For Employers Archives

A Feature on Best Money Moves’ Co-Founder and President, Angus Carroll

by Nicole Smith | Feb 14, 2018 | Blog

Get to know the team behind Best Money Moves!

This week, I’ve had the pleasure of highlighting Best Money Moves’ co-founder and President, Angus Carroll. Before founding Best Money Moves with Ilyce Glink, Carroll held executive positions in technology, marketing and business development at Fortune 500 companies (Dun & Bradstreet, Ceridian) and small technology companies (Medicus, MindLeaders). He was VP of Editorial and Production at Cengage Learning, one of the largest educational publishers in the U.S.

When not overseeing development for Best Money Moves, Carroll lives outside of Detroit with his wife Susan, their son Ian, their two cats Stormy and Marshmallow and an attic full of dinosaur fossils and rare books.

Angus, explain Best Money Moves in one sentence.

Best Money Moves helps people reclaim control of their finances by creating a budget, paying down their debt and saving for their future.

How did you get involved with Best Money Moves?

Well, BMM didn’t come out of the blue. It’s the brainchild of Ilyce Glink, a personal finance expert and consumer advocate with more than 20 years of experience helping people take control of their financial future, as seen in her best-selling book, 100 Questions every First-Time Home Buyer Should Ask (now celebrating it’s 4th edition). She knows how to talk to people about their money.

I met Ilyce while we were working on a project for Medicare. We liked working together and made a great team. We knew there was more we could accomplish when it came to financial wellness, so we built a career successfully managing financial wellness projects for large companies. But, everyone we worked for was trying to use financial wellness to sell something as opposed to just helping people. There was no platform on the market that provided financial advice without a sales pitch – so we built one ourselves.

Why is Best Money Moves the best personal financial wellness platform?

Ilyce’s background as a finance expert along with my experience building online services has helped us create a best-in-class product. We believe that financial wellness is something that every employer should provide to their employee, and now they can – at an affordable price. Our content is unbiased and focused entirely on helping people make better decisions. No ads, no “special offers” – it’s all about quality content and guidance.

Are there any new features or milestones on the horizon for Best Money Moves?

Yes there are! Mid-year we’ll make it possible to choose to link your Best Money Moves account to your personal bank account and credit cards. That way, you can view a complete picture of your spending. In March, we’ll be releasing another optional feature allowing users to access their credit score – completely free – and import it to their Best Money Moves account. We are very excited about these new features and how they’ll help complete the journey towards financial wellness.

What’s most exciting about the growth of Best Money Moves to date?

The best part is seeing how engaged our users have been with the product. One of our customers has nearly 50 percent of their employees actively engaging with Best Money Moves. That’s extraordinary. This means people are getting real value from our product.

Where do you think your growth will be next year?

We’ve just hired two account executives and they’re off to an incredible start – they’ve had immediate success. I think they are going to be the key to our growth in 2018, selling into medium to large businesses.

If you weren’t building Best Money Moves, what would you be doing?

I would be digging dinosaurs! A friend of mine owns a museum and I join his team in the field whenever possible. I usually go at least once a year, for a week or so to dig with them in the badlands of Montana, Wyoming and South Dakota. A week is about all I can stand – the food is horrible in the field!

Why is now the best time for Best Money Moves?

Companies are realizing how significant of an effect that employee financial stress has on their bottom line. Financially stressed employees have higher rates of lost productivity and absenteeism and even higher healthcare costs than employees who are without financial stress. It just makes sense to provide tools to help employees lower their financial stress – and that’s exactly what Best Money Moves does.

Is Protecting Confidential Employee Data A Priority For Your Company?

by Nicole Smith | Feb 13, 2018 | Blog

In this week’s Best Money Moves roundup, we take a look at news stories and new research studies that may impact employee benefits and HR issues. We hope you find this news roundup helpful, and we’d love your feedback.

Is protecting confidential employee data a priority for your company?

Today, confidential data is at a higher risk of being stolen than ever before. A data security breach can quickly lead to identity theft, creating a chain-reaction of ever-growing problems.

Identity theft is not just stressful for your workforce, it costs your business money. More than half of identity theft victims reported missed time from work. Did you know that work-related stress leads to lost productivity, higher rates of turnover, lowered levels of financial wellness and even puts your employees at a greater risk for significant health problems?

Safeguarding your workforce from identity theft is a constant battle. Stay vigilant when collecting (and storing) sensitive employee data and stay informed on the latest and most innovative cyber-security options.

Show your employees you care about employee data with these five strategic steps.

The Equifax hack may be worse than previously reported. Last year’s hack affected 145 million Americans. In addition to Social security numbers, birth dates, driver’s license numbers and addresses, it is now being reported that tax identification numbers and driver’s license issuance dates were also stolen.

Hackers are stealing your identity – here’s what you need to know

Small business owners need to know about Amazon Web Services. AWS provides software to not only large corporations, but also to small businesses who may be seeking a way to offload software and infrastructure management.

Why your small business may benefit from AWS

Companies understand that happier and healthier employees are more productive. Improving their benefits will help retain your workforce and is much less expensive than raising salaries. With this year’s tax cut, companies are starting to spend a bit more on employee perks – do you know which employee benefits your team wants?

Which perks are the best perks after the new tax cut?

#MeToo hasn’t lessened harassment on professional social media sites. Since October 2017, there’s been a “public reckoning over workplace sexual assault and harassment.” So, why is it still pervasive? Why are inappropriate messages (still) being sent on professional networking sites? Are your employees receiving (or sending) harassing correspondence?

How to deal with cyber-harassers and their victims

Can tax reform influence defined benefit funding decisions? How will these benefit funding decisions impact pension management strategies? If your company is in the midst of figuring out how tax reform will affect everything related to short and long-term spending options, here are four steps that can help guide you – and your decision making.

2018’s tax reform and your company’s spending decisions

Are you attempting to build a diverse and inclusive workplace? We certainly hope so! Here are the most impactful recruiting trends when you want to recruit for diversity, inclusion, and social fit. Do you need to completely overhaul your company culture?

Refresh your selection criteria for an inclusive workplace

Color, texture, technology and atmosphere. These aren’t necessarily the words you think of when imagining positive affectivity and productivity in an office space. But, workplaces have come a long way – investing in person-friendly work environments improves efficiency, enhances productivity and inspires innovation.

Top workplace design trends for 2018

Employee Privacy in 2018: 5 Ways to Show Your Employees You Care About their Data

by Leah Rosen | Feb 12, 2018 | Blog

Protecting employee privacy is more important in 2018 than ever before. Show your employees you care about employee data with these five strategic steps.

It’s simply assumed that the confidential employee data workers share with their employers will remain exactly that: confidential. But if you’re collecting employee data in any capacity, that data is at risk of a security breach, potentially leading to identity theft.

Sixty-four percent of all Americans have experienced a breach in their personal data, according to a study conducted by the Pew Research Center, and about half of Americans feel that employee privacy is less secure now than it has been in years past.

What’s worse, identity theft resulting from stolen employee data isn’t just stressful for your workforce, it’s expensive for your business. Fifty-five percent of identity theft victims reported missed time from work, 39 percent of these victims cited an inability to concentrate or focus while at work and an overwhelming 74 percent cited an increase in their overall level of stress, according to a recent survey of identity theft victims conducted by the Identity Theft Resource Center. In addition to absenteeism, stress at work leads to lost productivity among staff, a higher rate of employee turnover and even puts your employees at a greater risk for a number of significant stress-related health problems.

These days, it may seem as though a data breach is an inevitable risk for your company, but there are strategic steps you can take to protect against criminals accessing your sensitive data.

1. Be clear with your workforce about which employee data you need to access and which data your employees should keep private.
Generally, employers have the right to access and own anything their employees do, say or record on company property or while on company time. Bottom line: make your company’s privacy policy explicitly clear in comprehensive written agreements, HR workshops, employee handbooks or even pop-up warnings on any monitored devices. Ensure that any employee benefits platforms that collect sensitive information – including retirement or financial wellness – do the same. When employees have a clear understanding of what information their employers have access to and what the information is used for, they can better protect the information they divulge. It’s also important that employees understand why these privacy policies are necessary.

2. Use the best data security for the information you keep.
Data from an employee’s computer may help you monitor office productivity, while information about your employees’ average length of employment can help with turnover predictability. You can also use data about employee health or employee finances to help you choose the best benefits programs for your team. Access to this information brings the responsibility of implementing strong security protocols for the safeguarding of employee – and employer – privacy. Work with your data security team to establish best practices for handling internet usage and document storage or destruction of confidential employee data. Limit the time your employees spend on unsecured networks and opt for a private, secure network when dealing with company and employee data. Encrypting all messaging done on company time and property should be a default practice, but utilizing multi-factor authentication adds another layer of safety.

3. Know how your benefits providers handle your employee’s information.
Your company might be handling your employee’s data with care, but what about your third-party employee benefits providers who have access to sensitive employee information about retirement, healthcare and financial wellness? Work with benefits providers that meet your business’ security standards and reevaluate them regularly. Assess what your vendors have access to and limit it to what is absolutely necessary. Look for a retirement or financial wellness provider who can anonymize sensitive information about your employees’ finances. Put your company’s confidentiality requirements in writing. Be transparent with your expectations and only use vendors that comply with company security and privacy protocols and who are willing to submit to regular auditing.

4. Encourage your employees to take an interest in their own privacy.
Employee error is the number one reason for company-wide data breaches, according to research from the Association for Corporate Counsel. Ensuring that individual employees are practicing safe data management can ensure the safety of your company at large. Helping your workforce understand that employee privacy is valuable (and vulnerable) is your first line of defense. Host company-wide workshops with IT professionals to bring everyone on the same page.

5. Stop thinking of employee privacy as a one-time problem.
Criminals are constantly finding new ways to access sensitive employee data. Staying on top of employee privacy isn’t a one-time activity, it’s something that requires constant review and regular maintenance. As quickly as technology improves, criminals find new strategies for stealing employee data.

Safeguarding your workforce from identity theft is a constant battle, but it’s one your company can accomplish by staying vigilant about how you handle sensitive employee data. Stay informed on the ever-growing online privacy landscape in order to take the correct steps in securing the privacy your company’s and employees’ data.

Mastering the High Stakes Benefits of Employee Financial Wellness

by Nicole Smith | Feb 7, 2018 | Blog

More employers recognize that financial wellness is table stakes for employees. What has also become apparent is that simply providing a 401(k) and retirement planning advice isn’t enough to reduce the financial stress almost all employees feel. Your employees need more.

Many employees struggle with paying down debt. They often have significant, unreimbursed, medical expenses or may be experiencing other financial hardships. This means they don’t always have the option to set aside funds for retirement, and have to “opt-out” of employer-sponsored savings plans simply because they can’t afford it..

From the employer’s point of view, adding one more benefit to an increasingly expensive pot might seem like a waste of money, especially if the employee benefits you’re providing aren’t being fully utilized.

But when it comes to financial wellness, the calculus is different. Forty-nine percent of employees feel that their workplace productivity would increase if their employer-sponsored benefits included financial planning programs in addition to existing retirement savings assistance. While retirement planning benefits are important, they don’t come close to capturing the full financial wellness needs of your workforce. Employees with financial security are much more motivated and focused at work.

In this week’s blog post, we run down the reasons that:

Financial Wellness Is About More Than Just Retirement Planning Advice

Do you feel like workplace financial wellness is out of reach? Ideally, financial wellness programs will lower health costs, enhance productivity, boost employee engagement and reduce employee absenteeism and turnover. Often, the only barrier is getting employees to try something new.

How to improve workplace financial wellness

Is your onboarding process thorough enough? If your onboarding process goes beyond basic training to include “acculturation,” then it probably isn’t. Whether it’s for new hires or internal transfers, when you consider the amount of time, staffing and money that goes into your onboarding process, shouldn’t it be fully comprehensive?

The importance of expanding your onboarding process – across the board

Positive investments in small businesses is driving economic growth. Small business investments continued to grow at the end of 2017 as payment delinquencies and defaults remained low. However, some warning signs in financial health are starting to emerge.

Small business investments – what you need to know

How do you know if your corporate wellness program is successful? The answer is much more nuanced than simple numbers and charts although those are important as well. Beyond standard metrics, a successful program will show employees with more energy, enthusiasm, productivity, creativity, higher engagement and lower absenteeism.

Here’s why financial wellness goes beyond numbers

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act has altered two important tax breaks for homeowners. Homeowners with large mortgages and home equity loans should be paying attention to the new tax laws, as there are new limits on deductions for state and local taxes. There are fine details that you should read about to see how they’ll affect you – and your employees.

The new tax law may affect you more than you think

Is there a magic number that tells you how much to save for retirement? Or a magic 8-ball that tells you what to do with your retirement investments when the market drops? Unfortunately, magic won’t help you save for retirement. But, planning, saving, thinking outside of the box, doing a lot of research and speaking with an expert just might.

Your retirement savings goes beyond a market dip

Have something to add? Email info@bestmoneymoves.com.

Employee Student Loan Debt: 10 Things You Need To Know, Part Two

by Leah Rosen | Jan 30, 2018 | Blog

Employee student loan debt: 10 things you need to know, part two. The student loan debt crisis isn’t going away. This is what employers need to know about it.

This article is the second part of a series on 10 Things Employers Need to Know About Student Loan Debt. Catch up with Part One, here.

Americans owe a combined $1.4 trillion in student loan debt — and employers are starting to feel the burden of that enormous debt. The vast majority of employees are financially stressed, and they are less focused, less engaged and less productive than those without debt and are more likely to take one a second job or skip work due to a stress-related illness.

The student loan debt crisis isn’t going away, but there are ways you help your employees cope with their financial stress and get back to work. Here are 10 important things you need to know about student loan debt and the struggle your employees are facing in paying it back:

6. Student loan debt is not a millennials-only problem.

Younger employees aren’t the only ones dealing with the stress of student loan debt. In fact, 2.8 million Americans aged 60 and older carry outstanding student loans from their own college education. This number is up significantly from 2005, where only 700,000 Americans in this age group carried outstanding loans. Your older employees may be struggling to repay debt from continuing education or are possibly paying off debt from sending a child or grandchild to school.

7. Stress over student loan debt is keeping your employees from major life milestones.

Millennials graduating with student loans are more interested in paying off their loan debt than they are in homeownership, getting married or having children. A study by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York has found that having student loan debt decreases homeownership at every level of higher education. Indebted millennials also less likely to set aside money for retirement or build an emergency fund, creating further vulnerability, possible additional financial debt and significant stress into the future.

8. Stress over student loan debt is making your employees sick.

Over half of young workers with student loan debt worry about it constantly, according to American Student Assistance, a nonprofit specializing in helping consumers finance their higher education. Stressing about massive debt isn’t just an emotional strain, it can also cause significant physical ailments from occasional headaches or gastrointestinal problems, to more chronic conditions such as high blood pressure or depression and anxiety.

9. Most employees wish they had more information about repaying student loan debt, they just don’t know where to look.

Repayment options for student loan debt are often complicated and difficult for consumers to navigate on their own. With private loans, interest rates and monthly payments can change with little to no warning. Certain options, like consolidation or forgiveness, often requires knowledge of how to make negotiations with whoever holds the loan. Don’t let your employees feel overwhelmed by their debt – employers hold a unique ability to help their employees manage their student loan debt and help build their financial literacy.

10. Most employees want their employers to provide them with resources on student loan debt.

Employees already rely on their Human Resources departments for information on workplace safety, benefits and managing retirement plans. Increasingly, they are looking to their employer and HR team to provide debt counseling, financial tools and management options and overall financial wellness. By offering debt counseling and financial literacy services, you show your employees that you understand the financial challenges they face paying back student debt and are invested in their wellbeing. Your employees will not only feel happier to work for an employer who cares about their wellness; as their financial wellbeing grows and their student loan debt decreases, your employees will be healthier, more present, more productive, and ready stick with your company for the long term.

Financial literacy and financial planning are key to reducing financial stress, student loan debt and creating financial wellness. The first step, however, is knowing how to get there. For your employees, student loan debt affects their ability to plan for the future and build productive and meaningful relationships. For employers, it means being able to attract and hold on to talented employees. Consider who in your workforce might be affected by significant student loan debt. The cost of a higher education shouldn’t cost your company a good work force and it shouldn’t hold your employees back from planning their future.

To get the complete picture about student loan debt and your employees, be sure to read Part One of this article here.