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Introducing A Financial Wellness Program? Start Here

BrightPlan Team

65% of U.S. knowledge workers are stressed about their finances, negatively impacting their physical and mental health and contributing to an estimated $244 billion in lost productivity annually.* Employers increasingly feel more responsible to support their employees and are turning to financial wellness solutions to help improve their employees’ overall well-being. 

 

What Is A Financial Wellness Program?

Traditionally, programs such as a 401(k) or pension plan have made up the extent of an employer’s financial wellness offering. While retirement planning is an important component of a financial wellness package, it’s just one piece of total financial wellness. Comprehensive financial wellness should address the needs of employees at every stage of life and include financial education, access to financial planners, and a platform to track and manage finances. A total financial wellness program is a key component of an employer’s holistic well-being strategy, providing a distinct recruitment and retention advantage as well as a number of other benefits for the organization

 

How To Introduce A Total Financial Wellness Program:

1. Survey Your Employees

Before rolling out any new benefit, it’s important to base the program on your employees’ specific needs and challenges. Ask them for their feedback on the types of financial tools and resources that they would find most valuable. This will give you a clearer idea of what you should prioritize and how you should roll it out. You could also assess your employees’ financial literacy to establish a baseline for your financial education resources.

2.  Start With Education

Our 2021 Wellness Barometer Survey revealed that only 20% of employees are financially literate. Launching a total financial wellness program that includes education plus access to a digital platform and financial planners is powerful for helping employees develop strategies to pay down debt, build emergency savings, grow their money, and maximize the benefits you already offer.

3. Use Different Channels To Inform And Deliver

Since employees are constantly bombarded with communications, it’s important to develop a strategic rollout and communications strategy that caters to the different ways in which employees prefer to absorb information. A mix of channels, such as video, web-based apps, direct mail, and text will increase the likelihood of your message getting through and employees enrolling in the program.

4. Communicate The Value

When introducing any new benefit, use the opportunity to ensure that employees feel understood and cared for. Let them know that their voice has been heard and that you’re offering this new benefit because the company genuinely cares about their well-being. Additionally, help employees understand the true value of the program through continuous education, decision support tools, and targeted messages. For example, retirement related communications to younger employees may focus on learning how to save for retirement, whereas messages geared to older generations may hone in on getting ready to use their retirement benefits. And don't forget to engage your managers—they’re most connected to your employees’ wants and needs. Enlist them to reinforce the importance of the program in 1:1 conversations, taking into account each employee’s value drivers.

5. Leverage Existing Employee Benefits

Your organization most likely already offers some form of financial benefits like a 401(k) plan, health savings accounts (HSAs), student loan assistance, or debt consolidation. You don’t need to replace these when you implement a financial wellness program. Since your employees may already be taking advantage of these resources, you can use these as a jumping-off point. Incorporate these existing benefits into your overall program and explain how they complement your total financial wellness solution.

6. Partner With A Trustworthy Provider

A third-party financial wellness provider should educate and coach your employees based on their unique needs and help drive success of the program. Look for a partner to serve as an extension of your HR team, one that will guide you through the launch and beyond. Here are a few key questions to ask when evaluating solutions from a financial wellness company:

  • Digital + Human: Does the solution include a digital platform that enables self-service access paired with experienced human financial planners to accommodate a range of employee preferences?
  • Learn: Does the solution include educational content and sessions on relevant financial topics customized for your company?
  • Plan: Does it guide employees step-by-step through setting and planning for their financial goals? 
  • Invest: Does the solution include investment advice―including for their 401(k)?
  • Manage: Does the solution allow each person to see where they stand financially and analyze day-to-day spending?
  • Fiduciary: Does the financial wellness company adhere to the fiduciary standard? If yes, are they certified by a third party to ensure adherence to that standard?
  • Customer Success: Can the financial wellness company partner with your HR team to proactively improve employee adoption and engagement?


*Disclosure: Assumes there are 94,257,000 knowledge workers in the U.S. with an hourly wage of $35.53. Source: Federal Reserve Economic Dataset. For more information, see the full report.
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