A smarter approach to Tuition Reimbursement

Hazelden Betty Ford, a leader in addiction treatment and recovery, sought to enhance employee retention and attract top talent by offering comprehensive education benefits.

However, managing a Tuition Reimbursement program manually comes with a high administrative burden for HR teams. Along with improving efficiency and saving staff time, Hazelden Betty Ford’s HR team wanted to boost employee engagement and impact, too — so they turned to Candidly’s Tuition Reimbursement solution.

Results

$2,704

Average Tuition Reimbursement Request ¹

91%

Reduction in likelihood of employee turnover when Tuition Reimbursement is activated ²

$1.38M

Projected Turnover Savings ³

Program design

After their first year of service, any Hazelden Betty Ford employee in good standing is eligible for up to $5,250 in annual tuition reimbursement. To qualify, employees must apply for reimbursement within 30 days of enrolling in an accredited program.

Boosting efficiency and engagement with Candidly

Hazelden Betty Ford implemented Candidly’s Tuition Reimbursement solution to automate and streamline the entire reimbursement process. The platform simplified application submission, approval workflows, and reimbursement tracking, reducing the administrative workload for HR teams. Employees benefited from an intuitive, user-friendly interface that made it easier to access and utilize tuition benefits.

Partnering with Candidly for our Tuition Reimbursement program has been a game changer – making it easier than ever for our workforce to invest in their education while streamlining the process for our administrators. With a seamless, user-friendly platform, we’re eliminating the hassle and empowering our team to focus on growth, not paperwork.

Heather Galvin | Compensation & Benefits Analyst at Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation

Candidly’s Tuition Reimbursement solution empowered Hazelden Betty Ford to modernize its education benefits program, support employee career growth, cultivate employee loyalty, optimize HR resources, and reinforce their position as an employer of choice.

The full picture

Hazelden Betty Ford goes beyond Tuition Reimbursement to provide comprehensive financial wellness support for its employees. In addition to providing reimbursement for education expenses, they leverage Candidly’s Coaching service to offer personalized guidance for student debt, ensuring employees can make informed decisions about their repayment strategy. They also provide employer-sponsored student loan contributions, directly helping employees pay down their student debt faster. Through its student debt benefit offering, Hazelden Betty Ford has generated over $9M in impact and saved users 252 years of repayment time — results that demonstrate a deep commitment to employee well-being and financial stability.

¹Based on Candidly data through September 2024.

²Churn is measured by tracking user exclusions from employer census files. We analyze the difference in churn rates by comparing two groups: those who activated (created account and activated Tuition Reimbursement) and those who did not. This analysis is based on data from 12/6/22 through 9/25/24.

³Assumes the savings of each “saved job” to be 90% of the average annual income of a Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation employee.