Employer, Can You Spare a Dime?
Published: Wed, 05/07/14
The "noise" from my "Workplace Solution for Small Dollar Advances"
piece yesterday was ENORMOUS! http://goo.gl/lZlSos [$7.50 to Borrow $100]
Tom Starner with HR Executive wrote another insightful piece; certainly
worth 5 minutes of your time: http://goo.gl/ifDj3c
"The idea is the loans can lessen financially-induced employee stress
and, as a result, productivity can be maintained. To the latter point,
a Society of Human Resource Management survey from 2012 reported that
83 percent of HR professionals say that personal financial problems
have an impact on employee work performance.
A potential downside for employers is getting involved in the credit
business and all that might bring, even if they more often than not
have little to do with the loans themselves.
In recent years, non-bank lenders, including companies, have begun
to offer this new employee benefit nationwide. "Workplace loan
programs offer employees a benefit that can help them meet financial
hardships," says Ken Rees, CEO at Think Finance in Fort Worth, Texas.
LET'S GET REAL, . Employer involvement in payday loans -
mishandled - is a ticking time bomb! But, we both know, the days of
traditional single-pay payday loan products are numbered. Get creative
or get out!
"This real bottom line benefit to consumers is often ignored in the
discourse over employer advance products," says Ken Rees.
In fact, some of these new lenders combine employer loan programs
with online tools and information focused on improving budgeting
skills and other financial strategies.
"Stress reduction is the first step," says Mario Avila, CEO at Emerge
Financial Wellness, in Nashville, Tenn. But he adds that Emerge's
primary mission is to help workers achieve greater financial stability
and a healthier financial outlook, which takes time.
John Bremen, a senior consultant at Towers Watson in Chicago, says
workplace loans can be effective and not that much different from
similar programs -- all in the name of employers boosting their
benefits packages.
"We have seen an observable shift in levels of creativity and ways
companies have approached the concept of pay and benefits over the
past several years as the economic environment has forced employers
to do more with less," says Bremen.
"We also know several technology companies that use similar programs.
So, it definitely can cut across demographic groups," he says.
, to learn more about how you can participate:
http://goo.gl/O5TIh7
Jer@PaydayLoanIndustryBlog.com 702-208-6736