Samantha Sergent of Microsoft on how to deliver personalised health
Manager empowerment plays an important part in ensuring employees at Microsoft access the right health support, according to Samantha Sergent, Director, International Benefits at Microsoft.
Speaking on the Closing the gender wealth gap by closing the women’s health gap REBA webinar on 1 March, 2023, Sergent said: “By working with suppliers to provide the right information, tool kits and conversation, managers can understand and signpost the benefits that are relevant to an employee’s journey.”
Community is key too. “If an employee can go to an employee resource group, whether that’s a family, disability or women focused group, they can speak to people who have been through their journey before,” she added. “We can’t really put everything on a manager.”
Sharing experiences with other employees can also drive best practice. Sergent said these little pieces of learning are transformed into greater bits of knowledge. “Building the community is so important: it’s where those best practices come out,” she said.
Sergent recognised that there was an opportunity to improve the support provided by Microsoft. “If someone asks a question about menopause or fertility, we need to think: what’s the next piece of information they need?” she said. “They won’t always know what to ask.”
