At Lively, we believe that the customer should always come first. It’s what inspired our core values. It also shapes everything we do, from our day-to-day operations to our long-term goals. Our mission is to inspire people to confidently embrace a healthy future and when we serve our customers, we serve our mission. We believe the only way to consistently live up to our mission is to continuously demonstrate that we got into the healthcare space for the right reason—to help everyone easily manage their out-of-pocket medical expenses.

Putting the customer front and center from the beginning

Lively’s identity and culture grew out of our customer-centric approach. During the first 12 months after we launched, Shobin and I rolled up our sleeves and worked directly with our customer support team. As cofounders, we wanted to better understand our customer pain points and build solutions-based products that could meet those needs. We logged countless hours answering calls and responding to customer support questions on both weekdays and weekends. It set the stage for compassionate customer service and helped Shobin and I really put ourselves in their shoes. As a result, empathy came to be one of Lively’s core values and this experience is one of the reasons we hold such a high bar for our internal support team.

In other words, we didn’t want to sit on the sidelines completely disconnected from our customer base. Lively must have done something right because our Net Promoter Score, which is used to measure customer experience and satisfaction, is two to three times higher than our competitors.

What customer-centered innovation looks like

We’ve never been interested in replicating the competition. On the contrary, we’re all about building something that challenges the norm. When Shobin and I were first starting Lively, we talked to a lot of HSA users to get a feel for what wasn’t working for them. We found that most were frustrated with the out-of-date technology used by most incumbent HSA providers. From the start, we set out to change that.

We’re actually one of the only providers in the market that owns and operates our own technology. The way we saw it, if the right tech wasn’t out there, why not just build it? So we created something that’s intuitive and simple to navigate. We thought about the kind of technology HSA customers needed and used that as our blueprint. We wanted to be in control of our own destiny and not leave it to a 3rd party, white-labeled provider. We want each and every Lively experience to give customers what they expect and need. Our user-friendly tech plays a big part in that, making for faster interactions without the stress—and it allows us to move fast enough to adapt to customer needs. As a result, we’re able to offer free Lively accounts to individuals and families to simply save. It might have something to do with why Morningstar has ranked us as a top-rated HSA provider for three consecutive years. Just Google “best HSA” and see for yourself. Lively dominates the results, and we’re really proud of that. It’s what happens when you put your customer at the center of all you do.

How we’ve built a team that leads with empathy

A company is only as strong as the team members who make it. Where recruitment and retention are concerned, we try to strike a unique balance between skill set and values. It goes without saying that you want employees who are knowledgeable, experienced, creative and solutions oriented—but it’s the values piece that really sets Lively apart.

We hire team members who understand how healthcare costs affect normal Americans because, well, they are normal Americans. They recognize those financial burdens and then look for ways to help our customers save where it counts. If we aren’t doing that, then we’re falling short. Our team gets that. Lively’s hiring process is a direct reflection of that commitment. We incorporate a values interview to make sure that our employees care about the same things we do. This includes empathy, integrity, accountability, determination, and building something people love. We’re not looking for culture fits. We’re looking for culture adds.

If that rings true to you, swing by our careers page to view our open roles. We’re always looking for folks who share our customer-first philosophy!