While it may seem unnecessary to involve senior management in a company’s 401k plan, their participation can make a significant impact on both employee engagement and the overall success of the plan. When leadership takes an active role, it shows the company’s commitment to employees’ financial well-being. This not only sets a positive example but also motivates employees to take their retirement savings seriously and participate in the plan. Senior management’s involvement fosters a culture of financial wellness and encourages employees to prioritize their long-term financial futures.
Additionally, senior leaders are essential in aligning the 401k plan with the company’s broader goals. Their engagement ensures the plan addresses the specific needs of the workforce and supports the company’s values. By collaborating with HR and other departments, senior management can design a plan that improves participation, optimizes benefits, and ultimately enhances employees’ financial security. Their active involvement leads to a more engaged workforce and supports long-term business success.
Fred Barstein, CEO and founder of TPSU, TRAU, and 401kTV, spoke with Geo, an HR manager at a construction company with 500 employees. Geo shared her experience getting senior management involved in the company’s 401k plan. Despite the initial challenges, she emphasized the importance of strong leadership and a dedicated team to engage employees, particularly in a tough industry like construction. By requiring management to attend education meetings, they demonstrated the plan’s importance, which encouraged broader participation.
Geo highlighted that the key to getting senior management involved was showing them the positive results, including increased plan participation and the implementation of features like auto-enrollment and auto-escalation. This approach ultimately won management support.
Read the Full Transcript Here:
Fred Barstein:
Greetings. This is Fred Barstein, CEO and founder of TPSU, TRAU, and 401k TV. Just completed a program here on campus at Nova Southeastern University, and I am here with Geo. Welcome, Geo.
Geo:
Thank you.
Fred Barstein:
Okay if we ask you a few questions?
Geo:
Definitely.
Fred Barstein:
Very good. So before we start, tell us a little bit about yourself.
Geo:
My name is Giovannia. They call me Gio because it’s easier. I work in a construction company, about 500 employees. I’ve been an HR manager for 10 years and I’ve been with the company for about 18 years.
Fred Barstein:
So one of the things you talked about that really got my attention was how senior management is engaged in the plan. The first thing, how’d you do that?
Geo:
It was hard but having a good team or good leadership, it makes an impact on employees and employee level. So learning the 401k, wanting to promote it for the benefits of the employees, was a start. And then having the right team to say, “We need education, we need to help them,” and having employees want to engage, especially in an industry of construction, was tough. So what did we do as managers within the office and upper management, once you have them on your side, we required other team members of management to participate in the meetings at this point, whether they wanted to or not, because we saw benefit in it.
Fred Barstein:
Right. So people saw the senior manager and they’re saying, “Oh, this is important.”
Geo:
We have to lead by example. But not only that, but by them attending it, they learn from it, they see the benefits in it. And how does it help us as a company? Now we have more leaders educated that can go out there and advocate for us and persuade other employees to participate in those education meetings, and that has helped us.
Fred Barstein:
So what was your secret to get senior management to do this?
Geo:
Not give up and continue our meetings, continue coming to these learning. We bettered our plan, we bettered our participation. So just showing them the results of things we changed in the plan, like we mentioned that we’ve learned, auto enroll, auto escalation, re-enrollment. Since we had better numbers, upper management were like, “They’re getting somewhere.” So that definitely helped with the support too.
Fred Barstein:
So final question, is this your first TPSU program?
Geo:
No. I am a repeated member. I come every year just to keep refreshed on the information. And since I play so many roles in the company, I know a lot but I’m not an expert. So I continue to learn, refresh, see what trends are working, see what else we could implement. And what I feel good about this time around is to hear others that are struggling, to share what we’ve changed that has helped us, is also a plus to coming. And I love it.
Fred Barstein:
Very good. Well, thank you for your time today.
Geo:
Thank you.
Fred Barstein:
And thank you for watching 401k TV. Please stay tuned.
