By: Nic Hayes
Why do your employees come to work everyday? To have those conversations by the water cooler? To spend 8 hours of their day not watching Netflix? To have a reason to wear a uniform?
The answer is pretty simple; most employees come to work day in and day out to make the money needed to meet their basic human needs. Having a job and being paid for it is a way to ensure that they will be able to have a place to live, food to eat, and everything else. However, sometimes just having a job isn’t enough to meet the financial demands and goals of your employees. A recent study by SoFi found that 86% of employees are stressed about finances. And, a study conducted by payroll.com, found that 78% of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck – a 6% increase from the year prior.
With the financial pressure that seemingly everyone is under, BrightDime’s solution looks to bring access to top quality financial education to earners of all levels with their three-pronged approach of a holistic financial view, personalized coaching, and targeted education.
The Impact of Financial Stress
Financial stress is real and can significantly impact employees’ performance in the workplace. A study conducted by Graystone Consulting from Morgan Stanley found that financially stressed employees cost their employers an average of $3,922 per year in lost productivity.
Financial stress manifests in the workplace in several ways. For starters, it can be seen in low employee engagement with financial benefits such as 401(k) and HSA as employees lack the clarity or guidance to access the resources that could benefit them. Additionally, it can be seen in rising healthcare costs as stress from financial insecurity can lead to unhealthy behaviors that impact healthcare utilization and costs. Lastly, financial worries can result in presenteeism, employees being at work but mentally checked out, or even increased absences. These financial stresses can also lead to increased turnover as financially stressed employees are 2.2x more likely to leave their company.
As an employer, it is important to see the impact that financial stress has not only on your employees individually but your organization as a whole.
Empowering Financial Wellness
BrightDime’s three-pronged approach works to connect and build a relationship with employees to help them reach their financial goals no matter where they currently stand. BrightDime’s CEO David Stedman says, “We developed BrightDime to help all employees, regardless of their starting point. There are a lot of classroom-like tools out there that start you at step one and take you to step 20, but those don’t work if you’re stuck at step -5 and looking at bankruptcy, or if you’re already at step 15 and want sophisticated investment tools right away. That’s why with BrightDime, employees can access all of our tools, education, and coaching on-demand at their own pace.”
The first prong of BrightDime’s approach is a holistic financial view. They securely aggregate all of an employee’s financial accounts allowing them to fully see and understand their financial standing so that they can best advise them. BrightDime’s platform also includes budgeting and goal setting tools, reports, and tools to track investments.
The second prong is personalized coaching. BrightDime’s coaches are available on demand, connecting employees with qualified financial professionals. In addition to being financial professionals, their coaches are also trained in empathy and goal setting allowing them to be able better understand an employee’s position and provide them with the guidance they need. By having coaches that are able to connect with employees on a more personal level, they are able to lead purposeful interactions that result in lasting financial improvement.
The third prong is targeted education. BrightDime provides bite-sized, interactive learning tailored to an individual's needs and financial goals. Their platform also features numerous different resources such as articles, videos, live events, and more so that employees can learn in whatever way is best for them.
An essential component to BrightDime’s approach is trust. They are not owned by a financial institution; thus, they are completely independent and unbiased. They don’t have financial products to sell to your employees nor do they make money off of referrals, so you can trust that the advice they give is always trustworthy and unbiased.
BrightDime as a Benefit
BrightDime is a benefit that fits seamlessly into your organization’s benefit offering and works with employers of all sizes. Employers can roll-out BrightDime at any point of the year with little work from the employer themselves. During the on-boarding process, BrightDime learns how your organization communicates with employees, and then, they are able to provide you with content to send through those channels to get and keep your employees engaged with the program. BrightDime’s CEO David Stedman says “We know the benefit doesn’t work if employees don’t use it. That’s why we develop a custom engagement strategy for each client, understanding the formats and channels that work best for your employees, and creating high quality custom content for your unique population.”
BrightDime believes that financial wellness is a right, not a privilege.
For more information about BrightDime please email dan.comisar@brightdime.com
We are proud to feature BrightDime on the Granite List.