Start small, think big

The past few years has brought a lot of financial uncertainty for many UK households, and it doesn’t look like it’s set to ease with the current cost of living crisis. The ‘Under Pressure’ report by Money Advice Trust showed how this difficult economic period had a significant and concerning impact on peoples’ household finances across the UK. In some cases, this has drawn people who were previously managing into financial difficulty. In other cases, it has made things for people who were already struggling much harder¹.

As an employer, there are ways to help those employees who may be struggling financially in your organisation.

Education

Educating your employees on the importance of being financially healthy can be the first step. It is recommended that a person should have three to six months’ salary in savings in case the unexpected should arise. But what if your employees don’t know this? Helping them understand that when life throws those annoying and unexpected financial events our way, it is better to be prepared and have the savings, rather than reach for the credit cards and loans.

Communicate the ‘Rainy day’ fund

Once employees understand the importance of having some savings set aside for emergencies, also known as a ‘rainy day fund’, they will be more likely to start their fund. It’s important that employers don’t send out one message and leave it at that. Making an impact will require continuous communication and reminders about how having a ‘rainy day’ fund will not only benefit employees financially, but the peace of mind it brings can have a significantly positive impact on their mental health too.

Start small, think big!

You’ve now educated your employees and are providing constant motivation to ensure they keep their rainy-day funds going. For some employees this will be enough, and they will now be well on their way to improving their financial wellbeing. However, for other employees, there is already a struggle to pay for things today and putting away an extra bit of money each month is more of a luxury. Encourage your employees to start small and think big. Small things like walking to work instead of driving, bringing in lunch a few times a week rather than buying it out every day, or not buying a coffee on the commute will all eventually lead to big savings.

The wellbeing of your employees is paramount to a successful business and with financial wellbeing playing a huge part in this, employers cannot afford to ignore it. If you feel you want to do more, or explore other financial wellbeing ideas then Secondsight can help. We can help you to implement a complete wellbeing strategy including a financial education and employee benefits programme. Contact us today to find out more.

1.https://moneyadvicetrust.org/research-policy/research-reports/

Information correct as of 08/11/2023