How Eightfold.AI saved nearly $200,000 on employee leave costs

Eightfold.AI is a talent intelligence platform on a mission to transform the world of work. With talent acquisition, talent management, and resource management tools, Eightfold’s AI-powered platform simplifies every aspect of employee management. Behind Eightfold’s innovative platform are 700 passionate employees around the globe. As a company, Eightfold knows the value of a good business partnership, which is why they rely on Sparrow for end-to-end employee leave management.

Building a better workforce, one employee at a time

A strong workforce translates to a successful company—and Eightfold knows developing that strength requires uplifting each individual. Eightfold believes every employee deserves to feel engaged, included, and excited to showcase their skills at work.

That’s why the company prioritizes their workforce’s happiness and success. “At Eightfold, not only do we want to do great work, we want to take great care of employees and show them how much we value them,” said Sonya Miller, Vice President of People Operations at Eightfold.AI.

Part of how the company shows gratitude to employees is with a rich benefits package. Along with comprehensive health coverage, Eightfold employees can take advantage of unlimited time off, annual professional development stipends, and 16 weeks of paid leave for parents, regardless of how long they’ve been at the company.

“We didn't require employees to apply for short-term disability or any state funding that was available. So we were leaving all that money on the table to pay our employees for 16 full weeks in the case of a parental leave.”

Eightfold also schedules several Employee Appreciation Days a year where the entire company is offline. “We try to stagger those days with paid federal holidays, so employees have at least one three-day weekend most months,” Miller explained.

Flexibility is another benefit central to Eightfold’s company values. “There’s a lot of flexibility with how and when you work,” said Miller. “We have people in different time zones, and we want everyone to be able to create a schedule that makes sense for their job duties and their lifestyle needs.”

“Sparrow had the expertise to provide everything we needed, soup to nuts—not just handling documentation but helping employees apply for funding and disability insurance. And from the administrative side, Sparrow has offloaded us tremendously."

The challenge: Managing medical leave efficiently while focusing on the employee experience

Before working with Sparrow, Eightfold’s PeopleOps team managed employee leaves internally. “It was inefficient to maintain the appropriate expertise internally to manage leaves across all the U.S. states where Eightfold has employees,” Miller explained.

Gathering, completing, and submitting the correct documentation to file for state benefits proved tedious, but the biggest challenge was ensuring compliance with many different—and complex—state leave laws.

Eightfold was also not taking advantage of wage replacement. “We didn’t require employees to apply for short-term disability or any state funding that was available,” she explained. “So we were leaving all that money on the table to pay our employees for 16 full weeks in the case of a parental leave.”

When the company’s number of employee leaves began to grow quickly, Miller decided to audit their current leave administration setup. Miller concluded, “After completing a time study to understand the significant internal resources dedicated to managing our leave programs, we decided to look at options to streamline and/or outsource the work altogether.”

When Miller began researching external leave vendors, she liked Sparrow right away. “Once we spoke to Sparrow, we were sure that Sparrow was the best option for us,” she said.

The solution: Partner with Sparrow for end-to-end leave administration

Eightfold wanted a leave administration vendor who could expertly handle every aspect of the leave process, from compliance and wage recuperation to employee correspondence.

“Sparrow had the expertise to provide everything we needed, soup to nuts—not just handling documentation but helping employees apply for funding and disability insurance,” Miller said.

Now, Eightfold’s PeopleOps team can rest assured knowing they’ve covered their bases on the backend. “From the administrative side, Sparrow has offloaded us tremendously,” added Miller.

Sparrow completes and submits paperwork on behalf of Eightfold, keeps track of the different state leave laws and filing processes, and ensures Eightfold stays compliant.

“Working with Sparrow has freed up people ops resources to focus on higher value work. We are secure in knowing that everything will be taken care of for our employees, whether they’re going out on a difficult medical leave or welcoming a new member of the family."

“Working with Sparrow has freed up people ops resources to focus on higher value work. We are secure in knowing that everything will be taken care of for our employees, whether they’re going out on a difficult medical leave or welcoming a new member of the family,” she said.

Eightfold’s PeopleOps team doesn’t just have peace of mind—they also have easy access to all of their leave data in one place, thanks to Sparrow’s dashboard. “Tracking leaves and return dates used to be very cumbersome for us,” Miller said.

That’s where the dashboard has come in handy. “The dashboard has been extremely helpful, especially when I get questions from our partners, and it’s much clearer than what we’re seeing in our own HRIS system,” she added. She and her team can see all the company’s leaves at a glance, and get details on leave type, leave dates, and pay breakdowns.

“Our managers like having clarity on leaves, like exactly when somebody’s going to come back or if they’re going to take their leave in chunks,” Miller said. Sparrow’s Manager dashboard sends automatic reminders to Eightfold’s managers about when employees are going out on leave and when they’re returning.

"The dashboard has been extremely helpful, especially when I get questions from our partners, and it's much clearer than what we're seeing in our own HRIS system. The HR Business Partner dashboard is the icing on the cake for us because our people partners are very engaged on some of these leaves, and they need up-to-the-minute information."

Eightfold’s PeopleOps team is especially excited about Sparrow’s  HR Business Partner dashboard, which will allow HR business partners to get email notifications about relevant employee leaves. “That’s going to be the icing on the cake for us because our people partners are very engaged on some of these leaves, and they need up-to-the-minute information,” Miller added.

Sparrow’s hands-on support has saved Miller and her team valuable time. “Having Sparrow has greatly improved our bandwidth to get other things done,” she explained. “We’ve saved as much as 15-20% of at least one person’s time.”

On the employee side, Sparrow’s services have directly contributed to two key changes: 1) happier employees and 2) major cost savings.

“When employees go out on leave, it can be a stressful time, and to expect them to navigate some of the complexities of filing for state benefits was just unrealistic,” explained Miller.

"Having Sparrow has greatly improved our bandwidth to get other things done. We’ve saved as much as 15-20% of at least one person's time.”

With Sparrow, Eightfold employees don’t have to jump through hoops to apply for external funds during their leave. Sparrow Leave Specialists hold one-on-one calls with Eightfold employees to explain their benefits, discuss the pay they can expect, and walk them through the process of filing for state benefits.

From there, Sparrow fills out and submits paperwork on Eightfold employees’ behalf, then coordinates with state agency representatives and insurance providers to get additional information and send follow-ups.

“It also helps to have a point of contact who’s explaining the leave process and sending reminders and answering questions for employees,” said Miller. “It’s a better experience for our employees because they’re getting dedicated expert advice and guidance.”

That expert guidance ultimately boosts Eightfold’s bottom line. “Sparrow pays for itself six or seven times over,” Miller said. In 2024, Sparrow saved Eightfold $185,000 in wage replacement costs.

“I always look forward to my monthly calls with our Sparrow Leave Specialists. Sparrow is always willing to take our feedback and find new ways to continuously improve their services. It always feels like a dialogue.”

Forging a high-value partnership

Outsourcing leave management to Sparrow has streamlined Eightfold’s administrative work, improved their internal reporting, and saved the company hundreds of thousands of dollars.

But the best part, Miller said, is the relationships she’s built with the Sparrow team. “I always look forward to my monthly calls with our Sparrow Leave Specialists.”

Miller especially appreciates Sparrow’s receptiveness and proactiveness. “Sparrow is always willing to take our feedback and find new ways to continuously improve their services,” she explained. “It always feels like a dialogue.”

Sparrow delivers greater cost savings and reduces administrative headaches. See our offerings or book a demo today.