Last week we gathered our community of HR leaders and Trusted Partners together in Nashville, Tennessee, for Evolve, our annual customer conference. Leaning into the history and culture of Nashville as Music City, the conference theme of Band Together signaled the call to action that we share with our customers: obsession with the member experience. This obsession with member experience and closing gaps in healthcare played out on stage, in session breakouts, in hallway conversations, at the Trusted Partner stations on Music Row, and weaved throughout the entire conference.

Accolade Honors: Customer recognition

The energy from meaningful, in-person connection created an atmosphere of celebration starting from the get-go at our opening night Accolade Honors ceremony held at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. I had the privilege of serving as the emcee for our annual program that recognizes outstanding accomplishments of HR leaders who are setting new standards and making significant strides in the employee healthcare experience.  Out of 26 nominations, awards went to:

• Health Equity Champion: United Airlines for advancing health equity within their employee population

• Engagement Powerhouse: Raymond James for showing commitment to delivering high or vastly improved levels of member engagement

• Clinical Outcome Leader: BNY Mellon for demonstrably improved employee health outcomes through engaging with clinical programs through to completion

• Clinical Specialty Architect: State Farm for commitment to creating healthcare experiences and solutions tailored to areas of specialty like women’s health, mental health, or LGBTQIA+

• Ecosystem Curator: International Paper and United Veterinarian Care for driving meaningful results and expanding access to care through digital health solutions

• Benefits Strategy Change Agent: DeVry University, Humana, and Meta for championing new and bold strategic directions for their benefits offering that made a positive contribution to organizational culture

Main stage highlights

Rajeev Singh, CEO, and Robert Cavanaugh, President, opened the first day with a warm welcome. Rajeev’s keynote shared Accolade’s vision for ongoing partnership with forward-thinking employers and trusted digital health solutions to fix what is frustrating and broken for members traversing a fragmented healthcare system.

Over the next days we heard from leaders like Chief Health Officer Shantanu Nundy, MD, Senior Vice President of Service Operations, Kristen Bruzek, and Senior Vice President of Strategy, Corporate Development, and Partnerships Kristen Keating Weeks. They all shared exciting views into the future of Accolade’s service as well as the latest innovative developments like True Health Dashboard, True Health Actions, and leveraging AI to automate workflows and service delivery to enable our care teams to maximize being present with members. Follow the Accolade blog to learn more about these innovations in the coming months.

Every year we invite notable guest speakers to offer professional inspiration. This year we welcomed to the main stage Anne Morriss, leadership coach and author on a mission to help people realize their full potential as leaders and change makers, and Erica Dhawan, an internationally recognized leading authority, speaker and advisor on 21st century teamwork, collaboration and innovation.

A final act – back by popular demand this year – the CHRO panel. Accolade CHRO Jennifer Hanson brought together senior leaders across industries including, Adam Kudelka, Global Head of Compensation and Benefits for Morgan Stanley, Dave Barnett, Chief Administrative Officer for DeVry University, and Ann Lazarus-Barnes, Chief People Officer for Lionbridge, for an open conversation about top-of-mind topics like employee mental health, adding navigation and partners in a connected way that addresses costs and outcomes, and concern for reaching those with fewer resources.

Breakout sessions: Exploring Physician-led Advocacy, Access and Equity, Cost Trends

While the main stage provided inspiration, the line-up of insightful breakout sessions oriented around content tackling the biggest questions on the minds of HR leaders in 2024 and left them with actionable takeaways. With session tracks for Physician-led Advocacy, Access and Equity, and Cost Trends in Healthcare, the breakouts included deep-dive presentations and discussions led by customers, consultants, and Accolade subject matter experts to provide a mix of broad industry and solution specific information and insights.

Off stage experiences

In between sessions, attendees mingled in our VIP area and picked up free conference merch. They walked down Trusted Partner “music row” where 16 of our digital health partners engaged. It was like an open enrollment benefits fair for HR decision-makers.

This year we introduced demo tables staffed with Accolade experts showcasing how we engage with members, deliver clinical value and the reporting tools available to customers. So much value in bringing it all together in one place and an opportunity to see the real impact on members' health and cost savings.

Evolve 2025: Location announced

Drumroll please – we closed Evolve 2024 by inviting customers and partners to join us next March 12-14 in New Orleans.

We look forward to seeing you next year!

Matt Eurey, EVP & GM, Enterprise and Strategic Business, Accolade   At Accolade, Matt Eurey oversees customer partnerships, sales, support, and service for the company’s largest employers, while setting strategies and managing relationships with employers, health plans, and industry consultants. With his leadership, Accolade develops sales and support strategies designed to retain and expand relationships with existing customers, health plans, and consultants. These strategies include introducing new population health services and solutions that support changing employer populations and business goals.