Spring offers HR for small businesses low-cost opportunities to engage employees around financial health
Ease employee financial stress and good things happen: a maxim worth remembering for HR for small businesses (Or is it an axiom?).
The beauty is that it doesn’t have to cost HR for small businesses a lot of money or time to start seeing an impact.
All you have to do is make employees feel like you care. Should be easy, right?!
Workers who strongly agree that their employer cares about their overall wellbeing are 69% less likely to actively search for a new job, 71% less likely to report experiencing a lot of burnout, and three times more likely to be engaged at work, per Gallup.
So, how are you going to make them feel like you care?
Something as simple as sharing some timely information can demonstrate a level of empathy and understanding that engenders trust, loyalty, and productivity.
You know, if investing in the financial health of your employees with TrustPlus is off the table, for now.
Small business hr solutions: Show workers you care
For starters, when it comes to financial stress, let them know that you know that it’s rough out there.
You understand that financial stress is your employees’ top stressor and that it weighs heavily on mental health.
That workers are spending eight hours a week on financial issues per a 2023 report by the TIAA Institute and the Global Financial Literacy Excellence Center (GFLEC).
And that stress is bad for profits, productivity, and impact.
HR for small businesses: Spring for financial health
Once you’ve empathized, then, share some timely, relevant, info to support your workers in strengthening their own financial health.
‘Tis the season.
Per TrustPlus Personal Financial Coach Elise Nussbaum, the “beginning of spring is an excellent time to take stock of ways you can make your own life more pleasant, manageable, and secure” by planning for your tax refund and reviewing your credit report, spending, and beneficiaries.
Below are a few steps your workers can take to spring clean their finances, adapted from Elise’s expert advice.
Think of them together as a human resource tool to draw on for some proactive, empathetic, comms which show you care. It is spring, after all!
How to spring clean your finances like a pro
Plan for your refund: If you are getting a refund, consider paying down debt or building your emergency fund.
You can also use your tax returns to plan for the coming year.
If you ended up owing money, you may want to have more money withheld from your paychecks over the coming year. If you are getting a large refund, it may be more beneficial to reduce your withholding, so that you can see some of that money in your paychecks over time.
Find free tax prep: Do your workers know about the IRS’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program which offers free basic tax return preparation to qualified individuals:
- People who generally make $64,000 or less;
- Persons with disabilities; and;
- Limited English-speaking taxpayers?
Sound like anyone you know, who could benefit from free tax prep and tax assistance?
Review your credit report: Set a date and mark your calendar, say, for every vernal equinox, to request a free copy of your credit report from AnnualCreditReport.com.
You have a right to get a free report from each of the three nationwide credit reporting companies once every 12 months. Requesting your free annual credit reports will not cause your credit score to drop.
But beware of websites that offer free credit reports or scores. They may require you to share your personal information or try to sell you products that may not be right for you.
Make sure you recognize every account on the report—if you don’t recognize it, your TrustPlus coach can help you dispute it. Remember that paying your bills on time and keeping your credit card balances low (under 30% of your limit) are the two most important things you can do to protect your credit score.
Estate plan, lightly: If you have minor children, it’s especially important to have a will, which specifies who their guardian should be.
But it’s important to know that no matter what your will says, money from your retirement accounts, bank accounts, and life insurance policies will pass to the named beneficiary, whomever that may be.
Take a moment to review the beneficiaries on these and any other relevant documents, and make sure your current wishes are reflected here.
Review your spending: Sit down with your credit card statements and make sure you recognize every transaction. Make sure that your spending aligns with what you actually value.
Are there subscriptions that seemed like a great idea at the time, but are only still on the list because you never got around to canceling them? One simple trick is to go ahead and cancel any monthly subscription that you are not actively using, giving yourself permission to start it back up at a later date if you find you miss it.
Paying only for what you actually use can save you hundreds of dollars a year.
Schedule a time with TrustPlus to discuss easing employee financial stress and capturing the benefits of a financially healthy workforce.
