How you share the cost of benefits with your team isn’t just a budgeting decision — it’s a reflection of your company’s values. When done well, contribution strategies can build trust, support retention, and help your business stay competitive. But getting contributions right isn’t easy.
HR and finance leaders are often navigating competing priorities like controlling costs, staying compliant, supporting employee needs, and meeting leadership expectations. Contribution decisions affect everything from budget forecasts to employee morale, and they’re often made under tight timelines with limited visibility.
Why Contribution Strategy Matters
Employees notice when their share of benefit costs changes. These decisions shape how your benefits are perceived and whether employees feel supported. A well-designed contribution strategy can improve enrollment, satisfaction, and retention, while helping your company manage spend and stay aligned with market benchmarks.
Many teams still rely on spreadsheets to model contributions. Even when tied to a broader strategy, working between spreadsheets and slide decks is time-consuming, difficult to maintain, and hard to collaborate on — especially when things change. If you decide mid-renewal to hire 10 new roles or adjust plan offerings, that often means another round of revisions, recalculations, and email threads.
We’ve seen this firsthand, supporting clients through exactly these kinds of pivots. It’s one of the reasons we built Sequoia OS: to bring compensation and benefits planning into one integrated platform, where data is connected and decisions are made with clarity.
Built on a Trusted Process
Contribution modeling isn’t new to Sequoia clients. For years, our advisors have helped HR and finance leaders evaluate cost-sharing strategies during renewal season. What’s new is how we’re starting to deliver that experience — directly in-platform, with real-time data and guided workflows.
Your Sequoia team will continue to lead the process: gathering carrier quotes, marketing your plans, and preparing a strategic recommendation. Once your renewal strategy is ready, the Contribution Model helps you visualize tradeoffs, compare options, and finalize your approach with clarity.
What’s Ahead
We’re rolling out the Contribution Model to a pilot group of self-funded clients this fall and will gather feedback to ensure the experience delivers real value for HR and finance leaders.
If you’re preparing for renewal, now’s a great time to connect with your Sequoia advisor and explore how this new capability can support your strategy. If you’re new to Sequoia and considering a more strategic approach to benefits, our expert team is here to help—start a conversation here.
