The new year typically signals a fresh calendar of wellbeing initiatives across workplaces, from fitness challenges to staff discounts and more. But with many people feeling the strain of financial stress again this new year, the real wellbeing need is in the financial space. Providing financial wellbeing support at work can positively impact not only the financial health of employees, but their overall wellbeing too, and therefore the performance of your business. So how can employers deliver practical, effective financial wellbeing support in the workplace? Let’s take a look at the range of employee financial wellness initiatives that companies use, along with a quick rundown of each option.
Increasing pay or pension contributions
For many employees, increased pay or boosted pension contributions come to mind when financial support is mentioned. Whilst many employers have offered one-off bonuses or pay rises over recent years in response to the rising cost of living, there are clear limitations to this action. For companies, pay rises and pension increases are undoubtedly an expensive undertaking and over the long term, constant increases to remuneration are unlikely to be viable for the business.
On top of the financial viability of pay or pension increases, although helpful in the short term, these increases alone don’t address behavioural change with money. For people struggling with financial wellbeing, habits and behaviour often need to be looked at in order to improve their financial wellbeing for the long term.
Early wage access
In recent years, early wage access schemes have emerged and positioned themselves as a financial wellbeing tool, allowing employees to access their salary throughout the month ahead of payday. For certain groups of workers, early access to earned salary can help alleviate financial pressures in the short term. However, much like increased pay or pension, providing early access to wages can gloss over underlying money management issues that require behavioural shifts to see lasting impact for the better.
Financial wellbeing workshops
Integrating educational workshops can have a positive impact for employees, especially where workshops enable organisations to reach a large number of staff in multiple locations and open up the conversation about money at work. Workshops offer a great opportunity to educate employees on wider financial topics, from positive financial wellbeing habits such as budgeting and goal tracking, through to pensions and more. Note, however, that the limitation of workshops is simply that they’re unable to address individual queries or concerns, sometimes leaving specific financial questions unanswered.
Financial coaching
Increasingly, employers are acknowledging the role of money wellness in the employee benefits space, with one-to-one financial coaching playing a key role as part of an overarching financial wellbeing offering to all employees.
It’s often assumed that only employees with lower earnings are impacted by poor financial wellbeing, but those at the executive level are often affected, albeit in different ways, as they face challenges to manage their wealth now and for future generations. They are also often time poor, but have complex financial situations, so providing them with access to expertise and support is just as important as it is to the rest of the workforce.
Financial coaching provides individuals with personalised support and guidance about their unique situations and can prove helpful for those who access the coaching. It’s important to note, however, that financial coaching is not currently regulated so look out for qualified financial experts to bring on board.
Digital tools and platforms
The emergence of open banking has created space for a wide range of digital financial tools to enter the market, providing more access than ever before to solutions which can help simplify money management and increase visibility over our financial lives. To make the most of the tools available, users need to have an awareness of their financial circumstances along with the knowledge and skills to make positive changes where necessary. Digital tools can give huge amounts of data and analysis, but tools alone may not provide the education needed to put in place new healthier financial habits.
Dedicated budget calendar slots
Carving out dedicated time in your busy schedule to spend on your financial health can be tricky for the time-poor, or those who simply find the prospect of reviewing their finances daunting or difficult. One solution may be to allocate time to every individual across your organisation to spend solely on their personal finances - whether that be a 15-minute communal slot weekly, or a monthly hour-long session to sit down and focus on their current financial situation and future goals for their money. For individuals who need collective encouragement to take action, this can be an effective tool to spur on change.
