When benefits outsourcing stops feeling like an external function

What does it look like when benefits outsourcing feels like an extension of your team? For Julia May, manager of wellness and employee communications at Wayne-Sanderson Farms, the answer is simple: the employees can’t tell the difference.

In our latest Customer Coffee Chat session, OneSource Virtual (OSV)’s Steph Jarman walks through how Wayne-Sanderson Farms completely reshaped their benefits management approach, and how that partnership held up during one of the most demanding stretches in the company’s history: a merger that nearly tripled the workforce from roughly 10,000 to 27,000 employees in two years.

The session moves past the usual case study framework and introduces the details that shape the employee experience:

How a dedicated service model changes the employee experience. Wayne-Sanderson's employees rarely sit at desks. Most don’t have home Wi-Fi, and a 10-minute hold on a break gives them a reason to hang up and never call back. Julia explains why a dedicated service pod that knows the company’s culture, benefits, and workforce realities makes all the difference, and why her employees don’t even realize they’re talking to an outside team.

What it takes to run open enrollment for 27,000 people, two-thirds of whom had never used an HRIS. Following the merger, Wayne-Sanderson needed to ramp up an entirely new population on active enrollment, a modern benefits package, and a digital system all at once. Julia walks through how early project planning, weekend service availability, and three-times-daily check-ins helped them hit 99% open enrollment completion.

Why a customized approach beats a bigger menu of services. From rebuilding the password reset workflow into its own pod to running customized dependent audits for a workforce with 30+ spoken languages, Julia shares real examples of solutions that didn’t exist until her team and OSV built them together.

How trust reduces the HR admin burden over time. Julia describes how the partnership evolved from “send us a ticket for everything” to a model where OSV’s team uses judgment within agreed parameters. This type of solution-building has freed her team to focus on strategy instead of approvals.

Whether you’re evaluating benefits outsourcing for the first time, rethinking a benefits partner relationship that isn’t working, or preparing your program for growth, this conversation offers an honest look at what a genuine partnership makes possible.