Credit unions are leaders at providing financial education for members; it makes good sense to use this strength to also help our employees manage their money. Show your employees firsthand the credit union difference of “people helping people” by helping them with financial education!
In addition to helping employees enjoy financial well-being, credit unions can improve their bottom line and improve member service at the same time by providing an employee financial education program. A free course “Financial Health: Money management techniques for employees and members” is now available to download on the MCUL website (on the Financial Literacy homepage under CU Community.) -- http://www.mcul.org/Financial_Literacy_653.html
Why offer employee financial education? Studies show that 1 in 4 American workers report that they are seriously financially distressed and dissatisfied with their personal finances; personal money problems contribute to lower productivity and higher absenteeism. 50-60 percent of American workers report that they are one paycheck away from financial trouble. Financially literate employees are happier and healthier and more satisfied with their job and their rate of pay. Even as credit union employees work to provide financial services to our members, they may be experiencing the same economic problems and can benefit from increased personal money management skills. Employee financial education training provides a double benefit for credit unions…it helps your staff enjoy better financial health and helps them better understand and serve members. According to Dr. E. Thomas Garman of the Personal Finance Employee Education Foundation, employers can improve profits by $750 to $2,000 per employee when they provide financial education programs that improve personal financial behaviors. These profits are realized in the improved behaviors of financially savvy employees such as lower health care costs, higher productivity, and lower FICA payments due to increased participation in pre-tax reimbursement accounts. To learn more about the benefits of offering employee education, see the Personal Finance Employee Education Foundation website at: http://www.personalfinancefoundation.org/about-us.html
The free course: MCUL’s “Financial Health” course for employees contains all of the resources needed to facilitate a training session for your employees including a PowerPoint presentation with complete instructor notes, employee handouts and activities. This course is recommended for all employees as part of orientation and training and may be customized with your credit union product and benefit information. The presentation covers fundamental money management techniques that lead to improved financial health: financial assessment, planning, goal setting, using credit, saving and investing. This course can be presented by your credit union trainer or other credit union staff instructor. Because extensive speakers’ notes and activity instructions are included, the instructor does not need to be an expert in money management to lead the course. The course is designed to be presented in two to three hours, depending on activities.
Credit unions are places that help people take care of their money….let’s be sure to include our employees!
Keywords: employee financial education, Financial Education