Blogging for Change

Value of financial education in the workplace

by Kim McGrigg on
1/27/2010
in Personal Finance

Employers have always known that financial education is important to their employees’ personal lives. But up until recently, employers had to speculate about the direct benefits of offering financial education in the workplace to the bottom line of their business.

Now, employers can know the true value of financial education thanks to technology and research from the Personal Finance Employee Education Foundation. The Employer’s Projected ROI for Quality Financial Education Program Calculator is a free calculator that allows employers to weigh the costs and benefits of offering financial education in the workplace.

Bringing financial troubles to work

While employees may try to keep work separate from their home lives, doing so is not always possible. Distress over personal finances manifests itself in many ways, including decreased job performance, increased absenteeism, and higher turnover rates; all of which negatively affect an employer’s bottom line.

Benefits of personal financial education

Studies have proven that providing quality workplace financial programs, like Money Management International’s (MMI) Financial Education Workshops, improve employees’ personal financial behaviors and increase employer profits. An employer who invests in quality financial educations often sees these, and many more, benefits:

  • Less work-time spent on personal finances
  • Less absenteeism
  • Reduced turnover
  • Improvements in job performance
  • Lower health care costs

How the ROI calculator works

The ROI calculator is a free resource that allows employers to weigh the costs and benefits in a few easy steps to determine if a financial education program is right for their organization. Once the employer has entered a few numbers in the calculator, a free report is generated projecting the ROI for the company. Twelve work outcome factors are included in the projected ROI calculation:

  1. Turnover and retaining costs
  2. Health care costs
  3. Absenteeism
  4. Average Personal Financial Wellness (PFW) score
  5. Work-time wasted
  6. Job performance rating
  7. Health care premium savings
  8. Health care spending plan
  9. Dependent care spending plan
  10. Worker’s compensation
  11. Garnishments
  12. Percentage of employees impacted

The calculator makes reasonable and conservative assumptions about the 12 factors based upon empirical research and industry and employer-specific data. Improving finances can improve all areas of a person’s life.

Increasing financial knowledge can motivate employees to make necessary financial change resulting in an improved state of mind both at home and in the workplace. Thanks to the Employer’s Projected ROI for Quality Financial Education Program Calculator, an employer can more easily weight the benefits of financial education and determine if a financial education program is in the best interest of their employees and their business.

Kim McGrigg is the former Manager of Community and Media Relations for MMI.

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