Caring for the whole person

Lyra wasn’t just another benefit. We were investing in not only having better benefits for our employees but also support for our workforce.

Jessica Rodela

Senior Benefits Manager

Carlisle Companies

Partnering with Lyra means delivering whole-person care. Many Carlisle employees are on the front lines, working at manufacturing sites and supporting the production of innovative building materials. While physical health and safety are top priorities in this demanding environment, there is a connection between physical health and mental well-being. “It’s rarely just physical or just mental, really, it’s both,” Jessica shared. “Someone with back pain may also be dealing with the emotional toll that takes… We’ve had employees say, ‘I didn’t even realize how much stress was tied into my physical pain.’” With Lyra, Carlisle employees have 24/7/365 access to high-quality mental health care, and are able to find an available appointment within one day of searching. “And at the end of the day,” says Jessica, “what’s important to us is our employees. Not just the outcome, but actual daily quality of life for our people.”

Carlisle made the case for a mental health benefit. “We saw trends with our mental health conditions, and musculoskeletal (MSK) was one of our top drivers. Beyond the cost, it was taking weeks for employees to get in with a mental health provider,” shared Jessica. When it came time to build the case for Lyra, Jessica’s team “focused on both the human and the financial impact. We illustrated how mental health affects productivity, absenteeism, and long-term disability. Then we also showed how Lyra outcomes—such as reduced wait times, clinical improvement rates, and engagement levels—could address all the concerns that we were hearing from our employees. We looked at benchmarking data, and we highlighted how we can be more proactive instead of reactive. Ultimately, for us, it wasn’t just another benefit. We were investing in not only having better benefits for our employees but also support for our workforce.”

Leadership tackles stigma and normalizes support. Carlisle made sure Lyra wasn’t just available, it was visible. Jessica and her team equipped managers and other leaders with tools to bring mental health into everyday conversations with their teams. “We have our front-line leaders talking to employees and normalizing mental health support, which makes it easier, like water cooler conversations,” Jessica noted. “It’s important that our leaders are equipped with the information so they can speak about it in a daily conversation versus in moments of crisis.” Carlisle’s senior leadership has also been instrumental in embedding mental health into the company culture. “I love being able to see our C-suite executives walk around the plant and talk to employees like, ‘Hey, have you heard about Lyra?’”

Lyra’s data powers strategy and tracks its success. “One of my favorite things is to go into the platform and look at the data,” says Jessica. Carlisle utilizes Lyra Connect’s Workforce Wellness Dashboard for instant visibility into employee mental wellness. By tracking metrics such as Lyra Health registration, engagement, and top concerns, Jessica can proactively meet the evolving wellness needs of the workforce with actionable insights sourced from Lyra Connect.

Jessica’s team can also track engagement strategies in real time through tactics such as home mailers or QR codes placed throughout their plants. “Did our communication strategy actually work? If we send out a mailer or an email, and then we look [at the data] the following week and see that spike in engagement, we know we did it correctly,” notes Jessica. “Having real-time data has helped us adjust communications, focus on efforts where efforts are needed, and show our leaders the impact that these programs are having.”

Mental health access lowered costs and reduced leave. “Since implementing Lyra and expanding mental health access, we’ve seen a 6.3% decrease in overall mental health spend and a notable reduction in inpatient health admissions,” shared Jessica. “And one of the most compelling results was a 19% reduction in our leaves related to MSK and mental health.” Mental health care through Lyra helps Carlisle employees receive the whole-person support they need, which saves Carlisle both time and money.