How to Help Healthcare Industry Workers Gain Financial Wellness

If you work in Human Resources or employee benefits, you have seen the painful truth about where American workers stand with their finances. Most are deeply in debt, living paycheck to paycheck, and unable to cover life’s emergencies. But in the case of helping healthcare industry workers shore up their finances, there are some unique challenges that make the job even harder.

Whether it’s helping workers eliminate higher-than-normal levels of student loan debt, fighting turnover, or communicating across shifts and locations, you have a lot to keep in mind if you’re shopping for financial wellness benefits in the healthcare industry.

Healthcare Workers Have a Lot of School Debt

 Nursing and medical schools are expensive, and grads rarely get through without a heavy debt burden. A recent survey reports that the healthcare industry ranks as the third-most affected by educational debt, with 45% currently carrying student loans. (1) And it’s not just those in debt who are hurting the healthcare industry. It’s also the typical size of those student debt loads: most owe more than $50,000! (2) And that doesn’t even reflect other kinds of debt like credit cards or car loans.

It would be nice if that kind of burden didn’t impact you or your company, but we all know better. Whether it shows up in the form of requests for payroll advances, low participation in the company 401(k), or high turnover (see below), heavy debt loads weigh on borrowers and hurt their engagement and productivity at work.

SmartDollar is a financial wellness benefit designed to help employees with everything about their money, including their debt. In fact, the average SmartDollar user pays off $10,000 of their debt within a year of starting the program! That kind of relief helps build engagement and loyalty. On a related note, SmartDollar companies also enjoy a significant drop in 401(k) loans.

Helping Your Company Retain Employees

Tired of two-week notices? Losing a great healthcare employee hurts! And it’s not just because of the business cost—although that’s pretty painful. It’s also the sense you might have been able to do something more to keep that trained, productive worker happy and on the payroll.

Just consider the impact low retention has on your company’s bottom line. A recent study of over 11 million healthcare employees revealed turnover is at 20.6%, which is the second-worst of any industry, only behind hospitality. (3) In this line of work, people switch jobs almost as fast as servers and bellhops! For example, consider nurses—the lifeblood of any great healthcare organization. Dealing with nurse turnover is expensive! A separate study showed the total cost to replace a nurse ranges from $37,000 to $58,000, leading to the average hospital losing from $5 to $8 million annually. (4)

Maybe the most painful stories are those about great employees who seem to be satisfied, but ultimately, leave your employment for a new sign-on bonus or a measly raise of an extra buck an hour.

Don’t miss that: In this extremely competitive industry, people are jumping ship for minor raises. When employees are going through all the trouble to change jobs and add to their commute to chase even a little extra income, it’s proof they’re in a really bad place financially. But it doesn’t have to be that way!

Click here for free, SHRM-accredited webinar content on all things HR and business leadership.

SmartDollar gives employees the power to replace risky financial habits with good ones that build their confidence. And the difference in their wallets will dwarf the extra change that might entice them to think about switching to the hospital across town! Consider that SmartDollar users also average $6,200 in savings within a year of starting SmartDollar. This savings plus the debt payoff of $10,000 adds up to a total financial turnaround of $16,200. That’s like getting a raise of almost $8 an hour! And it will go a long way toward clamping turnover!

Delivering Mobile Financial Wellness Anytime and Anywhere

Maybe you’re helping to make benefits choices for employees at multiple clinics, hospitals or offices. In that case, you might be used to associating rollouts and benefits communications with headaches more than happiness. Communication can be tough, and on-site workshops or seminars aren’t going to cut it.

A program with maximum flexibility is a must. Your employees need the convenience of reading and viewing our materials no matter where they are or when they clock in. The healthcare industry includes a wide variety of roles, so it’s by no means certain that all of your employees will have a workstation with a computer. That’s why materials need to be accessible on any mobile device and able to be viewed at work or home. That way, employees can also share the learning with their families!

Give Your Employees the Same Kind of Wellness You Deliver to Patients

Whether they’re receptionists at workstations Monday through Friday or nurses working night shifts, imagine your entire team having an accessible financial wellness benefit. It’s the kind of flexibility that could truly transform how your employees handle their money!

If you’re always on the lookout for the right benefits to keep great staff around for good, you need SmartDollar. We walk with you through every step of your launch to ensure an easy and successful rollout. And the product walks with employees through a series of clear and workable action steps that will lead to substantial financial gains. SmartDollar shows your employees that they aren’t just a number to you—but that you care and are invested in them. In the end, you’ll be providing them with the same kind of real and lasting health benefits you’re committed to giving your clients. It’s a win-win!

Ready to bring proven financial wellness to your healthcare team? Check out SmartDollar today and click on “Contact Us” to learn more about a benefit that actually works!