Research shows a significant gap in how employers and employees perceive the financial wellbeing support on offer. Sam Lathey offers up three potential issues and how to solve them.
Organisations and employees differ in their perception of how much financial wellbeing support is offered at work. This ‘perception gap’ should be of concern because employees perceiving lower support are less likely to share their money worries at work, and may also be at a greater risk of attrition and reduced engagement.
The results of our survey of over 5,000 UK employees and 660 senior HR professionals, published in our Dynamics in financial wellbeing: the stigma edition 2023 report, suggests this perception gap presents itself in several ways.
Firstly, HR and employees differ on how supportive they view their workplace to be overall. Eighty-four per cent of HR professionals say they provide an environment that encourages employees to share their money worries at work but only 52% of staff agree.
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Secondly, they differ on how much financial wellbeing support they believe is provided. Close to a third of UK employees (29%) say their organisation provides zero financial wellbeing support, but no UK HR professional says the same.
Finally, they have different views on how financial wellbeing is being measured. Eighty-four per cent of HR professionals have asked employees how they’re doing with money in the last three years, but well under half (41%) of employees agree.
This misalignment is relevant because employees who perceive a lack of financial wellbeing support are less likely to tell their employer they have money worries. Only 16% of employees who say they don’t get any support with money would tell their employer about their money worries, but this rises to 62% of those who say they do receive support.
The problem is, if employees don’t voice their struggles, businesses may underestimate how widespread the issue of financial stress is and under-resource the solution, leading to a negative cycle of underinvestment and low impact.
How can employers address the perception gap?
There are three main things that may be driving the gap:
1. Employee communications are too infrequent
Do employees perceive lower support because they haven’t been told enough about what’s available?
Money is often a worry around specific events, such as Christmas or the summer holiday period, but at other times it may be far from the mind. Therefore, one of the challenges with wellbeing comms is that when the employee is thinking about financial wellbeing, the organisation might not be.
You must be persistent in your comms and take every opportunity to tell your workforce about your financial wellbeing initiatives. If you ever pause before hitting send, remember that the one extra time you talk about it could be the one time your employees desperately need to hear it.
If employees don’t voice their struggles, businesses may underestimate how widespread the issue of financial stress is and under-resource the solution, leading to a negative cycle of underinvestment and low impact.”
Ultimately, you’ll never be able to time your comms perfectly for each employee but, by communicating regularly and consistently, you will hopefully be keeping support front of mind.
2. Employee communications are not tailored
Do employees perceive lower support because they’re not connecting with the communications you’re sending?
You may be communicating enough, but employees aren’t feeling the impact. This could be because your comms aren’t tailored to your cohorts. Communications should be adjusted where possible across both channels and messages.
With regard to channels, many organisations default to email because it’s cheap and easy. But employees receive a lot, so it can be easy to ignore, and there are cohorts – such as mobile workers – that may not have easy access. In-person events can be very effective, but can exclude part-time or off-site employees, so a blended approach tailored different groups is required.
You need to tap into people’s emotions to engage them with financial wellbeing, otherwise your message is unlikely to have the lasting impact you’re looking for.
To increase awareness of a new savings product, for example, you need to connect with why employees would want to prioritise tomorrow over today. For parents, it may be about providing the best future for their children. For younger people, it may be about being able to pay for unforgettable experiences or save for a property.
3. Financial wellbeing initiatives are being mislabelled
Do employees perceive lower support because they do not see how your support relates to financial wellbeing?
Financial wellbeing support means different things to different people. Organisations would no doubt label season ticket loans as a form of financial wellbeing support, but employees may not automatically see the link. The same could be said of home working allowances or health cash plans.
If employees don’t see the financial benefits of these initiatives, they may be less likely to take advantage of them. Health cash plans are a good example here. The savings can be profound, but they are often communicated without reference to the specific services that can be accessed as part of the provision, or what an employee may be able to do with these savings.
It may also be the case that employees do understand what’s on offer, but it’s just not relevant to their situation, and this is more likely to be the case when organisations buy prescriptive, one-size-fits-all financial wellbeing solutions that aren’t accessible and useful to everyone, regardless of background or need.
By considering these three potential issues, employers can begin to address and misconceptions employees have about their financial wellbeing offering and maximise the impact of their investment.
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