Carla Sutherland
Today, employee wellbeing stretches way beyond discounted gym memberships or cycle to work programs. Business and HR leaders are having to look beyond traditional health-focused perks to provide the best care for employees – and this means a new focus on employee financial wellbeing.
Now, in tough times for employees, leaders must navigate a challenging economic landscape – just like their employees. While financial wellbeing at work is fast becoming a top priority, many leaders simply don’t know where to start to maximize impact with an increasingly limited budget.
In this blog, we’ll dive into why employee financial wellbeing is so important and give you a rundown of top tips to support your team’s financial wellbeing at work.
What is employee financial wellbeing?
Employee financial wellbeing is when staff can not only meet basic economic needs, but also manage their money effectively in the short and long term. This means equipping your employees with the financial tools and support they need to live comfortably, deal with debt and avoid any knock-on effects in their lives or work.
In fact, many HR leaders are now looking at employee wholebeing – a more holistic approach to employee wellbeing that includes mental and physical health, social connection and sense of purpose, as well as financial security.
Why is employee financial wellbeing important?
Financial wellbeing is not confined to employees’ bank balances. Our finances have a direct impact on our health and mental wellbeing, and dealing with financial stress can make your employees – and their productivity – suffer.
Employee financial wellbeing impacts:
- Job performance – employees with money worries find it more difficult to concentrate on their work and perform at their best.
- Absenteeism – when employees have high levels of financial stress, this can lead to higher levels of absence.
- Retention – if employees are feeling unsupported financially, they may look to other companies that can offer the tools they need.
- Staff morale – when employees are stressed about their finances, teams can become distracted or unfocused, leading to low levels of job satisfaction.
5 steps to support financial wellbeing at work
It’s time to focus on employee financial wellbeing and ease your staff’s money worries. Here’s our five-step plan to promote financial wellbeing in the workplace:
1. Understand employee’s financial needs
You can’t fix problems if you don’t know what they are. It might sound simple, but it can be easy to become disconnected between HR strategy and employee sentiment. For instance, our research shows that 56% of employees are looking for a pay raise or bonus to improve their wellbeing – 15 percentage points above the call for improved work-life balance. Gaining a deeper understanding of employee struggles through surveying and data will prove vital.
Collecting and analysing employee data helps you to focus your efforts on the financial tools that will make the most impact. As well as valuable information on each employee’s individual situations and struggles, you can identify the financial support that matters to them and which of your current benefits are unused or unwanted. Also, if you’re seeing tell-tale signs of discontent such as high turnover rates, dissatisfaction or complaints, you can use exit interviews to shed some light. Ask if there are any financial benefits that would have made them stay or that they will receive in their new role, and pinpoint where your current setup may be lacking.
2. Encourage open discussions around financial health
With a subject as taboo as finances, clear and open communication is more important than ever.
When you create an open, inclusive and non-judgmental culture, where employees feel safe to bring their full selves to work, they will be more willing to share their financial worries with their managers.
On the other hand, improving communication with managers and encouraging them to make time to sit down with their employees one-on-one and have open, honest discussions will be crucial to make your staff feel heard.
3. Provide comprehensive benefits plans
With a clear picture of the employee benefits your workforce wants, it’s time to pull together a plan. Covering a wide range of benefits that will hit all employee needs is no easy task, so you need to ensure that your benefits plan is comprehensive.
This could mean relieving financial pressures at home with discounts on home improvements, insurance and appliances. Savings on leisure activities and food deliveries and core essentials like car rental and maintenance also help to ease day-to-day worries.
4. Implement financial wellbeing programs
Looking beyond discounts, your plan should be part of a wider employee assistance program (EAP), with a focus on improving employees’ financial wellbeing at work. Instead of an EAP being something employees turn to in times of crisis, this can prove an invaluable tool to deal with everyday financial pressures and help staff to manage their money better – minimizing financial issues in the long run.
For instance, offering employee loans with salary-deducted repayments can help your staff when they are most vulnerable or at an important stage in their lives. And hosting advice sessions educates employees on financial wellbeing – it’s all about being flexible and giving the support they need.
5. Continuously adapt for organization needs
A focus on employee financial wellbeing doesn’t stop once a program is in place. Continual check-ins are vital to adapt to evolving employee requirements and ensure that everyone’s needs are covered. Look to regularly review your benefits package and encourage employee feedback to keep financial wellbeing at work a top priority.
It’s time to focus on employee financial wellbeing
Ultimately, supporting your staff through tough periods shows that you truly care about them. Being proactive and encouraging open discussions around financial health means that many issues can be nipped in the bud before they become a crisis – protecting employees and productivity.
Speak to one of our employee experience experts today to discuss how you can best support the financial wellbeing of your people
