Wellness is the main attraction at this Benefit Fair
Many companies have benefits fairs but not all think to include their defined contribution (DC) plan or their plan advisor. More and more companies are realizing that wellness should include financial fitness as it has a significant effect on people’s health. An advisor for a bank’s plan in Maryland attending a TPSU (The Plan Sponsor University) program took advantage of the (wellness) benefit fair to engage employees.
The Maryland bank holds a wellness benefit fair twice a year and, in the last one, decided to include financial fitness as part of the day. Rather than sitting behind a desk waiting for people to approach him, the advisor asked for a list of all employees with phone number and title and reached out to all of them before the fair. He set up appointments in a separate office during the fair with great success.
Financial wellness has become the DC industry’s favorite buzzword which, as a concept, is great, but how to implement it is the key. Though general meetings are necessary, the real work begins with one on one engagement. People are often reluctant to ask questions during a group meeting and are more likely to share in private when the advice is pertinent to them. Many are even embarrassed about their situation which makes them more inhibited.
One of the lessons learned at TPSU is to put people in smaller facilitated groups after hearing from quality speakers with no sales agenda. These groups are segmented by company size to make peer to peer review more meaningful. Perhaps somewhere between group and one on one meetings, we should put employees together in smaller facilitated groups of employees of similar age and salary so they can learn what others are doing, not just what experts tell them to do. Isn’t that what social media is all about? Shouldn’t we consider continuing the discussion online?
