Winners Announced for isolved's Second-Annual People Heroes Awards at Connect Customer and Partner Conference

Recognition Spans from Change Management and Complete Transformation to Championing Employees and Considered Benefit, Payroll and HR Improvements

PALM DESERT, Calif., Oct. 20, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Many human resource (HR) professionals believe they are no longer looked at as an operational function of their organizations — with 83% of HR leaders indicating their team is considered a strategic part of the business. Successful HR teams enable organizations to achieve new milestones by elevating employee experience (EX), supporting their workforce, improving organizational efficiency and developing a deep understanding of wider market trends. By transforming HR from reactive to proactive, many HR professionals have earned their spot where decisions are made – and isolved recognized and awarded seven such individuals and organizations at its annual customer and partner conference, Connect.

isolved congratulates the following award winners.

People Heroes Award: Dawn Russo, Life Alert

Life Alert is an organization perhaps best known for its "I've fallen and I can't get up" tagline. If there's anyone who can help others around her rise, it's Life Alert's Office Manager, Dawn Russo. She consistently leads the organization in the right direction, while maintaining an empathetic and collaborative work environment. Her enthusiastic style and wide-ranging skillset inspire everyone who crosses her path. According to those who work with her, "Dawn Russo should wear a cape every day at work," making her the perfect winner for the award.

Future of Work Hero Award: JumBurrito

Since its inception in 1979, JumBurrito has strived to provide the best possible customer service experience, not to mention the best burritos with the freshest ingredients. The company doesn't stop there as its mission is to provide a superior EX for their people. To keep its employees more connected, the company enables them to take ownership of their jobs and have direct access to headquarters and their HR information. JumBurrito also offers tuition reimbursement, insurance and 401(k) benefits – showing the future of work is supporting an engaged and enabled employee while investing in experience.

Transformation Hero Award: Jaylene Owen, Hames Corporation

Keeping employees feeling connected is difficult for every organization. For the Hames Corporation, which operates in Sitka, Alaska, keeping employees connected is an infinitely taller task. Jaylene Owen, however, continues to be up for the challenge. Knowing she faces unique challenges, such as smaller pools of qualified candidates and limited resources, she focuses on improving employee morale and motivation. By crafting HR campaigns that fostered a sense of community and promoted a positive work culture, the Hames Corporation has enjoyed higher productivity, better customer service and increased profitability – while helping people in the community of Sitka change their perception of HR from a rules-driven department to one that genuinely cares about their experience and career development.

Engagement Hero Award: Cecilia Boudreaux, Stoa Group

In response to an 11% increase in medical premiums in 2022, the Stoa Group realized they urgently needed to address healthcare costs while also prioritizing employee wellbeing. With employees spanning multiple states, the Stoa Group introduced an innovative virtual benefits fair during open enrollment to better educate and engage their people. The company utilized isolved's learning management system (LMS) integrations, gamification and prizes to great effect: they achieved a 63% reduction in total plan spend for 2023.

Best EX Award: Laughlin, Falbo, Levy & Moresi

Innovative technology is only truly innovative with inventive, passionate people at the helm. At Laughlin, Falbo, Levy & Moresi, a workers' compensation defense law firm, Amelia Pumaras has combined her ingenuity, creativity, and hard work to galvanize the firm's workforce and taken employee engagement to the next level. For example, Amelia developed an interactive onboarding process to ensure new team members hit the ground running. She continues to innovate, improve procedures, streamline processes and engage the entire firm.

Roadmap of the Year Award: Tony DiStefano,Mario Badescu Skin Care

Mario Badescu Skin Care began in a two-bedroom Manhattan apartment in 1967. They've expanded exponentially since, becoming a skincare line sold in major retailers, including Sephora, Nordstrom and Ulta. Tony DiStefano understood that to continue and expand the company's meteoric rise, they would need an in-depth HR roadmap. With the help of isolved, Tony has been successful in implementing the company's roadmap, from benefits and COBRA administration to HR augmentation – all while ensuring HR leads the company's charge forward and continue to make incremental improvements for maximum results.

Judges' Choice Award: Jill Fish, Rocky Mountain Diabetes

Rocky Mountain Diabetes is a forward-thinking endocrine practice that stays ahead of the curve to advance diabetes care. At its core, the organization navigates incredibly complex subject matters with the end goal of helping others. No one exemplifies their mission more than Jill Fish, who is driven to become an expert in not only her company, but also the entire scope of isolved People Cloud. She displays an unparalleled work ethic with a constant learning mindset to help employees and managers increase productivity, improve performance and reduce risk for the organization. By ensuring adoption of People Cloud, she was able to maximize Rocky Mountain Diabetes' investment and the experience employees have – with her employees loving the ability to self-serve, select the benefits that best fit their personal situation and reduce the stress of HR tasks.

"We've always recognized the true power of people professionals," said Mike Flannery, isolved's Chief Customer Officer. "However, our customers, true People Heroes, never cease to amaze us with their ingenuity, passion and dedication. Our award winners personify the essence of what it means to turn HR and HCM into tangible outcomes for real people. We are profoundly appreciative to have such a vibrant community of HR professionals and are honored to have contributed to their journey."

In 2023, isolved introduced People Heroes World, providing customers an immersive learning experience, allowing collaboration between fellow HR professionals to set up teams for success within isolved and beyond while successfully managing change in their organizations. Beyond the virtual world, isolved also physically educated and empowered its customers by hosting over 50 Customer Roadshows across the country this year alone. Check out the remaining FY23 schedule here.

The nomination period for the 2024 isolved Customer Awards will begin in Q1. For additional insights about the awardees, follow isolved on LinkedIn for additional highlights.

About isolved 

isolved is the most-trusted HCM technology leader, providing the best combination of software and services to meet the needs of today's People Heroes – HR, payroll, and benefits professionals. From talent acquisition to workforce management to talent management, our solutions are delivered directly or through our HRO partner network to more than 6 million employees and 168,000 employers across all 50 states – who use them every day to increase productivity, accelerate decision-making and ensure performance, while reducing risk. isolved People Cloud™, our intelligently connected platform, automates the entire employee experience by design, so that organizations can engage, empower, and energize their talent while freeing their People Heroes to exceed their goals and grow their careers. 

Media Contact
Amberly Dressler, VP of Brand & Customer Marketing
[email protected]

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