This week, 8th November – 12th November, marks Talk Money week. A campaign ran by the Money & Pensions Service; Talk Money week encourages individuals to open up about their financial worries.
In the UK, 1 in 2 UK Adults (45%) don’t feel comfortable talking about their finances, whilst for businesses, financial worries lead to a business loss cost of £15.2 billion in 2020.
When it comes to Finances, employees usually feel uncomfortable discussing issues with their employer, and so will avoid it out of fear of judgement.
Encouraging staff to talk and open up can be a real organisational challenge. When staff are concerned that financial discussion may lead to employers questioning or asking questions, staff may become more enclosed and hide their issues.
The challenge is then – how do we get teams to talk? How do we normalise discussion about finances? This #TalkMoney week, we’re giving you 4 ways you may introduce a more open culture around finances moving forward.
1. Start a regular dialogue with staff about money & finances
In order to encourage discussion, you need to start discussion. Employers have a duty of care to their staff & teams, and wellbeing falls within that remit.
As an employer, show your staff that you can care about their Financial Concerns. Start discussions around remuneration & financial position in one-to-ones or staff meetings – ensure your staff are financially secure.
Observe and watch for warning signs – has staff absenteeism risen? Do staff seem stressed or on edge at work? When these signs start to occur, often financial stress can be at the root of the problem. Ensure your staff know you understand that, and ask them directly if that is a concern.
2. Develop a Financial Wellbeing policy
All organisations should have wellbeing policies & initiatives, which help secure & attract the best organisational talent and drive firm success. As part of that strategy however, have you implemented a Financial Wellbeing policy?
Staff should be provided with a Financial Wellbeing policy within their staff handbook, outlining policy & procedure of what to do if they are facing overwhelming financial stress.
Moreover, then, that policy provides management with guidance & signposting for staff who are struggling. This can ensure that if a crisis unfolds, or a staff member is struggling, guidelines exist to drive staff in the right direction.
3. Signpost to Financial Advice
By having an organisation or financial advisor that you can signpost staff to, you can provide external resources that are of benefit to employees.
This provides employees with the option to take control of their own financial wellbeing. As highlighted, often staff will feel uncomfortable discussing with their employer, so providing this option lets them go direct to support.
Despite giving employees this option, you should still aim to normalise discussion at work – open up financial discussions around the organisations’ position & highlight opportunities to attend financial wellbeing events to normalise the topic.
4. Run Financial Wellbeing Workshops or Training
Providing workshops or staff days in Financial Wellbeing can be a great way to start staff conversations. In workshops, staff will step away from their job, come together & speak with an experienced advisor.
These sessions can be great team building exercises, & also allow staff to discuss finances together in a group environment. Workshops can be key to shattering stigmas, and by encouraging staff to attend, you can normalise challenging topics of discussion.
These are just 4 ways of challenging the impact of Financial Stress, & starting conversations at work this Talk Money Week. As an employer, you may innovate with your HR teams and strategise, but often accessing Financial Advice at work can be complex & challenging.
Here at Kith and Kin Financial Wellbeing, we provide one-off workshops, or quarterly workshops through our membership model.
If you are interested in learning more about our sessions, and how they may benefit your organisation, contact us today at 028 9087 7777 or drop us an e-mail at info@kithandkinfinance.org.
Alternatively, fill in the form on our contact us page here, and we’ll reach out to you to schedule a call.