Providing financial literacy education to employees increases their financial wellbeing, and reduces employer costs associated with financially stressed employees.
Our financial planners can deliver on-site financial literacy workshops in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, and via live online training anywhere in the Asia Pacific region.
While many employers provide employee wellbeing programs, very few of those programs have included financial literacy training, but that’s now changing, following the widespread economic hardship caused by the COVID pandemic. Governments around the world commissioned studies, which identified that financial literacy can improve financial wellbeing, and alerted employers to the benefits of providing financial education for their employees.
Financial Literacy Training For Your Employees
Employers can either choose:
- A series of five financial wellbeing training sessions.
The 5 Key Steps to Financial Wellbeing Series
Choose 30, 45-minute, or 1-hour sessions. The five session are:- Importance of Money as Security for You and Your Family
- Effective Money Management
- Managing Debt – Understanding the Options and Good vs. Bad Debt
- The Different Asset Classes
- Using Super More Effectively
- Individual financial wellbeing training sessions:
- The 5 Key Steps to Financial Wellbeing
is a summary of the abovementioned five sessions series. - We can tailor a custom financial literacy workshop to suit your needs.
- Importance of Money as Security for You and Your Family
- Effective Money Management
- Managing Debt – Understanding the Options and Good vs. Bad Debt
- The Different Asset Classes
- Using Super More Effectively
- The 5 Key Steps to Financial Wellbeing
The Individual Training Sessions
This section describes each of the six financial training sessions that we have available. (We can also customize something for you.)
The 5 Key Steps to Financial Wellbeing
This session is a summary of the series of the same name. It covers the 5 essential areas that employees need to be educated on to improve their financial literacy and reduce their financial stress:
- Importance of Money as Security for You and Your Family:
This fundamental concept emphasises the role of financial stability in providing security to individuals and their families. It’s a strong starting point. - Effective Money Management:
Effective cashflow management is crucial for personal financial stability and is essential to teach individuals how to budget, save, and manage their day-to-day finances. - Managing Debt – Understanding the Options and Good vs. Bad Debt:
Debt management is critical. Teaching participants about the types of debt, interest rates, and strategies to reduce or eliminate debt is valuable. - The Different Asset Classes:
This key provides valuable knowledge about investment options. Individuals will learn about asset classes (e.g., stocks, bonds, real estate) and risk-return profiles. - Using Super More Effectively:
Preparing for retirement, especially in the context of superannuation (Australia’s retirement savings system), is crucial for long-term financial security.
A Custom Financial Literacy Workshop
We can adjust The 5 Key Steps to Financial Wellbeing workshop by adding or removing topics to suit your particular requirements. Among the additional topics that we can add are:
- Managing Special Occasion Spending:
This topic provides practical tips and strategies for managing expenses during peak spending times such as Christmas, birthdays, anniversaries, and Valentine’s Day. It can cover aspects like creating a holiday budget, gift-giving strategies, and finding meaningful ways to celebrate without overspending. - Adapting to Financial Changes Post the Pandemic:
Understanding how people’s spending and financial habits have shifted during the pandemic is crucial. This topic can delve into the changes in consumer behaviour, remote work impact, and the importance of emergency funds. It also includes strategies for organising finances during uncertain times, such as building emergency savings and flexible budgeting. - How to Set and Achieve Financial Goals and Track Your Progress:
Setting and achieving financial goals is crucial to financial wellness. It is essential for long-term financial success to teach individuals how to define their goals, create actionable plans, and track their progress.
Financial Security for You and Your Family
This seminar highlights the crucial role of economic stability in ensuring the well-being and security of individuals and their families. This training motivates participants to take proactive steps toward securing their financial future and ensuring the well-being of their loved ones.
It covers the following topics:
- Understanding Financial Security:
Define financial security and why it’s vital for individuals and their loved ones. Discuss the emotional and practical aspects of financial security. - Emergency Funds:
Explain the importance of building and maintaining emergency funds to handle unexpected expenses and financial crises. - Protecting Your Family:
Discuss strategies for safeguarding your family’s financial future through insurance options, such as life insurance and health insurance. - Estate Planning:
Introduce the concept of estate planning, including wills and trusts, to ensure the smooth transfer of assets and wealth to heirs. - Financial Preparedness:
Guidance on creating a financial plan that accounts for short-term and long-term goals, including saving for education, homeownership, and retirement.
Effective Money Management
This training focuses on the practical aspects of managing your finances wisely, including budgeting, saving, investing, and understanding cash flow. The objective is to help individuals make better financial decisions and achieve their financial goals more effectively.
It covers the following topics:
- Budgeting:
Learn how to create a realistic budget to track income and expenses, allocate funds for various needs and goals, and make informed financial decisions. - Saving:
Discover strategies for building and maintaining money for short-term and long-term goals and developing a savings habit. - Investing:
Understand the basics of investment options, risk assessment, and how to make informed investment choices aligned with your financial goals. - Cashflow Management:
Introduce the concept of estate planning, including wills and trusts, to ensure the smooth transfer of assets and wealth to heirs. - Financial Preparedness:
Explore techniques for managing your day-to-day finances, optimising your cash flow, and ensuring financial stability.
Debt Management
This training session focuses on understanding debt and provides practical strategies for effectively managing debt. It explains the different types of debt, distinguishes between good and bad debt, and provides options for dealing with debt.
help participants make more informed decisions about their financial obligations and work toward reducing or eliminating debt to improve their overall financial well-being.
Topics covered:
- Types of Debt:
Explain various types of debt, such as credit card debt, student loans, mortgages, and personal loans, and how they differ in terms of interest rates and terms. - Good Debt vs. Bad Debt:
Discuss the concept of good debt (e.g., mortgage for a home) and bad debt (e.g., high-interest credit card debt), helping participants decide when to take on debt. - Debt Reduction Strategies:
Provide practical strategies for paying down debt, including the debt snowball and debt avalanche methods, as well as negotiating with creditors for better terms. - Debt Consolidation and Refinancing:
Explain options like debt consolidation loans and refinancing to simplify debt management and potentially reduce interest rates. - Credit Management:
Offer guidance on improving credit scores and maintaining healthy credit habits, which can be essential for managing debt effectively.
Understanding Asset Classes for Investment
This training provides participants with an in-depth understanding of various asset classes, their characteristics, and their role in a diversified investment portfolio, so that participants will be able to make better investment choices and build a more secure financial future.
The following topics are covered:
- Introduction to Asset Classes:
Define asset classes and why they are essential for investment planning. - Equities (Stocks):
Explain the concept of owning shares in companies, the potential for capital appreciation, and the risks associated with stock investments. - Fixed Income (Bonds):
Discuss how bonds work, including their steady income and role in a diversified portfolio. - Real Assets (Real Estate and Commodities):
Explore the potential benefits and risks of investing in real estate and commodities, including their role in diversifying an investment portfolio. - Cash and Cash Equivalents:
Explain the importance of liquidity and the role of cash and cash equivalents in an investment strategy. - Diversification:
Emphasise the benefits of diversifying investments across different asset classes to manage risk and achieve long-term financial goals. - Risk and Return Profiles:
Discuss each asset class’s risk and return characteristics, helping participants make informed decisions based on their investment objectives and risk tolerance.
Using Super More Effectively
This session focuses on maximising the benefits of superannuation for retirement planning.
Topics covered include:
- Understanding Superannuation Basics:
Provide an overview of what superannuation is, how it works, and the different types of super funds available. - Contribution Strategies:
Discuss strategies for making the most of super contributions, including salary sacrificing, personal contributions, and government co-contributions. - Investment Options:
Explain the various investment choices within superannuation funds, such as growth, balanced, and conservative options, and help participants make informed decisions based on their risk tolerance and retirement goals. - Tax Efficiency:
Highlight the tax benefits of superannuation, including tax concessions on contributions and investment earnings, and how to leverage them effectively. - Retirement Planning:
Provide guidance on planning for retirement using superannuation, including setting retirement goals, estimating retirement expenses, and creating a strategy for accessing super funds in retirement.
Our Financial Literacy Trainers
All our financial literacy training is delivered by Financial Planners who will assist your employees to navigate the important topics of money management and wealth while answering any questions they may have.
What Is Financial Wellbeing?
The 2017 report Exploring Financial Wellbeing in the Australian Context conducted by UNSW defined financial wellbeing as:
Financial wellbeing is when a person is able to meet expenses and has some money left over, is in control of their finances and feels financially secure, now and in the future.
An important component of financial wellbeing is feeling and being in control of your finances, but unfortunately many people do not feel in control. The Australian Financial Capability Survey (2021) found that about 50% of people aged 18 to 45 ‘agreed’ or ‘strongly agreed’ with the statement “Dealing with money is stressful or overwhelming.”
It also found that over 20% of people didn’t carefully consider whether they could afford something before buying it.
Financial Wellbeing and Mental Health
A significant number of employees report that financial hardship is their primary cause of stress.
The Money and Mental Health (2022) report commissioned by ASIC in conjunction with Beyond Blue found that experiencing financial challenges can cause a decline in mental health.
Debt in particular was a problem: having credit card debt, short term/pay day loans, and falling behind on loan payments and bills increased the probability of experiencing mental health conditions such as anxiety, depression, and thoughts of suicide.
Costs to Employers of Employee Financial Stress
When employees are financially stressed it impacts on the employer’s profits due to:
- Reduced employee retention because employees are keen to find a higher paying job.
- Reduced productivity due to employees spending time at work worrying about their finances.
- Reduced productivity and increased sick days due to increased mental health conditions, and loss of sleep.
Employers are in a Unique Position to Help Improve Financial Literacy
Unfortunately, there is little financial literacy education in schools, and most people don’t seek it out on their own, and the Money and Mental Health (2022) report found that people who get into financial difficulties tend to delay seeking help until it’s too late because poor handling of finances is seen by society as a personal failing.
This means that employers are uniquely positioned to help their employees, by providing them with financial literacy training before they get themselves into financial difficulty.
Can The Financial Literacy Training Be Run Online?
Yes. We can run live online trainings to anywhere in the Asia Pacific region including New Zealand, China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore.
Contact Us Today
Please contact us on 1300 889 073 or email us to discuss how HSG can deliver financial literacy training for your employees at your premises in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, or via live online video webinar to India, Malaysia, Philippines, Japan, China, Hong Kong, Singapore , New Zealand or anywhere in the Asia Pacific region.
Business Coaching Service
In addition to financial training for employees, we also provide financial training for employers. If you are a business owner and would like some advice from an expert, our business coach can either provide you with training in specific areas, or simply be an experienced advisor that you can bounce ideas off.
Other Corporate Wellness Services
Holistic Service Group provides a comprehensive range of corporate wellness services. Here’s a small selection: