Ways businesses can help employees better manage their finances
Financial management is not a skill every person handling money might have. Some individuals might feel the need to empty out their bank account when they receive their salary in a bid to prevent debit orders going off while others might never know how to save and why it is important to do so.
Managing finances can be challenging. Just as no one teaches us how to spend our money, there isn’t anyone that can hold our hands and show us how to save. What can be done however, is that people can be guided on how to save and why it is beneficial to start saving.
In recent months, Covid might be the one taking the blame for bad financial planning. But poor financial management did not start because of
Covid. It has been a contributing factor as to why more people are experiencing challenges.
The last three years has been unfortunate for life. From families losing their bread winners to the virus to bread winners losing their jobs because of the virus. Poor financial management has been around even before this virus.
Job loss, over spending as well as living beyond one’s means are just a few of the reasons why people struggle with finances. Poor financial management ultimately catches up with an individual and has an impact on their mental well-being. It also has an effect on employee productivity. Staff members sit with the fear of the employee discovering the debt they have racked up. They start feeling uneasy at work and start dodging the calls of service providers wanting to collect their dues.
If you want to ensure employee wellness all round then it’s time to start implementing methods to assist your staff with financial management. Perhaps you might question why is their poor planning with finances now your problem. Helping staff understands with coping with the challenges of poor financial management will benefit you. You will have a team of individuals who are much more productive and less distracted.
Here are three great ways to improve the office a itude around financial management:
1. There is a need for education on financial management. If you don’t already have a system in place in which staff can go about asking questions and gaining knowledge on how to manage their finances, it might be great time to get something going now. Start small.
You don’t need to invest in an organisation that will cost you a fortune to get financial advice. Partner with a business that offers this service or rather get someone in-house to build the skills and provide knowledge on better money management. Things like interest rates and retirement packages can be discussed with detail to help employees better understand the benefits. It can also help staff members speak to someone at work that can guide them to better financial management.
2. Host seminars every quarter, if possible, to get employees aware of the importance of planning for their longterm goals. Having employees see benefits of long-term goal planning and initiating the concept of saving for the future might be exactly what staff need. It would be disappointing if a staff member worked for 35 years at your organisation and was on the brink of retirement without any retirement package in mind to fall back on.
3. Offer training programmes that can groom and show staff on how to manage their money. Individuals who do not work in finance are usually the ones who tend to struggle with keeping track of the numbers.
If you are able to get your team on a training programme which offers modules that teach people how to save, they might take a fresh approach to this concept of saving for their future. Training has a direct impact on development. Once you get your team members attending training sessions, they will automatically feel more confident about how they handle their money.
Moonsamy is the CEO of ICHAF Training Institute which is a South African Corporate Training Provider and National Learning Institute.