University Business - July/August 2011 - (Page 27)

HUMAN RESOURCES Financial Success, One Employee at a Time Helping employees develop better money management skills By Carol Patton “L EAVE YOUR PERSONAL problems at the door.” ere are probably some managers who still support the antiquated belief that employees can shut oﬀ personal problems like a light switch once they set foot in the workplace. But how can a worker ignore the fact that he or she has lost a home, maxed out credit cards, drained the savings account, or stopped being able to pay the electric bill? Over the past several years, higher ed institutions have enhanced their employee assistance programs (EAPs) with basic ﬁnance courses and resources, everything from how to develop a family budget or pay oﬀ credit cards to oﬀering emergency grants. Whether or not an employee’s ﬁnancial issues are a school’s business doesn’t seem to matter to those implementing these programs. ey’ve developed ways to help employees minimize ﬁnancial stress so they can be more engaged, focused, and productive at work. ere is some evidence that points to the need for schools to do more. According to MetLife’s 9th Annual Study of Employee Beneﬁts Trends, conducted in 2010, approximately one in four employees in higher education feels conﬁdent in the ability to make the right ﬁnancial decisions for themselves and their families. Only 27 percent feel in control of their ﬁnances and almost half live paycheck to paycheck. More than 60 percent indicated being behind in retirement savings and nearly nine out of 10 are not conﬁdant they know how much income their savings will generate once they retire. ese results don’t come as a big surprise to HR professionals. Many have taken action to help guide employees on a path of ﬁnancial success, with the as- Financial wellness is part of HR’s overall wellness program at Columbus State Community College. sistance of companies like Fidelity, Vanguard, and TIAA-CREF, which oﬀer services from employee ﬁnancial counseling and online tools to educational seminars. At Columbus State Community College (Ohio), which supports about 1,300 employees, HR considers ﬁnancial wellness part of its overall wellness program, says Tim Wagner, vice president of HR. e team delivers seminars on how to buy a house and manage stocks, bonds, mutual funds, household debt and credit cards, and has a dedicated staﬀ member for retirement guidance. is individual oﬀers a variety of employee-saving tips that use holidays or personal occasions as triggers to take action. For example, every New Year’s Day, she may suggest reviewing your investment portfolio or investing your pay raise. Some schools are trying to oﬀer more aggressive investment returns. e University of New Haven (Conn.), for example, turned to Fidelity to oﬀer employees a diﬀerent investment platform, says Caroline Koziatek, vice president of HR at UNH, which employs 657 people. Since some employees are not ﬁnancially literate, HR analyzes ﬁnancial data from its broker to identify speciﬁc topics for employee seminars. “If we see 20 70-year-olds investing in risky assets, we would do some education on when is the right time to go in a bond market or, if too many young employees aren’t signing up with Fidelity, then we would hold a seminar like, ‘Too Young to Plan for Retirement?,’ ” Koziatek explains. “Our [seminars] are a little more tailored to the trends and behaviors of our collective group. We don’t just do vanilla.” LESS IS MORE Many retirement plans oﬀer a variety of vendor and investment options. But too many choices tend to be overwhelming for employers and their workforce. Two years ago, Kennesaw State University (Ga.) dropped the number of its vendors from 15 to three for 403[b] and 457[b] retirement plans to meet new IRS compliance standards, shares Karin Elliott, beneﬁts manager. “ ere was no way we could keep track of 15 diﬀerent vendors,” she says. HR also sent payroll contributions to each vendor. With just three, it’s easier to choose and build stronger relationships. She says employees now have a better selection of mutual funds. In the future, she hopes to provide employees with access to diﬀerent onsite ﬁnancial advisors who rotate weekly and oﬀer a variety of ﬁnancial perspectives but do not sell investment products. Purdue University (Ind.) oﬃcials consolidated record keeping and Carol Patton is a Las Vegas-based freelance writer who specializes in covering HR issues. universitybusiness.com July/August 2011 | 27 http://www.universitybusiness.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of University Business - July/August 2011

University Business - July/August 2011
Contents
Editor's Note
Ad Index
College Index
Behind the News
Sense of Place
Viewpoint
Financial Success
Money Matters
Community Colleges
Funding Capture
Models of Efficiency
Thwarting ID Thieves
Embezzlement Epidemic
What's New
End Note

University Business - July/August 2011