July 1, 2008

HR Magazine

Easing the Burden of Employees’ Debt

As bad news mounts on the economic front, more employers are taking a strong proactive approach to help their employees better manage personal finances. Whether through workshops, courses, online resources or one-on-one sessions with financial counselors, experts say these investments pay big dividends in increased productivity, job satisfaction and retention.

ComPsych Corp., a Chicago-based provider of employee assistance programs, offers employers lunch-and-learn classes that cover topics such as getting beyond living paycheck to paycheck, teaching children how to manage money, planning and transitioning into retirement and planning and saving for college.

“Showing employees how to set up a workable budget can be a key to their financial health and productivity,” adds Barbara Campbell, director of ComPsych’s FinancialConnect service, which provides personal finance information and counseling for customers’ employees.