- Benefit programs
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Washington state’s Paid Leave program just celebrated a milestone — it was five years ago this month that Employment Security Department’s (ESD) Paid Leave program took our first phone call. Now, several hundred staff field several thousand calls a day. But there was once a time (not so long ago) where our one small, but mighty team of specialists was eager to receive their first customer call.
What’s even cooler? Erik Ayres, the person to take that first call, is still with the program today. He says, 'It’s funny how time and memory works. Five years ago, I took the first call at Paid Family and Medical Leave and talked to an employer about voluntary plans. That call somehow feels like it was both just the other day and a lifetime ago.' He adds, 'It was exciting to talk with the employer…and we were still over a year away from launching benefits.' (We launched benefits in January 2020.)
A lot has happened in the last five years. Paid Leave has grown from one team of specialists to now almost 25 teams. In that time, the division also added the WA Cares program to their portfolio.
It’s easy to focus on program milestones like how many customers the program has served or how much money the program has paid out in benefits. Those things are great! But as Paid Leave Operations Manager John Mattes says, 'We have amazing customer service here and we don’t talk about that enough.'
That first phone call is a good reminder that we’ve always prioritized our customers. Here’s to many more years of program success and customer delight!