How to Set Up a Financial Wellness Program for Employees
As an HR professional, you know how important it is to take care of your employees. One increasingly important way you can do that is by offering employee financial wellness programs.
These programs provide education and resources to help employees learn how to best manage their money and achieve their financial goals. In this article, we'll explore why financial wellness programs are important, as well as the steps to setting up a successful program, creating program goals and objectives, selecting a program provider, and measuring success.
Why Financial Wellness Programs are Important for Your Employees
About 78% of U.S. workers live paycheck to paycheck. And 40% of Americans would struggle to come up with $400 for an emergency expense. It’s no surprise that most employees today experience some amount of financial stress.
Financial stress has a serious impact on your employees' productivity and well-being. Employees spend time at work worrying about their money. A study from PWC found that 43% of employees who note that they are distracted by their finances while at work spend three hours or more dealing with financial issues during work hours. By offering financial wellness programs, you can help your employees gain the knowledge and skills they need to manage their finances and reduce stress. This can also positively impact your employees’ productivity and general wellbeing at work.
Financial wellness programs can help you achieve other HR goals, such as employee retention. As you are well-aware, when employees feel supported and valued, they're more likely to stay with your company. And when they're less stressed, they're more likely to be healthy and engaged.
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Step 1: Craft Your Financial Wellness Program Goals and Objectives
Before you start looking for a program provider, it's important to define your goals and objectives for the program. What do you hope to achieve?
Some common goals include:
Improving employee financial literacy
Reducing financial stress
Increasing retirement savings
Increasing participation in the employer sponsored retirement plan
Improve employee retention
Use unique programming to attract competitive talent
Enhancing overall employee wellness
Once you've defined your goals, you can start thinking about how to measure success. What metrics will you use? How will you gather feedback from employees? And how will you use that feedback to improve the program? The program provider you choose will likely have ideas or suggestions as well.
It's also important to think about how you'll showcase the program in your talent acquisition strategy. Millennials and Gen Zers, in particular, are looking for employers that offer more than just a paycheck. By highlighting your financial wellness program on the website, in employee onboarding, and on social media, you can better attract and retain top talent.
Step 2: Choose the Right Financial Wellness Program Provider
The most important component of a successful financial wellness program is that it provides ongoing support and education for the employees. An ongoing program is better than a one-off workshop because it allows employees to work month over month on their financial goals on their own time. A webinar or workshop, on the other hand, might be attended by some employees once and then forgotten.
There are a lot of financial wellness program providers out there, so it can be tough to know where to start. Here are some key components to look for:
On-demand resources and lessons that employees can access on their own time — Your employees are busy outside of work! Ongoing access to lessons and videos and other recommended resources are important.
Resources that go beyond simply how to budget — A budget and full understanding of one’s financial picture is vital, but education shouldn’t stop there. Choose a program provider that has resources and financial literacy material that will be able to grow as your employees grow on their own financial journeys.
Live office hours or some kind of live component for employees to join — Casual, live office hours each month are a great way for employees to get their questions answered as they work through their own personal finance action items.
Ongoing programs rather than one-off workshops — Live workshops are great, and your program will likely include a live component, but a one-off workshop isn’t enough for your employees to get real transformation on their financial wellness and education.
Look for an ongoing program that is action-oriented and provides employees with the resources and support they need to make lasting changes.
Step 3: Onboard Employees
After you've selected a financial wellness program provider and crafted your program goals and objectives, it's time to onboard your employees. This is a critical step in the process, as it ensures that your employees are aware of the program and feel motivated (and ideally excited!) to participate.
Here are some tips for onboarding your employees:
Communicate the program: Use your usual channels of communication (e.g., email, intranet, company-wide meetings) to let employees know about the new financial wellness program. Explain what the program is, what the goals and objectives are, and how employees can participate. Make sure to emphasize the benefits of the program, such as increased financial security, reduced stress, wealth building, and improved overall well-being.
Make participation easy: Ensure that the program is easy to access and use. Provide clear instructions on how employees can enroll in the program, access resources, and get support when needed. Your program provider can help you with communicating how employees can access all of the resources. For example, at Money Life Mentor, we send employees who are being onboarded a welcome email with a video intro and links to all the key resources, from subscribing to the live office hours calendar, to the resource library.
Encourage employee engagement: Encourage employees to engage with the program by setting goals, tracking progress, and sharing successes with their colleagues. Consider setting up a leaderboard or other mechanism for tracking progress and incentivizing participation.
Ensure all new employees get access: When you have new hires, notify your program provider so that they can make sure that new employees get timely access to the resources and onboarding materials. It’s best to work this into your new hire process so that everyone can benefit.
Step 4: Track and Measure the Success of Your Financial Wellness Program
Finally, it's important to measure the success of your financial wellness program so you can make improvements over time. Survey your employees quarterly or at least twice a year to gather feedback on the program. Share that feedback with your program provider so they can work it into the resources and content provided.
Besides surveys, HR professionals can track and measure the success of a new employee wellness program in a few different ways. Here are some options:
Employee engagement and participation: Track the number of employees who participate in the program and the level of engagement. This can include tracking attendance at events related to the program.
Employer sponsored retirement plan participation rates: If your company offers a 401(k) or other retirement plan, a corporate financial wellness program can encourage employees to take advantage of a benefit that the company is already paying for, while improving their financial health. Gather participation data from your plan’s recordkeeper.
Health outcomes: Financial health is related to physical and mental and emotional health. Depending on the specific program, HR professionals can track health outcomes such as reduced absenteeism, reduced healthcare costs, and improved overall employee health. This information can be obtained from insurance providers and other healthcare data sources.
Financial outcomes: HR professionals can also track financial outcomes, such as reduced employee debt, increased retirement savings, and increased employee productivity. This information can be obtained through surveys, and data from your 401(k) or other employer sponsored retirement account recordkeeper.
Qualitative feedback: Collect qualitative feedback from employees about the program through focus groups, interviews, surveys, or suggestion boxes. This feedback can provide insights into what is working well and what could be improved in the program.
By using a combination of these methods, HR professionals can track and measure the success of a new employee wellness program and make any necessary adjustments to improve it over time.
Follow these steps, and set up a financial wellness program that benefits both your employees and your company. When you’re ready to get started, book a 20-minute discovery session so that we can help you craft the best program for your employees.
Ready to Get Started Now?
A one-off workshop is great, but your employees can’t solve their finances in a 60-minute session. Explore Money Life Mentor’s financial wellness programming for employees, and get started implementing an impactful program today.
FAQs
What is financial wellness programming for employees?
A financial wellness program for employees is a set of initiatives and resources provided by employers to help employees improve their financial well-being. This can include educational programs, coaching services, workshops, and on-demand resources to help employees better manage their finances, reduce debt, and build savings.
What types of financial wellness programs are available for employees?
Financial wellness programs can take many forms, and can be tailored to the specific needs of the organization and its employees. Examples of financial wellness programs include educational workshops, debt management programs, retirement planning and investing resources, and personalized financial coaching.
What is the goal of corporate financial wellness programming?
By offering financial wellness programming, employers aim to improve their employees' overall well-being, productivity, and job satisfaction, while also reducing absenteeism and healthcare costs. Additionally, employers may benefit from improved employee retention rates and a more positive corporate culture. Overall, the goal of corporate financial wellness programming is to support the financial health of employees and create a more financially secure and stable workforce.
What are the steps to implementing a financial wellness program for employees?
Employers can implement a financial wellness program for their employees by partnering with financial wellness providers, creating internal resources and educational programs, or offering financial wellness benefits as part of their overall employee benefits package.
Can financial wellness programs be effective for all types of employees?
Financial wellness programs can be effective for all types of employees, regardless of income level or job type. These programs can help employees improve their financial literacy and make better financial decisions, regardless of their current financial situation.
How can employers measure the success of their financial wellness program?
Employers can measure the success of their financial wellness program by tracking metrics such as employee engagement, program utilization, and overall financial wellness of employees. Additionally, surveys and feedback from employees can provide valuable insights into the effectiveness of the program.