Many organizations focus on leave and disability programs from a compliance, operational, or technology perspective. Yet employees and people leaders often experience these programs very differently, encountering fragmented information, unclear responsibilities, and difficulty navigating critical moments throughout the leave journey.

This session shares the story of a leave experience redesign that began as a digital enablement project and evolved into a broader effort to improve how employees and leaders access information, support, and guidance before, during, and after a leave.

Working across Workplace Accommodation, Mental Well-Being, Payroll, and other HR functions, the team used design thinking, journey mapping, and co-creation techniques to identify friction points and uncover deeper process and ownership challenges. The redesign also incorporated behavioral design principles to help people leaders navigate complex situations with greater confidence and provide more effective support during leave and return-to-work transitions.

Attendees will learn how an employee-centered approach helped create a more consistent and accessible leave experience while strengthening alignment across HR processes. The session will provide practical lessons on journey mapping, behavioral design, information architecture, and cross-functional collaboration that can be applied to leave, accommodation, and other employee experience initiatives.