One HR Leader. 45 Locations. Over 5 million in earned wages accessed through ZayZoon
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How Courtney Nelson turned a voluntary benefit into the most-used employee perk without costing the business a cent.
Results
$5.3M+
Wages accessed early
74,800+
Payouts since launch
3,000+
Transacted employees
#1
Used Welburn employee benefit
About
Employees
3000+ eligible for benefitsLocation
45 franchise locations spanning DC, MD, VA and DEIndustry
Quick-service restaurants (McDonald's franchisee)Payroll Platform
AprioMy love for people is what brought me into HR, and making a difference in their lives is what keeps me here. ZayZoon allows me to put that passion into practice every day.
Challenge
Many of Welburn’s team members are students, parents, or caregivers for family members, and a lot of them are living paycheck to paycheck. “A lot of them are stressed about their finances, and honestly, that’s something worth stressing about,” says Courtney.
Courtney sees that the gap isn't only about wages. Some of her general managers have worked for Welburn for ten years and still don't know why a 401(k) matters. "Maybe somebody never taught them about finances. If managers don't understand a benefit, their teams never hear about it."
She sees a leadership gap too. Many store leaders were never taught empathy, conflict resolution or how to talk to people under pressure, and their team feel it. People don't leave companies, she says. They leave leaders. So she built her own quarterly training on emotional regulation, conflict and accountability.
"You could push the numbers. You could push the sales. You could run the labor. But how you show up in this world and how you treat others is ultimately how you're going to progress."
Solutions
Courtney uses ZayZoon to "shift the narrative of HR."
"If I ever get rid of [ZayZoon], my office might crash."
She makes sure every employee hears about it, starting with their managers.
ZayZoon is part of every store's onboarding and every quarterly training. Every break room has a ZayZoon poster with a QR code, and it's listed on job postings for salaried managers. When a new general manager started, she walked him through it herself. He may never use it, but his team will. And when a manager calls asking if Welburn can lend an employee money, her answer is ZayZoon.
Courtney didn't choose ZayZoon, but she has the authority to decide which benefits stay. She has cut benefits from vendors that didn't deliver, and ZayZoon isn't on that list.
"I am definitely not frugal. I will give you money for your time. I will take care of you. I've had employees who didn't have transportation to work. I will pop on ZayZoon, send you $20 right away. Hey, get to work. I need you just as bad as you need me."
Employer Spotlight
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Courtney Nelson went into HR for one reason: she loves people. She studied at Virginia State University and Hampton University, worked her way up through recruiting and talent acquisition, and has spent 10+ years leading HR for companies across the DC region. Since November 2023 she has run HR for Welburn Management, a McDonald's franchisee.
On any given day, Courtney might be leading a compliance audit, directing an employee relations investigation, overseeing payroll and benefits administration, or shaping policy across all locations in four states. She spends half the week in her office and half on the road, sometimes four and a half hours to reach a single store, because she'd rather show up than solve it over the phone.
Her word to other HR leaders: "If you're just researching [EWA] options, I would definitely say, take a look at ZayZoon. I would 100% recommend it to any other company. And let's say I end up moving on, I will definitely bring [ZayZoon] with me."