With financial wellness leading as one of the most popular trends for workplace benefits in 2016, a majority of organizations feel a sense of responsibility to offer a wellness program to help their staff become more financially secure. Employees are stressed and don’t have the mental bandwidth it takes to manage their finances properly let alone have enough savings for short term emergencies and long term goals. Supporting the financial health of employees is now becoming as popular as programs for their physical and nutritional health.
However, when faced with workers’ varying income levels and financial literacy, in addition to issues around discussing personal financial matters, HR may not see a clear way to driving employees’ financial wellness.
Critical best practices include implementing benefits that engage employees with unbiased information while leveraging technology and offering 24/7 cloud-based access with a customized personal finance program that takes into account employees desire for privacy.
As financial wellness becomes more popular, HR will find there are many vendors, solutions, and nonprofit institutions available to support employers with their financial health. Trends in new financial wellness programs include –
- Those that focus on long-term retirement benefits using both technology and professionals.
- Professional advisors that offer group or individual education for free and are available for hire at a cost to the employee.
- Technology-directed only programs with a web-based platform with online tools and content for employees.
- Financial literacy, with 100% focus on education, but not necessarily wellness or actionable steps to take.
- A program that offers call as-needed for financial guidance which may or may not be included with an employee assistance program.
- Lenders and banks that might offer education in addition to workplace or institutional lending and banking “products.”
- 401(k) advisors who bundle an outside vendor into their services or offer educational programs on topics besides retirement.
- And non-profit, which may range from professionals donating time to grant-sponsored education with some non-profits allowing professionals easier entry into corporations to sell proprietary products.
When reviewing financial wellness programs organizations should seek partners that embrace a comprehensive and holistic personal finance plan for each employee with a customized assessment that also includes financial counseling/planning and employee assistance. The chosen program should also help sidestep inertia while simplifying the often complex process of savings, investing and risk protection.
While financial wellness programs have typically been comprised of financial planning diagnostics, and an overload of information and too often employer-subsidized time with a financial planner, the use of technology has given way to new startups like Melius, and other digital cloud-based software programs.
These new financial wellness programs offer the ability to deliver a more effective and proactive communication tool with timely and relevant insights on how to help employees reach their financial goals in a more immediate way. These software platforms that help advisors, agents and brokers communicate with employees also help HR save time and money and are easy to implement. Simply put, they offer guidance that helps employees identify their financial needs while providing simple steps to making smarter choices with their money.
Programs like these also help employees gain confidence by developing smarter financial habits like taking advantage of corporate retirement benefits including contributions to their 401K.
Whether your interested in creating a wellness program for your employees or strengthening your spending, saving and insuring habits, visit http://www.getmelius.com for a demonstration.
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