Why do companies offer benefits? At the heart of every insurancepackage, vacation offerings and other non-salary benefits is aneffort to both recruit top talent and provide tools that willretain and improve the work quality of existing employees.

Related: Employers broadening financial wellness programsbeyond retirement

So what are the perks that truly inspire a workforce to be loyalto a company while improving performance?

Over the past couple of decades, there has been a focus onculture-related benefits. For example, casual dress is no longerlimited to Fridays, coffee (and other drinks) is unlimited, and funrooms with ping-pong tables or putting greens are common incompanies large and small.

While these perks positively impact the company culture anddemonstrate that companies recognize that happy employees arebetter employees, there is a piece missing in the puzzle to ensureretention and overall satisfaction in the workplace.

Culture improvements cannot address one of the top issuesimpacting an employee’s productivity, attendance or likelihood toremain with the company — financial pressures and stress. Although manyemployees try to leave the burdens of their personal lives when thework day begins, financial stress is a nagging pain that isdifficult to ignore.

Financial stress is a pervasive issue that can distract anyemployee. According to the PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) study,“Employee Financial Wellness Survey 2015,”financial stress is negatively affecting productivity at companiesnationwide. The report found 20 percent of workers reported that"issues with personal finances have been a distraction at work,”and 37 percent said "they spend three hours or more [at work]thinking about or dealing with issues related to their personalfinances.”

Conversely, workers who report lower levels of financial stresshave a reduced risk of absenteeism and work-related accidents whileincreasing productivity and morale. When employees are able toreduce stress related to their financial situation, they experienceincreases in happiness, physical health, job attendance and overallproductivity

To that end, more employers are providing benefits and educationpackages that can better inform and empower their staff to handlefinancial issues. Financial wellness can best be improvedwith a four-stage cycle that enables workers to understand how toimprove financial difficulties and then improve them. The cyclefollows a repeating pattern of inform, empower, build and leverage.By providing tools that impact each step, employers can build amore productive and loyal employee base.

Educate & empower

Financial wellness is a very broad topic that covers everythingfrom personal finance management to investing to dealing withfinancial emergencies.

When designing a financial wellness program, however, it oftenhelps to begin with issues that can have the most significantimpact on an individual or household. One of the most significantfactors determining an individual’s financial stability is theircredit score.

Related: The benefits of financial wellnesscounseling

Why is credit so important? A credit score is arguably the mostimportant number in a person’s life. This three digit numbersignificantly impacts financial stability and overall access toresources. Those with a higher credit score have a better chance ofobtaining a loan or credit card with more favorableterms.

Higher credit scores also lead to lower interest rates on loansfor major purchases, such as cars and homes. These types ofpurchases enable employees to have a lower monthly cost andencourage financial stability regarding housing and transportation,two key factors impacting the absenteeism rate.

Consumers with little to no credit history are often forced topay an astronomically high interest rate and monthly payment, whichleads to even more financial troubles. With a higher credit scoreand lower interest rate, consumers are able to not only obtain aloan but also able to decrease their monthly payment which cancontribute to initiating positive financial behaviors such assavings.

Informed consumers are ultimately more creditworthy, which meansthe first step is to build educational tools that inform employeeson the factors that impact credit and how scores arecalculated.

Empowered with information on their own credit history,employees can take the actions needed to positively change theirfinancial state. Helping employees understand and eventuallyimprove their credit profile is one of the most important aspectsof financial wellness.

Build & leverage

If the employee sees how an action like opening a new account,closing a credit account or making a payment impacts their score,they will be more inclined to continue making choices that lead toincreased financial wellness. Employees will choose behaviors basedon their financial goals rather than in reaction to the marks ontheir credit profile.

Related: Financial stress hazardous to emotional, physicalhealth

After understanding their credit score and the factors that leadto the three digit number, employees are given the chance to buildtheir overall financial health. Through a break-down of their ownpersonal credit utilization and payment history, employees will beable to see how their actions are directly impacting their score.

Through educational programs and personal finance tools,employers can facilitate financial wellness and provide the methodsto reduce stress and be more effective at work.

Ensuring creditworthiness of employees

So how can companies help employees with financial wellness in2017? One of the first things companies are beginning to offer isprograms designed to help employees build a stronger creditprofile. This directly addresses two of the largest concernsimpacting employees — having access to funds in the event of anemergency or being able to make significant purchases such as ahome or car.

By leveraging educational resources and innovative technologies,employers can guide their staff through the education, empowermentphases of the credit improvement cycle. By leveraging acomprehensive platform that provides the method to act on thedesired actions, employees can leverage their decisions into animproved financial state.

The tools available to assist with credit include applicationsthat provide interactive credit modeling, which demonstrates toemployees just how their financial decisions could change theirscore. Online courses, credit counseling and other solutionscan also promote positive financial behaviors.

Many of these solutions are available at a low cost to theemployer, providing an additional return on investment in theeffort to improve the morale and efficiency of the workforce.

As an employer, it is time to invest in your most valuableasset, your employees by ensuring they have the tools to improvefinancial stability and increase their overall well-being. Buildingbetter options and benefits for your employees, builds a better,more loyal and productive employee.