4 steps to a financially resilient workforce

Are employers doing enough to help employees dispel the lingering financial hangover of the past year?

It’s no newsflash that the recent cost-of-living-crisis was difficult for many. Energy prices shot through the roof, inflation peaked at 11.1% and we had a National Insurance hike for the first couple of months of the tax year.

While many will be trying to rebalance their finances after a difficult couple of years, it’s important for employers to remember they play a pivotal role in fostering financial resilience in their workforce.

A financial wellbeing policy in the workplace can help improve workers’ physical and mental health, reduce stress levels, increase productivity and reduce sick days.

But just simply having a financial wellbeing policy isn’t enough. The only way to reframe thinking and change behaviours around financial resilience is for employees to actually engage with the messaging.

Get their buy-in

An employee won’t engage with a financial wellbeing session if they have no interest in it.

People will be at different stages of life, so will have their attention stirred up by different topics.

They might be saving for a house deposit, thinking about retirement options or trying to put aside savings for their children.

So employers should find out what their workforce would like to hear about.

A simple, cost-effective way to do this is to send out a survey. It should be short, ideally containing some suggestions to help them get started.

Their responses can then be used to create a tailor-made strategy with which they’re far more likely to engage.

You don’t need to start from scratch

It’s important for employers to remember that benefit providers may already offer financial wellbeing material or sessions. At Hargreaves Lansdown (HL), we have a Five to Thrive initiative, which sets out five key building blocks for financial resilience. We also offer bespoke, scheme-level education. This usually includes one-to-ones and presentations (both onsite and remote), monthly newsletters and sessions on a variety of financial wellbeing topics.

There are national campaigns or services to piggy-back on, like Pension Wise, Talk Money Week or National Pension Tracing Day.

If employers have limited resource or budget for financial wellbeing, they can access regulated content online to share with employees. But it’s still important for due diligence to be done on all sources before signposting.

Communication is key

Once employers have a tailor-made strategy for their workforce, how it’s communicated is vital.

Short, snappy messaging which is jargon-free and easy to understand tends to resonate better with employees.

It’s essential to employ a variety of mediums such as emails, intranet posts or user-friendly infographics.

Because not every employee will engage with the content in the same way, so inclusivity in communication styles will increase the chance of capturing attention.

The timing of the messaging is equally important to consider.

Communications should be consistent and regular, rather than a one-off email packed with information.

At HL, we’ve found that members respond really well to messaging in the first few months after joining the scheme.

We created a ‘Pension Passport’ series of emails which set out seven key actions that members could take on their workplace pension journey, like creating online access and nominating a beneficiary. New members are emailed with a new action each month to drive engagement and help improve their financial resilience for the future.

Managers should also play an active role in communicating strategy.

They should flag the survey and sessions to their teams, perhaps even running team meetings focused on financial wellbeing.

Where possible, it’s important to allow colleagues time in their diaries to attend workshops or sessions.

Everyone should be championing financial wellbeing and resilience, in the interest of both the company and its workforce.

Change behaviours around saving

Automatic payroll savings can foster healthy financial habits, removing the manual and conscious effort needed to move savings into another account each month.

Saving can then become effortless – out of sight, out of mind.

People are more likely to form lasting habits with the ‘set it and forget it’ approach, boosting their savings and, in turn, their financial resilience.

There are a number of workplace saving schemes on the market, but some commonly offered are: ISAs, Save As You Earn and Share Incentive Plans.

Because you can’t normally access your pension until you’re 55 (57 from 2028), offering employees payroll savings – where cash is more readily available – helps them improve their financial resilience for the short and medium term.

Financial wellbeing should be an ongoing priority. Think of it as a duty of care towards a workforce.

It’s not a quick fix to reframe thinking around financial resilience, but with dedicated, ongoing support from employers, it can be done.

This article is not personal advice. If you are unsure of a course of action, please ask about advice.