Crafting an Inclusive Financial Wellness Program to Engage and Empower Employees

BY Katie Chambers | August 29, 2024

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How to Make Financial Well-Being Benefits Inclusive for All

The silver lining of the 2008 financial crisis, according to Steve Ulian, the managing director of client and product solutions at asset management company Apollo, is that employers began offering financial well-being benefits in earnest.“I view that as the inflection point, when more holistic financial wellness became a necessary benefit,” he said. Baby Boomers were, for the first time, clocking in at retirement age just as the financial crisis eroded their savings. “Employees started to cry out for help, and who did they want to help them? Their employers.”Employer-facilitated retirement plans became the norm, at least for full-time workers in white collar jobs, but the types of benefits and guidance that make day-to-day finances, mid-and long-term planning, debt repayment, home buying, investing, and goal setting possible were available mostly to those with wealth. That is, major assets, both liquid and fixed, numbering in the hundreds of thousands or even millions. Wealth management, even wealth building, was for the already wealthy.“There have not been many options for people who need help with everyday questions and everyday money decisions. The whole industry was designed to help people who have a lot of money, and to create really big, long-term strategies,” said Rebecca Liebman, CEO and co-founder of workforce financial wellbeing platform LearnLux. Now, financial planning is for everyone. “It’s for people who want to have a plan for everything from cash flow and budgeting to retirement, drawdown, and estate planning.”Liebman and Ulian were joined by Hannah Johnstone, a financial wellbeing consultant at Gallagher, for a recent From Day One webinar titled “Making Financial Well-Being Inclusive for Your Entire Workforce,” which I moderated. They busted myths about financial planning, celebrated the inclusive power of open access, and offered advice on rolling out new tools.New Employee Expectations for Financial BenefitsIn 2023, employees expect options for managing their financial health–even those who haven’t had access in the past. “It’s no longer sufficient to provide only a retirement plant,” said Johnstone. “Expectations have ticked up. Just as we’ve grown and expanded programs beyond the retirement plan, financial wellness has grown beyond group education and a webinar once in a while. It’s becoming a more personal expectation.”The panelists spoke during From Day One's webinar about “Making Financial Well-Being Inclusive for Your Entire Workforce” (photo by From Day One)In wealth management, talk is often about retirement savings and spending, but that’s not the only financial guidance people need, and Johnstone lamented the narrow attitude toward financial wellness. Everyone needs command of their day-to-day and month-to-month finances, enough to absorb a financial emergency, emergency savings, and the ability to meet future financial goals. Everyone deserves to feel confident making quick, need-it-now decisions too–sometimes people need to know how much car they can afford to buy when the old one conks out. People also need the freedom to make choices that allow them to enjoy their life. “I think we forget to talk about that part,” said Johnstone.There are other myths about financial planning; perhaps the biggest is that people who make a lot of money are good at managing it. “Just because someone makes a lot of money doesn’t mean they know what decision to make,” Liebman remarked. “It’s a common myth that if you make a certain amount of money, you’re good to go.” She’s right: Even high earners struggle with the small things. Sixty-five percent of people in the US are living paycheck to paycheck, according to a fall 2022 report from LendingClub, and almost half of people earning $100,000 or more live that way. Those with large incomes especially may be embarrassed to ask for help. “No matter how much money you’re taking home, people have questions and financial decisions that are very emotional,” said Liebman.Financial Wellness as a DEI StrategyExpanding financial benefits to all is a matter of inclusion–one often left out of DEI strategy. Planning benefits are no longer limited to the C-suite. Programs now can serve an entire workforce: hourly employees, middle managers, entry-level workers, VPs, and executives, in every location and across all industries.Liebman encouraged global parity when rolling out financial benefits, “making sure that every aspect of the program has parity in each country, so if you offer financial planners in the US, offer financial planners in every single country where you have employees. If there’s a digital platform, the digital platform should be localized for every country where you have employees.”To reach everyone, Johnstone recommends making personas of workers across the organization. She often starts there when working with clients. Who is in your workforce? What are their needs? Are they eligible for all your financial benefits?Generally, people want to talk to other people about financial matters, says Ulian. Tech is good, it’s useful, and it has its place, but it’s hard to beat face-to-face questions. He worries that many employers choose a tech tool to tick the financial benefits box, when what they need is diverse fiduciary advisors and household access to help. “Some people want to talk with their family members, because culturally, talking about anything important comes with talking with your family member. Some people really want to talk to somebody who looks like them because there’s a comfort level there.”The group noted that without financial education and help with applications, benefits may go unused. Employees need to know how to use the suite of tools and products available. “As an employer, you’re spending so much time and effort to pick amazing benefits. Let’s make sure people are utilizing them the right way and understand them and are getting the value,” Liebman said.In the benefits blitz of the last few years, employers have been adding new perks, new programs, new rewards to attract and retain workers, and many people have benefitted, but frontline workers and folks who work the machine floor, those who earn an hourly wage—they were often left out. Financial wellness affects mental wellness, panelists said, and workers who have peace of mind about their money are more prepared to be present at work. Everyone who earns an income benefits from sound advice and planning, so why isn’t it available to all?Editor's note: From Day One thanks our partner, LearnLux, for sponsoring this webinar.Emily McCrary-Ruiz-Esparza is a freelance journalist and From Day One contributing editor who writes about work, the job market, and women’s experiences in the workplace. Her work has appeared in the BBC, The Washington Post, Quartz at Work, Fast Company, and Digiday’s Worklife.

Emily McCrary-Ruiz-Esparza November 20, 2023

How to Build a Holistic Financial Well-Being Program for a Diverse Workforce

“Employers are realizing that the main source of [employee] stress is coming from finances, and it impacts other areas of well-being. It’s impacting people’s emotional and mental well-being, their work-life balance, and their physical well-being,” said LaTonia McGinnis, assistant VP of health transformation at management consulting firm Aon.McGinnis was part of a From Day One webinar about how innovative employers are offering financial well-being tools to their workforces. She and her fellow panelists discussed why financial wellness benefits are such an important part of employee care and how companies can identify and meet the financial needs of their workers.Rebecca Liebman is the CEO and co-founder of financial well-being platform LearnLux. She says the company has seen in its clients a renewed sense of responsibility. “Companies are wanting to step up and be that support because so many people’s financial lives are tied to their company: their benefits, health care, retirement, insurance–it’s all through their employer, and now their financial health can be as well.”Last year, CNBC’s financial confidence survey found that 70% of Americans were stressed about their finances, and more than half (52%) say their stress is worse now than before Covid arrived in 2020. The rate of inflation, increasing interest rates, and lack of savings were among the most commonly cited reasons for financial anxiety.Holistic Financial Well-BeingLease-to-own retailer The Aaron’s Company recently reevaluated its financial well-being offerings. It had a program in place, but Demaris Crespo, the company’s senior benefits analyst decided it was time to take inventory of employee needs and consider whether the program was the best fit. They found they had outgrown their old platform and needed something that encompassed a variety of financial tools, plus coaching and guidance from human experts too.“Our workforce is very diverse, and we wanted to have a holistic approach to well-being and find different providers that will support us in that quest of bringing well-being programs to our employees,” she said.One hurdle has simply been getting workers to pay attention to financial wellness benefits. Many just aren’t used to investing, planning, or trying financial coaching. Others are simply uncomfortable with the whole idea. “Talking about finances is never easy,” said Crespo. Aaron’s workforce is quite young, and few arrive with financial know-how. To get workers excited about what the company is offering, Crespo’s team is working with ERGs to get the word out, and so far, it’s been successful. “I think it’s important to put all these new tools and resources in front of the employees so they can see what’s out there and take advantage of it. That’s one of our main concerns, that sometimes you don’t know what you don’t know, so education is key.”In a conversation moderated by Emily McCrary-Ruiz-Esparza, the panelists spoke about the importance of finanical wellness (photo by From Day One)“There’s been so much shame about finance in our own culture, shaming people for what they have or haven’t done,” Liebman said. “Financial well-being has really been revamped over the last few years, and when you think about holistic financial well-being, it’s about meeting people where they are.”Financial stress isn’t a problem only for low-income workers, PwC found. Over 40% of workers earning $100,000 or more report being financially stressed. The distraction of financial stress can affect sleep, mental health, and self-esteem.Workers need more than just a 401(k) and an employer match, Liebman says. “That’s just one piece of your financial life. There are about 28 other decisions that people make as an adult that impact their financial life, from credit card debt to medical debt, student debt, emergency savings, raising their credit score, saving for college or having a 529 plan for a family member, all the way through to retirement drawdown and estate planning.”How to Know What Your Workers NeedThe panelists made it clear: Don’t assume you know what your workforce needs. “We typically ask a lot of questions and do a lot of discovery with our clients to determine what problems they’re trying to solve with their financial well-being program,” said McGinnis. “They tend to be laser-focused on one issue–it might be student loans or it might be early pay access–but then when we get into deeper discussions, we tend to determine that there truly is more of a need for holistic financial well-being.”McGinnis recommends financial well-being vendors that blend technology with human guidance, providing access to certified financial planners (CFPs) that are required to act in the interest of the employees. She also recommends solutions that can serve the needs of a diverse workforce, usually with some level of personalization.“Talk to your people, and listen to them,” said Crespo. “Conduct surveys, have meetings with your leadership team. And talk to your human resources. We have human resources agents in the field, and they take the pulse on what people need.”Editor's note: From Day One thanks our partner, LearnLux, for sponsoring this webinar.Emily McCrary-Ruiz-Esparza is a freelance journalist and From Day One contributing editor who writes about work, the job market, and women’s experiences in the workplace. Her work has appeared in the Economist, the BBC, The Washington Post, Quartz, Fast Company, and Digiday’s Worklife.

Emily McCrary-Ruiz-Esparza July 31, 2024

A Financial Literacy Plan That Works for Your Employees

In a job market where workers are ready to change jobs for a chance at higher compensation, employers are looking for ways to make their total rewards stand out. Financial wellness tools are becoming a more common feature of benefits packages—if you can’t raise pay, then you can help your employees make the most of their salaries.Why the new emphasis on financial wellness? Workers are preoccupied with money-related stress. More than three-quarters of Americans are anxious about their financial situation, according to a recent survey by Capital One and The Decision Lab, and 52% say they struggle to control their financial worries.“As these pressures start to mount on your employees, they’re going to be looking to you to help them get more guidance on how to build wealth and how to lose this debt,” said Russ Cloughen, an account executive at financial advising company Betterment, during a recent From Day One webinar titled “How to Build a Financial Literacy Plan for Employees.”Everyone is feeling the financial squeeze at the moment. “You’re all being asked to do more with less to retain talent, support diverse teams, and keep productivity high,” said Cloughen about employers’ current predicament. “Employees are essentially doing the same thing.”Companies are in a prime position to help lighten the load, and it’s expected of them. According to Betterment’s own data, Cloughen pointed out, 65% of workers said they expect their employer to offer more financial support than before the pandemic.Betterment's Nick Holeman and Russ Cloughen led the webinar during Financial Literacy Month (photo by From Day One)Templatized financial advice isn’t helpful. Some workers need to prioritize retirement savings and some need to focus on paying down student debt, others need to downsize while planning to send kids to college. Economic concerns change too, and financial wellness tools need to keep up. For instance, workers have shifted their financial priorities since 2020, now working toward saving for retirement and paying down student loan debt more than they did before the pandemic, according to Betterment’s survey.Cloughen and his colleague, Nick Holeman, who is Betterment’s director of financial planning, recommended employers provide financial tools that let employees seek the advice that helps them reach their personal goals. Still, many employers—and workers—think of financial advising as something for the wealthy, who have millions in the bank and even more bundled up in assets.“Everyone needs financial advice,” said Holeman. “It can be as simple as maxing out your 401(k) match, understanding Roth versus traditional [IRAs], or building a three- to six-month emergency fund.” Even within traditional financial goals, there are infinite variations in execution, like how to prioritize what to save for and where to invest when money is tight.Many of Holeman’s clients are just beginning to consider their finances strategically, “trying to figure out the first few steps that you need to take financially, whether it’s covering basic emergency expenses, maybe it’s just trying to contribute to your 401(k) for the first time.”Employers can consider financial wellness tools an opportunity for differentiation, said Cloughen. If you can’t offer a unique set of benefits to each individual employee, at least you can provide a package that can be personalized.People have come to expect personalization. Seventy-one percent of consumers expect companies to provide customized experiences, and 76% are unhappy when they don’t, according to a 2021 McKinsey report. It’s not surprising, then, that employers are looking for flexible benefits options.Employers have the chance to stand out among their peers, said Cloughen, noting that 83% of workers that Betterment surveyed view financial wellness benefits as a sign that their employer values them. “These are the things that are going to help you stand out.”Editor's note: From Day One thanks our partner, Betterment, for sponsoring this webinar. Emily McCrary-Ruiz-Esparza is a freelance reporter and From Day One contributing editor who writes about the future of work, HR, recruiting, DEI, and women's experiences in the workplace. Her work has appeared in The Washington Post, Fast Company, Quartz at Work, Digiday’s Worklife, and Food Technology, among others. 

Emily McCrary-Ruiz-Esparza May 10, 2023