Case Study 1

Designing a Scalable Global Fertility Benefits Program

Client : Global Fertility & Women’s Health Provider (U.S.-based)

The Challenge

A fast-growing U.S.-based fertility and women’s health provider faced a critical growth inflection point. Its employer clients — many operating across multiple geographies — wanted to extend fertility and family-building benefits beyond the U.S. in a way that felt equitable, credible, and compliant.

However, fertility care is among the most complex benefits to scale internationally. IVF laws, eligibility rules, care pathways, pricing structures, and reimbursement models vary significantly by country. In some markets, regulatory and reputational risks are material. Employers wanted parity across regions, but without introducing operational burden, legal exposure, or fragmented employee experiences.

The client needed a way to deliver global equity without global chaos — and to do so in a manner that preserved employer trust while enabling sustainable international expansion.

Our Approach

We partnered with the client to design a globally scalable fertility benefits framework grounded in employee experience, employer economics, and regulatory reality.

Our work followed four integrated principles:

1. Empathize with Employees

We surveyed more than 230 employees across multiple geographies to understand fertility and family-building needs across life stages, cultural contexts, and employment situations. This revealed where fertility benefits most strongly intersected with wellbeing, retention, and career continuity — and where existing offerings were falling short.

2. Align with Employer Objectives

We collaborated closely with two multinational employers as pilot partners. Their priorities — cost predictability, risk management, talent retention, and global consistency — shaped the structure of the solution from the outset.

3. Design for Regulatory and Market Reality

We conducted a market and regulatory assessment across more than 40 countries, mapping differences in IVF legality, access, pricing, care delivery, and reimbursement. Rather than forcing uniformity, we designed a system capable of absorbing local variation while delivering a consistent employee experience.

4. Pilot Before Scaling

A pilot-first approach ensured the solution was operationally viable before broader rollout. The initial offering included:

Centers of excellence in each covered country
Travel and legal support for cross-border care
Simplified payment and claims experiences
24/7 concierge support
Comprehensive benefits education for employees

Implementation

The first global fertility benefits program was launched with a multinational ride-sharing company in Eastern Europe — a market that provided a rigorous test of regulatory complexity, cross-border care needs, and workforce diversity.

The pilot allowed assumptions to be validated, workflows refined, and governance models tested — all while delivering immediate value to employees.

Impact

The engagement enabled the client to launch a credible, equitable global fertility benefits offering, unlocking international expansion for its employer clients.

Employees gained access to comparable fertility support across markets, despite local differences in law and care delivery. Employers gained confidence that they could offer inclusive, high-quality benefits without increasing operational or regulatory risk.

Nearly nine out of ten surveyed employees reported more positive feelings toward employers that offer fertility benefits, reinforcing the connection between family-building support, engagement, and retention.

Why This Matters

This work demonstrates that complex women’s health benefits can be scaled globally — but only when designed as systems, not perks. By integrating employee needs, employer constraints, and regulatory realities into a single framework, the client established a durable foundation for continued global growth in women’s health and fertility benefits.