Beyond the Paycheck · 2026-02-09 · 30 min
Flexibility Is the New Currency: Personalizing Benefits with Anthology’s Shannon Nelson Summary Benefits are costly and complex - so how do you ensure employees actually understand, value, and use them? Shannon Nelson, Director of Global Benefits at Anthology (formerly Blackboard), shares how she designs programs that meet people where they are - balancing data, compliance, and real human needs. With a career spanning retail, nonprofit, and tech, Shannon explains why one-size-fits-all programs fall short, how misalignment and knowledge gaps derail value, and what leaders can do to communicate smarter. She details “life-centered” flexibility - from paid family leave to tuition support and caregiving benefits - plus a practical, multi-metric way to show ROI to executives. Shannon also breaks down the next wave in total rewards: personalization, financial wellness, and proactive pay equity analytics powered by AI. She closes with a 30-day experiment listeners can try to curb impulse spending by identifying triggers, not just cutting purchases.
Other episodes covering the same guests and topics, from across The B2B Podcast Index.
Benefit Personas: Making Rewards Human Across 15,000 Employees71 / 100
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