“Investing in our people through StandOut has transformed how we approach talent management and organizational culture.”

allison velez
chief people officer

Marathon Health delivers advanced primary care to employers, unions, and municipalities, promising to reduce overall benefit costs by managing entire populations. Their model includes on-site health centers tailored for employers and a network of over 700 centers across 43 states, with virtual care available nationwide. The workforce is distributed across 47 states, primarily consisting of physicians, nurse practitioners, and medical assistants, along with specialists such as mental health providers and health coaches.

Business challenges

Through M&A activity, Marathon Health is a rapidly growing organization and faces a unique set of human capital challenges, including the need to:

  • Oversee a highly dispersed workforce across the United States.
  • Retain a diverse range of roles, from medical assistants to physicians to executives in a tight labor market.
  • Maintain a cohesive organizational culture that has a flexible learning environment, with an emphasis on diverse training approaches and needs.
  • Develop talent that can adapt to the fast-paced changes within the healthcare sector while remaining committed to their core values.

Solution: ADP Talent with StandOut®

To address these challenges and to ensure critical alignment with their talent strategy, Marathon Health leveraged ADP’s StandOut solution, a strengths-based talent management system designed to maximize employee engagement and build leader effectiveness.

  • Performance management: StandOut enabled Marathon Health to create a performance management framework that emphasizes strengths, coaching and development.
  • Employee engagement: StandOut fostered a culture of continuous listening, allowing teams to stay aligned (especially during times of change) and motivated toward their mission.
  • Talent development: With StandOut, Marathon Health facilitated personalized development plans for employees, focusing on growth and opportunities for skill enhancement.
  • Leadership excellence: StandOut elevated frontline leaders with resources to effectively support and lead their teams. Data is available to managers immediately, equipping them to take action.
  • Community connection: For Marathon’s dispersed workforce, StandOut has created connection, encouraged active listening, and enabled cultural transitions as employees embrace remote work.

Accomplishments


By implementing ADP’s StandOut, Marathon Health achieved significant milestones:

  1. Improved employee engagement: “StandOut enables us to truly understand our employees’ strengths. This has elevated our engagement scores and reinforced our culture-first approach,” observed Lisa Murphy, Vice President of Organizational Development. At Marathon Health, team members whose leader provides high attention are 1.7x more likely to be fully engaged (FE)!
  2. Enhanced talent retention: The organization experienced a notable decrease in turnover, as employees felt more valued and aligned with the company’s mission. “We’ve seen firsthand how investing in our people pays off,” remarked Chief People Officer Allison Velez. “When they feel supported and empowered, they bring their best selves to work.”
  3. Cohesive company culture: The implementation of StandOut helped create a more cohesive culture, ensuring that all employees, regardless of their location, feel connected to Marathon Health’s mission. “Our decentralized workforce is now more united than ever. StandOut has been instrumental in bridging the distance,” added Lisa.
  4. Disease prevention emphasis: With a strong focus on talent management, Marathon Health has further enhanced its ability to deliver preventive care to employees and members. “When our teams understand their strengths and how to utilize them,” Allison noted, “they can engage more effectively with our clients, making a real difference in the preventive care landscape.”
quarterly Engagement Pulses launched in 2023, with 75% average Response Rate
fully engaged employees — an increase from 29% during a time of significant culture change and transformation.
of team leaders are providing moderate to high attention to their team members.

Conclusion

Marathon Health’s partnership with ADP, featuring the implementation of StandOut, has empowered their organization not only to navigate the complexities of a dispersed workforce but also to create and foster a strengths-based culture. The results have underscored the power of a strength-based approach, demonstrating that when employees thrive, so does the organization.

In leveraging ADP Talent with StandOut, Marathon Health continues to lead the way in transforming healthcare while nurturing a thriving organizational culture.

Download the full case study below.

Marathon Health – Case Study 2025
ADP_GES-Marathon-Case-Study-StandOut_20251118-FINAL_2.pdf – 154.96 KB
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