As employers experience high staff turnover rates in what is being deemed the "Great Resignation," companies are offering employees financial wellness benefits to help retain workers, according to CNBC.
Six things to know about how to retain employees and what benefits they're seeking:
1. More companies are offering financial wellness benefits, according to Bank of America’s Workplace Benefits Report. The report — which includes data from a national sample of 1,363 full-time employees and 834 employers — found that, in 2021, 46 percent of employers offer financial wellness programs, up from 40 percent last year.
2. However, a survey by the Society of Human Resource Management and Morgan Stanley at Work found that only 26 percent of 1,205 human resource professionals surveyed in June said their organization added benefits or expanded existing benefits to help employees manage their financial stress since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Seventy-four percent of human resource professionals surveyed said they made no changes to benefits.
3. While most employers have no plans to boost financial wellness benefits in the coming year, both working and unemployed Americans who participated in the survey by the Society of Human Resource Management and Morgan Stanley at Work said they appreciate and increasingly want offerings such as retirement savings, safety-net insurance, financial planning, financial coaching and emergency funds.
4. New Hyde Park, N.Y.-based Northwell Health, New York's largest healthcare provider and private employer, is among the companies that view financial wellness benefits as a necessity for workers who want them, according to CNBC. Diana Grubard, the company's director of benefits, told the news channel that such benefits, which Northwell launched earlier this year, are helping the system stand out amid the current labor environment.
5. "Our consistent long-term focus on well-being allows us to differentiate ourselves in this environment," Ms. Grubard told CNBC. "It is what we use to attract and retain our talent."
6. Ms. Grubard also told the news channel Northwell's offerings, which include digital education, financial webinars and financial planning, outweigh the costs associated with them because it helps mitigate financial stress that can result in more absenteeism and less productivity.
Read the full CNBC report here.