4 ways to reach the financial education ‘unreachables’

These higher earners, who unsurprisingly are predominantly older employees, provide easy pickings as generally it is the case that:

• They have money to spare.
• They are more likely to be office-based so easier to meet with.
• They have a higher level of base knowledge so conversations can become profitable quicker.

Whilst this is great for these lucky few, the majority of the population are left unsupported with justification being that they are ‘unreachable’.

But, with an open mind, the latest technology and a sprinkle of behavioural psychology, the ‘unreachables’ are in fact very reachable. Here are four ways leading employers are doing it:

1) Personalisation

Many ‘unreachables’ say that what stops them engaging with their finances is the million-dollar question: “But what does it mean to me?” and without the money to pay for ongoing support from a financial adviser, it remains unanswered.

However, with employer’s providing the bulk of their people’s financial provision and knowing their most sensitive details (age, salary, dependant status), leading organisations recognise that they are in a unique position to help their people and are using technology to facilitate this through ‘People Like You’ benchmarks.

Just giving these ‘unreachables’ a bit of context and gentle nudge is often all that is needed to give them the required understanding and confidence.

2) In the moment

An ‘in the moment’ experience is getting the education and actions you need exactly when you need it i.e. in line with ‘change’ be that a legislative, company or lifestyle change.

As humans we’re surprisingly predictable so by leveraging our inherent cognitive bias, if presented in the right way at the right time, a suggestion can become compelling, resulting in an ordinarily passive individual making an active decision.

3) “The expert in anything was once a beginner”

With so much complexity, lingo and contrasting opinions, finance can be intimidating - particularly for the ‘unreachables’ who don’t have the luxury of financial advisory support.

To manage this, some employers are using tools which allow their people to tailor their financial education according to their financial confidence. This provides a less intimidating and more supportive service which hooks the ‘unreachables’ in for a program of ongoing education.

4) Social Login

Whilst wholly unnatural to some, allowing employees to use their social media accounts to login to online financial education technology is appealing to many (particularly younger employees) making financial education more accessible and relevant to these otherwise ‘unreachables’.

This article was provided by Nudge.