What good leave management feels like—from both sides of the desk

Sequoia at a glance

• Industry: Total compensation & benefits advisory
• Company size: 1200+ employees
• Meredith's role: Senior Client Manager
• Cocoon used since: 2022

What makes this story unique 

Meredith has experienced Cocoon both as an employee who took parental leave, and as a manager who’s supported direct reports through a leave. As an advisor at Sequoia, she’s also seen the positive impact for companies that pair a leave management solution like Cocoon with a competitive leave policy.

As a leave taker, she:

• Visualized her full pay picture across Sequoia, Guardian, and state benefits in one place
• Adapted her plan in real time when her baby arrived early
• Resolved a state filing issue and missing pay using the Pay Tracker
• Stayed on track with proactive reminders and Cocoon’s support team throughout her leave

As a manager, she:

• Receives automated nudges before, during, and after an employee's leave
• Stays on top of key leave details, without having to pry
• Supports returns to work with a thoughtful, organized checklist 

Meet Meredith Naccarato, Senior Client Manager at Sequoia

As a Senior Client Manager at Sequoia, Meredith Naccarato works with HR and People teams on strategy, benefits programs, total comp, and beyond every day. With her unique bird’s-eye view into how companies of every size approach benefits, Meredith is on top of what actually moves the needle for companies and their employees alike.

When it comes to leave management, Meredith isn't working from theory. Sequoia offers Cocoon as part of their benefits program, and Meredith has used it as both an employee planning her parental leave and as a manager supporting her own team. Her three-dimensional view on what 'good' looks like is hard to argue with.

As a leave taker: The type A planner meets her match with Cocoon

Meredith describes herself as a Type A planner. Naturally she approached maternity leave the way she approaches everything: thoroughly and organized. She knew Sequoia's policy well. But putting it all into action? Different story.

"You would think that someone like me going on leave would be really comfortable," she says. "But I realized I still had tons of questions, like what about this? What about that? Tons of stuff I never imagined before."

Cocoon helped me completely plan out my leave, going beyond the policy on a page to really show me the reality of it—visualized clearly, in plain language, on a timeline.”

That's where Cocoon came in. With the leave planning tool, Meredith saw her full leave picture in one place. She played around with timelines and could see when pay would come from Sequoia, Guardian, and state benefits. “Cocoon helped me completely plan out my leave, going beyond the policy on a page to really show me the reality of it—visualized clearly, in plain language, on a timeline.”

And then her baby came early.

“The best-laid plans” can go awry, but still go right with Cocoon

"I had this whole plan—’the best-laid plans’ right?—and then my baby came early, and I had no idea what that meant." Upon actually checking it out in Cocoon, “I just logged in, updated my dates, and boom, everything was ready.” In general, Meredith relied on Cocoon to keep her ducks in a row. “Getting about three hours of sleep as a new mom, having Cocoon just pass me the paperwork and forms, the direct links to stuff, telling me what to get from my doctor, and when to submit everything meant everything.” 

But, a problem cropped during her leave: she’d filed a state claim incorrectly, and realized eight weeks of pay wasn’t there.

“I made the mistake because I did more math than I needed to. In Cocoon, the math was already done for me, but I just wasn’t used to trusting something that deeply without checking the work and that’s where I went wrong.”

Cocoon’s support team was there to help her fix it to find the missing link in her pay history immediately.

"I was talking to an actual person—not getting some canned bot answer. They were there and walked me through everything calmly. Who knew looking at an Excel on maternity leave could ever be calm?! That’s Cocoon for you."

She got her eight weeks of pay back.

As a manager: balancing visibility and privacy for the best support

Before Cocoon, Meredith is quick to admit what managing leave looked like: spreadsheets, scattered notes, and too much complex coordination across multiple people. Now, she’s on the other side of the table as a manager using Cocoon to help employees through their leaves. 

"Without Cocoon, it’s like who tracks this? How? Where? A lot of people want and need to help a leave taker, but it’s so much better when a tool can reassure you, and show everybody what’s going on, that it’s all in one place.”

"It's almost like an assistant," she says. "The reminders help me actually catch my employee up in a thoughtful way, not just dump everything on them when they walk back in the door or forget about it until the day before and have giant gaps for both of us."

The reminders help me actually catch my employee up in a thoughtful way, not just dump everything on them when they walk back in the door or forget about it until the day before and have giant gaps for both of us."

Meredith also appreciates the privacy it protects. “Leave is really personal. Getting just the details I need as a manager from Cocoon and knowing that I don’t have to overstep or manage it for them means I can focus on being a supportive manager. That tension is gone.”

With Cocoon, Meredith likes the reminders throughout an employee's leave to help keep her on top of: 

• Documenting big updates and announcements
• Tips to keep in mind
• Key dates (start, halfway, and first day back)
• Canceling or starting up recurring meetings 

💡 Check out our manager guide to support leave takers before, during, and after a leave.

How a true leave management solution should feel

Meredith's multi-layered experience with Cocoon gives her a grounded perspective on what separates a good leave management system from a great one. It's not just the technology.  It's the intention it's designed with and the support that backs it up.

"Cocoon’s not a generic tool only built to work with the most basic situations. It’s really adaptable across different leave situations that arise because otherwise that’s not real life. And underlying that technology is someone that’s truly working with you.”

She also points to something Sequoia's clients see all the time: leave management feels like an employer's worst nightmare because of its complexity. Having a tool that removes that anxiety—for HR, for managers, and for employees—not only makes for a better benefits package, but a way to truly feel supported. And Meredith knows what it means for employees when their leave is handled well.

"It really shows that your employer values you as a whole person. They're not just thinking about medical, dental, vision, 401K. Knowing your company is investing real money in this for you? They’re thinking about you as a whole person, and giving you the tools and support to show it."