Centerstone Brought Leave Management In-House and Got the Visibility Outsourcing Never Delivered

Director of Leave Replaces Outsourced FMLA with Full In-House Visibility

Background

Centerstone is one of the largest nonprofit behavioral health systems in the United States, serving 250,000 people annually across nine states with more than 10,000 team members.

Sophie George, Director of Leave, manages leave administration for the organization. Before Pulpstream, Centerstone managed FMLA through a third-party outsourced provider.

Challenge

The outsourced model led to recurring complaints about slow turnaround times, inconsistent communication, and a customer service experience that left the HR team without visibility into the status of leave cases. That lack of control introduced compliance exposure and frustrated the employees who depended on a responsive leave process.

Solution

Full Visibility Where There Used to Be a Black Box

Pulpstream gave Centerstone's leave team direct visibility into every active leave claim, replacing the black-box experience of their outsourced provider. The platform's automated communication features keep employees informed throughout the leave lifecycle without requiring manual follow-up from HR, and the self-service portal lets employees submit requests and check status on their own. Employees adopted the system quickly and found it easy to use.

Why Pulpstream Set Itself Apart:

• Real-time visibility into every active leave case, replacing the outsourced black box

• Automated employee communication without manual HR follow-up

• Interactive workplace accommodation process with structured manager communication

• White-glove implementation, configured around Centerstone's workflows

• Automated compliance support across multiple states

Results

Pulpstream delivered results across three areas for Centerstone, with the standout outcome being a workplace accommodations process the team hadn't evaluated during the buying decision.

Workplace Accommodations Management

Accommodation requests had previously been handled ad hoc, with no structured process behind them. Pulpstream's interactive workplace accommodation workflow, paired with automated manager communications, gave Centerstone's team a repeatable way to manage these cases instead of reinventing the process each time. It's the kind of result that wasn't part of the original pitch, but has become one of the platform's most valued features for the team.

Faster Approvals

Faster approvals have been the change employees notice most since the shift away from the outsourced model.

Positive Employee Feedback

Feedback since go-live has been consistently positive. Centerstone is still fine-tuning some configurations as the platform beds in, but the early returns have already validated the decision to bring leave management in-house.

“Although the system may be overwhelming at first, once you implement, it will become second nature and you will have a very supportive Pulpstream team behind you every step of the way!”

- Sophie George, Centerstone

See How Pulpstream Works for Behavioral Health and Nonprofit Leave Administration

For organizations still outsourcing FMLA and leave management, Centerstone's experience makes a direct case for change. Pulpstream replaces the black-box experience of third-party providers with full claim visibility, automated employee communication, and white-glove implementation, a meaningful upgrade for large-scale, multi-state nonprofits managing leave across a big workforce. Contact our team for a customized demo tailored to your company's specific needs.