Level up Your Employee Benefits With Financial Education
Discover sustainable financial HR benefits during the economic downturn.
Financial education is an essential employee benefit for businesses and individual employees alike. It unlocks financial confidence and opportunities for employees and increases job satisfaction and employee retention for companies. Especially when facing economic uncertainty, financial education benefits are paramount, says Shyam Pradheep, general manager of Zogo.
The digital age has changed the game for nearly every industry. From mobile-order fast food to mobile banking apps, technology has transformed user experiences across the board. This isn’t just about consumerism and optimizing the buyers’ pipeline (though that certainly makes an impact). It’s about utilizing technology’s accessibility and engagement features to revolutionize how people interact with the world around them.
The workplace is one venue that has been turned on its head with the integration of technology. Take a moment to think of the standard technology you interact with at work that didn’t exist decades ago. Virtual meeting platforms like Zoom have modernized how employees convene with each other and third parties. Over 70% of employees rely on instant messaging platforms like Slack for day-to-day communication. Workday, Lattice, and ADP transformed workforce management for HR departments and employees. The list goes on and on.
These tech-enhanced platforms typically only serve employees within the confines of their jobs. Still, employees are increasingly interested in more comprehensive support and resources that would benefit them outside the workplace. For example, numerous companies offer employee stock options. Still, with falling financial literacy rates, many employees don’t know what this means or how to take advantage of this opportunity. The same applies to retirement planning, insurance, credit, etc. To bridge the gap in their knowledge, employees are turning to their companies for answers.
Nearly 9 in 10 employees expect financial support and resources from employers, with 87% wanting that support through financial education. While this need is always significant, it is doubly essential during tumultuous economic times like these as the fear of recession surges. The importance of financial education and its relationship to employee benefits cannot be overstated.
See More: Rethinking the Payments Ecosystem to Fuel Financial Confidence in Today’s Workers
Financial Education in the Digital Age
Our society often expects people to be financially literate by age 18 or enter the workforce, but it typically doesn’t offer the resources necessary to enable that knowledge.
Many people don’t learn personal finance skills at school or home. Financial education requirements vary across the country for those afforded to learn in school, so students in different areas will have different levels of understanding. Moreover, even when financial education is available, it may not be effective or engaging, thus preventing students from retaining essential knowledge. This is why financial education must evolve to meet the new standards of the digital age — the days of dense textbooks and boring PowerPoint presentations are long over.
Without other personal finance training resources, Gen Z and Millennials turn to their favorite source of information: social media. Unfortunately, while social media is more accessible and engaging than traditional financial education curricula, its content is often unreliable and unverified.
That said, there is still much we can learn from social media and technology to refine financial education offerings. The three most important tenets of education in the digital age are:
- Mobile-first accessibility: Over 95% of people ages 18-50 own smartphones, making it a more accessible and equitable education platform than traditional financial literacy resources. Smartphone-enabled education is available anytime and anywhere, allowing people to have flexibility in how and when they learn. It also offers educational opportunities to people of all ages and stages of life, regardless of school enrollment or demographic factors. Offering mobile-optimized education is the first step toward leveling the financial playing field.
- Bite-sized lessons: Financial jargon can seem tedious, intimidating, or hard to understand. It’s paramount to break up financial skills into short segments to make them easier to digest and remember. This is especially important in the social media age as attention spans decrease — the average attention span for Millennials is longer than Gen Z’s whopping.
- Gamification: From CandyCrush to language learning apps, gamification is essential to modern technology’s impact on users. Gamifying financial education incentivizes users to learn more and even have fun while doing it.
People of all ages, especially younger generations in the beginning chapters of their careers, both want and need financial education and wellness support from trusted sources. Fortunately, employers are one of the most highly trusted sources of financial advice.
See More: Five Steps to Build a Tech-powered Open Enrollment Plan
Education as an Employee Benefit
As more employees want to be seen and supported as valued individuals, not just cogs in a corporate machine, more companies offer comprehensive employee benefits beyond the typical healthcare and stock options. For example, increasing numbers of businesses offer their employees mental health and wellness resources to combat the mental health crisis, including modern apps like Calm and Headspace.
Financial education is a perfect complement to these mental health efforts. In fact, a lack of financial literacy significantly impacts mental health. This financial stress is often related to the workplace, as inflation outpaces salary increases and a potential recession threatens job security. In many cases, education is the antidote to this financial anxiety because it delivers the knowledge and tools employees need to take control of their financial futures.
In addition to benefiting the individual employee, providing financial education as an employee benefit also increases job satisfaction and employee retention, thus easing the effects of the recession on employers. For example, instead of immediately applying for higher-paying or second jobs to combat inflation, financial education empowers employees to handle their current financial situation confidently — 68% of employees are more likely to stay within their role if offered financial wellness benefits. These benefits also increase job satisfaction by 20%.
Tech-optimized financial education is an essential employee benefit, especially in uncertain economic times. It prepares employees to make responsible financial decisions now and in the future and facilitates a stronger relationship between employer and employee.
Why do you think financial education is an essential employee benefit? Let us know on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
Image Source: Shutterstock
MORE ON FINANCIAL EDUCATION
