Employer roundtable discussion
Understanding the challenges
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We shared some of the key findings from this research with a small group of HR professionals where we had in-depth discussions on supporting employee financial wellbeing. Key themes that emerged were encouraging and they included:
- Increased awareness of the issues and challenges affecting employee financial health
- An increasing desire for employers to support employee financial wellbeing
- Recognition that supporting employee financial health is good for the wider organisation
- Encouraging savings behaviours and habits for today and tomorrow supports good financial health
- Education, awareness and effective communication are a vital part of any successful wellbeing strategy.
Understanding the challenges
The group were surprised by how high the levels of stress, anxiety, depression and loss of sleep were that came out of this research. There was a general appreciation that for many people, financial health was a huge concern and this would be further compounded by rising levels of inflation, energy prices, consumer goods and national insurance contributions that would be taking effect during 2022.
There was surprise amongst the group when looking at the lack of savings buffer that this was not actually higher than 3 in 5 who said they had little or no savings. There was a general feeling that people do not want to / are not confident enough to make financial decisions so anything we can do to make it as easy for people to obtain information to support that decision making would be welcomed.
“The more you can support employees with some of their lifestyle choices, they become naturally more trusting around the financial elements. That's what we're trying to build. Then throughout the year we will have specific campaigns where we will focus on the three pillars - healthy finances, healthy minds and healthy lifestyles.”
Nicola Morgan, M&S
“It’s the path of least resistance. A lot of people probably won't actively save, so helping them do it from the start before they have the money themselves is a way of starting to get people on that savings journey.”
Louise Dale, Leonardo
Building a business case
Many organisations now have wellbeing strategies in place focusing on physical and mental health. There is still a way to go with financial health but the willingness to support in this area is growing – more than half of the employers we surveyed said they wanted to do more in this area (57%).
Using data driven insights to highlight areas of concern or vulnerability within the workforce plays a pivotal role in building the business case and ultimately driving the strategy forward.
The group had not seen as much of a challenge with getting senior leader buy-in than other organisations we have worked with. They had achieved this by educating senior managers and using them to cascade information down. There is a general understanding that poor financial health contributes to reduced productivity and engagement in the workplace so using data to show the breadth of issues had contributed to the desire to support this strategy.
“We think [Financial wellbeing] - it's the right thing that we should be doing and that's the reason we're rolling it out. We have buy-in at board level and they want this put forward but one of the requirements that was put on us from board level is that nobody will be sold a product. And that's a really important part of this. It's there to educate and help people, not necessarily because it will make them stay, but while they're with us to make it a better experience.”
Global Strategy Director, Anon
“Most of them (senior leadership) are hearing the issues, so if they know there are issues then most of them are happy to support because they know at the end of the day the value that we get from employees.”
Clare Scott, Sky
Employee attitudes and behaviour – building financial resilience
There is still an ongoing stigma / taboo around discussing finances and this provides challenges in spotting employees in crisis or truly understanding their needs.
The pandemic saw the emergence of the ‘accidental saver’ which was born out of forced behaviour rather than a mass changing of approach to finances in the UK. The discussion highlighted the role that workplace savings could have and the ability to make it as easy as possible for people to build rainy day savings as well as future savings. If this behaviour is started early, then it’s easier for people to continue rather than having to ‘give up’ salary to do so.
We discussed the concept of automatic enrolment for savings and there were some concerns regarding affordability, potential opt-outs from the pension and cultural challenges for organisations implementing global strategies. Some organisations are taking automatic enrolment one step further and enrolling employees at the highest contribution level and allowing them to opt down. People tend to prefer to not make a decision than to make one.
“I think as a society we are getting better at talking about our physical health. We are also getting somewhere on our road to talking about mental health. I don’t know many people who talk about their financial health – it’s weirdly still a taboo.”
Louise Dale, Leonardo
“We have a steady drum beat of communications – it’s how we talk to people. If we see an issue or get employee queries, we work closely with our providers and people services teams to try and tailor the communications we’ve got going out.”
Clare Scott, Sky
The role of benefits in recruitment and retention – creating the ‘value-add’
There is a question as to what people really want from their employer. Is it just more money or do the benefits impact decision making when it comes to choosing an employer?
Whether the role of benefits plays a minor or major part in the decision making process of employees, it could well be the deciding factor for some.
Employees want to feel valued, cared for and motivated – the common way of motivating staff is through reward and recognition. At a time when many organisations are challenged with recruitment and retention issues, reminding people they are valued and cared about through communicating what’s available will be seen as positive.
The group discussed visibility of benefits and whether employees really understood the value they offer. Total reward statements are a good way of bringing this to life for people. The use of data is key to demonstrating the value add, using the metrics available from providers around activity and usage. Employers should be adaptable and flexible with the benefit strategy and be able to make a change if something hasn’t landed or isn’t right for their people.
“What do you really want from an employer? You want to be paid, you want to be thanked, and you want to be looked after.”
John Leavey, LSEG
“We have defined metrics and a wellbeing dashboard. We use this so we know what engagement we are getting so we can divert our spending in the right way. There’s no point having something lovely and shiny that nobody uses.”
Nicola Morgan, M&S
Building knowledge and understanding amongst the workforce
The discussion raised concerns that a lack of financial literacy and / or awareness of benefits available could impact an employee’s decision so building understanding of the support available is a quick win for many.
It’s easier for people to consider their day-to-day decision making, however there is a concern when it comes to longer term decisions, such as investments in their pension.
The vast majority of the discussions led back to financial education being key to any financial wellbeing strategy. Ensuring that people understand the issues they are / could be facing and then understanding the tools and products they have available to support will lead to better outcomes.
Financial education plays a key role in ensuring that employees value the benefits and resources provided and can obtain maximum value from them.
The method of communication used to cascade the messages needs to suit the workforce and it is important to listen and understand the challenges people are facing and tailor communications accordingly. Not only is the method of communication important but also the timing. Many workforces are diverse, so a one-size fits all approach doesn’t work. People receive information in different ways and many organisations will have extremely diverse workforces, be that in work patterns, locations, age, etc. Key is to be flexible with communication strategy.
“Whether it’s concern, fear or financial illiteracy, you need to start doing something about it now and not put it in a box to deal with later. If you strip out all the parts and get back to that point and try to understand the psychology of how do we make these things work - this is one of the critical problems to overcome.”
John Leavey, LSEG
“The thing about savings is attitude. I was talking with someone who said they would rather gain zero interest in a current account than risk losing a pound in an investment vehicle. There’s something here about the roles we need to play and how to educate people.”