‘I Love My Job’: ‘Unquestionable’ Care, Flexibility, and Getting to Be Myself as a Mom and VP

Welcome to I Love My Job, the series where we hear from women who really love their jobs. In this edition, we sat down with Fola Adebanjo, the VP of Health Solutions at Alight Solutions. Alight is a technology company that focuses on customer experience for everything from payroll to benefits — and the company has an extremely wide reach. “Within the health space, we touch the lives of about 10% of the U.S. population,” shares Adebanjo.

It’s no surprise, then, that the aspect of her job that Adebanjo finds most exciting is her ability to make a real impact. “I have a team of people who are focused on delivering excellent health benefits to employees and their dependents all around the United States,” explains Adebanjo. One way that her team is able to empower people is via tools like Alight Work-Life that enable users to make the best possible data-backed decisions. 

And that’s not the end of how Alight enables people to make better healthcare decisions. From personalized care, to getting a second opinion, to finding a doctor in remote areas, to switching to a doctor that works best for you, Adebanjo’s work helps people feel confident in their choices.

“Everyday, we’re improving the lives of our customers,” Adebanjo emphasizes, “it makes me feel like I’m doing something special every day.”

In the video below, Adebanjo tells us more about why she loves working at Alight. We also provide lightly edited highlights from the video discussion in the following article.

How would you describe the culture at Alight Solutions?

Our culture at Alight is evolving. We are a very people-centric group. From a culture perspective, caring for the people around us is unquestionable. This has always been the case, and it is the reason why I've stayed. We have a passion for people, our clients, their colleagues, and our colleagues. 

We also have a couple of core values that are central to how we treat others and how we expect to be treated. Championing colleagues so that everyone knows that they can bring their best selves to work is probably the one I anchor to the most. I'm a part of a diversity, equity, and inclusion group here at Alight — that's a passion of mine. I am part of numerous women's groups, and the ability to help influence and shape colleagues' lives makes me feel like I'm accomplishing something every day.

What are your favorite things about Alight Solutions?

My favorites are the people, the flexibility, and the support that I have received in my career here. The people are super supportive… I have stayed here 23 years because I really do enjoy the people that I work with every day. My network is incredible because people care and they will take the time to invest in you. And, my hope is that I've been able to pay that back along the way. 

Alight has also been very flexible. One example is that I had my children a few years ago, and I had to adjust my schedule so that I could be home in the afternoons to be able to get them off the bus and help with homework. So, I adjusted my schedule… and my team stepped into the gap for me. There wasn't a day that I felt like I was leaving my team in the lurch or not where I needed to — that really takes the pressure off when you're trying to balance work and life. Having a team that would support me in that way for many years was one of the things I really value about working here… I was able to balance my life as a mother of young children as well as a professional… without impacting my growth trajectory or my ability to focus on my ambitions within my career is really something you don't see in a lot of places…

Also, it's been super important to me to just be able to be myself. I moved to the U.S. from England and started this job right out of college. Throughout learning to be a professional, moving from a different country, and perhaps having an accent, I did not feel like I needed to change who I am to fit in, grow, and move off the ladder. Here, you are accepted for who you are, it's one of our core values that we exemplify and live... And, for all of the 23 years that I've been here, I've never felt the need to change. I've always felt accepted for who I am and had the support of managers and colleagues as I grew my career. 

How does Alight Solutions support you?

As a leader in the benefit space, it's imperative that the benefits that Alight offers match or exceed what's in the marketplace…

One example is our health navigation support [...], which is basically having someone as a personal advocate who helps me navigate all of my benefits. So, say I have physical therapy for my back. My advocate will help me figure out the best [person] in my area and within my network who can help me for the least possible cost… I just need to reach out to this advocate, whose name, phone number, and email address I had, and they did all of the legwork, sent me an email, and if I needed her to make an appointment for me, she would make an appointment. It was that simple…. 

Just having that benefit has made a huge impact on me and others. The amount of value that we get from that is significant. We also have everything from childcare with Bright Horizons, meQuilibrium (which is a benefit around like mental wellness), [...] and more.  There are lots of really good, usable benefits available through Alight.

Fairygodboss is proud to work with Alight Solutions. Find a job there today!

Check out other posts in the ‘I Love My Job’ series:

• ‘I Love My Job’: I’m Empowered to Be a Great Mom and an Executive Who Changes Peoples’ Lives

• ‘I Love My Job’: 31 Years of Personal and Professional Growth Opportunities at My Dream Company

• ‘I Love My Job’: Making a Difference at ‘One of the Most Inclusive and Thoughtful Companies’

• ‘I Love My Job’: I’m Empowered to Use Design to Innovate, Help Others and Evolve My Company

• ‘I Love My Job’: ‘The Art of Push and Pull’ — A Culture Anchored Around Teamwork and Collaboration