CMO & Head of People at BrightPlan, a Total Financial Wellness company.
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It's been a tough year, especially for employers and their employees. The Covid-19 pandemic fundamentally rewrote the way we work and further deepened the employer-employee relationship. As HR teams quickly pivot to meet the demands of the current work reality, this is a unique opportunity for HR leaders to rethink what benefits can truly make a difference in the lives of their employees.
Just as companies have had to shift priorities in 2020, so too have employees — and they are largely focused on their finances. New data from John Hancock Retirement shows employee financial stress has doubled since the start of the pandemic, affecting their ability to properly do their jobs. Our own research reinforces these findings. At BrightPlan, we conducted a survey of 350 HR leaders and employees across various industries between September and October. The results revealed that knowledge workers' perceptions of their finances have worsened as the pandemic has continued. Forty-eight percent reported they're stressed or concerned about their personal finances, a noticeable increase from the 39% who reported similar feelings in another survey we conducted in August of this year.
Finances are clearly a top concern for employees currently, and the pandemic has heightened HR's sensitivity to these challenges. To address this, HR teams should more actively turn to employees for feedback. The most important thing for HR to keep in mind during this process is to listen and stay close to their employees. These strategies will help HR and the benefits teams to prioritize and better review their current offerings in context, find where the gaps may lie and determine what changes need to be implemented. Priorities are shifting due to the pandemic. One way HR teams can gauge the level of this shift within their organizations is to survey their employees about what benefits are most important to them.
This evolution in priorities lifts the veil on how many in-office benefits — from onsite dry cleaning to free lunch — were designed to boost productivity by keeping employees in the office. No office, no point. HR's heightened sensitivity to employees' current circumstances can help employers focus on prioritizing financial wellness benefits that truly matter to their people. HR and company leaders can advocate for more expansive solutions while encouraging employees to enroll.
Despite the pandemic and business uncertainty, companies are committed to their employees' well-being. Our survey found that employers continue to invest in workplace benefits, and an overwhelming majority of HR professionals have kept their wellness budgets the same or even increased them. Similar research from Bank of America's 2020 Workplace Benefits Report found that 62% of employers "feel extreme responsibility for their employees' financial wellness, up from 13% in 2013." With the new work-from-home landscape, HR teams are being creative and looking at ways they can repurpose budgets from things like commuter benefits and office snacks to more relevant benefits, such as financial wellness and mental health.
HR should keep seeking new ways to check in with employees in our new remote work environment. They should remain hyper-focused on measuring employee engagement and wellness especially now that they can't make those assessments in-person. From retooling employee pulse and engagement surveys to scheduling one-off video calls with employees to check-in, HR teams should continue adapting to stay close to their employees, garner feedback and implement changes.
Though a vaccine is rolling out, the employee experience has changed dramatically in the past year — and many aspects of our remote work revolution will stick around long term. With a more remote-friendly workplace expected in years ahead, employers have an opportunity to stay ahead of the shift by doubling down on benefits that truly impact their employees for the better.
Employee priorities have changed in 2020, and they'll continue to evolve in 2021 and beyond, as the future of work comes into greater focus. HR's ongoing challenge will be to keep a constant pulse on their employees and be agile with the changing times. Employee well-being is paramount to business success. Keeping track of what matters most to employees and making investments accordingly will help HR teams continue to attract, retain and engage the best possible talent to enable their organizations to thrive long into the future.
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