June 30, 2025 • 40 mins
In this episode of Risky Benefits, we welcomes Emily Davis, Vice President of Partnerships and Sales at First Stop Health, to discuss strategies for creating a company culture to be proud of. Emily shares insights from her 20 years of experience in the benefits industry, highlighting the significance of direct virtual care, healthcare innovation, and meaningful personal interactions. She talks about the essential elements of a healthy workplace, emphasizing the role of play, purpose, and potential while cautioning against excessive pressure. Emily also explores the concept of viewing employee benefits as gifts, advocating for a human touch and active listening to enhance employee satisfaction and loyalty. Additionally, she provides personal anecdotes and practical examples on how to integrate these philosophies into company culture effectively.
To listen in and subscribe to more episodes, visit our website: fbmc.com/podcast.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
rick---kyla_1_05-28-2025_09 (00:19):
Hey everyone.
Thank you for listening to RiskyBenefits and welcome to this
week's episode.
Our guest today is Emily Davis,vice President of Partnerships
and Sales at First Stop Health.
had the pleasure of hearingEmily speak at a recent Working
Well Breakfast, which was heldby Capital Health Plan here in
Tallahassee, and we loved herand kind of knew that we had to
(00:41):
bring her on.
For our listeners to hear.
We're excited to have Emily talkwith us and inspire new ways to
create a company culture thatyou can be proud of.
So before we get started, Emily,please tell us about yourself.
Maybe a little bit about whatyou do, family, where you live,
all the goodies
emily-davis_1_05-28-2025_0 (00:59):
Love that.
Well first thank you guys.
So much, totally honored to behere and speaking with you.
The working well conversationwas a ton of fun and it's even
more exciting for me to continuethe dialogue today and with your
listeners.
So.
I guess, gosh, a little bitabout me.
We'll start professionally.
I think I've been now in thebenefits world coming up on 20
(01:23):
years, so I started as apopulation health consultant
working with different employersup and down the east coast,
really focusing on, I.
Their health and welfarebenefits.
I took some time to actuallybecome a part of human resources
with both Duke Energy andLowe's, which are headquartered
right here in Charlotte, NorthCarolina, where I live.
(01:45):
And then I would say mostrecently, gosh, about.
Five, six years ago, I tappedinto more of the healthcare
innovation side.
I was really passionate aboutpeople and the tools and the
resources that employees haveaccess to, and I swore I would
never get into sales, but here Iam and I absolutely love it.
(02:09):
So yes, at First Stop Health.
We're basically like a directvirtual care company, and my
role for partnerships in salesis to really ensure that my
team, which is gosh, an amazingcrew of eight up and down the
East coast, they are workingwith our broker partners.
We're expanding our footprint.
(02:29):
And ultimately, it sounds kindof corny, but we're trying to
deliver care that people love,so, so that's essentially what I
am charged with today, and it'sbeen super rewarding.
It's a ton of fun.
And then as you guys saw on theside, any opportunity that I
have to address an audience in areally meaningful way about
areas or topics that I'mpassionate about within this
(02:52):
space, I absolutely love to dothat.
So speaking engagements.
Different conferences, differentevents where we can really
showcase what we're doing orjust passions is something that
I absolutely love.
So outside of the professional,uh, side of things, I am a mom.
I've been married for about,gosh, three years or so.
(03:14):
And I'm expecting my second,which you guys were aware of
when, uh, I was doing the, theworking well top.
My second will be due inSeptember, so I am gearing up
for that as my belly is growinginto this summer.
And of course, we, we live inCharlotte, North Carolina.
I've got two small pups.
I love to travel, I lovefitness.
During the pandemic I.
(03:35):
Published a, a kid's book.
I launched a YouTube page forsome healthy workouts and tips
and anything that can kind ofpique my interest to continue to
learn in a lot of differentareas is, is what I love to do.
So I hope that's what you werelooking for Rick, but happy to
dig in anywhere else.
rick---kyla_1_05-28-2025_ (03:53):
Yeah, it is.
I, I'm curious, since you saidyou have two pups, what, you
know, they say you can tell alot about a person by the type
of dog they pick.
What do you, what types of dogsdo you have?
emily-davis_1_05-28-2025_090 (04:03):
So we have chonie, if you're
familiar with that, but, uh, itis a, a mashup between a
dachshund, so a wiener jog, andthen of course a chihuahua.
So they are very bold, they'revocal, insanely loyal, but gosh,
they are stubborn.
But we love'em, so they, they'rea lot of fun.
rick---kyla_1_05-28-2025_09 (04:23):
I'm gonna have to look it up.
I don't, I, I can't envision it,but Very cool.
emily-davis_1_05-28-2025_ (04:27):
Yeah.
rick---kyla_1_05-28-2025 (04:28):
That's funny.
We had a dachshund.
Always fun.
We, your dogs
emily-davis_1_05-28-20 (04:31):
They're, they're a lot of fun.
They, their, their bark is worsethan their bite.
I'll just say that.
So,
rick---kyla_1_05-28-2025_0 (04:37):
Yes.
Yeah.
Well, that's awesome.
And on the kids side are yougonna find out the sex or are
you
emily-davis_1_05-28-2025_09 (04:43):
no, you know what, I'm a very type A
plus person and I usuallycontrol a lot of different
things in my life.
And this is one area where wejust kind.
Leave it up to God and let it bea really fun and exciting
surprise.
So we did not find out with myson and we decided to not find
out with this current little totthat's growing in there.
(05:04):
So I'll let you guys know on thebirthday,
rick---kyla_1_05-28-2025_09 (05:08):
All right.
That's awesome.
What September?
What?
emily-davis_1_05-28-2 (05:11):
September 22nd is the due date, so my son
will have just turned two.
So, send your prayers and wellwishes for us.
rick---kyla_1_05-28 (05:18):
Absolutely.
Absolutely.
That's awesome.
Congratulations.
Yeah, so when we heard you, Iwrote down the quote when work
made fun gets done, so I wantedto know like, how did you get
that quote?
Is it from a particularly funexperience or something that
motivated you?
I loved that.
emily-davis_1_05-28-2025_ (05:39):
Yeah, so you know what I, I wish I had
a better story, but No.
So of course I've been a part ofdifferent organizations and some
of them were just absolutelyamazing.
Some of them not so much.
And as I mentioned before, Iwork with different employers
every single day and it's, it'sso interesting to me because I
(05:59):
think with all of that exposure.
I was always able to kind ofdrill into a theme per se, and
it was truly the organizationsthat had a natural but thriving
environment.
I.
Their people were happier, theywere more loyal.
The, the growth of theorganization was strong.
And on the flip side, when wewould be brought into
(06:20):
organizations where they werereally struggling and finances
were low and they were missingtheir various margins, we would
also hear that turnover wasreally high and morale was
really low.
And so I just had kind of said,you know what?
If we can make.
The workplace enjoyable forpeople, I bet they would produce
more.
And as you heard, and that whatI'm sure we'll get into today,
(06:43):
there's a lot of research thatbacks that up.
So that's kind of where thatsaying was, was first birthed, I
guess.
In a, in a funny, in a funnyway.
rick---kyla_1_05-28-2025_0 (06:51):
Very cool.
Yeah, it's got Mary poppin vibesfor me.
What is it for every element.
Of fun, of, of, of work to bedone.
There is an
emily-davis_1_05-28-2025_090 (07:00):
I.
rick---kyla_1_05-28-2025_090 (07:00):
of fun.
Yes, yes.
Yes.
That's cool.
Yeah, so big picture, Emily.
I guess just kind of jumpinginto really what you do, what
does, in your mind, exceptionalworkplace even mean?
It's, I think it's healthy to stto kind of establish a baseline
for people listening.
How might you describe anexceptional workplace?
emily-davis_1_05-28-2025 (07:24):
People have to call it a career home.
It's not a job.
It's not I have to go to work.
It's not your sole purpose forwaking up in the morning is to
get a paycheck.
That's not what we want.
When you think about anexceptional workplace, it is
truly an area or an environmentin which somebody can thrive.
(07:46):
Their best self comes to life.
You have a workplace family, abest friend at work.
You have a leadership teamthat's insanely motivational and
you respect them.
You know the purpose that youbring every single day and you
appreciate the people aroundyou.
I don't know if you guys arefamiliar with the Maslow's
(08:06):
hierarchy of needs, but I, Ikind of equate that the same way
as an exceptional workplace.
So you have to have thepsychological needs, so the, you
know, human survival, your basicneeds, food, water safety, et
cetera.
Then you get into having theemotional safety in the
workplace, let's say.
(08:27):
Love and belonging or are a bigcomponent there.
And then you get into selfesteem and self-worth.
And then of course, being ableto grow and have autonomy.
So when I think about anexceptional workplace, I kind of
tap into those five majorelements.
And if any one of those aremissing, that's kind of a red
flag to take a, a deeper lookunder the hood or peel the onion
(08:52):
back in a workplace andunderstand why maybe what's
missing.
rick---kyla_1_05-28-2025_0 (08:56):
Very cool.
Okay, can you tell us and ourlisteners about the four Ps of
employee motivation?
emily-davis_1_05-28-2025_ (09:03):
Yeah.
So, I'm a nerd outside of, ofsales and, and we love human
behavior at First Stop Healthand it's kind of, in our core
ethos and what we do.
But there's a lot of researchthat goes into our industry and,
and science around healthcareand benefits and people and
whatnot.
And I was super intrigued whenmy CGO actually presented us
(09:27):
with the Harvard BusinessReview.
And it was basically thismassive meta analysis that
looked at over 20,000 employeesacross 50 different countries
really digging into what.
Leaders were trying tounderstand as to does culture
actually impact workplaceperformance and longevity?
(09:48):
Essentially they wanted to know,how can I institute strong
culture?
Is it worth it?
You know, that the time, money,the effort, energy, et cetera.
And then does culture actuallydrive performance in a
meaningful way?
Right.
And so during our talk together,I kind of laid out four
different Ps that are reallydigging into the motivation as
(10:11):
to why we work, because itultimately will determine how
well somebody performs.
So the first is my favorite andand it should be because it's
actually the most impactful forsomebody.
It is play.
So you work because the workthat you are doing is inherently
enjoyable.
It's a part of your identity.
(10:33):
It enables team trust.
It peaks curiosity.
It allows somebody to be superflexible, and then it reduces
things like burnout.
Stress, boredom, fatigue,hierarchy, uh, and I gave the
example, if you think of ateacher, a teacher that is
thriving in the play categorywould be having the autonomy to
(10:57):
create their own lesson plans orputting together a really fun
day, a field trip where theybuild these meaningful and long
lasting relationships.
So that is the play category.
The second one that I think is,is, is right there in terms of
importance would be purpose.
So what we do has impact.
(11:17):
So basically when I wake upevery day, I am aligning with
the mission of, of the overallorganization based on the work
that I do.
I guess, when you think aboutthe value that you bring to the
work every day, you understandit.
So, so you know your purpose andyou know the purpose of the
people that are around you,either working alongside of you
(11:39):
or different types of peers or,or even your boss or your
manager and you reallyappreciate the outcome of the
work.
So for, for the teacher, let'ssay.
Her purpose is, you know,building our next generation,
the society and, you know,helping kids master
multiplication or, or spelling,et cetera.
And then third would be yourpotential.
(12:00):
So I always like to ask thequestion, are your people
growing from their experiences?
We are all humans and so weinnately.
We don't ever wanna be stuck orfeel stagnant in our lives,
whether it's in ourrelationships, you know,
personally, but professionally,it, it's really key.
So within a role, are therecareer ladders, are roles, very
(12:24):
clearly defined.
Are there opportunities to grow?
Maybe not necessarily up aladder, but are you exposed to
new experiences and so.
Those first three Ps ofmotivation and of the workplace
are really what we call directmotivators.
So if somebody is indexing veryhigh on those three Ps, they're
(12:45):
gonna perform better.
They're going to be more, moreloyal.
They will, they will be betterteam members for your
organization.
And the fourth.
P is is more the one we have tobe careful of, and that's
pressure.
And there's a lot of differenttypes of pressure from emotional
to economic, et cetera.
But the one that really plaguesthe workplace is the emotional
(13:07):
pressure.
And this is essentially, am Icomparing myself in a negative
way to my peers?
Am I doing something just togain a reward or to not receive
a punishment?
And so there's a really finebalance with pressure because it
is, it can be determined to bean indirect motivator, and that
(13:28):
can be very negative forperformance and for the
longevity of the individual.
So if we, we take the example ofthat teacher.
The right amount of pressure forthat person maybe is just the
pure fact that they have to settheir alarm every morning at
7:00 AM in order to wake up andto get to school to be paid.
Right.
That is pressure in and ofitself.
But if, if that teacher was, youknow, packed in a classroom with
(13:51):
50 kids and they all had to makestraight A's without a lot of
resources that would, that wouldbe, unnecessary and it would
harm the impact of both thestudents and the teacher.
Ultimately the research aroundthe four Ps is really
interesting because, again, as Imentioned, they, they studied a
lot of different organizations,and when you can index high on
(14:15):
the first three Ps and monitorthe fourth pressure, then you
can really create that workplaceculture where people can thrive
and where they can stay withthat organization long, long
term.
So anything I missed that youguys love that I need to, to
drill into more on the thattopic?
rick---kyla_1_05-28-2025_09 (14:35):
No, I like it.
I like it.
It's, it's almost like sets.
Maybe, I wouldn't say like it'sthe employee motivation.
It's almost like factors thatneed to exist
emily-davis_1_05-28-2025_0 (14:45):
Yes.
rick---kyla_1_05-28-2025 (14:46):
within the employee's.
We always used to say what arethe artifacts?
emily-davis_1_05-28-202 (14:51):
Mm-hmm.
rick---kyla_1_05-28-2025_0907 (14:52):
a consultant, when I would go into
a company, one of the things wewould say is.
What artifacts exist?
Af like, I could come back ayear from today after having
worked with somebody.
What artifacts are going toexist a year later?
That show that we were there Ifeel like what you just
described are what I would lookfor.
(15:12):
I.
I would look for those healthysigns of somebody being able to
look to me and say, Hey, here'smy purpose.
Here's how I, exist within thisplace.
And, and also I have fun andhere's how I do it.
And, you know, those types ofthings, like what you're saying.
Those to me are.
Our wonderful artifacts, I feellike for, find within a firm
(15:32):
especially after you guys have,have worked with them to come
back and then see those things.
Because I, I think you're right.
I think if you're lacking thosethings, I definitely, I, I
think, and or if you have anoverabundance of one of those
things, like pressure can youknow it?
Every, it, it is interesting.
Everybody responds differentlyto pressure.
(15:52):
Pressure can be good,
emily-davis_1_05-28-2025_ (15:54):
Okay.
rick---kyla_1_05-28-2025_090 (15:55):
be crippling and it's, there's this
fi fine balance and having toomuch fun could become a
distraction.
So it's
emily-davis_1_05-28-202 (16:02):
Exactly right.
rick---kyla_1_05-28-2025_ (16:03):
Yeah, it's like it's, they're cool
they're cool guides andbaselines for, hey, for each one
of these, there's a healthyamount and we need to figure out
what that is.
And but all four of these needto exist in some way, shape, or
form, and to, to a certaindegree.
It's cool.
It's good stuff.
I, I think they're greatindicators.
so yeah, no, I wouldn't, I'm, Ididn't feel the need to add to
it.
I think it's great.
(16:24):
But I do want to speakspecifically about one of'em,
you, you talk about play.
I know a lot of people that areout there get super nervous when
they hear that, especiallyprobably, I don't wanna classify
people within certain categoriesof age, but I do feel like it
is, it is somewhat common, likethe older you get, more you
(16:45):
feel, you get in your feelsabout the word play at work,
right?
the truth is getting feelsright.
You know, you get in your feels.
Trying to think of the right wayto say that.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
But the reality is I think weall really do believe that all
the way back to, say MaryPoppins and that old song she
(17:06):
does, it's like there, theredoes need to be an element of
fun Right.
To work and there's no reasonthere can't be.
But maybe how do you recommendto employers that they institute
play within the workforce?
emily-davis_1_05-28-2025_0 (17:21):
Such a thoughtful question and, and I
wanna make sure that.
We define play within theworkplace.
It's not just, you know, let'shave balloons and parties and be
the Michael Scott of the officeevery day, right?
That's not necessarily the play,but at the end of the day, play
really means is the work thatsomebody is doing enjoyable.
(17:42):
So it allows for creativity asto how somebody might perform a
job.
So the flexibility, let's sayaround.
They're working hours.
Maybe it's not your strict nineto five, but maybe there's some
flexibility there.
Maybe play is also theopportunity to connect with
other colleagues or otherdepartments and, cross-reference
(18:04):
or be more collaborative.
It might be the C-suite openingup.
Office hours just to get to knowand, and to meet different
people within theirorganization.
So it just allows somebody toshow up as their true self.
Things like dress for your day,bring your child to workday,
being goofy with a customerbecause.
(18:26):
That's innate within you, andit's an enjoyable experience for
them.
So every single industry will bea little bit different.
And so I want to acknowledgethat you're exactly right.
If I'm talking to a constructioncompany and I'm like, yeah, add
in some play, they're like areyou kidding me?
Like this is a high riskenvironment.
And so I think thinking aboutother creative ways specifically
(18:50):
in that industry, like.
Maybe there are stickers thatget placed on your hard hats
when you reach a hundred days ofwork.
Or maybe you have somebodythat's in the field on the
workplace that's, takingpictures of how hard the various
colleagues are working and thenthey post them to their LinkedIn
or social media page, or maybeit is the.
(19:12):
The manager that does a prehuddle and he starts each
conversation off with a joke.
So it's just the opportunity toadd some levity, some enjoyment,
some aspects of togetherness,and then letting the employees
really have that autonomy to gettheir work done in a way that
(19:35):
makes the most sense for themand how they can show up as, as
their true self.
As I mentioned before.
Is that helpful?
rick---kyla_1_05-28-2025_ (19:41):
Yeah, very much so.
So you have a gift givingtheory.
Can you tell us about that?
emily-davis_1_05-28-2025_0 (19:48):
Yes.
And so, during the conversationfor your listeners, like I kind
of had mashed up.
Two different theories in theworkplace that we'd love to see
come together.
Obviously understanding themotivations of work that we just
kind of dug into.
And then honestly, I think Ilean more favorably on the
theory of gift giving.
'cause I think it's fascinating.
(20:09):
We as humans, I mean there's awhole book that the Five Love
Languages and gifting is a biglove language for humans.
It's a form of.
Communication and expression,general thoughtfulness.
You know, the giver of the gifthas all these different
components of mastering the giftgiving, and the receiver
(20:30):
obviously gets a lot of thegreat benefits of receiving a
gift.
But basically this theory boilsdown into three major areas of
if a gift is going to be wellreceived or not.
So the first is.
Does the recipient feel heardand seen?
So it really kind of ties backto the giver's attention to
(20:54):
detail.
Do they know the individual?
Is the gift personalized tothem?
Does it convey that that giverhas listened to them or
understands their needs, wants,desires?
That's the first one.
That one's pretty key.
Second is, does it expose therecipient to a new idea, a new
(21:14):
lesson, a new way of living?
One of the big keys that a lotof the research has unpacked is
if a gift is ongoing in nature,it is much more meaningful than
just kind of one stagnant.
Thing that you use and thenthrow it away and you don't
think about it again.
So does it introduce somebody toa new idea?
(21:36):
Is it creative?
Is it thoughtful?
Does it impact their health andwellbeing over time?
And then the third, which Ithink is what most people think
about when they think of giftsis it luxurious?
Do we add in this thing calledthe luxe principle?
And so for.
The recipient, they view thegift as, wow, this is super
(21:58):
nice.
Maybe it was expensive.
Maybe it took a lot of time andenergy to create or to organize
or to purchase.
It is the highest quality of aversion.
Of something that's being given.
And for the giver, sometimes itmight be expensive out of their
pocket, but ultimately it'ssomething very special.
(22:20):
And so when we take the theoryof gift giving and we actually
apply it to human resources orthe benefits ecosystem, we try
to tie in.
We as the employers offer upgifts to our employees in the
form of benefits.
(22:40):
Programs, the culture and theenvironment that we instill
among the workplace.
And so if we can retrain our HRleaders to think of benefits as
a gift and apply these differentprinciples, then their employees
will again elicit that wowfactor.
And truly feel the benefits thattheir employers care about them
(23:03):
and what they've given themoutside of just a paycheck are
really meaningful.
And they are, they're true giftsat the end of the day.
rick---kyla_1_05-28-2025_0 (23:13):
Very cool.
What just maybe as a goodexample, Emily, like what's a,
could you throw out a, maybewith the best gift you've given,
or, uh.
emily-davis_1_05-28-2025_ (23:21):
yeah, so, uh, gosh, it's hard.
I think the example that I gavewhen we first connected was,
actually the best gift I hadever received.
And it was back when I was achild, fifth grade.
And, you know, I had mentioned,for me personally, I'll never
forget it, it was a time ofstrife within my family.
My, my mom and dad were goingthrough a divorce.
(23:41):
I was the youngest of threesisters.
And, during the holidayseveryone kind of wipes clean
what's going on, within thehousehold.
And we have a tradition that.
Every Christmas Eve you get toopen one gift.
And so my dad came down thestairs with just this massive
box and all different wrappingpapers because it was so big to
(24:02):
cover it.
And and he looks at me and says,you know, ster, it's, this is
for you.
And I was like, oh my goodness.
My sisters are instantlyjealous.
And they're like, no, fair.
She's the baby.
She gets everything.
And and I was totally eating itup.
So ultimately I was like, I'm sospecial.
This is amazing.
And I opened up a minitrampoline and at the time I
(24:23):
didn't even know that thesethings had existed and it was so
much fun.
My dad knew I was kind of highenergy.
As I mentioned, I love to dofitness.
I love to, be on the road andwhatnot, and it was really
expensive at the time.
These trampolines are a hundreddollars and.
For my family.
That was a lot of money for onegift that I didn't even ask for.
(24:45):
And so for me, all of theseemotions of the thoughtfulness,
the luxe principle, knowing me,knowing I would love to do
something that was active andthat wasn't just a one and done,
but I could come back to it.
I think later I made mytrampoline bee little forts for
Beanie Babies and all Barbiesand all sorts of things.
So it, it was such an impactful.
(25:06):
Gift for me.
And then, shortly thereafterthat next year my parents
separated and we had to move andwe went through a tough time.
So I will always remember thatand the emotions that it
elicited for me.
So.
I took that on the reverse,Rick, so I hope that's okay.
I would say the best gift I'dgiven was, maybe Surprise, goo
Goo Doll tickets to my husbandat the Red Rocks.
(25:27):
'cause he's a huge fan.
But it's, it's a lot of thinkingof that individual, the time,
the energy, the resources thatit takes to truly make somebody
feel seen and heard and special.
That I think goes a long way.
rick---kyla_1_05-28-2025_ (25:41):
Yeah, it's probably the best way to go
about it, right?
emily-davis_1_05-28-2025_ (25:45):
Yeah.
rick---kyla_1_05-28-2025_09 (25:45):
you can describe the emotions of
when you received it as opposedto when you gave it,'cause you
know how it made you feel.
Mm-hmm.
emily-davis_1_05-28-2025_ (25:51):
Yeah.
rick---kyla_1_05-28-2025_090 (25:52):
so definitely grateful for the.
Grateful for the, you sharingthe story.
It's, it's a cool story.
I mean, I think it helps, atleast people connect with, it's
not just an act, right?
There's a desired response ofhelping some or connecting with
somebody,
emily-davis_1_05-28-2025_0 (26:10):
Yep.
rick---kyla_1_05-28-2025 (26:11):
right?
And in order to connect, weoften say heard, confirmed,
validated.
It's do they feel heard as aresult of the gift that you gave
them?
Do they feel confirmed?
Do they feel validated in, intheir thoughts, their feelings?
And and it doesn't have to beanything that.
Like crazy.
I had a guy who was trying tosell to me one time and I had
(26:32):
this big personal objective wasto get a pro card and
bodybuilding like a after 40.
the guy somehow heard me saythat.
And was paying attention enoughto know that I was trying had
gone onto my Facebook page andsaw like one of my posts.
(26:52):
So he went and he knew I likedcoffee, he went and bought me a
coffee mug.
That was literally the shape ofsome bodybuilder that's posing
like this, like with his arm outto the side.
And that's where you grab itwith your hand?
Yeah, and he sent it to me andwas like, Hey man.
I know you're into this stuff.
I, I saw this and I, I applaudyour efforts, hoping to get a
(27:14):
meeting with you.
Do you think I called that guy?
Absolutely, because
emily-davis_1_05-28 (27:18):
Absolutely.
rick---kyla_1_05-28-2025_090 (27:19):
it was probably one of the, and,
and I guys like, let's be realfor a second.
That mug probably cost less than$5 somewhere.
emily-davis_1_05-28-20 (27:25):
totally.
rick---kyla_1_05-28-2025_090 (27:26):
on Amazon, right?
All the, it was very, I justreally felt like, wow, man, you
just did a great job.
emily-davis_1_05-28-2025_ (27:33):
Yeah, absolutely.
rick---kyla_1_05-28-2025_09 (27:35):
You know, he listened.
He, he did all the things, and Istill have the mug.
I
emily-davis_1_05-28-2025_090 (27:40):
So true.
And I'll, and I'll even tell youlike, one thing I always remind
my team, my sales folks is thatone quote that is.
People might forget what yousaid or what you talked about,
but they will never forget howyou made them feel.
And so if you can show up and bepresent and be thoughtful and
pick up on those little cuesabout somebody, it just will go
(28:03):
such a long way.
And it, and it kind of buildsback the human touch and the
relationships that I feel havebeen so broken or missed.
Especially since COVID, but evenmore so with, technology and
these devices that we havetoday.
And it's a meaningful way tobring back that human element.
rick---kyla_1_05-28-2025 (28:22):
That's super.
Absolutely.
Yeah.
So you talked a little bit abouthow employee benefits are a gift
to the employees from theemployer.
How do you, how do you tie thatin and influence company culture
with benefits?
emily-davis_1_05-28-2025_ (28:35):
Yeah, it's a great question.
So ultimately I would say.
The benefits that a companydecides to offer to their
employees is a direct reflectionof what they actually care about
for their employees.
And the same hold true.
If you were to ask somebody,alright, let me see your bank
statement.
What do you.
(28:55):
Spending money on, that's whatyou care about.
Literally before we got on thiscall, my husband came in, he is
like, Hey, I see a really bigbill to TJ Maxx, and I was like,
mm-hmm.
I care about that quite a bit.
But all jokes aside same thingif you were to look at
somebody's mobile app.
Or their mobile phone and seewhat kind of apps are on their
phone.
That's typically what they careabout.
(29:15):
Again, for me, it's my daycareapp.
It's my YMCA pass.
It's my Amazon account.
And so if we apply that to theemployers, I.
What are they offering?
So let's say they have a reallystrong 401k company match, or
they're doing tuitionreimbursement for maybe some of
(29:35):
their younger folks with studentloans.
They care about their peoplehaving financial freedom either
at the start of theirprofessional career.
Or maybe on the backside.
What if they offer really strongand lucrative fertility programs
or a really great parental leaveprogram?
That means that tells theemployees, wow, my employer
(29:59):
actually cares about me startinga family, and all of the
wonderful benefits that coincidewith that.
Another great example isPatagonia, who I was doing a lot
of research on.
They physically shut down theirentire warehouse operations,
their stores, everything fromChristmas Day to January 2nd,
(30:22):
and that tells the, the wholeorganization, you know what we
care about.
You guys enough?
You've worked really hard duringthis holiday season.
You need to rest.
You need to enjoy the time withfamily and friends.
You need to show up again inthis next year, recouped and
ready to rock and roll.
But you know what?
We care about you right now.
(30:42):
We want you to take this time tocompletely turn off and do the
things that you need to do forthe holidays.
So I think for employers whenthey're thinking about the
theory of gift giving and eventhe, you know, the four Ps of
motivation.
Take an evaluation or anassessment of your benefits
ecosystem today, does it holdtrue to the things that you
(31:06):
would want or that you wouldfind value in, in terms of a
gift?
Is it allowing you to thrive?
Right?
And then I would say reverse iton the back end for your people
and really.
Find a meaningful way tounderstand what they're
offering.
And it's maybe not justbenefits.
It could be other things, again,other programs or, or different
(31:27):
cultural methods that they haveinstilled.
But are they gifts?
Do your people see them asgifts?
And, and you can ask'em, you canget their feedback.
And, and so that's how I think Iwould first encourage leaders to
assess their benefits and assessif how people are taking them.
rick---kyla_1_05-28-2025_0907 (31:46):
I love it.
I feel like it's a nuanced wayto look at the planning behind
what benefits you put in place.
You know, think that's the thingis in life, I've found that most
people look at say, good giftgivers.
Let's just use that as anexample.
I think this fits in manyfacets, but we'll use this one.
(32:06):
And they say, okay, well,they're just good at that.
And it's like maybe, or maybethey just did a ton of research
as a result it landedexceptionally well.
And now you're not seeing all ofthe work that went into their
preparation for the gift.
You're just seeing the gift theygave.
So on the outside looking in,you're like, oh, they're just
(32:27):
good at providing benefits, orthey're just good at providing
gifts, and it's like.
Well, they probably did a ton ofresearch that you didn't see to
make sure that it landed withthe population they were
providing it for and or theperson they were providing it
for.
Mm-hmm.
And that's truly all that heartpassion, thought care concern
that went into providing thegift.
(32:47):
That's actually what made thegift so great.
emily-davis_1_05-28-2025_0 (32:50):
Yep.
rick---kyla_1_05-28-2025_0 (32:50):
And, and if I'm parroting back, kind
of what I feel like I'm hearingyou say it and tying the pieces
together.
It's like, look.
you do your benefits, you could,you have options.
You can just put together yourstandard array of benefits and
say, here you go.
Like, this is what people givewhen they give benefits.
you can really d dive deep, seekto understand the population
(33:12):
that you're serving and, and howthey would perceive.
The g the gifts or the benefitsthat you're giving and make sure
that they perceive them more asa gift and maybe less is just
like, this is what I get.
emily-davis_1_05-28-2025_ (33:25):
Yeah.
rick---kyla_1_05-28-2025_09 (33:27):
And that, that therein lies the
difference maybe in perception.
emily-davis_1_05-28-2025_0907 (33:31):
A hundred percent.
And I'll tell you, there's a lotof research today where yes, if
somebody is exploring, taking anew role, they're looking at
salary, but almost as important,if not more.
They're looking at the benefits,if they wanna start a family, if
they want financial freedom, ifthey want.
You know, flex or differenttypes of PTO and time off and
(33:53):
you know, there, God, there'ssuch an array of different
benefits today from petinsurance to all sorts of things
that it really does impact yourpeople and if they will join
your organization, if they willproduce at your organization and
if they will be loyal to yourorganization.
I know for us, we work withdifferent employers that.
(34:14):
Again, are screaming theattraction retainment, turnover,
the cost that it takes anemployer to hire somebody, to
train them to go through all themotions.
And at the end of the day youdon't even know six months later
if they're gonna going toperform.
That's a lot.
And so if we can help reducethat by offering a little bit
(34:36):
more on the benefits and theprogramming side for people to
allow them to thrive and toallow them.
To wanna stay loyal to thatemployer.
It's key.
It, it's just a no brainer in myopinion.
rick---kyla_1_05-28-2025 (34:48):
Emily, do you have any other ideas on
can remind their employees thattheir benefits are gifts?
Maybe in, in essence, shiftingtheir mindset that, hey, these
aren't just benefits, these aregifts I.
emily-davis_1_05-28-2025 (35:03):
Listen to them first and foremost.
And I'm not saying do anemployee survey.
Yes, those have been done for awhile, but, but truly like,
understand, would you ratherhave more PTO or would you
rather have free pet insurance?
Like give them options of thingsthat are out there in the
market.
When was the last time thatleaders actually got to know?
(35:25):
Their people, when was the lasttime they were on the line with
them that they did a ride along,that they were actually to hear
some of their concerns or tohear areas where they're
struggling and in the reverse,you know, hear about the
benefits that they love and thatthey're, they're thriving.
And I would say second to thaton an ongoing basis of listening
(35:46):
to them is tell them.
We care about you and yourfamily and your longevity here.
So we're investing in you andyour family and your longevity
here.
That means career developmentprograms.
That means you know, amazingmedical benefits for your entire
household.
That means we are giving youthis full blown benefits package
(36:07):
because.
Each one of these things aregifts, and so I would reframe it
when you do your annual or youropen enrollment meeting, say,
welcome to the Gift GivingParty.
I wanna talk to you abouteverything that we're giving to
you and your family as being anemployee here at this
organization.
Reframe it, reshift it, and thenyou do have to be open to,
(36:29):
again, receiving that feedbackbecause you wanna hear.
Hey John.
Hey Susie.
How have these gifts or benefitsbeen received?
Are you using them?
Are your families takingadvantage of them?
Has your life changed because ofthem?
And then be able to adapt andshift where you need to.
rick---kyla_1_05-28-20 (36:50):
Awesome.
Very nice.
So what is one piece of advicethat you would give employers
and business leaders who wannacreate a more human and
supportive workplace?
emily-davis_1_05-28-2025_090 (37:02):
I, I kind of teased it out before,
but be human with your people.
Take your hat off a moment frombeing the CEO or the CFO or the
boss or whomever it might be,and just be human with your
people.
I mentioned before we've reallylost the human connection and
the trust, and I think trust.
(37:23):
Within the workplace.
And you know what we break breadtogether with a lot of our
colleagues.
We probably see our colleaguesmore than we see our family
members.
My little boy I was talkingabout during the workday, I
might see him three hoursbetween, you know, him going to
daycare and me having my joband, and bedtime.
So the people that I'm workingwith, we should be able to
(37:46):
establish that workplace family.
And so I would just encourageevery single leader.
Who are making the decisionsaround culture benefits,
programming their people, etcetera.
Go get to know your people andbe human with them again show
them your vulnerabilities.
Talk to them about yourfamilies.
Talk to'em about the best bookyou read.
(38:08):
Last year.
Very simple ways that you canbring that human element back to
the workplace and your peoplewill feel more grounded to you.
They will trust you.
The decisions that you makealong the way, they will be more
likely to stand behind you andbe loyal.
So that, that I think would bemy advice.
rick---kyla_1_05-28-2025_0 (38:27):
Love it.
Love the advice.
Thank you Emily.
So last question that we throwout there is really, it's, it's
really one for you.
Just to circle back and ask, isthere anything else that you'd
like our listeners to know?
I.
emily-davis_1_05-28-2025_0907 (38:41):
I would just say that, at the end
of the day I've learned thisbeing in a few different
branches within this industry.
Life is short in this industryis really small.
So treat people the way youwanna be treated.
Whether you're a leader, whetherit is your first role that
you've ever been a part of, younever know where you're gonna
(39:03):
find people again or when you'regonna see them, or how you might
need somebody to be a resourceor to help your career or just
personally, you know, aneighbor.
So just treat people the wayyou, you wanna be treated in all
aspects of this industry and ofthis life.
rick---kyla_1_05-28-20 (39:22):
Awesome.
Well, Emily, thank you verymuch.
Really appreciate you coming onand just wanna also thank the
listeners out there for tuningin.
I.
If anyone has any questionsplease contact us or look for
information on ourhomepage@www.fbmc.com.
And before I end it, Emily,would you like to make a plug
(39:42):
for y'all's website?
I.
emily-davis_1_05-28-2025_0907 (39:43):
I would love to thank you first
and foremost.
Thank you guys for, for tuningin, as I mentioned first Off
Health is a direct care company.
Everything from urgent care,primary care, mental health.
We are in all 50 states.
If you are interested, you cancheck out our website along with
all of the social media channelsthat we are on.
Or of course you can getconnected with me at Emily Davis
(40:05):
on LinkedIn.
So thank you guys so much.
rick---kyla_1_05-28-2025_ (40:09):
Thank you.
Awesome.
Appreciate you so much andremember listeners, you can find
us and subscribe on any podcastapp.
Thanks and have a great day.
Hey everyone.
Thank you for listening to RiskyBenefits and welcome to this
week's episode.
Our guest today is Emily Davis,vice President of Partnerships
and Sales at First Stop Health.
had the pleasure of hearingEmily speak at a recent Working
Well Breakfast, which was heldby Capital Health Plan here in
Tallahassee, and we loved herand kind of knew that we had to
(00:41):
bring her on.
For our listeners to hear.
We're excited to have Emily talkwith us and inspire new ways to
create a company culture thatyou can be proud of.
So before we get started, Emily,please tell us about yourself.
Maybe a little bit about whatyou do, family, where you live,
all the goodies
emily-davis_1_05-28-2025_0 (00:59):
Love that.
Well first thank you guys.
So much, totally honored to behere and speaking with you.
The working well conversationwas a ton of fun and it's even
more exciting for me to continuethe dialogue today and with your
listeners.
So.
I guess, gosh, a little bitabout me.
We'll start professionally.
I think I've been now in thebenefits world coming up on 20
(01:23):
years, so I started as apopulation health consultant
working with different employersup and down the east coast,
really focusing on, I.
Their health and welfarebenefits.
I took some time to actuallybecome a part of human resources
with both Duke Energy andLowe's, which are headquartered
right here in Charlotte, NorthCarolina, where I live.
(01:45):
And then I would say mostrecently, gosh, about.
Five, six years ago, I tappedinto more of the healthcare
innovation side.
I was really passionate aboutpeople and the tools and the
resources that employees haveaccess to, and I swore I would
never get into sales, but here Iam and I absolutely love it.
(02:09):
So yes, at First Stop Health.
We're basically like a directvirtual care company, and my
role for partnerships in salesis to really ensure that my
team, which is gosh, an amazingcrew of eight up and down the
East coast, they are workingwith our broker partners.
We're expanding our footprint.
(02:29):
And ultimately, it sounds kindof corny, but we're trying to
deliver care that people love,so, so that's essentially what I
am charged with today, and it'sbeen super rewarding.
It's a ton of fun.
And then as you guys saw on theside, any opportunity that I
have to address an audience in areally meaningful way about
areas or topics that I'mpassionate about within this
(02:52):
space, I absolutely love to dothat.
So speaking engagements.
Different conferences, differentevents where we can really
showcase what we're doing orjust passions is something that
I absolutely love.
So outside of the professional,uh, side of things, I am a mom.
I've been married for about,gosh, three years or so.
(03:14):
And I'm expecting my second,which you guys were aware of
when, uh, I was doing the, theworking well top.
My second will be due inSeptember, so I am gearing up
for that as my belly is growinginto this summer.
And of course, we, we live inCharlotte, North Carolina.
I've got two small pups.
I love to travel, I lovefitness.
During the pandemic I.
(03:35):
Published a, a kid's book.
I launched a YouTube page forsome healthy workouts and tips
and anything that can kind ofpique my interest to continue to
learn in a lot of differentareas is, is what I love to do.
So I hope that's what you werelooking for Rick, but happy to
dig in anywhere else.
rick---kyla_1_05-28-2025_ (03:53):
Yeah, it is.
I, I'm curious, since you saidyou have two pups, what, you
know, they say you can tell alot about a person by the type
of dog they pick.
What do you, what types of dogsdo you have?
emily-davis_1_05-28-2025_090 (04:03):
So we have chonie, if you're
familiar with that, but, uh, itis a, a mashup between a
dachshund, so a wiener jog, andthen of course a chihuahua.
So they are very bold, they'revocal, insanely loyal, but gosh,
they are stubborn.
But we love'em, so they, they'rea lot of fun.
rick---kyla_1_05-28-2025_09 (04:23):
I'm gonna have to look it up.
I don't, I, I can't envision it,but Very cool.
emily-davis_1_05-28-2025_ (04:27):
Yeah.
rick---kyla_1_05-28-2025 (04:28):
That's funny.
We had a dachshund.
Always fun.
We, your dogs
emily-davis_1_05-28-20 (04:31):
They're, they're a lot of fun.
They, their, their bark is worsethan their bite.
I'll just say that.
So,
rick---kyla_1_05-28-2025_0 (04:37):
Yes.
Yeah.
Well, that's awesome.
And on the kids side are yougonna find out the sex or are
you
emily-davis_1_05-28-2025_09 (04:43):
no, you know what, I'm a very type A
plus person and I usuallycontrol a lot of different
things in my life.
And this is one area where wejust kind.
Leave it up to God and let it bea really fun and exciting
surprise.
So we did not find out with myson and we decided to not find
out with this current little totthat's growing in there.
(05:04):
So I'll let you guys know on thebirthday,
rick---kyla_1_05-28-2025_09 (05:08):
All right.
That's awesome.
What September?
What?
emily-davis_1_05-28-2 (05:11):
September 22nd is the due date, so my son
will have just turned two.
So, send your prayers and wellwishes for us.
rick---kyla_1_05-28 (05:18):
Absolutely.
Absolutely.
That's awesome.
Congratulations.
Yeah, so when we heard you, Iwrote down the quote when work
made fun gets done, so I wantedto know like, how did you get
that quote?
Is it from a particularly funexperience or something that
motivated you?
I loved that.
emily-davis_1_05-28-2025_ (05:39):
Yeah, so you know what I, I wish I had
a better story, but No.
So of course I've been a part ofdifferent organizations and some
of them were just absolutelyamazing.
Some of them not so much.
And as I mentioned before, Iwork with different employers
every single day and it's, it'sso interesting to me because I
(05:59):
think with all of that exposure.
I was always able to kind ofdrill into a theme per se, and
it was truly the organizationsthat had a natural but thriving
environment.
I.
Their people were happier, theywere more loyal.
The, the growth of theorganization was strong.
And on the flip side, when wewould be brought into
(06:20):
organizations where they werereally struggling and finances
were low and they were missingtheir various margins, we would
also hear that turnover wasreally high and morale was
really low.
And so I just had kind of said,you know what?
If we can make.
The workplace enjoyable forpeople, I bet they would produce
more.
And as you heard, and that whatI'm sure we'll get into today,
(06:43):
there's a lot of research thatbacks that up.
So that's kind of where thatsaying was, was first birthed, I
guess.
In a, in a funny, in a funnyway.
rick---kyla_1_05-28-2025_0 (06:51):
Very cool.
Yeah, it's got Mary poppin vibesfor me.
What is it for every element.
Of fun, of, of, of work to bedone.
There is an
emily-davis_1_05-28-2025_090 (07:00):
I.
rick---kyla_1_05-28-2025_090 (07:00):
of fun.
Yes, yes.
Yes.
That's cool.
Yeah, so big picture, Emily.
I guess just kind of jumpinginto really what you do, what
does, in your mind, exceptionalworkplace even mean?
It's, I think it's healthy to stto kind of establish a baseline
for people listening.
How might you describe anexceptional workplace?
emily-davis_1_05-28-2025 (07:24):
People have to call it a career home.
It's not a job.
It's not I have to go to work.
It's not your sole purpose forwaking up in the morning is to
get a paycheck.
That's not what we want.
When you think about anexceptional workplace, it is
truly an area or an environmentin which somebody can thrive.
(07:46):
Their best self comes to life.
You have a workplace family, abest friend at work.
You have a leadership teamthat's insanely motivational and
you respect them.
You know the purpose that youbring every single day and you
appreciate the people aroundyou.
I don't know if you guys arefamiliar with the Maslow's
(08:06):
hierarchy of needs, but I, Ikind of equate that the same way
as an exceptional workplace.
So you have to have thepsychological needs, so the, you
know, human survival, your basicneeds, food, water safety, et
cetera.
Then you get into having theemotional safety in the
workplace, let's say.
(08:27):
Love and belonging or are a bigcomponent there.
And then you get into selfesteem and self-worth.
And then of course, being ableto grow and have autonomy.
So when I think about anexceptional workplace, I kind of
tap into those five majorelements.
And if any one of those aremissing, that's kind of a red
flag to take a, a deeper lookunder the hood or peel the onion
(08:52):
back in a workplace andunderstand why maybe what's
missing.
rick---kyla_1_05-28-2025_0 (08:56):
Very cool.
Okay, can you tell us and ourlisteners about the four Ps of
employee motivation?
emily-davis_1_05-28-2025_ (09:03):
Yeah.
So, I'm a nerd outside of, ofsales and, and we love human
behavior at First Stop Healthand it's kind of, in our core
ethos and what we do.
But there's a lot of researchthat goes into our industry and,
and science around healthcareand benefits and people and
whatnot.
And I was super intrigued whenmy CGO actually presented us
(09:27):
with the Harvard BusinessReview.
And it was basically thismassive meta analysis that
looked at over 20,000 employeesacross 50 different countries
really digging into what.
Leaders were trying tounderstand as to does culture
actually impact workplaceperformance and longevity?
(09:48):
Essentially they wanted to know,how can I institute strong
culture?
Is it worth it?
You know, that the time, money,the effort, energy, et cetera.
And then does culture actuallydrive performance in a
meaningful way?
Right.
And so during our talk together,I kind of laid out four
different Ps that are reallydigging into the motivation as
(10:11):
to why we work, because itultimately will determine how
well somebody performs.
So the first is my favorite andand it should be because it's
actually the most impactful forsomebody.
It is play.
So you work because the workthat you are doing is inherently
enjoyable.
It's a part of your identity.
(10:33):
It enables team trust.
It peaks curiosity.
It allows somebody to be superflexible, and then it reduces
things like burnout.
Stress, boredom, fatigue,hierarchy, uh, and I gave the
example, if you think of ateacher, a teacher that is
thriving in the play categorywould be having the autonomy to
(10:57):
create their own lesson plans orputting together a really fun
day, a field trip where theybuild these meaningful and long
lasting relationships.
So that is the play category.
The second one that I think is,is, is right there in terms of
importance would be purpose.
So what we do has impact.
(11:17):
So basically when I wake upevery day, I am aligning with
the mission of, of the overallorganization based on the work
that I do.
I guess, when you think aboutthe value that you bring to the
work every day, you understandit.
So, so you know your purpose andyou know the purpose of the
people that are around you,either working alongside of you
(11:39):
or different types of peers or,or even your boss or your
manager and you reallyappreciate the outcome of the
work.
So for, for the teacher, let'ssay.
Her purpose is, you know,building our next generation,
the society and, you know,helping kids master
multiplication or, or spelling,et cetera.
And then third would be yourpotential.
(12:00):
So I always like to ask thequestion, are your people
growing from their experiences?
We are all humans and so weinnately.
We don't ever wanna be stuck orfeel stagnant in our lives,
whether it's in ourrelationships, you know,
personally, but professionally,it, it's really key.
So within a role, are therecareer ladders, are roles, very
(12:24):
clearly defined.
Are there opportunities to grow?
Maybe not necessarily up aladder, but are you exposed to
new experiences and so.
Those first three Ps ofmotivation and of the workplace
are really what we call directmotivators.
So if somebody is indexing veryhigh on those three Ps, they're
(12:45):
gonna perform better.
They're going to be more, moreloyal.
They will, they will be betterteam members for your
organization.
And the fourth.
P is is more the one we have tobe careful of, and that's
pressure.
And there's a lot of differenttypes of pressure from emotional
to economic, et cetera.
But the one that really plaguesthe workplace is the emotional
(13:07):
pressure.
And this is essentially, am Icomparing myself in a negative
way to my peers?
Am I doing something just togain a reward or to not receive
a punishment?
And so there's a really finebalance with pressure because it
is, it can be determined to bean indirect motivator, and that
(13:28):
can be very negative forperformance and for the
longevity of the individual.
So if we, we take the example ofthat teacher.
The right amount of pressure forthat person maybe is just the
pure fact that they have to settheir alarm every morning at
7:00 AM in order to wake up andto get to school to be paid.
Right.
That is pressure in and ofitself.
But if, if that teacher was, youknow, packed in a classroom with
(13:51):
50 kids and they all had to makestraight A's without a lot of
resources that would, that wouldbe, unnecessary and it would
harm the impact of both thestudents and the teacher.
Ultimately the research aroundthe four Ps is really
interesting because, again, as Imentioned, they, they studied a
lot of different organizations,and when you can index high on
(14:15):
the first three Ps and monitorthe fourth pressure, then you
can really create that workplaceculture where people can thrive
and where they can stay withthat organization long, long
term.
So anything I missed that youguys love that I need to, to
drill into more on the thattopic?
rick---kyla_1_05-28-2025_09 (14:35):
No, I like it.
I like it.
It's, it's almost like sets.
Maybe, I wouldn't say like it'sthe employee motivation.
It's almost like factors thatneed to exist
emily-davis_1_05-28-2025_0 (14:45):
Yes.
rick---kyla_1_05-28-2025 (14:46):
within the employee's.
We always used to say what arethe artifacts?
emily-davis_1_05-28-202 (14:51):
Mm-hmm.
rick---kyla_1_05-28-2025_0907 (14:52):
a consultant, when I would go into
a company, one of the things wewould say is.
What artifacts exist?
Af like, I could come back ayear from today after having
worked with somebody.
What artifacts are going toexist a year later?
That show that we were there Ifeel like what you just
described are what I would lookfor.
(15:12):
I.
I would look for those healthysigns of somebody being able to
look to me and say, Hey, here'smy purpose.
Here's how I, exist within thisplace.
And, and also I have fun andhere's how I do it.
And, you know, those types ofthings, like what you're saying.
Those to me are.
Our wonderful artifacts, I feellike for, find within a firm
(15:32):
especially after you guys have,have worked with them to come
back and then see those things.
Because I, I think you're right.
I think if you're lacking thosethings, I definitely, I, I
think, and or if you have anoverabundance of one of those
things, like pressure can youknow it?
Every, it, it is interesting.
Everybody responds differentlyto pressure.
(15:52):
Pressure can be good,
emily-davis_1_05-28-2025_ (15:54):
Okay.
rick---kyla_1_05-28-2025_090 (15:55):
be crippling and it's, there's this
fi fine balance and having toomuch fun could become a
distraction.
So it's
emily-davis_1_05-28-202 (16:02):
Exactly right.
rick---kyla_1_05-28-2025_ (16:03):
Yeah, it's like it's, they're cool
they're cool guides andbaselines for, hey, for each one
of these, there's a healthyamount and we need to figure out
what that is.
And but all four of these needto exist in some way, shape, or
form, and to, to a certaindegree.
It's cool.
It's good stuff.
I, I think they're greatindicators.
so yeah, no, I wouldn't, I'm, Ididn't feel the need to add to
it.
I think it's great.
(16:24):
But I do want to speakspecifically about one of'em,
you, you talk about play.
I know a lot of people that areout there get super nervous when
they hear that, especiallyprobably, I don't wanna classify
people within certain categoriesof age, but I do feel like it
is, it is somewhat common, likethe older you get, more you
(16:45):
feel, you get in your feelsabout the word play at work,
right?
the truth is getting feelsright.
You know, you get in your feels.
Trying to think of the right wayto say that.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
But the reality is I think weall really do believe that all
the way back to, say MaryPoppins and that old song she
(17:06):
does, it's like there, theredoes need to be an element of
fun Right.
To work and there's no reasonthere can't be.
But maybe how do you recommendto employers that they institute
play within the workforce?
emily-davis_1_05-28-2025_0 (17:21):
Such a thoughtful question and, and I
wanna make sure that.
We define play within theworkplace.
It's not just, you know, let'shave balloons and parties and be
the Michael Scott of the officeevery day, right?
That's not necessarily the play,but at the end of the day, play
really means is the work thatsomebody is doing enjoyable.
(17:42):
So it allows for creativity asto how somebody might perform a
job.
So the flexibility, let's sayaround.
They're working hours.
Maybe it's not your strict nineto five, but maybe there's some
flexibility there.
Maybe play is also theopportunity to connect with
other colleagues or otherdepartments and, cross-reference
(18:04):
or be more collaborative.
It might be the C-suite openingup.
Office hours just to get to knowand, and to meet different
people within theirorganization.
So it just allows somebody toshow up as their true self.
Things like dress for your day,bring your child to workday,
being goofy with a customerbecause.
(18:26):
That's innate within you, andit's an enjoyable experience for
them.
So every single industry will bea little bit different.
And so I want to acknowledgethat you're exactly right.
If I'm talking to a constructioncompany and I'm like, yeah, add
in some play, they're like areyou kidding me?
Like this is a high riskenvironment.
And so I think thinking aboutother creative ways specifically
(18:50):
in that industry, like.
Maybe there are stickers thatget placed on your hard hats
when you reach a hundred days ofwork.
Or maybe you have somebodythat's in the field on the
workplace that's, takingpictures of how hard the various
colleagues are working and thenthey post them to their LinkedIn
or social media page, or maybeit is the.
(19:12):
The manager that does a prehuddle and he starts each
conversation off with a joke.
So it's just the opportunity toadd some levity, some enjoyment,
some aspects of togetherness,and then letting the employees
really have that autonomy to gettheir work done in a way that
(19:35):
makes the most sense for themand how they can show up as, as
their true self.
As I mentioned before.
Is that helpful?
rick---kyla_1_05-28-2025_ (19:41):
Yeah, very much so.
So you have a gift givingtheory.
Can you tell us about that?
emily-davis_1_05-28-2025_0 (19:48):
Yes.
And so, during the conversationfor your listeners, like I kind
of had mashed up.
Two different theories in theworkplace that we'd love to see
come together.
Obviously understanding themotivations of work that we just
kind of dug into.
And then honestly, I think Ilean more favorably on the
theory of gift giving.
'cause I think it's fascinating.
(20:09):
We as humans, I mean there's awhole book that the Five Love
Languages and gifting is a biglove language for humans.
It's a form of.
Communication and expression,general thoughtfulness.
You know, the giver of the gifthas all these different
components of mastering the giftgiving, and the receiver
(20:30):
obviously gets a lot of thegreat benefits of receiving a
gift.
But basically this theory boilsdown into three major areas of
if a gift is going to be wellreceived or not.
So the first is.
Does the recipient feel heardand seen?
So it really kind of ties backto the giver's attention to
(20:54):
detail.
Do they know the individual?
Is the gift personalized tothem?
Does it convey that that giverhas listened to them or
understands their needs, wants,desires?
That's the first one.
That one's pretty key.
Second is, does it expose therecipient to a new idea, a new
(21:14):
lesson, a new way of living?
One of the big keys that a lotof the research has unpacked is
if a gift is ongoing in nature,it is much more meaningful than
just kind of one stagnant.
Thing that you use and thenthrow it away and you don't
think about it again.
So does it introduce somebody toa new idea?
(21:36):
Is it creative?
Is it thoughtful?
Does it impact their health andwellbeing over time?
And then the third, which Ithink is what most people think
about when they think of giftsis it luxurious?
Do we add in this thing calledthe luxe principle?
And so for.
The recipient, they view thegift as, wow, this is super
(21:58):
nice.
Maybe it was expensive.
Maybe it took a lot of time andenergy to create or to organize
or to purchase.
It is the highest quality of aversion.
Of something that's being given.
And for the giver, sometimes itmight be expensive out of their
pocket, but ultimately it'ssomething very special.
(22:20):
And so when we take the theoryof gift giving and we actually
apply it to human resources orthe benefits ecosystem, we try
to tie in.
We as the employers offer upgifts to our employees in the
form of benefits.
(22:40):
Programs, the culture and theenvironment that we instill
among the workplace.
And so if we can retrain our HRleaders to think of benefits as
a gift and apply these differentprinciples, then their employees
will again elicit that wowfactor.
And truly feel the benefits thattheir employers care about them
(23:03):
and what they've given themoutside of just a paycheck are
really meaningful.
And they are, they're true giftsat the end of the day.
rick---kyla_1_05-28-2025_0 (23:13):
Very cool.
What just maybe as a goodexample, Emily, like what's a,
could you throw out a, maybewith the best gift you've given,
or, uh.
emily-davis_1_05-28-2025_ (23:21):
yeah, so, uh, gosh, it's hard.
I think the example that I gavewhen we first connected was,
actually the best gift I hadever received.
And it was back when I was achild, fifth grade.
And, you know, I had mentioned,for me personally, I'll never
forget it, it was a time ofstrife within my family.
My, my mom and dad were goingthrough a divorce.
(23:41):
I was the youngest of threesisters.
And, during the holidayseveryone kind of wipes clean
what's going on, within thehousehold.
And we have a tradition that.
Every Christmas Eve you get toopen one gift.
And so my dad came down thestairs with just this massive
box and all different wrappingpapers because it was so big to
(24:02):
cover it.
And and he looks at me and says,you know, ster, it's, this is
for you.
And I was like, oh my goodness.
My sisters are instantlyjealous.
And they're like, no, fair.
She's the baby.
She gets everything.
And and I was totally eating itup.
So ultimately I was like, I'm sospecial.
This is amazing.
And I opened up a minitrampoline and at the time I
(24:23):
didn't even know that thesethings had existed and it was so
much fun.
My dad knew I was kind of highenergy.
As I mentioned, I love to dofitness.
I love to, be on the road andwhatnot, and it was really
expensive at the time.
These trampolines are a hundreddollars and.
For my family.
That was a lot of money for onegift that I didn't even ask for.
(24:45):
And so for me, all of theseemotions of the thoughtfulness,
the luxe principle, knowing me,knowing I would love to do
something that was active andthat wasn't just a one and done,
but I could come back to it.
I think later I made mytrampoline bee little forts for
Beanie Babies and all Barbiesand all sorts of things.
So it, it was such an impactful.
(25:06):
Gift for me.
And then, shortly thereafterthat next year my parents
separated and we had to move andwe went through a tough time.
So I will always remember thatand the emotions that it
elicited for me.
So.
I took that on the reverse,Rick, so I hope that's okay.
I would say the best gift I'dgiven was, maybe Surprise, goo
Goo Doll tickets to my husbandat the Red Rocks.
(25:27):
'cause he's a huge fan.
But it's, it's a lot of thinkingof that individual, the time,
the energy, the resources thatit takes to truly make somebody
feel seen and heard and special.
That I think goes a long way.
rick---kyla_1_05-28-2025_ (25:41):
Yeah, it's probably the best way to go
about it, right?
emily-davis_1_05-28-2025_ (25:45):
Yeah.
rick---kyla_1_05-28-2025_09 (25:45):
you can describe the emotions of
when you received it as opposedto when you gave it,'cause you
know how it made you feel.
Mm-hmm.
emily-davis_1_05-28-2025_ (25:51):
Yeah.
rick---kyla_1_05-28-2025_090 (25:52):
so definitely grateful for the.
Grateful for the, you sharingthe story.
It's, it's a cool story.
I mean, I think it helps, atleast people connect with, it's
not just an act, right?
There's a desired response ofhelping some or connecting with
somebody,
emily-davis_1_05-28-2025_0 (26:10):
Yep.
rick---kyla_1_05-28-2025 (26:11):
right?
And in order to connect, weoften say heard, confirmed,
validated.
It's do they feel heard as aresult of the gift that you gave
them?
Do they feel confirmed?
Do they feel validated in, intheir thoughts, their feelings?
And and it doesn't have to beanything that.
Like crazy.
I had a guy who was trying tosell to me one time and I had
(26:32):
this big personal objective wasto get a pro card and
bodybuilding like a after 40.
the guy somehow heard me saythat.
And was paying attention enoughto know that I was trying had
gone onto my Facebook page andsaw like one of my posts.
(26:52):
So he went and he knew I likedcoffee, he went and bought me a
coffee mug.
That was literally the shape ofsome bodybuilder that's posing
like this, like with his arm outto the side.
And that's where you grab itwith your hand?
Yeah, and he sent it to me andwas like, Hey man.
I know you're into this stuff.
I, I saw this and I, I applaudyour efforts, hoping to get a
(27:14):
meeting with you.
Do you think I called that guy?
Absolutely, because
emily-davis_1_05-28 (27:18):
Absolutely.
rick---kyla_1_05-28-2025_090 (27:19):
it was probably one of the, and,
and I guys like, let's be realfor a second.
That mug probably cost less than$5 somewhere.
emily-davis_1_05-28-20 (27:25):
totally.
rick---kyla_1_05-28-2025_090 (27:26):
on Amazon, right?
All the, it was very, I justreally felt like, wow, man, you
just did a great job.
emily-davis_1_05-28-2025_ (27:33):
Yeah, absolutely.
rick---kyla_1_05-28-2025_09 (27:35):
You know, he listened.
He, he did all the things, and Istill have the mug.
I
emily-davis_1_05-28-2025_090 (27:40):
So true.
And I'll, and I'll even tell youlike, one thing I always remind
my team, my sales folks is thatone quote that is.
People might forget what yousaid or what you talked about,
but they will never forget howyou made them feel.
And so if you can show up and bepresent and be thoughtful and
pick up on those little cuesabout somebody, it just will go
(28:03):
such a long way.
And it, and it kind of buildsback the human touch and the
relationships that I feel havebeen so broken or missed.
Especially since COVID, but evenmore so with, technology and
these devices that we havetoday.
And it's a meaningful way tobring back that human element.
rick---kyla_1_05-28-2025 (28:22):
That's super.
Absolutely.
Yeah.
So you talked a little bit abouthow employee benefits are a gift
to the employees from theemployer.
How do you, how do you tie thatin and influence company culture
with benefits?
emily-davis_1_05-28-2025_ (28:35):
Yeah, it's a great question.
So ultimately I would say.
The benefits that a companydecides to offer to their
employees is a direct reflectionof what they actually care about
for their employees.
And the same hold true.
If you were to ask somebody,alright, let me see your bank
statement.
What do you.
(28:55):
Spending money on, that's whatyou care about.
Literally before we got on thiscall, my husband came in, he is
like, Hey, I see a really bigbill to TJ Maxx, and I was like,
mm-hmm.
I care about that quite a bit.
But all jokes aside same thingif you were to look at
somebody's mobile app.
Or their mobile phone and seewhat kind of apps are on their
phone.
That's typically what they careabout.
(29:15):
Again, for me, it's my daycareapp.
It's my YMCA pass.
It's my Amazon account.
And so if we apply that to theemployers, I.
What are they offering?
So let's say they have a reallystrong 401k company match, or
they're doing tuitionreimbursement for maybe some of
(29:35):
their younger folks with studentloans.
They care about their peoplehaving financial freedom either
at the start of theirprofessional career.
Or maybe on the backside.
What if they offer really strongand lucrative fertility programs
or a really great parental leaveprogram?
That means that tells theemployees, wow, my employer
(29:59):
actually cares about me startinga family, and all of the
wonderful benefits that coincidewith that.
Another great example isPatagonia, who I was doing a lot
of research on.
They physically shut down theirentire warehouse operations,
their stores, everything fromChristmas Day to January 2nd,
(30:22):
and that tells the, the wholeorganization, you know what we
care about.
You guys enough?
You've worked really hard duringthis holiday season.
You need to rest.
You need to enjoy the time withfamily and friends.
You need to show up again inthis next year, recouped and
ready to rock and roll.
But you know what?
We care about you right now.
(30:42):
We want you to take this time tocompletely turn off and do the
things that you need to do forthe holidays.
So I think for employers whenthey're thinking about the
theory of gift giving and eventhe, you know, the four Ps of
motivation.
Take an evaluation or anassessment of your benefits
ecosystem today, does it holdtrue to the things that you
(31:06):
would want or that you wouldfind value in, in terms of a
gift?
Is it allowing you to thrive?
Right?
And then I would say reverse iton the back end for your people
and really.
Find a meaningful way tounderstand what they're
offering.
And it's maybe not justbenefits.
It could be other things, again,other programs or, or different
(31:27):
cultural methods that they haveinstilled.
But are they gifts?
Do your people see them asgifts?
And, and you can ask'em, you canget their feedback.
And, and so that's how I think Iwould first encourage leaders to
assess their benefits and assessif how people are taking them.
rick---kyla_1_05-28-2025_0907 (31:46):
I love it.
I feel like it's a nuanced wayto look at the planning behind
what benefits you put in place.
You know, think that's the thingis in life, I've found that most
people look at say, good giftgivers.
Let's just use that as anexample.
I think this fits in manyfacets, but we'll use this one.
(32:06):
And they say, okay, well,they're just good at that.
And it's like maybe, or maybethey just did a ton of research
as a result it landedexceptionally well.
And now you're not seeing all ofthe work that went into their
preparation for the gift.
You're just seeing the gift theygave.
So on the outside looking in,you're like, oh, they're just
(32:27):
good at providing benefits, orthey're just good at providing
gifts, and it's like.
Well, they probably did a ton ofresearch that you didn't see to
make sure that it landed withthe population they were
providing it for and or theperson they were providing it
for.
Mm-hmm.
And that's truly all that heartpassion, thought care concern
that went into providing thegift.
(32:47):
That's actually what made thegift so great.
emily-davis_1_05-28-2025_0 (32:50):
Yep.
rick---kyla_1_05-28-2025_0 (32:50):
And, and if I'm parroting back, kind
of what I feel like I'm hearingyou say it and tying the pieces
together.
It's like, look.
you do your benefits, you could,you have options.
You can just put together yourstandard array of benefits and
say, here you go.
Like, this is what people givewhen they give benefits.
you can really d dive deep, seekto understand the population
(33:12):
that you're serving and, and howthey would perceive.
The g the gifts or the benefitsthat you're giving and make sure
that they perceive them more asa gift and maybe less is just
like, this is what I get.
emily-davis_1_05-28-2025_ (33:25):
Yeah.
rick---kyla_1_05-28-2025_09 (33:27):
And that, that therein lies the
difference maybe in perception.
emily-davis_1_05-28-2025_0907 (33:31):
A hundred percent.
And I'll tell you, there's a lotof research today where yes, if
somebody is exploring, taking anew role, they're looking at
salary, but almost as important,if not more.
They're looking at the benefits,if they wanna start a family, if
they want financial freedom, ifthey want.
You know, flex or differenttypes of PTO and time off and
(33:53):
you know, there, God, there'ssuch an array of different
benefits today from petinsurance to all sorts of things
that it really does impact yourpeople and if they will join
your organization, if they willproduce at your organization and
if they will be loyal to yourorganization.
I know for us, we work withdifferent employers that.
(34:14):
Again, are screaming theattraction retainment, turnover,
the cost that it takes anemployer to hire somebody, to
train them to go through all themotions.
And at the end of the day youdon't even know six months later
if they're gonna going toperform.
That's a lot.
And so if we can help reducethat by offering a little bit
(34:36):
more on the benefits and theprogramming side for people to
allow them to thrive and toallow them.
To wanna stay loyal to thatemployer.
It's key.
It, it's just a no brainer in myopinion.
rick---kyla_1_05-28-2025 (34:48):
Emily, do you have any other ideas on
can remind their employees thattheir benefits are gifts?
Maybe in, in essence, shiftingtheir mindset that, hey, these
aren't just benefits, these aregifts I.
emily-davis_1_05-28-2025 (35:03):
Listen to them first and foremost.
And I'm not saying do anemployee survey.
Yes, those have been done for awhile, but, but truly like,
understand, would you ratherhave more PTO or would you
rather have free pet insurance?
Like give them options of thingsthat are out there in the
market.
When was the last time thatleaders actually got to know?
(35:25):
Their people, when was the lasttime they were on the line with
them that they did a ride along,that they were actually to hear
some of their concerns or tohear areas where they're
struggling and in the reverse,you know, hear about the
benefits that they love and thatthey're, they're thriving.
And I would say second to thaton an ongoing basis of listening
(35:46):
to them is tell them.
We care about you and yourfamily and your longevity here.
So we're investing in you andyour family and your longevity
here.
That means career developmentprograms.
That means you know, amazingmedical benefits for your entire
household.
That means we are giving youthis full blown benefits package
(36:07):
because.
Each one of these things aregifts, and so I would reframe it
when you do your annual or youropen enrollment meeting, say,
welcome to the Gift GivingParty.
I wanna talk to you abouteverything that we're giving to
you and your family as being anemployee here at this
organization.
Reframe it, reshift it, and thenyou do have to be open to,
(36:29):
again, receiving that feedbackbecause you wanna hear.
Hey John.
Hey Susie.
How have these gifts or benefitsbeen received?
Are you using them?
Are your families takingadvantage of them?
Has your life changed because ofthem?
And then be able to adapt andshift where you need to.
rick---kyla_1_05-28-20 (36:50):
Awesome.
Very nice.
So what is one piece of advicethat you would give employers
and business leaders who wannacreate a more human and
supportive workplace?
emily-davis_1_05-28-2025_090 (37:02):
I, I kind of teased it out before,
but be human with your people.
Take your hat off a moment frombeing the CEO or the CFO or the
boss or whomever it might be,and just be human with your
people.
I mentioned before we've reallylost the human connection and
the trust, and I think trust.
(37:23):
Within the workplace.
And you know what we break breadtogether with a lot of our
colleagues.
We probably see our colleaguesmore than we see our family
members.
My little boy I was talkingabout during the workday, I
might see him three hoursbetween, you know, him going to
daycare and me having my joband, and bedtime.
So the people that I'm workingwith, we should be able to
(37:46):
establish that workplace family.
And so I would just encourageevery single leader.
Who are making the decisionsaround culture benefits,
programming their people, etcetera.
Go get to know your people andbe human with them again show
them your vulnerabilities.
Talk to them about yourfamilies.
Talk to'em about the best bookyou read.
(38:08):
Last year.
Very simple ways that you canbring that human element back to
the workplace and your peoplewill feel more grounded to you.
They will trust you.
The decisions that you makealong the way, they will be more
likely to stand behind you andbe loyal.
So that, that I think would bemy advice.
rick---kyla_1_05-28-2025_0 (38:27):
Love it.
Love the advice.
Thank you Emily.
So last question that we throwout there is really, it's, it's
really one for you.
Just to circle back and ask, isthere anything else that you'd
like our listeners to know?
I.
emily-davis_1_05-28-2025_0907 (38:41):
I would just say that, at the end
of the day I've learned thisbeing in a few different
branches within this industry.
Life is short in this industryis really small.
So treat people the way youwanna be treated.
Whether you're a leader, whetherit is your first role that
you've ever been a part of, younever know where you're gonna
(39:03):
find people again or when you'regonna see them, or how you might
need somebody to be a resourceor to help your career or just
personally, you know, aneighbor.
So just treat people the wayyou, you wanna be treated in all
aspects of this industry and ofthis life.
rick---kyla_1_05-28-20 (39:22):
Awesome.
Well, Emily, thank you verymuch.
Really appreciate you coming onand just wanna also thank the
listeners out there for tuningin.
I.
If anyone has any questionsplease contact us or look for
information on ourhomepage@www.fbmc.com.
And before I end it, Emily,would you like to make a plug
(39:42):
for y'all's website?
I.
emily-davis_1_05-28-2025_0907 (39:43):
I would love to thank you first
and foremost.
Thank you guys for, for tuningin, as I mentioned first Off
Health is a direct care company.
Everything from urgent care,primary care, mental health.
We are in all 50 states.
If you are interested, you cancheck out our website along with
all of the social media channelsthat we are on.
Or of course you can getconnected with me at Emily Davis
(40:05):
on LinkedIn.
So thank you guys so much.
rick---kyla_1_05-28-2025_ (40:09):
Thank you.
Awesome.
Appreciate you so much andremember listeners, you can find
us and subscribe on any podcastapp.
Thanks and have a great day.
Popular Podcasts
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.