Alight's Financial and Health Security Platform

You're listening to Bloomberg Business Week with Carol Messer and Tim Stenebek on Bloomberg Radio.

So our next guest works with many Fortune one hundred companies around the globe, working with them on HR programs. We're talking about health, wellness, wealth programs. She's got a great vantage point her company does too in terms of what's going on in the overall business and it environment. So great to have back with us. The chief financial officer of the publicly held a light Katie Rooney with us in studio. It really is great to have you here.

How are you you know, it's it's been a crazy, crazy quarter. Although I feel like within in a light years that's normal.

So true, it's.

True, like our perspective has changed. Let's just start broad and Macro talk to a little bit about the business environment, because you do have a great window. And forgive me for those who don't know exactly what you're doing. You do work globally, You're working with lots of companies. Remind our audience what you.

Do, yes, of course, so we serve thirty six million people across the globe doing basically human capital around health, well being, payroll and.

So what types of programs that companies have right.

Absolutely, when you think about employee wellbeing, everything we're trying to do for the employee in today's day and age, Given everything we're seeing, we are taking a different approach across the industry to say we have to engage with people differently to help drive a different outcome. We've done that a lot for clients, We've done that a lot

Katie, do you feel like post pandemic that employees companies are looking at their workers differently or do you feel like, because it's a tight labor force that maybe companies are looking at their workers differently.

Honestly, I think either way you are yes, yes, it is. I mean it's a little bit of yes. Yes, I think you have to.

We we did a.

Global mindset survey and we said eighty percent of workers say they feel moderate to high levels of stress. I mean, it doesn't matter if it's you know, the pandemic, if it's macroeconomy. There's so much in our environment today and that I think employers have to play a different role in terms of how they're helping their employees.

Well, you've been in this role for six years ish.

A little bit longer, A little bit longer. I'm so sorry.

I don't know, because a light actually carved out in twenty seventeen from a on So I've been technically with the Legacy company a little longer.

And so I'm curious about how you've seen employee demands.

Change over the course of your tenure there.

What would you say is the single biggest shift in ask from employees.

Honestly, I think they found a voice. I just think we didn't, you know, And again i've you know, as an employer, I'm not sure we took the time to listen. And I think employees are now found a stronger voice. That it starts with their leaving right, higher turnover. They're requesting more and so we have to help them in a different way. I don't think it's one specific thing.

Well when it comes to the services that you guy guys provide for your clients. So I said health, wealth and wellness, right, Did I catch them off?

Yeah?

Yeah?

So what is it?

Where are you seeing the most growth or more demand that like this is what my employees want? Or is it everything?

I think it's interconnected. I think that's the important thing for the employee. Again, think about it, they I mean, think about what you potentially do today. Just you figure out where your paycheck is, and where your health coverages and where your four one K coverages? How many systems are you going to? Where are you going right? And how do you know what to use right? And what the right decisions are? We say, should you be investing in your HSA, a health savings account or your four

Should you do?

Right? Of course, yes you want to make a different decision, but bring it all together for them?

Well, how does AI and generative AI change this? Because I do think about think about the question, right, the conversation I could have with a system a platform that is integrated, but it seems like it could make it so much easier to use.

Right, I love that question because I think there's so much opportunity. It starts with the data. So think about it. There's a million searches today on Google for a doctor. Where do I find a doctor? I mean, do you think Google knows what health plan you're in, what's in network, where you're located, who's the highest quality, lowest cost, and helps you make a decision and can schedule an appointment and get you a second opinion and right, So like you need the AI in terms of the underlying data

To that, So how do you do that? So how do you make it comprehensive, smart, accurate?

Right? And then secure?

I mean are you working on it?

No? We start there today. I mean security is table stakes. Yeah, I mean that just you can't have an employee concerned or thinking about that. We spend a ton of time, resources, money on that full stop. Put that aside. Then the next piece is why we think this integrated platform is important. We know your pay, we know your claim's history, we know how you're saving. A mom just had a baby, right, Well, they might have a different need than somebody who's retiring.

Right exactly.

That's the power of it.

Okay, is their risk at all? And decrease jobs because of the AI impact?

I know that's like the basic obvious question, but how are you thinking about it?

I just think it's different. Again, AI is only as good as the data, but it's not going to drive a decision. So you know, we have people calling us because they need to check the status, but they don't need to call us for that. Like that's fine, but Listen, if somebody has a cancer diagnosis, they want to talk

Because you know, I think about the services that you offer, and I even think about my own experience with and we have a company with incredible benefits and we do have some really great usable programs and so on. But I do think about if sometimes and if Matt Miller was here, another one of our TV and radio anchors, he'll go on and on about like the chatbots and how they drive him crazy, and you're on a.

Site and he's not wrong.

Sometimes where I just want to get on with the human and say help me out here, walk me through it. And so there is this balance.

There's a balance, But there's.

Also other times where I love it where I can just kind of whittle through a bunch of information, figure it out.

There are times you don't want to talk to someone, Yeah, absolutely right, And it's you know, I have a mental health issue. I just need to figure out where to go. I don't I don't want to have to have that conversation yet, just direct me at the same time. Okay, now I have a diagnosis, tell me what this means. Right, So I think you just have to meet people where they are.

Is though, chat or generative AI a big boost for what you guys ultimately do, Like do you see that as a big growth driver?

I think it's a huge opportunity. And it's not just generative AI, it's AI more broadly because.

You're already using that.

Yeah, right, absolutely, we have to be right when you think about I think about it, there's predictive, there's a general there's just in essence driving an informed decision for someone. It will only continue to get better.

So then what do you say to And we're gonna got about a minute. Then we'll come back and talk some more. But there is this kind of wait. I'm terrified by it, and I'm also like, well, wait, we've been using it for a long time already, so how do you you know, what would you be saying to someone who was asking you, like, oh my god, what is this?

I mean? I love the analogy. Someone told the other day, I'm in finance. You know, the calculator came along. It's not like all the finance jobs went away, right, I mean, it's just we have to just think differently. Even with generative AI, at the end of the day, there's still a judgment call. So I think it's it's changing that mindset around how we benefit and use it in a more proactive way.

Yeah.

I just think it's yeah, And I love that you're being smart about it and very specific and just saying technology can be so terrifying, right, I feel like and people have have kind of run in that direction, and I think there's been some great reporting showing how it can go astray. But there's also a potential if you think about online when it all started, right, or the Internet.

I think there's always and I think it's exciting, like that's next chapter.

It always story every time, and then it's right. You know, it's always right. We just have to learn as we go along.

We do want to get back to our guest Carol Master along with Madison Mills here we're talking with the CFO of like Katie Rooney here in our studio. I want to go back to some business stuff. Is it easy being a CFO right now, especially when we talk about credit crunches, markets tightening, questions about recessions and slow downs.

I don't know that I'd say EASi or hard. I just think I think it's a really important time to be a CFO.

There's so much that hasn't been important.

Well, I think I think that's a fair story. No, it's a fair point. But in terms of the magnitude of risk and volatility and so I think, you know, we spend a lot of time focusing on balance sheet, right and having kind of that visibility into revenue, profitability, cash flow so that we can weather any scenario, right, because I think even over the past couple of years, right with COVID, with everything we've been through, there's just been so much more volatility and uncertainty that you just

Do you feel more uncertain about the outlook? Do you think more about recession based on things that you're seeing or conversations because you do have a great as I said at the top, like a great window because you talked you have so many corporate clients.

Yeah, I think that's right, and I think, I mean the good news is for us, it's an opportunity because we do serve you know, fifty percent of the fortune five hundred. They are focusing more on cost. We can help address a bigger aid. When you think about the solutions we can provide end, Yeah, I mean, you know, fortunately, unfortunately you're going to provide healthcare, you're going to do payroll, right, and actually we can help provide a better solution to

So what do you look at when making that decision?

Yeah, I mean I think it starts with just healthy balance sheet, right, having that flexibility to weather different scenarios, so and being thoughtful about what those those could look like.

Katie, did you see any impact from the collapse of like Silicon Valley and the four regional banks? Did that in any way?

I don't know. Yeah, I'm just curious.

We really didn't, Okay, you know, and I think just how quickly the government stepped in. I think you know that supported so many different companies, so we really didn't. But you had to be prepared in case. Right, we serve companies that have paid roll with those banks, Like, how do.

You make sure what I was thinking along the line.

Right, you're you're prepared and you can you can step in and help your clients, Like this moment of need is for our clients, right, if we can step in and that trusted resource, like it builds such goodwill in other macro environments. So I think that's that's the opportunity.

So can we talk about working from home? We just didn't talk about retail and real estate and some of the cities we see it outside our door of some retail that still hasn't come back post pandemic. One of the things I loved when we have talked in the past, as you said, how you were flying all your workers in for a week.

Right, Yeah, I think I think are you still doing that? We do?

We do?

I think again, this is what works for me, particularly in finance. Quarter aand is such an important time and we still need development, we still need face to face time, but trying to get people there one day a week or two. Like one day a week, you spend that day just catching up with everyone. Yet like it's not which is great, but if you do.

It a week, we're not productive.

It's not terribly productive, right, so we need a full week. It's one week. We're committed, we're all together, we do lunches together, we go out together. So there's you know, work hard, play hard. We kind of get that balance in. I think it builds. It's a lot of camaraderie for the team, and honestly it helps develop the team, which I think is so critical.

So you're still doing that so they'll be home, we're like three weeks and then they come in for a week.

And I wonder if you see to the extent that you can talk about this a gender impact on that, because the thing that I worry about so much is that when you force people push people back to work, a lot of women are staying at home still. They're the ones taking advantage of the work from home capabilities of companies, and that freaks me out.

You know, yeah, no, I get it, But I think that's why the strategy works for us because they can plan I can plan for one week. It's hard when it's one. You know, it's hard to find childcare for one day a week two days a week. So that again, that's what's worked for us there. I do have people come in a lot more. I love it. I'm in a lot more. That works for me. So I think it's just trying to get that balance right.

What about the tightness of the labor force. What are you seeing on that front? Is it easy at all if you're hiring and you're looking.

Yeah, I'm not sure it's it's easy. Dramatically, I think though, that the conversation is changing in terms of what employees want. So it used to be you know, I will I can only find someone who would work from home in this location. I think because we've grown more flexible in terms of the talent pool, in terms of the skill set we're looking for, we want more diverse skill sets. I think that's helping. But it's still I know, it's still a tough.

Market and people still want to work from home. They do absolutely, So what do you say to the debate, because it does see I mean, it's still out there and we're still trying to figure it out, and we certainly hear from CEOs, who I think from the pandemic initially were like, yeah, we're going to be flexible, and then they're like, no, we're not flexible anymore. So what is the reality of it? Are we still trying to figure it out?

I think the reality is we have to find some time for people to be in the office, but it has to be meaningful. I don't need people coming into the office to sit in a cube all day and be on zoom calls. Yeah we don't, right, I mean, I agree, so I think, but we need training programs, we need mentorship, we need team building, we need so I think it's making those in person experiences meaningful and having enough of them, you know, I think I think that's what matters.

We've got like a minute and a half in our final minutes with you. You're a woman who's a CFO. I hate to do that whole thing, but just meeting you and how cool you are. Can you talk about any advice you have for other women that are in male dominated.

Roles because was it easy getting here?

Yeah?

It was not easy. I think you have you have to be true to yourself. I got pushed a lot in times in my career, have a stronger voice, be louder, do this Like that wouldn't have worked for me. Oh interesting, And so I think I do have a strong voice when I need to, I won't be the loudest in the room. And but I know you have to figure out how to influence in your own way to drive

That's so good.

Yeah, no, it makes sense, it's no. But the whole concept of because I think there was for a while, like you know, you gotta be strong, lean yeah, lean in and I think you at times you do yes, but you also have to be true to yourself. Yeah, thank you so much. We know you had a busy trek while you were here in New York and you found some time for us, So thank you.

Thank you for having always.

Safe travels back home. Just so glad to kind of cover so much with you. Katie Rooney, CFO, Chief financial Officer at a LIGHTE, thank you so much. A Light Solutions here in our interactive Brokers Studio