Get your financial wellness program started on the right foot with these 5 best practices
While every aspect of health is important—from mental to physical—it’s financial health that your employees feel the least in control of. It’s no surprise that the usage of financial wellness programs is at an all-time high. But if it’s your first time introducing this offering to your organization, you may feel uncertain about how to get started. We’ll share 5 best practices to help you design a successful financial wellness program in this post.
To design an effective financial wellness program, you have to understand the needs of your workforce. Rather than making assumptions, use an employee survey to collect quantitative and qualitative feedback. The responses can inform your decisions while designing your financial wellness program.For example, you may learn that most of your workforce has trouble with budgeting. In this scenario, it would make sense to introduce an offering that focuses on helping employees with their cash flow management. Or, if most of your employees are working toward a milestone—such as purchasing their first home or starting a family—they may want to speak with a financial professional to help them from a planning perspective.
You also want to start thinking about your goals for the financial wellness program. Your program goals should map to broader organizational objectives so that you can eventually prove the ROI of your investment. Here are a few examples of general goals you can work toward:
When identifying your goals, make sure they’re specific, measurable, and reasonable to set your program up for success.
Based on your employee survey and goals, think about which financial wellness offerings make the most sense for your program. Below are a few options to consider:
Knowing that 50% of employees spend more than they earn each month, a budgeting tool can be an excellent offering for your financial wellness program. Helping people track their cash flow over a period of time can uncover critical insights about their spending and saving habits.
Another popular financial wellness offering is to connect employees to financial professionals. At Origin, we believe CFP® professionals are the most capable of providing holistic, personalized, and comprehensive guidance to your employees. As fiduciaries, they’re also legally obligated to give advice that best meets your employees’ needs.
Some financial wellness programs also offer tax guidance and filing services. This type of offering gives employees peace of mind by helping them navigate complex questions like: how do I approach remote work and taxation? Do I owe taxes on the equity I received this year? What would my taxes look like if I got married or bought a house?
Equity compensation is becoming increasingly popular. More than 77% of employees find equity compensation an essential benefit. But understanding the ins and outs of equity—from the vesting schedules to the tax requirements—can be confusing for employees, which is why offering support in this area may be impactful.Can’t decide between all these offerings? Origin gives your employees access to all these services and more in our financial wellness platform.
No matter how great your financial wellness program is, your employees won’t use it unless they understand how to utilize it and why it matters. This is where your communication plan is key. Here are a few guidelines to keep in mind while crafting your strategy:
Once your financial wellness program is ready to launch, run it by all your key stakeholders—including your executives and managers. Why? Your leadership team will ultimately set the tone around financial wellness at your organization.For instance, if your CEO understands the value of your financial wellness program, they’ll be more likely to encourage employees to participate. Similarly, employees frequently turn to their managers when they have questions. The better educated your managers are about your financial wellness offering, the more likely your workers will sign up.Taking care of the financial well-being of your employees will only become more critical over the next few years. By following these 5 best practices, your financial wellness program will be off to a great start! If you’re curious to learn more about Origin’s holistic financial wellness platform, request a demo.
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