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Case study: H-E-B - best-in-class grocer and integrated benefits solutions

About H-E-B

  • Regional grocer with 350+ locations throughout Texas
  • Founded: 1905
  • U.S. employee population: 100,000+

How a best-in-class grocer provided even more value to its people through Alight’s integrated benefits solutions.

H-E-B, a beloved regional grocer based in Texas, is no stranger to providing top-tier customer service and goods. Extremely involved in the community and cherished by its customers, H-E-B was named the best supermarket in the country by Food & Wine magazine in July 2020.


The challenge

H-E-B’s community-oriented history and commitment to giving back — like raising money for education, highlighting the importance of diversity and providing disaster relief — motivated them to apply the same level of dedication to their own employees, or in H-E-B terminology, “partners.” 
 
H-E-B recognized the need for a solution to provide high-quality support for its partners by offering easily accessible benefits, effective communications and an elevated overall experience. 
 
H-E-B’s reputation for excellent customer service made it even more imperative to find the right benefits technology provider to meet its other priorities, like continuing to hire top talent.

The solution: Integrated benefits offerings accessible from anywhere, anytime.

H-E-B found comfort in Alight’s thorough knowledge of the store’s history and people-oriented culture. Our similar values around charitable functions and prioritizing the employee experience proved us to be an organization they could relate to and trust; Alight was chosen as a partner to provide better benefits support and options to H-E-B’s people through solutions like Smart-Choice Accounts and benefits administration.
 

A new way to pay: Smart-Choice Accounts

H-E-B partners were given the option to contribute to accounts of their choice, such as an HSA, Healthcare FSA, and Dependent Care FSA, to cover pre-approved expenses. Debit cards were provided for quick and easy access to funds, and partners could easily access instant insights on running balances and immediate purchase confirmation from any device and any location. They now had their benefits at their fingertips.

I have used my Alight Smart-Choice Card at our pharmacy and eye doctor so far this year. The transaction was easy, and I immediately received a confirmation email with details of the purchase amount and balance left in the account. I love this; it’s much better than my previous account.

H-E-B
Partner

Impactful results - Health Savings Accounts

114
Enrolled
$615
Average balance
$600
Annual employer contribution

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