Employees make New Year's resolutions, so why can't businesses do the same?
These financial experts share their ideas for getting 2017 off on the right foot for businesses considering an employee financial wellness program.
1. Add an employee financial wellness program and integrate it with your wellness program.
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"The first resolution would be to add a financial wellness program as part of their benefits offering, if they have not already. But for those that do have a financial wellness program already in place, I would encourage them to focus on changing behaviors first and foremost. Integrate your program into your other wellness programs, incentivize behaviors that lead to positive money habits and promote it to the entire company. A truly holistic financial wellness program can benefit everyone in the organization." — Brian Hamilton, SmartDollar
2. Decide at the outset what your financial wellness program goals should be.
"The New Year's resolution that I would like to see employers make to improve their employee financial wellness program is to have definitive goals for their program and to measure the success of these goals. I often see organizations jumping on the financial wellness bandwagon because it is the new `sexy' thing to do, without a clear-cut goal of what they want the program to achieve." – Kris Alban, Enrich
3. Help people see the value of not only losing weight but "losing debt" as a resolution.
"Every year, we hear that losing weight is at the top of peoples' New Year's resolutions. Let's add losing debt. Improved patterns of diet and exercise are needed to be healthier. Improved cash flow and a routine program of addressing various financial issues are needed to be financially healthier. Tracking weight and exercise is critical for sustaining weight physical fitness efforts. Tracking debt, credit scores and other financial tasks is critical for sustaining fiscal fitness efforts." — Catalina Franco-Cicero, director of financial wellness, Fiscal Fitness Clubs of America
4. Go beyond your EAP offerings for focused financial wellness plans.
"Look beyond the Employee Assistance Program for focused financial wellness offerings that leverage deeper expertise in credit and student loans." — Jeff Davis, Money Management International
5. Offer more than financial wellness tools.
"Recognize that simply providing fancy tools is not sufficient to create behavior change. It requires effective behavior change techniques like gamifying participation." — Matt Cosgriff, BerganKDV Wealth Management
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Alan Goforth
Alan Goforth is a freelance writer in suburban Kansas City. In addition to freelancing for several publications, he has written a dozen books about sports and other topics.
