'It's the last taboo in our society': financial wellness thought leader

Kelley Keehn, thought leader and founder of Money Wise Workplaces, specializes in financial wellness and helping employers support their employees’ financial literacy and wellness. She’s spoken with countless HR professionals in Canada and beyond, and she shared her insights with HRD Canada.

The main obstacle for HR professionals in promoting financial wellness in their workplaces is lack of programs and of awareness, Keehn told HRD.

“We probably know more of what’s going on in the bedrooms of employees and coworkers than we do about their finances,” Keehn said. “I really want to change that conversation.”

Essentials for HR to implement employee financial wellness programs

“Pay yourself first” programs are a simple way for employers to support the financial wellness of their employees, Keehn said. “That’s a very simple program that can be implemented where you help your employees actually start to save for emergency savings, by just helping them take money right off the top of their paycheck,” she said.

Going beyond counseling for basic topics such as investing, Keehn recommends providing workshops to educate employees about credit scores, when to make major purchases or save for a home.

“These burning questions that are on the minds of a lot of employees,” she said. “It’s the last taboo in our society, talking about money issues, talking about debt, about financial stress. So opening up that conversation with your employees can be a great first step that doesn’t have to have a huge budget.”

Make sure wellness programs are unbiased and confidential

HR professionals should ensure they are implementing financial wellness programs according to industry standards, Keehn said. This means allowing employees the time to access resources while on the job, for example through self-directed learning or in-person financial wellness days on site.

It’s also important for HR professionals to have pre-vetted referrals for employees such as real estate brokers or financial planners, and ensuring confidentiality is crucial so employees feel free to ask questions without their information being shared.

Through her work with Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada, Keehn has learned that financial wellness programs that are selling a bank or financial planner to employees can backfire.

“You really want to make sure too, that your wellness program isn’t selling anything,” Keehn said. “It’s really important that when you bring these types of programs into your workplace, that employees really feel like they’re not being sold, they’re not being forced into some financial product, that it really is independent and unbiased.”