The Solution

A Customized Employee Experience

SAP employees who participate in the voluntary benefit get confidential access to Color’s Hereditary Cancer Test for themselves and their eligible family members— helping them understand their risk for common hereditary cancers, and work with their healthcare provider to develop a screening and prevention program that’s right for each person. The decision to partner with Color was driven by a clear alignment in values. SAP strives to build products that are innovative, scalable, and impactful, and for Jason Russell, Head of SAP’s North America Total Rewards Team, Color represents all of those things.

Leading up to launch, Color and SAP worked together to create a customized employee experience. This included a comprehensive launch communications plan, customized marketing collateral, Color-led training for SAP’s benefits team and call center, and a custom user flow to make it easy for employees to confidentially participate in the program. In July 2017, SAP launched Color throughout SAP America to ~14,000 full-time employees, their spouses/partners, and adult dependents enrolled in SAP’s medical benefits plan, offering Color’s physician-ordered Hereditary Cancer Test for a co-pay of $19. Color’s genetic counselors led educational seminars online and on-site at major office locations. Color also provided custom posters, emails, printed materials, and more to help employees learn about the program and feel comfortable participating.

The Results

Discovery of Increased Risk for Cancer

Color has helped 446 SAP employees and their family members discover that they carry a genetic mutation that increases their risk for cancer, and 64% of these participants would not have met the criteria necessary to receive genetic testing through the traditional health insurance system.

Employees who know their risk are better able to develop a risk management plan with their healthcare providers, which in some cases will enable early cancer detection and outright prevention. The difference between the 5-year survival rate for hereditary cancers caught at an early stage versus advanced stage is striking: for breast cancer, for example, early-stage cancers have a 98% 5-year survival rate versus 25% for advanced stage cancers.

Employees responded enthusiastically to the Color program. One employee brought their spouse on campus just to attend Color’s seminar. The couple was so enthusiastic about Color that they bought test kits for all their eligible adult family members, and spent that same morning persuading other co-workers to take the test as well. Another employee learned they had a BRCA2 mutation and expressed appreciation for having this knowledge, so they could be proactive and share that information with their family. For Jason, it’s fulfilling to have employees trust that SAP is taking their health seriously.