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What to Look for in a Financial Wellness Company

BrightPlan Team

Finances are the number one cause of stress for employees, costing employers nearly $5 billion per week in lost productivity and engagement. As much as 65% of knowledge workers are stressed about their finances, negatively impacting their physical and mental health. Leading employers understand this link between financial stress and overall employee well-being and its impact on the company bottom line. It's in the employer’s best interest to foster a sense of financial security with employee financial wellness programs.

How should employers approach finding the right financial wellness company to partner with? This blog post will give you a brief overview. For more information on the topic, download this Buyer’s Guide or watch this on-demand webinar

 

Overall Wellness Strategy

Financial wellness is a key component of an employer’s holistic well-being strategy, which should ideally focus on all aspects of employee wellness, including physical, mental, emotional, financial, community engagement and many others. Investing in employee well-being is a strategic imperative for leading organizations. Employee well-being can directly impact the employee experience, leading to more loyal and engaged employees who help drive greater organizational resilience and business results. 

Employers with holistic wellness programs in place typically build these based on what they’re hearing from their employees, prioritizing goals to achieve, taking a closer look at what wellness programs are currently being offered, and determining gaps to fill in the program with new solutions.

 

Financial Wellness 

Many employers are looking to incorporate financial wellness for the first time into their employee wellness programs. Although offering a 401(k) has been the norm for decades, employers are now exploring ways to help their employees with day-to-day financial wellness beyond just retirement. For example, many employees are stressed about paying down debt, keeping a budget, and saving for big goals such as paying for a child’s education or a down payment on a house. A holistic financial wellness program complements an employer’s existing 401(k) and enhances it with guidance for employees on their entire financial life.

 

What to Look for in a Financial Wellness Company

Finding the right solution from a financial wellness company that meets both employees’ and employer’s needs will help facilitate uptake of the program. The financial wellness company will be the HR and benefits team’s partner in helping improve employees’ financial lives.

Using BrightPlan’s framework for holistic financial wellness―Total Financial Wellness―here’s 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 advisors 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 the solution 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?


Working with the right financial wellness company can help improve the well-being of your employees, leading to greater productivity and engagement that ultimately drives business results. HR teams looking to incorporate financial wellness into their overall well-being strategy can start with these questions as they explore prospective financial wellness companies. Learn more by reading this detailed Buyer’s Guide: What You Need to Know When Evaluating A Financial Wellness Solution.

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