By Gigi Hyland
Did you know June is National Employee Wellness Month? Many credit unions have fantastic employee wellness plans to promote and support the health, safety, and well-being of staff. However, there could be room for improvement for both your staff and the credit union.
At the core of every credit union’s mission is the guiding principle to help improve the financial well-being of members. Ironically, while we are providing a wealth of financial education and resources to the community, we often don’t start with staff. That’s one reason why the Cambridge Human Resource Group has said staff’s financial well-being is “the most critical unaddressed workplace issue.”
Additionally, a 2014 SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management) survey titled Financial Wellness in the Workplace found that seven out of ten HR professionals indicated that personal financial challenges have a large or some impact on their employees’ performance, with about one-half reporting that employee stress (50%) and the ability to focus on work (47%) are the aspects of employee performance that most negatively affected by personal financial challenges. In addition, 43% percent of HR professionals reported medical expenses as the personal financial challenge affecting employees at their organization the most. (see the Foundation’s new Medical Debt Toolkit for more info).
I know what you are thinking, “That’s great, but it sounds expensive.” Well, credit unions (and other organizations) that offer financial wellness benefits could save on average $3 for each $1 they spend, according to Financial Wellness at Work, a recent Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) report. The report notes that benefits of financial wellness programs also include:
- Reduced absenteeism
- Reduced disability and workers' compensation costs (poor financial management causes stress, which leads to medical problems)
- Reduced borrowing from retirement savings
- Program participants achieve stability.
CFPB also found while putting together the report that many businesses believe financial wellness programs generate greater engagement, loyalty and productivity.
For a specific example of how this can positively impact employees, Utah’s Mountain America CU worked with a financial wellness company (8 Pillars) a few years ago to develop a program as part of their benefits package to 1,025 employees. Staff was tested before and after the training, and the results were impressive. For example, after five weeks, the results among staff included (on average):
- One full grade improvement on knowledge about money (from C to B)
- 98% had an emergency account compared to 61% at the beginning;
- An average of $550 per participant was saved and for those with no emergency account prior to the class, the average participant saved $722.
- 84% knew their net worth compared to 12% at the beginning.
- 88% lived by a budget, compared to 49% at the start - a 79% increase.
So what are you waiting for? Some tips:
- Make it ongoing, not a “one-off,” starting at new employee orientation.
- Make it comprehensive, so the program serves employees with different needs.
- Integrate employer benefits, including your credit union’s products/services, to make it even more unified.
- Personalize and tailor to staff’s individual financial issues as much as possible.
- Provide opportunities for peer-to-peer support.
- If you don’t want to develop the program yourself, look for an unbiased financial education company to partner with.
At the Foundation, we work as a catalyst so credit unions can improve member’s financial lives. We know more financially literate staff is one sure way to help improve employee financial wellness. Let us know how we can help you help your staff improve their financial lives. Happy National Employee Wellness Month!
Gigi Hyland, CUDE, is Executive Director of the National Credit Union Foundation. For info: www.ncuf.coop.