The Impact of Financial Education for Employees

With the cost of living crisis impacting employees across the country, ground transport experts CMAC Group have taken action by partnering with CLARO to provide a financial wellbeing programme for their staff.

Financial management and mental wellbeing go hand-in-hand, especially during these challenging times. That’s why CMAC Group recently enlisted CLARO Wellbeing to create a bespoke financial education programme with one-to-one coaching sessions focused on financial confidence, budgeting, retirement planning, investing in property and more.

Neil Micklethwaite, COO, CMAC Group has provided his expert insight into the importance of programmes like this and the impact they have on staff and the wider business:

“CMAC Group have partnered with Claro to provide a bespoke programme of financial wellbeing education for their workforce, in order to help staff to balance their physical and mental health and improve their financial confidence.

“People often confuse financial management with financial difficulties but that’s not always accurate. Money, and managing our finances, is an important part of everybody’s life, and there’s never a time in most people’s lives when they aren’t facing some sort of financial challenge. Even day-to-day money concerns can be a source of anxiety; according to research by the Money and Pensions Service (maps.org.uk) almost half (45 per cent) of adults in the UK do not feel confident managing their money on a day to day-to-day basis. 

“Worrying about money can lead to increased stress and negatively affect mental and physical wellbeing. From an employer’s perspective, a team member suffering from stress won’t be as productive, they’re likely to take more days off sick and even leave work altogether.” 

“That’s why financial coaching is a key part of the programme, especially during the current economic climate. Financial wellbeing is a huge contributing factor when it comes to employee wellbeing and improved performance at work.

“By providing our people with access to financial education, we’re giving them some of the tools they need to take charge of their financial wellbeing, reduce stress, and improve not only their work performance but their ability to meet their personal work and career goals.

“Giving employees a chance to talk about their financial challenges, and then guiding them towards expert advice and education, can be all that’s needed to give them the confidence to get on top of their money problems.

“For managers looking for advice on how to approach conversations around your employees financial worries, I would say that while it’s a difficult and sensitive topic to raise, good, trained managers, who engage regularly with their staff and know them, and their personal or domestic situation, reasonably well should be able to have a conversation on most issues, whether it be sickness absence, performance management or financial problems.

“Handling difficult conversations is part of a manager’s job.  

“The key is not to avoid them or pretend there’s no reason for the conversation to take place. It is part of a manager’s job to be there for each member of the team and develop the type of personal relationships that allow you to notice any changes in behaviour.

“If a manager is concerned by changes in an employee’s behaviour, it’s the manager’s responsibility to initiate a conversation. I don’t think managers should probe too deeply or 

expect too much from an initial conversation.  The aim is to encourage the employee to open up enough for the manager to make an informed decision on the type of help required.”

 “At CMAC we not only say we are One Team, but we also believe it! We see and treat each member of the team as an individual. With Claro Wellbeing’s support we can provide our staff with the tools they need to take charge of their financial wellbeing, reduce stress, and improve not only their work performance but their ability to meet their personal work and career goals.”