How to support your employees with their financial woes

For many people, telling family, colleagues or even managers about having financial woes can be an incredibly difficult task leading some to keep this to themselves.

Firstly, having financial woes is nothing to be ashamed of and everyone is likely to go through a difficult period when it comes to spending power at some point in their lives. As a manager, CEO or owner of a business, you can have a huge impact on ensuring your staff are financially stable, and if they’re not, provide support on how they can work through it.

There are several different ways to help support employees with financial woes, with some of them not costing a penny. The team behind PIWoP (Price I Want to Pay) founded their business on the principle of saving money and have given their tips to ensure employees are supported through any difficulties.

Offer a different payment method

Throughout the year, you may incur higher expenses from one month to the next and for employees these times can be a challenge. For example, during the build up to Christmas, and December as a whole, the majority of employees will be spending a huge amount compared to the previous months. A way to help out your team would be to split up the wages. Instead of paying monthly, why not pay every two weeks? This way employees will remove the worry of running out of money whilst also keeping on top of their finances.

As a boss, changing the time frame that wages are paid to employees shows you’re aware of the difficult times ahead. It will also allow them to begin planning ahead on the expenses that are coming up to them. Demonstrating to employees that you care will encourage them to speak more about any financial problems as they know you’ll be there for them.

Encourage money saving tips

Offering advice on how to save money could be what an employee needs. Sharing tips, researching yourself or asking friends who have been through financial woes will show your employees that their troubles shouldn’t be dealt with alone. For example, PIWoP’s tool makes shopping for both day-to-day necessities and pricier items that bit easier. Users are able to add items they’re after to lists on their account, set prices they are willing to pay and the tool will then continue to track said items and alert you when any reach your price points, or lower. Use it on a phone, desktop or tablet, with the individuals needs put first, not only will it save you money but time when browsing.

Alter extra-curricular habits

One source of employees facing financial woes might be from within the office environment itself. If your business regularly eats out during lunch hours or has after-work drinks, this could be causing problems for employees who have other things their finances need to be spent on. Skipping a regular lunch or drinks do could free up the budget for others, so it’s well worth taking into account. It is important to offer other ways for team bonding that don’t always involve an expense for the individual.

PIWoP is a money saving tool alerting you when a product you’re tracking fits your budget. www.piwop.com