How financial wellbeing programs can make a difference to your workforce

At a recent roundtable, business leaders spoke of the education and support super funds can provide employers to help employees manage mounting financial pressures today and into retirement.

Superannuation is a well-established part of the Australian employment landscape, with many soon-to-be retirees being the first generation to have spent their working life saving through the system.

Yet many people may not feel confident making financial decisions due to lack of financial knowledge or the right support. As a result, there is increasing pressure on employers to help fill that gap to improve employees’ financial wellbeing.

Finding solutions for your employees

In a recent employer roundtable hosted by Australian Retirement Trust’s National Education Manager, Joshua van Gestel, leaders from a range of sectors discussed how employers can facilitate better outcomes for their employees in retirement.

Contributing to the roundtable discussion were:

• Dr Linda Colley, the Queensland Government’s Special Commissioner for Equity and Diversity
• Charlotte Flower, People Manager at BlueScope Australian Steel Products
• Esme Strydom, Director of People at Brisbane Grammar School.

All have very different workforces but each said employees were currently facing financial pressures and strain, regardless of their role.

Benefits of financial education

Financial education, like understanding super, can play a key role in employee retention, wellbeing, and workforce engagement. In order for it to be truly successful employers need to find the right partners and allow employees time to access the support while at work.

Ms Strydom said education needed to be seen as more than an obligation, rather a vital part of workforce management and employee engagement.

“I don't want to call [superannuation] an obligation because the moment it does it becomes a tick sheet. I want to look at everything for employees, what is it I can do to make their lives better,” Ms Strydom said.

“Most people don’t know how the systems work, and it’s part of my role to inform people. It can have an impact on their life, particularly the group that will retire in the next five years. As an employer, there’s a role there to help people.”

The importance of super funds

Dr Colley said her role increasingly focused on employee retention and women’s financial wellbeing.

“It’s always been obligational, but we want to change super to be an opportunity,” Dr Colley said.

Women on the verge of retirement have significantly less super than men. Dr Colley said there was a “huge opportunity to change” the gender super gap through education and other support.

She said employers could help bring together super funds and employees to help improve their financial knowledge.

“Super funds offer great options, but we [employers] haven’t bridged the gap to employees, particularly nervous or reluctant employees,” Dr Colley said.

Our specialist knowledge

Ms Strydom said partners were essential, as employers and managers didn’t always have specialist knowledge to support an employee’s financial wellbeing.

She said financial education needed to be done “in partnership” and to motivate employees as part of both professional development and personal wellbeing.

“It’s important to set aside time and plan properly to increase involvement across an organisation,” Ms Strydom said.

Support now and into retirement

Ms Flower said the challenges increased as employees faced retirement.

She said BlueScope offered general wellbeing programs. But employees who were preparing to retire faced extra challenges, including being ready for retirement from a social and psychological perspective, and being able to navigate the complexities of income and pensions.

“When we talk to some of our employees, they’re surprised that they’re eligible for [the age] pension as they’re well paid and have good super schemes,” Ms Flower said.

She said the business would look to offer support to “show employees all opportunities with an education piece on what they can do in retirement both from a financial and psychological perspective”.

How we can help

If you’d like to provide financial wellbeing and education within your workplace, speak to us today. Our comprehensive workplace talks program covers a range of super topics for employees at any stage of their career. We also offer a range of helpful online tools and resources like videos, podcasts, calculators and articles that they can access at a time and place that suits them.

Contact us

Let’s work together to tailor a financial program for your business. Reach out to our team today

The opinions expressed and those providing comments are theirs alone, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Trustee. No responsibility is taken for the accuracy of any of the information supplied and you should seek advice for your circumstances.