Report: Money Advice Service What Works Fund
Key findings
- Building a business case is the first step in helping employees make better financial decisions. However, even in large reputable employers, the research highlights the difficulties in ‘selling’ the business case at senior levels and the need to have to regularly reassert it.
- Making the well-evidenced links between improved financial wellbeing and improvements in productivity, employee engagement and improved corporate social responsibility reputation can help to capture senior interest and buy-in.
- Employee surveys were an effective tool to assess employee needs for support. The results were also useful in helping employers to get initiatives off the ground initially, and subsequently to build a more strategic and impactful approach.
- Over half of employees agreed that there was a role for their employer to provide financial support and guidance in the workplace. One quarter of employees in the baseline surveys felt that employers did not have a role in this area, however, this had reduced to one-fifth in the follow-up survey.
This report presents the findings from an IES study funded by the Money Advice Service and conducted in 2017/18.
The study also aimed to assess the level of support needed by employees through the launch of a baseline employee survey and assess the effectiveness of actions taken by employers, comparing observations through a follow-up employee survey and interviews.
