Weathering the storm: how advances in technology are supporting financial resilience during difficult times
Concerns about the cost of living have rocketed, with new research uncovering how 88% of people are worried about inflation and 70% feel anxious about their financial situation. Global instability has led to a distrust in financial institutions and governments, leaving a gap for employers to provide employees with the financial empowerment they need to manage their money during times of financial stress.
What is financial resilience?
Put simply, financial resilience is the ability for your employees to overcome unexpected events that temporarily hit their income. Fortunately, advances in technology are making financial wellbeing more accessible, personalised and dynamic - so it’s easier to support a global workforce and build their financial resilience.
Creating a personalised experience
The ability to personalise employee communications and recommendations at scale keeps employees engaged and ensures they receive an optimised experience based on their individual situation.
For example, a financial health checkup enables your people to understand where they’re thriving and where there’s room for improvement - from saving and spending, to borrowing, learning and planning. Employees can be encouraged to retake the checkup later, so they can see how their financial health has changed.
Financial support in your back pocket
With global mobility growing, having an online financial wellbeing platform allows employees to stay up to date with the latest in personal finance. This also allows businesses to provide a consistent experience across the globe – ensuring expats, local and international employees have access to the most relevant financial content.
Invaluable data analytics
With a technology-based financial wellbeing programme, businesses have access to rich data on employee interests, behaviours and engagement – allowing managers to put data at the heart of their reward and benefits strategy. The most popular topics provides help in understanding what really matters to staff, so benefits can be shaped and communicated in a way they are receptive to.
Access to this unique data also allows comparisons against others within an industry, allowing financial health to be benchmarked and highlighting where improvements are needed.
Inclusive content and design
The benefits of financial education are clear. New research shows that just 51% of women are content with their financial situation compared to 75% of men. Women tend to have lower confidence about making financial decisions because they are under-targeted and underrepresented in financial education. As 74% of financial professionals in the US are men, they are therefore more likely to create financial literature for men.
Even high-quality educational resources can contain bias. By using technology to underpin your financial wellbeing strategy, you can provide resources and tools that are completely impartial.
Advances in accessibility technology are also allowing content creation to better meet the needs of individuals with a wide range of requirements. At Nudge, we’re developing our software to meet the web content accessibility guidelines. These enhancements will make our financial wellbeing platform perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust for all people.
We’ve outlined how technology is quickly making it easier, faster and more scalable to create an engaging financial wellbeing programme to support your people with their financial wellbeing.
In partnership with Nudge
A leading financial wellbeing benefit using behavioural science & technology to help employees.
