A Financial Literacy Plan That Works for Your Employees

BY Emily McCrary-Ruiz-Esparza | May 10, 2023

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.
 

RELATED STORIES

HR Planning & Budgeting 2025: How To Maximize Your Employee Experience Investment

The end of the year approaches fast, and for businesses and organizations, this indicates the time to complete annual budget plans for the coming year. Decisive strategies delivering the highest ROI are driving an industry shift, placing employee experience (EX) at the forefront of organizational priorities.“We are in a new wave of focusing on our employees, which is different from the way organizations used to operate,” said Rob Catalano, chief marketing and strategy officer for WorkTango. “We need to be intentional that employee experience is important. When we create our plans and strategies we are thinking about them as well.”Emily McCrary-Ruiz Esparza, journalist and contributing editor at From Day One spoke about the importance of employee experience when approaching the budget planning with Catalano during a From Day One webinar titled, HR Planning & Budgeting 2025: How To Maximize  Your Employee Experience InvestmentBoosting employee relationship management yields the benefits of higher morale, and in turn  increases retention and employee engagement. A Gartner survey supports this, with these five priorities for HR leaders in 2024:  Leader and Manager Development Organizational Culture HR Technology Change Management Career Management and Internal MobilityThe survey's top three priorities highlight how HR leaders are embracing change and the need for strategic agility. Happy employees drive stronger company profits. According to Harvard Business Review's study, How Employee Experience Impacts Your Bottom Line, organizations that prioritize employee experience in their budgets see revenue and profits rise by at least 50%.Organizations that fail to integrate employee experience into their current and future strategies risk falling behind, says Catalano. HR leaders must leverage technology, AI, and other digital tools to achieve the same success through robust employee experience initiatives.Rob Catalano of WorkTango led the webinar (company photo)“Technology needs to be that critical part of your strategic planning and your budget carved  out for these types of things if you want to impact that employee experience,” said Catalano.Annual employee surveys don’t yield the fastest employee experience results anymore. Many employee issues aren’t identified and resolved until several months later.  “No one’s going to act or do something different if you’re only getting your engagement index of how people feel once a year,” Catalano said.How To Approach Budgeting and ROIInvesting in employee experience doesn’t require a large portion of a company budget. Two thirds of companies that invested less than $10,000 saw a ROI up to 5 times. What is more important is identifying and measuring what Catalano calls the three pillars, People ROI, HR  ROI, and Company ROI.Every company will determine these metrics differently as they should–ROI is not one size fits  all. One company can receive a high ROI with the same plan another company used, who only saw a minimal ROI.“If we think about employee experience and all those pillars, there isn’t a silver bullet when  companies are thinking of a multi threaded experience strategy. You can’t do it all, but be  thoughtful. What are the right things that are employee focused versus company focused?”Editor’s note: From Day One thanks our partner, WorkTango, for sponsoring this webinar. Mary Jones is a freelance writer out of Ohio. Her work is featured in several publications including The Dallas Express, NDash, and The Daily Advocate.

Mary Jones | November 20, 2024

Want to Retain Your Workers? Show You Genuinely Care About Their Mental Health

When employers make a sincere effort to support the well-being of their workers, does that investment have a positive return for the company? Does it go beyond goodwill to improved corporate performance? Nivati, an employee mental-health platform, decided to find out.In a study of 25,741 workers at 56 companies that used the Nivati platform during 2023-24, the company found a dramatic impact among employees who were fully engaged with the platform: a high level of employee retention. The overall turnover rate within this group of employees was only 1.7%, meaning they were eight times more likely to stay in their jobs than co-workers who were only casually engaged with the program.Retention is a key number for employers because unwanted turnover can be so expensive. According to Gallup research, “replacing leaders and managers costs around 200% of their salary, replacing employees in technical roles costs 80% of their salary, and replacing frontline workers costs 40% of their salary, excluding unmeasured losses in morale and knowledge.”Yet reducing employee turnover is not merely about cutting costs; it’s strategic investment in an organization’s future. By embracing programs that enhance engagement, satisfaction, and overall workplace culture, employers can cultivate a loyal and motivated workforce. The benefits—ranging from improved productivity to enhanced customer satisfaction—far outweigh the costs.The American workforce’s state of mental health is often described as a crisis. How does that present itself on the job? “Employees often approach Nivati struggling with mental health challenges like stress, burnout, anxiety, relationship challenges, and work-life balance issues, which are major contributors to workplace dissatisfaction,” said Nivati CEO Amelia Wilcox, who founded the company in 2020. “When companies don’t provide mental health support, employees are more likely to leave due to feeling unsupported or unable to cope with their work environment.”In the nearly five years since the start of the pandemic, many factors inside and outside the workplace have aggravated employee stress. “The shift to remote and hybrid work, combined with economic uncertainty and social isolation, has significantly affected employee wellness,” said Wilcox.Amelia Wilcox, CEO and founder of Nivati (Company photo)While many companies have stepped up their support for good mental health, there’s still a significant gap. “Many employees are still unaware of these benefits and underutilize them. This commonly stems from lack of communication and engagement strategies that remind employees and make employees feel like the resource is readily accessible and OK for them to use,” Wilcox said.Cultural challenges are a factor too, especially when a company talks a good game about mental health but fails to make it a core value. “For instance, if a company is saying they value mental health and then covertly sends the message that taking time off is not OK, the employees internalize those covert messages over the overt messaging the employer is trying to send,” said Wilcox. “Effective onboarding, consistent conversations on mental health, periodic reminders, and visible support from leadership increase utilization, making employees more aware that their employer genuinely cares about their well-being.”Karen Fikse, senior director of HR at Cummins, the engine manufacturer, said in a From Day One panel discussion that the idea of leaders practicing what they preach formed the basis of her company's “It’s Okay” campaign, which provides managers with resources to process whatever they’re going through–be it anxiety, stress, pressure or hardship.In the five years since its Nivati’s inception, said Wilcox, “we’ve learned that the key to impactful mental health support is a holistic approach, including therapy, fitness, finance, and self-care tools, all made accessible within a flexible platform that meets employees where they are. We’ve also learned that some people aren’t comfortable with jumping right into therapy. So our platform was designed to allow people to start in an area that’s less ‘scary’ for them and build trust with the platform and team. They can take baby steps to grow into therapy.”Before any therapy or other steps happen, the pathway needs to be a welcoming one. Nivati’s platform “provides an intuitive experience for employees to seek help: from signing in and selecting self-guided resources around mental health, nutrition, or finance—to scheduling and engaging with qualified professionals in each of those areas of well-being. The entire process is designed to be simple and confidential,” Wilcox said.Nivati partners with a network of hundreds of licensed therapists, registered dietitians, life coaches, financial advisors, meditation practitioners, yoga instructors, personal trainers, and more. These providers work 1:1 with employees, they facilitate group training and education for Nivati’s customers, and they create the content for the self-guided resources on the company’s platform.Even for workers who aren’t at risk of quitting their jobs, in many cases because they need the financial security, paying attention to their mental health can lead to thriving on the job rather than every day being a struggle. They can reframe their work experience and boost their resiliency. Nivati’s platform has a career development and coaching category to help workers grow in their roles as well. “Even if these employees aren’t leaving,” Wilcox said, “providing them with support can increase their satisfaction and productivity, ultimately benefiting both them and their employer.”Editor’s note: From Day One thanks our partner Nivati, who sponsored this spotlight.(Featured photo by SDI Productions/iStock by Getty Images)

the Editors | November 20, 2024

How to Provide Best-in-Class Menopause Support in the Workplace

Despite it impacting half the population, menopause is rarely discussed. For many women, life-altering symptoms strike just as they’re reaching the peak of their careers, disrupting them at a time when peak performance is critical. Companies must step up and provide support, or they could potentially lose 20% of these women who move to less demanding jobs.MaryAnne Hraba, RVP of employer growth at the Maven Clinic and Dr. Toni Morrissey, OB-GYN at the Maven Clinic spoke about providing best-in-class menopause support during From Day One’s October virtual conference. Jenny Sucov, health and well-being journalist moderated the thought leadership spotlight. Maven is a team of health care advocates across the world who offer personalized care via telehealth. They partner with over 2,000 employers and health plans to bridge the gaps between limited access to care for everything from fertility treatment to pediatric care, including filling the gap in traditional menopause care.Opening the DialogueSeveral years ago, Hraba started experiencing what she now knows is symptoms of perimenopause, including worsening depression and anxiety, low libido, and it became increasingly difficult to sleep. The most cumbersome symptom, especially with regards to showing up for work every day, was brain fog.“I seriously thought that I had something wrong with my brain,” she said. “It just wasn't working anymore, like having a hard time even reacting in conversations.” She had no idea what was going on with her body. “It was just so hard to get through every single day.”She went to see her OB-GYN and explained what was happening, but during the short visit was simply told that is what happens when you get older. No help or relief. Later, Hraba went down a Google rabbit hole, which made things worse. Unfortunately, only about 20% of OBs receive any sort of formal training on menopause, says Sucov.Hraba then turned to Maven for care. She scheduled a virtual appointment with one of their OB-GYNs who was trained in menopause. “I got more out of that 15-minute appointment than anything prior,” Hraba said.Dr. Toni Morrissey and MaryAnne Hraba of Maven Clinic spoke on "How to Provide Best-in-Class Menopause Support in the Workplace" (photo by From Day One)Questions about hormone replacement therapy, supplements, and a clear direction of where to go next were answered. “Finally, I was being seen and being heard, which was the first step.” She also got access to clinically vetted content she could trust, as well as community forums of other women experiencing similar issues. Additionally, she asked Maven for a local doctor who was trained to better help her and was connected with one covered by her insurance.“Fast forward. Now I’m talking to this provider in person. I’m a lot more empowered, a lot more educated, and I’m able to have that two-way conversation,” Hraba said.She still uses the Maven app for resources she doesn’t have access to locally, but when it comes to women’s health, it is going to take more than just one provider to fulfill her needs. “It's still a process. There’s no single magic bullet.” But thankfully, now that she feels better, her life—including her work life—have improved exponentially, she says.  Workforce ImpactThe implications of menopause in the workplace are more far-reaching than employers may realize. “Menopause isn't just a personal health journey,” Dr. Morrissey said. “It impacts everybody around them in the workforce.”Untreated symptoms can render even the most resilient individuals less able to manage stress, leading to higher absenteeism and decreased productivity, says Dr. Morrissey. Moreover, menopause often coincides with a pivotal career phase when many women are in or approaching leadership roles. Without adequate support, companies risk losing experienced professionals and stalling diversity progress in senior positions.“Employers who invest in comprehensive menopause support aren’t just doing the right thing for their people, but they're making a smart business decision, and they’re creating a culture that normalizes conversations about menopause and provides meaningful, holistic care,” said Dr. Morrissey. How do women who go through this type of care feel? “They typically will say, now I feel back to myself.”Effective Menopause BenefitsProviding tailored menopause benefits, such as telehealth consultations and educational resources, empowers employees and cultivates a culture that normalizes and supports women's health at all stages. By integrating menopause care into their wellness programs, employers can demonstrate a commitment to their workforce’s well-being, fostering loyalty and positioning themselves as leaders in employee care.Here’s what Dr. Morrissey recommends for employers to make sure is included in menopause coverage:Access to Specialty Care: Employers should provide on-demand, virtual access to a variety of specialists (e.g., GYNs, mental health providers, sex coaches, nutritionists, career and physical support coaches) to address the wide range of menopause symptoms. Global and same-day support empowers employees to manage their health comprehensively.Education and Community Resources: Expert-reviewed resources such as articles, webinars, and community support should be available to educate employees and help them understand and manage symptoms.Personalized Care Plans: Employees need individualized care plans that consider their medical history, lifestyle, and personal circumstances. Concierge support should help them navigate care and connect to specialists and local providers as needed.Addressing menopause in the workplace is no longer optional—it’s a vital aspect of supporting employees’ well-being and fostering an inclusive work environment. As more women reach pivotal stages in their careers while navigating the challenges of menopause, companies that proactively offer comprehensive support can stand out as leaders in employee care. Editor’s note: From Day One thanks our partner, Maven Clinic, for sponsoring this thought leadership spotlight.Carrie Snider is a Phoenix-based journalist and marketing copywriter.

Carrie Snider | November 18, 2024