Sequoia

As Mental Health Awareness Month comes to a close, many employers are asking a harder question than “Are we offering enough?” ➡️ They are asking: “Is any of this actually working?” Our recent blog looks at what we are seeing in the data: 🧘 Most employers have added multiple mental health solutions since 2020 📉 Nearly three-quarters are still unsure whether employee mental health has actually improved 📊 Many are measuring what is easy (logins, sessions, app usage), not what matters most (outcomes, claims patterns, absenteeism, productivity) The emerging shift for 2026 is less about adding more point solutions and more about reducing confusion for employees, enabling managers, and asking harder questions of vendors about outcomes and impact. As you reflect on this month and plan for the rest of the year, this analysis can help pressure test whether your mental health strategy is giving you clarity or just more noise. https://lnkd.in/gAymSmjH

Benefits decisions feel even higher stakes when you have fewer than 100 employees, and every dollar, every hire, and every policy change is visible. Our new blog looks at how VC and PE backed small and mid sized companies are approaching healthcare, leave, retirement, and wellbeing when budgets and teams are lean. ✅ Where SMBs are keeping programs simple and focused ✅ Where they are investing more deliberately in affordability and employee experience ✅ How benchmarking helps validate tradeoffs instead of relying on gut feel If you are building or refining benefits for a growing company, this data can help you see how you compare to peers and where you may want to adjust for 2027: https://lnkd.in/eQ5sekGg

Revinate is a great example of what it looks like when a CHRO uses data and partnership to turn a tough renewal into a strategic win. Jodi Weintraub was facing a medical renewal at around 70% for a 500+ person, multi‑state workforce. Instead of accepting it as “the market,” she leaned on Sequoia’s benchmarking and advisory team to take the plan out to bid, pressure test options against current data, and redesign the program with both competitiveness and cost in mind. The result: a renewal that landed at roughly 4%, plus an additional $100K in savings from a targeted program that shifts appropriate medical spend to spouses’ plans, all while maintaining a strong employee experience. If you are a people leader staring down rising healthcare costs and wondering whether your renewals really have to look the way they do, Revinate’s approach is a strong blueprint for using benchmarking, strategy, and the right partner to create better outcomes: https://lnkd.in/gV4UsBnU

Honored to see our team recognized in this year’s Share Lunch Fight Hunger campaign from City Harvest. Thanks to everyone who participated, the campaign raised enough to help feed more than 9,200 children and families! A huge thank you to our clients and employees who donated, fundraised, and helped spread the word. If you are able, there is still time to support: https://lnkd.in/ecrefQTJ Together, we can help ensure every child in NYC has access to the nourishing meals they need to thrive.

Last week, we brought together 40+ HR, Finance, and Ops leaders in Walnut Creek for an evening of real talk, real data, and real connection. Co-hosted with StartupExperts, this event was designed to give the leaders behind the people strategy a space to step away from the day-to-day and connect with peers who truly understand the work. The highlight? A candid panel discussion featuring Nupur Sinha, Gabriel Veuve, and Jesse Freese. Together they unpacked what we're seeing across 1,600+ companies in our newly released SMB Benchmark Report and the key takeaways from this year’s Sequoia One's benefits renewal season. A few themes that sparked the most conversation: 🔹Rethinking plan design from the ground up since average SMB renewals this year are in the low-to-mid teens 🔹The tension between high-demand benefits (GLP-1s, fertility coverage) and rising premiums 🔹Why more teams are leaning into targeted perks like LSAs and HRAs over broad, unsustainable offerings But beyond the data, what stood out most was the room itself. We had such a great event that when the we hit closing time, nobody wanted to leave. We're already planning the next one. If you're an HR, Finance, or Ops leader at a venture-backed company and want to be part of future events like this, reach out. We'd love to have you in the room. #Sequoia #StartupExperts #HRLeadership #BenefitsStrategy #SMBBenchmark #Community #WalnutCreek

Carrot is redefining what it means to invest in people, and we are proud to be in their corner. As Carrot’s distributed workforce has grown beyond its Bay Area roots, SVP of People Allison Blackwell has focused on building a benefits strategy that: 💠 Keeps healthcare and wellbeing offerings competitive in multiple markets 💠 Uses benchmarking data to see exactly how Carrot stacks up against peers 💠 Controls rising costs without losing sight of access, equity, and experience For a company whose mission is to expand access to fertility and family-building care, that alignment between what they offer the world and what they offer their own team really matters. Read how Carrot is aligning benefits and cost to power growth: https://lnkd.in/e6_PMNRk

For May Mental Health Awareness Month, we’re sharing a fun way to learn about digital safety and wellbeing for you and your employees. Social media, the internet, and AI are a big part of our daily lives. Learning to navigate these tools safely and confidently is more important than ever. ➡️ May 28: Learn digital safety best practices and compete in a live trivia game. To join this fun event, register here (https://lnkd.in/eqkhYTx8) and invite your team (https://lnkd.in/evWT3GmR). ✨ For each participant, a $25 donation will be made to NoFiltr.org, which works with young people to build a safer digital world.

Your workforce isn’t one-size-fits-all. Pairing a PPO with an HDHP gives low-premium seekers and high utilizers meaningful, flexible choice. Our latest benefits benchmarking data shows that the vast majority of employers are already there: 90% of large companies, 88% of mid-market companies, and even 83% of those under 50 employees now offer both. The sharpest jump happened in a single year, 2024. As Dylan Hughes points out, if you are not giving employees both a rich option and a consumer driven option, you are not really giving them a choice. For benefits leaders, this is one of the clearest examples of where benchmarking can validate your strategy and show you if you are behind the curve.

New pharma tariffs are making headlines, and employers are asking the same question: will this drive up our pharmacy costs? Our latest post breaks down what HR and benefits leaders actually need to know. We also outline practical steps you can take now, including how to review your top spend drugs, what to ask your PBM, and how to prepare for selective change rather than broad disruption. If you want to move beyond the headline and understand what this could mean for your plan and your people, you can read the full story here: https://lnkd.in/gA_Zc-Kn

Benefits strategy looks very different once you reach 100-499 employees. What worked in the early growth years often starts to break down as your workforce matures, costs climb, and expectations rise around healthcare, leave, retirement, and wellbeing. At that point, “what feels right” is not enough. You need to know how your programs stack up and where peers are making different choices. Our new post, 2026 Benefits Benchmarks: Key Insights for Mid-Size Employers, highlights what we are seeing in the data for VC and PE backed companies at this stage and how they are evolving their programs for 2027 and beyond. If you are rethinking benefits for a mid-size organization, this can help you pressure test your approach and see where you may want to adjust. Read the full story and access our latest benchmarking insights here: https://lnkd.in/gqC-kiUk