27 Nov 2023

How to build a financial wellbeing strategy centred on resilience

While many businesses have reacted to the cost-of-living crisis by offering money-saving benefits, they should be taking a more preventative approach

Resilience. It’s a word that encompasses the topic of employee wellbeing, financially, mentally and physically. But, what exactly does it mean?

To be financially resilient means to be able to withstand the events that impact our income and assets.

Inflation may now be at a two-year low, but the nation is still feeling the effect of a long period of high inflation, energy and food prices. The direct impact on employees’ finances is due to their salaries not stretching as far as previously.

Pluxee UK has seen a rise in employers embedding financial wellbeing employee benefits into their business. When employers offer their employees cashback-earning and discount schemes, their workforce can save up to £1,679.

The cost-of-living crisis was met with the rising cost of doing business. Although many UK organisations have risen to the challenge of providing financial support, cost-effective solutions are key to delivering a long-term, sustainable strategy.

But much of the financial support offered, whether through one-off bonuses or employee benefits, has been a reaction to the crisis. Given the number of households that have had to cut costs to afford essential items, a preventative approach is needed. In essence, businesses must help their employees become financially resilient.

Building financial resilience

Financial wellbeing benefits, such as discounts and cashback, are essential to your strategy. The impact is clear. The average weekly shop for a family of four averages £120 per week, and the potential saving of £1,679 would cover that around 13 times. To put this into perspective even more, that’s just over three months of groceries for a family of four covered by employees maximising the opportunities their benefits create for them.

This leads us to the next essential element of a resilience-boosting strategy: education. Not just education, but the drive to adopt better financial habits with the knowledge to make better decisions.

There are many ways to deliver education – external resources, online training or providing employees with continuous access to financial coaches via employee benefits.

Just as employees may require coaching at different times, they may also need ad hoc support and advice. Back billing on energy bills, questionable parking tickets; these are real-life examples of unexpected expenses shared by Pluxee UK employees. With access to financial advisors, they were able to reduce the bills and identify areas where they didn’t need to pay at all.

Giving employees the tools they need to challenge the bills that land on their doorstep is invaluable.

Budgeting and wage withdrawals

But sometimes employees need to access their salary ahead of payday.

It’s impossible to budget and plan for every expense. If an employee can’t afford to pay for something with their remaining salary, their options might be limited to loans and credit cards unless you offer an alternative via a salary deduction scheme.

If employees could access their next month’s salary a day or week earlier, they avoid the need to take on debt. These types of financial wellbeing benefits are available, and they aid financial resilience.

Embedding financial resilience into your employee financial wellbeing strategy involves giving them what they need to stretch salaries beyond the day-to-day, allowing them to plan for and protect themselves in the future.