“I really like working here. I really do. The environment and the people are great. Management is responsive but I’ve been offered a job making more money, so I have to resign.”
If you, as a HR professional, Director of Training or a company owner have heard these words uttered by a valuable employee that has walked out the door, consider offering financial literacy as part of your benefits package. Financial literacy is defined as the ability to comprehend and apply financial skills to make sound financial decisions.
Top performing companies know that having a financially healthy workforce is a relatively untapped strategy to retain talent, increase productivity and generate innovation. Why? Employees who experience solid progress toward financial freedom have exponentially more mental space to dedicate to the performance of their jobs.
For most of us, the reality is not too little money but the lack of education on how to effectively use the money we make. Most Americans are living paycheck to paycheck. There is so much emphasis on the “credit score” but extraordinarily little emphasis on what it truly means and how to make money work for you.
As a leader, you can provide your employees with financial wellness programs that meet them where they are—from the basic budgeting and savings to investing to create generational wealth. These programs can make a positive and long-lasting impact on your employees and on your organization.
Consider these facts:
· 66% of Americans are financially illiterate.
· 60% of employees are living paycheck to paycheck.
· Over 50% of employees don’t have enough emergency savings.
· One third find it difficult to meet their monthly household expenses.
· Nearly 50% consistently carry credit card balances and
· Roughly half of all employees find dealing with their financial situation stressful.[1]
These statistics are not surprising when you consider that financial literacy is not a core competency in our schools or universities. Everything we learn about finances comes from mimicking our parents, self-taught, or trial and error.
Employers are in a unique position to positively change this reality. A recent national survey showed that 54% of employees want employers to provide financial education.[2] Offering financial education as an employee benefit not only helps improve employees' financial literacy, it also allows the employee to:
Ø Make sound financial decisions.
Ø Better understand how expenses affect the company’s bottom line.
Ø Understand the impact of their actions on the organization’s bottom line.
Ø Better understand the business.
Ø Better understand the employee benefits package.
Ø Boost morale.
Ø Provide greater job satisfaction.
The Benefits to Employers
Financial literacy may:
Ø Increase employee loyalty.
Ø Help an organization with workforce planning.
Ø Reduce stress and insecurity among employees.
Ø Improve employees’ productivity.
Ø Have a positive effect on employee retention.
Ø Play a role in attracting new talent.
It is estimated that employees spend three hours or more of the work week thinking about or dealing with personal finances issues at work. Imagine if this time could be converted into increased productivity and innovation!
Integrate into Employee Benefits
Position Financial literacy as a Benefit: Incorporating financial literacy into your organization is a powerful strategy that can significantly enhance employee well-being, engagement and productivity. Here are a few examples of how this can be done efficiently and at a low cost to the organization:
Ø Partner with experts: Consider collaborating with financial literacy organizations or consultants like Onyx Rising, who bring expertise in change management and financial education.
Ø Offer financial literacy workshops as part of the company/organization on-boarding process.
Ø Offer quarterly financial literacy workshops for new hires and as a refresher for other employees.
Ø Offer self-directed e-learning modules
The Onyx Rising Solution
Onyx Rising has developed a three-part financial wellness series entitled “Money Matters Bootcamp.” Each workshop can be customized for a sixty- or- ninety-minute session which can be delivered as stand-alone modules or as a series. Delivery can be in-person or virtual as preferred by the organization. Ongoing training can also be built into employee onboarding or orientation.
Financial success is determined by a person’s mindset. With any detrimental behavior, the person must realize that the behavior is in fact detrimental and must commit to a plan to correct it. This is the core of the Onyx Rising solution. It starts with our Money Mindset Quiz—a self-assessment of ten questions used to identify money myths and the basic financial principles. With this quiz, the employee immediately understands his/her beliefs that may be prohibiting financial success.
Below is a brief description of each module:
Part 1: Visioning the Life You Want: Image vs. Reality
This workshop starts with the basics, beginning with an assessment of one’s beliefs about money and finances. Thoughts, beliefs and behaviors predetermine financial success
Part 2: Money Bootcamp: Every Dollar Counts
The workshop includes the need for and the establishment of a personal budget, emergency fund, savings and investing. Is there such a thing as good debt? What are warning signs of debt? This workshop takes the next step to financial freedom by exploring needs versus wants; the problems with debt; debt warning signs and strategies for getting out of debt.
Part 3: Let’s Talk Credit
The credit score has become extremely important to achieving one’s financial goals, but what does one’s credit score really mean? What do creditors look for when deciding to grant credit? This workshop reviews the basics of understanding and addresses how to maintain a good credit score, as well as how to improve it.
At the conclusion of the Money Matters Bootcamp, the participants will understand:
Ø Their Money Mindset
Ø How to Build a Personal Budget
Ø The importance of an Emergency Fund and How to Fund it.
Ø The Definition of the Four Walls and It’s Importance.
Ø Credit and How to Use it.
The Onyx Rising Money Matters Bootcamp is the foundation that is required to empower your employees to build a secure financial future.
About Onyx Rising LLC
It’s about change. Positive change. Sustainable change.
Founded in 2016, Onyx Rising is a proven change management leader and knows that the desired change will not happen without an intentional plan of action. We have conducted financial literacy education to hundreds of employees ranging from the janitorial staff to the C-suite. The tangible results can be measured in the increase of employee participation in the employee benefits package, particularly in the 401(k) plans: in employee retention and, surprisingly, in the increased participation level of employees after going through the Money Bootcamp. Previous customers have reported a happier, more engaged workforce that feels more vested in the organization.
Call to Action:
Ready to empower your employees with financial literacy? Schedule a consultation with Onyx Rising (www.onyx2rise.com. Contact us) to discuss how our tailored financial literacy programs can be seamlessly integrated into your organization. Explore dates for hosting our “Money Matters Bootcamp” workshops and take the first step toward fostering a more financially savvy and productive workforce.
Contact us NOW to get started!!!
[1] 2018 Employee Financial Wellness Survey (https://www.pwc.com/us/en/industries/private-company-services/library/financial-well-being-retirement-survey.html)
[2]Simple Wealth (https://www.financialimpact.com/simplewealth)
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