Employees are concerned about financial wellness. According to PNC, 96% of employers believe more financial wellness benefits would help retention and job satisfaction, while 76% of surveyed employees feel their employer should be providing financial wellness education. An unexpected way to introduce financial wellness might be to ask employees to look at how their department runs and apply those lessons to their own household finances.

Having a long-term plan. Businesses have a mission. They have a defined market. They set goals. They do research and development on new products. Company: They set a goal for where they want to be in five years. They intend to grow. Individuals: People should set goals. How will you get there? What has to happen?

Establishing a budget. Once a business sets goals, they allocate resources to achieve those goals. They give different managers responsibilities and targets. They are given a budget. Company: Managers and departments are expected to achieve their goals without exceeding their budgets. Individuals: People can estimate how much they have coming in through salary, bonuses and other income. They know their expenses and can prepare a budget based on those projections.

Reviewing actual vs. target numbers. Budgets are not documents that get prepared, then put into a drawer and ignored. They are dynamic documents. Company: Managers compare actual costs and results vs. projections. When there are variances, they try to diagnose and correct the issue. Individuals: People should revisit their budget on a monthly basis. How much did it cost to run the household this month? Were there nonrecurring expenses? How are they addressed?

Shopping for lowest cost suppliers. If your business buys raw materials or supplies, they set specifications in terms of quality and speed of delivery. They actively look for the lowest cost providers. Company: The firm has a purchasing department or a purchasing manager. If some products are commodities, meaning the inputs are similar, regardless of the supplier, they look for the lowest priced business that can provide consistently. Individuals: Food is the largest household expense, after housing and transportation. Many categories of food are commodities. Milk is milk and eggs are eggs. Find the grocery stores that can supply the majority of these items consistently at the lowest possible cost.

Putting free cash to work. Businesses do not keep cash under the mattress. Even if cash is only out of use for a day or two, the company puts it to work in a bank account earning some interest. Company: Cash is banked at the end of the day. It earns something. Individuals: Cash for paying bills should not be in a bank account earning no interest. Every dollar you are not using should be put to work.

Considering other vendors before renewing contracts. From time to time the firm announces a different vendor will be providing overnight mail or another service. Few contacts roll over from year to year without renegotiation. Company: They send out a request for proposals (RFP) to their current vendors and competitors at contract renewal time. Individuals: You buy certain services on an annual contract. This might include homeowner insurance, your wireless plan, car insurance and trash collection. You should call the competition at least once a year to see if they will offer you a better deal.

Refinancing corporate debt when interest rates drop. Financial advisors know this well. Municipal bonds traditionally had ten-year call protection. Logically, a business refinances their debt as soon as possible if interest rates fall. Company: Their objective is to bring borrowing costs as low as possible. The moment it makes sense to save money by refinancing, they usually do it. Individuals: If interest rates fall, why pay a higher rate on your mortgage if you can refinance at a cheaper rate? This goes for other types of debt too.

Paying salary plus bonus instead of increasing wages. Labor costs are the biggest overhead expense for most businesses. Salary is not the only cost. Benefits are an additional cost. Company: If a business does well and increases wages, those costs stay in place regardless of the economic cycle. If they pay a bonus in good years, it keeps the salary costs low. Individuals: It is unlikely you have a payroll at home, but if you pay other individuals, salary plus bonus makes sense.

Holding weekly staff meetings. There is only so much you can learn by looking at a spreadsheet. You need to hear from the people in the trenches. Company: Weekly staff meetings are held at all levels of the firm. When numbers are out of line, people are given the chance to explain. Individuals: The family finances should not be a secret. The family should get together. Talk about where the money is going.

Acknowledging equipment wears out and replacing it. Businesses expect machinery to wear out. It gets depreciated on an accounting basis over time. Businesses also set aside money for maintenance. Company: Firms realize there comes a time when it is more expensive to keep equipment running than to replace it. They set money to cover the replacement, so the expense is not a surprise. Individuals: People who own an older car suddenly find themselves putting as much into keeping it running as the car is worth. Is it really worth holding onto it?

Putting money aside for capital improvements. Businesses realize they need to expand. They build this into their five-year plan, estimate the costs and start setting money aside. Company: When the firm built a new factory, they knew where the down payment and the financing were coming ahead of time. Individuals: Does your five-year plan include buying a beach house? You should start setting aside money for the down payment and add to it regularly.

Related: The future of financial wellness: 47% of employers will offer by 2026

There are many business principles people working at a company consider common sense. Many can be easily integrated into their household finances.

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Business principles that can help employees reach their financial goals

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