How to Increase Employee Retention and Recruiting With Financial Wellness

There was a time when offering a decent salary, a 401(k), and a health insurance policy was enough to attract and retain high-quality workers.

Times have changed, however, and it’s important to consider what employees want from their employer and how to keep them loyal.

One of the most popular benefits today is the financial wellness program. Companies love what this benefit does for their bottom line:

• Lower healthcare costs by approximately $270 per employee per year¹
• Increase timely retirement by 13 percent¹, saving companies up to $50,000 per year² per employee who works past the age of 65
• Reduce financial stress which increases productivity and reduces absenteeism with a cost savings of $2,000 per employee per year³
• Very cost-effective - see typical financial wellness program pricing here

Fortunately for your business, financial wellness programs can do even more.

According to Ceridian’s 2018-19 Pulse of Talent Report⁴, 37 percent of American employees are actively or casually looking for another job, and another 36 percent would be willing to consider another job if someone approached them.

With nearly three-quarters of your workforce available for new opportunities, offering the right financial wellness benefits can be the thing that helps you attract new talent and keep the talent you have.

Today’s Hiring Landscape

Beginning mid-2017, unemployment rates began hitting all-time lows.⁵ At the same time, the gross domestic product (GDP), personal income, and personal expenditures are rising.⁶

Finally, 78.3 percent of employers are actively hiring with another 9.8 percent passively hiring⁷, leading to more job openings than people to fill them.

These factors make finding and keeping talent very challenging. Unfortunately, getting it wrong can be costly.

The average cost to hire a new employee is $4,129 with the average tenure of eight years.⁸

Add to that the cost of employee turnover at between 90 and 200 percent of an employee’s salary⁹, and you’ll understand why a 19 percent annual turnover rate is worrisome.

In fact, reducing turnover by even 1 percent could save companies thousands of dollars each year.

In the report, The State of Online Recruiting, job seekers were asked what information was most important to see listed in a job advertisement. The top five included:

1. Salary range
2. Job location
3. Job qualifications and requirements
4. Job duties
5. Benefits

As a company, if you can offer the salary and benefits sought after by applicants, you have a better chance of finding the best talent.

A holistic financial wellness program that goes beyond 401(k) matching and focuses on current financial issues will help you stand out from the crowd.

Be a Financially Well Company

By offering financial wellness benefits, you provide extra value to your employees and potential employees.

A recent study by Mercer¹⁰ shows that candidates are looking for specific employer qualities – one of which is a commitment to the well-being of their employees.

Having benefits that show you care about employee well-being is a great start.

However, you will also need to brand your company as one that is financially healthy.

Your employees should know that financial health and wellness is a core value of the company.

As you reach out to potential employees, you’ll want them to understand that you care about financial wellness and that this makes working at your company a great experience.

Believe it or not, employees do care whether you are committed to their financial well-being.

The 2019 PwC Employee Wellness Survey found that 44 percent of employees believe their company cares about their financial health, and both Millennials (81 percent) and Gen-Xers (75 percent) would be willing to change companies to find one that cared more.¹¹ Even half of Baby Boomers state that their loyalty is influenced by how much a company cares.

Since this is such an important aspect of company loyalty, be sure that your recruitment efforts reflect the fact that you have a robust financial wellness package.

Recruiting College-Educated Women

With nearly one-third of households now women-led and over half of all women seeking bachelor’s degrees¹², companies also need to focus their attention on recruiting women.

HR firms across the country are modifying benefits to be more attractive to females.

Since 65 percent of women surveyed consider wellness benefits as they make employment decisions¹³, it is no wonder that benefits like paid family leave have increased 16 percent in the last three years.¹⁰

In terms of financial wellness, what are women looking for? A recent survey by Wellable and Enrich, 2020 Employee Financial Wellness Report: What Employees Want to See Offered in a Financial Wellness Program, shows that women seek:

• 401(k) matching
• Flexible work arrangements
• Employee discount programs
• Paid family/eldercare leave
• HAS contribution or matching

For companies seeking to recruit and retain women employees, determining what they need in financial wellness benefits will make a difference.

When it comes to financial wellness benefits, there is a lot at stake.

Not only can these benefits create financial stability among your employees, thus increasing your company’s stability, but they can also reduce costs associated with hiring and turnover as you work to create a financially-well company culture.

1 - https://www.financialfinesse.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Workforce-Financial-Wellness_Best-Practices_FINAL.pdf

2 - https://www.transamericacenter.org/docs/default-source/retirement-survey-of-workers/tcrs2018_sr_18th_annual_worker_compendium.pdf

3 - https://assets.jhnavigator.com/managed_assets/itemFiles/USA/Financial_Stress_Whitepaper_Secured_FINAL_10.28.19.pdf

4 - http://images.knowhow.ceridian.com/Web/CeridianCorporation/%7Becef32f9-8701-4965-9632-61534d72d90d%7D_GD-NA-EN-HCM-114754-106-Pulse-of-Talent-2018.pdf

5 - http://www.ncsl.org/research/labor-and-employment/national-employment-monthly-update.aspx

6 - https://www.bea.gov/news/glance

7 - https://az505806.vo.msecnd.net/cms/be745198-4555-4c86-ba9b-67c1bc603e4e/5b8fb18b-dcd1-404f-921f-8cda73f7a99a.pdf

8 - https://www.shrm.org/hr-today/trends-and-forecasting/research-and-surveys/Documents/2016-Human-Capital-Report.pdf

9 - https://www.shrm.org/hr-today/trends-and-forecasting/special-reports-and-expert-views/Documents/Retaining-Talent.pdf

10 - https://www.mercer.us/our-thinking/career/workforce-for-the-future/talent-hr-trends-2018.html

11 - https://www.pwc.com/us/en/industries/private-company-services/library/financial-well-being-retirement-survey.html

12 - https://www.wsj.com/articles/historic-rise-of-college-educated-women-in-labor-force-changes-workplace-11566303223

13 - http://rh-us.mediaroom.com/2019-01-07-Survey-73-Percent-Of-Workers-Consider-Health-And-Wellness-Offerings-When-Choosing-A-Job