When it comes to professional development, it's essential to ensure every employee has the tools they need to thrive, both personally and professionally. One crucial tool often overlooked? Financial literacy. I can't tell you how many workshops I have run where countless employees have said "This is the very first time I'm thinking about my finances, proactively." It's about time ERGs added personal finance to their toolkit.
Why is it essential for Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) and Learning & Development (L&D) teams to incorporate personal finance into their educational initiatives? Firstly, it's about empowerment. When employees have a solid grasp of their finances, they're better equipped to make informed decisions, leading to increased confidence and job satisfaction. Secondly, it aligns with the core principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion. By ensuring equal access to financial education, we promote fairness and support the financial well-being of all employees.
Despite the amount of resources companies sink into offering benefits, including retirement plans and health insurance, many remain underutilized due to a lack of financial understanding. Consider these points:
Less than 50% of employees understand their benefits (source: IFEB)
4 out of 10 workers that have a 401(k), do not contribute to it (source: CNBC)
Only 5% of HSA holders actually invest their funds (source: Devenir)
Yikes! It's so easy to assume that the very smart and capable people around us understand basic personal finance concepts, but these staggering stats prove that even the best and brightest have not received the financial education they deserve. It's simply not taught in a reliable way.
So how can ERGs integrate financial literacy effectively? ERGs must begin by raising awareness and proactively offering employees real financial education. Provide guidance on investing, navigating 401(k) plans, and understanding differences between HSAs and FSAs. Ensure financial education is relatable and easily understandable. Avoid upselling of financial products. And mostly importantly, offer unbiased education that fosters trust among employees.
Build financial empowerment with Yield & Spread
Yield & Spread provides relatable and fun learning & development programs designed to equip employees with the knowledge and skills they need to navigate their finances confidently. From personalized workshops to online modules, our offerings cater to learners at every level and even the playing field for everyone.
We offer group learning sessions on targeted topics like budgeting, investing, and financial planning. We organize community-building workshops where people can discuss money psychology and financial goals. We also offer deeper education, where employees can take our online, self-paced Learn to Invest & Build Wealth course as a group or individually. These are just a couple of examples of many.
Why us? Why are we different? We're a non-profit that donates100% of our proceeds to high-impact charities. We do this because we believe everyone deserves access to high-quality financial education and that finance is our superpower to making this world a better place. Managers and employees alike love our unique social mission -- they learn everything they need to know about personal finance and they also get to give back. Furthermore, they trust us because we never, ever upsell financial products.
To learn more about how Yield & Spread can support your organization's financial literacy goals, check out Yield & Spread Learning & Development offerings. Or contact us directly for any questions.
