1. Employee Engagement
A case study of a Financial Wellness Program
at the University of Colorado

2. Session Objectives:
• framework creating and executing a plan for financial
wellness programming on campus
• resources and topics to support the development of financial
wellness programming
• insights and best practices for financial wellness
programming

3. What is Financial Wellness?
Wellness is an active process through which people become
aware of and make choices toward a more successful existence.
-National Wellness Institute
Financial Wellness has several components:
• your objective economic status
• your subjective perception of your economic status
• your financial behaviors
• your satisfaction with your financial situation

4. The Financial Wellbeing of the Workforce
“30 million American workers – 1 in 4 – report they are
seriously distressed and dissatisfied with their financial matters
… and this spans across all income levels.”
- Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy
Financial Education Empowers Employees to be More Productive. Jump$tart website. http://www.jumpstart.org/financial-
education-empowerment.html Accessed 12/16/2013.

5. My Mind is on My Money
83% of workers indicated that they spend at least some time
every week at work thinking about personal finances
• 34% indicated that they spend five or more hours each week
preoccupied with money matters
1 in 5 surveyed for a study by the Certified Financial Planner
Board of Standards reported having skipped work to deal with
financial issues.
2012 VOYA study on retirement readiness
“Best Practices for a Workplace Financial Education Program”, Kline, M. CUPA HR Enews, June 3, 2015

6. Regardless of job title, educational level or
affluence, nearly everyone is
concerned with the following:
sufficiency
of their money
Do I have
enough?
sustainability
of their
resources
How long will
my money last?
appropriateness
of their financial
decisions
Is this the right
choice for me?

7. Why the workplace?
Financial literacy increasingly being addressed for
youth.
2/3 of population is over age of 25.
80% of individuals age 25 to 54 are currently
participating in labor force.

8. income taxes saving investing
protecting spending borrowing giving
• paycheck • W4, W2 • retirement
• insurance
• info security
• charitable
campaigns
• pay with
ID card
• business
discounts
• credit
union
affiliation
• student
loans
• retirement
accounts

9. Financial Education is a Tool for Employers
Reduce presenteeism
Tool for workforce management
Positions employers for demographic shifts in the workforce
“ [...] (1) employees may come to work with their minds on their personal financial situation (“presenteeism”); (2) as employees move
from job to job, it can get harder for them to manage the rising number of retirement accounts and decisions they face; and (3) growing
numbers of employees need help juggling the financial stress of caring for children and aging parents at the same time.”
Financial Literacy Annual Report, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, July 2014

10. Financial Wellness Programming at the University of Colorado
Program Inception and Rationale
• “Reluctant Retiree” project + DB to DC change for staff +
demographic trends
• Employee Services formed in February 2013
• Payroll and benefits departments joined with other
employee services
• Holistic approach to delivering services to employees
• Financial Wellness added in August 2013

11. Program Goal
• To empower CU employees to proactively engage with their
finances and grow confidence in their financial future
Program Strategy
• Hire experts to create and curate resources
• Leverage resources from the university’s retirement vendors
and credit union partners
• Collaborate with Employee Assistance Program counselors
• Build connections with university managers, campus HR, and
employee groups

12. Program Values
• Accessible
• Comprehensible
• Targeted
• Enjoyable

13. Pedagogical Philosophy
When designing and delivering programming, we adhere to
the following 8 principles:

14. 1. Financial wellbeing has four components:
• the individual’s objective financial status
• their subjective perception of their financial status
• the financial behaviors that they engage in
• their level of satisfaction with their financial situation.
Resources and programming need to target all four areas in
order to be comprehensive.

15. 2. Effective financial education doesn’t take a stance on any
particular financial decision.
It should lay out potential pros and cons of decisions and
provide strategies for individuals to use in decision making.

16. 3. There are no neutral interactions.
All human behaviors are strategies to meet one or more of the
BSPACE needs:
• belonging
• safety/security
• purpose
• autonomy
• connection
• expression.

17. 4. Understand and leverage the power of the “tribal effect”.
People’s money behaviors are influenced by groups and
identities associated with their:
• socioeconomic status
• ethnicity
• age and generation
• values and spiritual beliefs
• surrounding environment
• family and friends
• peers and colleagues.

18. 5. There are a variety of underlying drivers of financial behaviors
and attitudes.
Helping people become self-aware strengthens their ability to
take an informed approach.

19. 6. Meet the learner where they are.
Take into account the “lizard brain”. Use a non-threatening tone
and avoid language that suggests defeat.

20. 7. Content is action oriented and engenders intrinsic motivation
to act.
There are primary and secondary financial needs:
• primary needs include spending, emergencies, and
knowing where to find information
• secondary needs are education on benefits and
investing

21. 8. Word choice matters.
Pay attention to the diversity of the audience as well as your
own bias.

22. Programming
In-person
• Seminars by Request
• Mind Your Money Behaviors series
• financial consultations
• special events
Online
• website
• challenges
Communication channels

24. Finding and Vetting Speakers
Start with your credit union partner and retirement plan
service provider.
It is extremely important to meet with all speakers before they
present – an email is not enough.
• educational event, no sales pitch
• appropriate expertise
• advice agnostic
• learning objectives
• control access to your employees’ information

25. Logistics
• work with a “host” from a business unit, department, or
employee group
• host department selects topic, reserves room, promotes
seminar
• CU Financial Wellness team
• vets speaker
• provides a marketing flyer
• manages online registration
• attends session
• gathers feedback
• debriefs with speaker and host (separately)

26. We don’t use our regular
branding.
The credit goes to the host
department. The only reference
to Employee Services is under
the CU logo block.
Include brief description.
Questions are directed to the
department host.

27. Over 2,000 employees attended a seminar during the
program’s first year.
popular topics:
• available retirement plans
• investing basics
• credit scores
• women and money
• estate planning
• budgeting

28. Mind Your Money Behaviors series
Session 1: Introduction to Financial
Behaviors and Strategies for Change
Session 2: Money Scripts and Life Values
Session 3: Financial Panel
Session 4: Communication
Session 5: Healthy Financial Habits

29. • 1 hour per week, during lunch hour
• psycho-educational group, facilitated by an EAP counselor
and a financial education specialist
• use of published materials: Money Scripts inventory, Life
Values online quiz, Mindful Investor book
• use of strategies including motivational interviewing,
cognitive behavioral techniques, acceptance and
commitment techniques, and mindfulness strategies

30. LifeValues online quiz
- National Endowment for Financial Education
http://www.smartaboutmoney.org/ToolsResources/LifeValues-Quiz.aspx
20 questions to help you determine what is currently
subconsciously driving your financial behavior.

31. Financial Panel
Licensed financial advisors from external organizations offer
their expertise and professional opinions in response to
questions from the workshop facilitators and participants.
In addition to offering expert guidance on a range of personal
finance topics, the panelists aim to destigmatize the process of
talking about finances in general and one’s financial situation
in particular.

32. Financial Consultations
• provided by retirement plan
recordkeeper
“Personalized, private and
already paid for.”
Key: help the participant feel
comfortable taking that step

33. Special Events
Employee Services Expos
• resource fair and speaker
series
Preparing to Retire event
• university process for
retiring
• presentations from
retirement plan service
provider

34. CU Financial Wellness Website

35. ~ 1,000 web hits
~ 3 minutes

45. Online Challenges
Financial IQ Challenge
• 5 questions per day, 15 days
• retirement plan service provider
• 2800 completed first session, 1250 completed all 15
Square Up Your Savings
• 10 mini lessons / activities
• earn a “square” on the map
• prize is revealed under one of the squares

46. Communication Channels
• employee portal banners and popups
• Employee Services webpage banners
• Employee Services newsletter for reminders and highlights
• emails for announcements or time sensitive information
• postcards – didn’t see ROI
• paper letters – sparingly
• printed brochures and bookmarks

47. Thank You
Katherine Sauer
katherine.sauer@cu.edu
LinkedIn: Katherine Sauer
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