are the most popular. With this data, Automox can continue to tailor its programs in the way that makes the most sense for its employees.