Why Energize is embracing financial wellbeing during the Cost of Living crisis

The Energize Group is the parent company to four award-winning brands providing permanent and freelance staffing solutions. Central to their success has been the creation of The Energize Way: ThinkBig, Do The Right Thing, Have Fun, Celebrate Success, and Hard Work Works.

The company has grown a culture of high performance and professional development, and was recognised as one of the UK’s Best Companies to Work for last year.

As part of this professional development, Melanie Ross (HR Manager at Energize Group) is always looking for new ways to make sure staff are happy. “When people are happy, they are more motivated, and of course you see better results,” says Melanie. “They’re going to be more successful, which is great for their career and helps our business grow.”

“I came across a few other providers but they were quite dry and expensive. They offered one-off sessions on a particular topic, but this wasn’t enough for us. If someone wasn’t facing that particular challenge then it wouldn’t work for them.”

Recognising the importance of good financial wellbeing during a Cost of Living crisis

Employee wellbeing has always been an important part of Energize’s culture. Last year the company began to formalise its wellbeing plan and saw how important financial wellbeing had become.

Melanie explains: “When I first looked at financial wellbeing I researched lots of different options. We didn’t have a big budget at that stage and so we did some free sessions with a financial advisor about mortgages and savings. We found another person who did a session on debt and budgeting. And then another person spoke about health and life insurance.”

“These sessions were the most popular we had ever run. That was when we realised how important financial wellbeing was to everyone, and what a massive difference it could make. Especially with the current cost of living crisis.”

 

Why Energize wanted independent financial wellbeing support

Melanie continues: “We’ve set up employee resource groups to look at a range of issues – including diversity and inclusion, and charity. But with financial wellbeing, this is an area that it’s difficult for us to do internally.”

“We wanted to make it independent. Not least because there are risks around providing financial guidance if you’re not fully qualified. This is what led us to Bippit.”

“I came across a few other providers but they were quite dry and expensive. They offered one-off sessions on a particular topic, but this wasn’t enough for us. If someone wasn’t facing that particular challenge then it wouldn’t work for them.”

“When I had a demo of Bippit I kept thinking: I’ve not seen anything like this before. This is amazing.”

“the app is great and the support is personalised to each employee. Everyone’s got their own financial coach who they can speak to whenever they need some help or guidance.”

What attracted Energize to Bippit’s solution

Bippit is an entirely independent organisation. There are no hidden agendas to upsell other financial services, and the support provided is completely impartial, which means all employees get the risk-free support they deserve.

Melanie adds: “With Bippit, the app is great and the support is personalised to each employee. Everyone’s got their own financial coach who they can speak to whenever they need some help or guidance.”

“With financial wellbeing, this is an area that it’s difficult for us to do internally. We wanted to make it independent. Not least because there are risks around providing financial guidance if you’re not fully qualified. This is what led us to Bippit.”

“The platform is so user-friendly and impressive with all the data and insights you get. It’s easy to access whenever people need it, and it also gives us different webinars and information so our people can build their knowledge over time.”

“Bippit does everything we want, and more really. It takes away all the organising and admin we used to do. It’s far more efficient and frees up our time in HR. I could have paid for lots of one-off webinars, but with Bippit you get so much extra value.”

Using Bippit to keep teams happy and attract talent

Employees are twice as likely to leave an organisation when they’re anxious about their finances. Keeping staff happy and heard is key to retaining them and combating the Great Resignation. This is something that was especially important to Melanie and Energize.

Melanie explains: “We’re growing quickly at the moment, with the aim of trebling our size by 2025. We need to stand out from the competition, attract top talent, and be the best company to work for.”

“The competition to hire is fierce, and we don’t have an unlimited budget to spend, so we have to prioritise what people want most and what’s important to them.”

“Bippit is now a big part of our strategy to attract and retain talent. It will help us stand out from other recruitment companies and show people that we genuinely care about them and how they’re supported.”

“I’ve already had feedback from people saying they’re really excited about Bippit. They’ll see how comprehensive it is, how seriously we’re taking their financial wellbeing, and I think the platform will blow them away.”

Free support for your own business

Along with the likes of HelloFresh and Beam, IDHL is one of the many companies benefitting from Bippit’s all-in-one financial wellbeing platform.

Want to improve your team’s financial health? Book a free Financial Wellbeing Lunch & Learn for your workplace.

 

 

Why IDHL was attracted to Bippit’s independent financial support

IDHL is one of the fastest-growing digital groups in the UK. Made up of nine connected digital agencies – in five locations and with 400 experts working for them – the company has won numerous awards in recent years.

Their aim is to be the most innovative, creative, and complete digital partner for clients. To do that, IDHL believes they have a responsibility to look after their team’s potential and happiness. This is why employee wellbeing is such a big area of focus for the company.

Kari Munro, Group Head of People at IDHL Group, explains: “As a group we want to offer an array of benefits that spans different areas of employee wellbeing, and as part of that we wanted to enhance our financial wellbeing offering”.

“Financial pressures and uncertainty are causing a lot of anxiety in today’s working environment. Money worries can have a serious affect on a team’s wellbeing and stress, and we want to play our part in reducing them. This is where financial education comes in, and why we turned to Bippit for support.”

“We looked at other financial wellbeing platforms but there was always a catch. This is why Bippit’s ongoing coaching and support was so attractive.”

Why financial wellbeing matters so much to IDHL

Kari continues: “Good financial support can alleviate stress and improve productivity, which is why we wanted to offer our staff financial wellbeing support that complimented our mental and physical wellbeing programme.”

“In addition to financially supporting our employees, we want to give them the tools to manage and enhance their finances over the long term.”

This is why Kari wanted IDHL to adopt a financial wellbeing platform that could coach each employee, and be there to provide support when people needed it.

“We wanted our team to have independent expert support. Coaching that would really help them take control of their finances and be comfortable managing them.”

 

What attracted IDHL to Bippit?

Bippit is an entirely independent organisation. Every employee gets one-to-one access to a financial coach who is a qualified professional with many years of training and experience.

Coaches don’t have a hidden agenda to upsell other financial services, meaning all employees get the risk-free and impartial support they deserve. It was this independence that Kari was so keen on.

“We looked at other financial wellbeing platforms but there was always a catch. For example they might recommend third-party services off the back of conversations with our people. We didn’t like that as we didn’t want our people feeling obliged to use those services.”

“We’ve got many people on different financial journeys, so the fact that Bippit gives you a specialist based on your needs and what you want to achieve is huge.”

“We wanted our team to have independent expert support. Coaching that would really help them take control of their finances and be comfortable managing them. This is why Bippit’s ongoing coaching and support was so attractive. It’s not just a one-off. It’s a constant relationship.”

“The Bippit dashboard is also great. You can connect all of your bank accounts and organise your financial journey in one place. The platform helps you get into the detail of managing your money properly without the need for complex spreadsheets and things like that.”

How Bippit will help IDHL with hiring and retention

81% of millennials want to work for a company that cares about their financial wellbeing, and for IDHL, adopting Bippit was all about investing in employees.

“There are a number of reasons why, as a business, we want to give everyone access to Bippit. Obviously it’s to make our people happy, but equally we know that taking away stress can improve focus, productivity and engagement.”

“The tech market is very competitive when it comes to retaining talent and hiring. We need to go beyond just a salary and look at our complete offering.”

“We want to attract talent, retain our people, and alleviate financial stress. With uncertain times ahead, and the current cost of living crisis, Bippit is a way for us to try and allay some of our team’s financial fears.”

“Having specialist financial support will boost people’s mental health and that, in turn, will help them sleep better or concentrate more. Installing Bippit, and taking financial wellbeing so seriously, really will have a huge impact on our team’s lives and our business’ success.”

Free support for your own business

Along with the likes of HelloFresh and Beam, IDHL is one of the many companies benefitting from Bippit’s all-in-one financial wellbeing platform.

Want to improve your team’s financial health? Book a free Financial Wellbeing Lunch & Learn for your workplace.

 

 

How Suvera is using Bippit to invest in their people and business

Suvera is a healthcare company that allows general practices to follow up virtually with patients and assist with long-term conditions.

Their extremely diverse team is located across three continents, and they help support over 3,000 patients in primary care today. Their mission is to keep people in good health, a mission that extends both to those who use the product, and those who build it. Their team.

Ryzard Akita, Suvera’s Co-Founder and Head of Design, explains: “We recently introduced a new set of company values. As a company we’re always trying to look ahead, and positive wellbeing (whether mental, physical or financial) is a huge part of that. It helps us retain and attract the best talent.”

“We look at our team’s wellbeing a lot. But I don’t think many companies focus on financial wellbeing.”

“We wanted to better educate our team on money, but when we first started looking at financial wellbeing our approach was very static. We brought in a few companies and we offered discounts and such things. But then we realised we had to make our wellbeing programme more flexible.”

This is when Suvera turned to Bippit.

“It’s very affordable as a perk, but it also adds a lot of value. When we first introduced the team to Bippit’s platform, the reactions to it far exceeded those for other perks we’ve previously offered.”

Why Suvera needed a flexible approach to financial wellbeing

Ryzard continues: “Our team has a budget for wellbeing and education. They decide what they want to do with it as we don’t want to put anyone in one box. Our perks need to be flexible, but we also want them to be comprehensive and support everyone. This is why we looked at Bippit for the whole organisation.”

“Everyone is aware of their finances, whether they’re trying to save up for a house, having a child, or about to get married. We all need access to financial support which is why Bippit seemed like a really worthwhile investment.”

“It’s very affordable as a perk, but it also adds a lot of value. When we first introduced the team to Bippit’s platform, the reactions to it far exceeded those for other perks we’ve previously offered.”

“As a company we can trust the financial support being offered to our people as it’s from true professionals.”

 

How Suvera hopes Bippit will help both their people and the company

According to PwC, 88% of employees say they want support from an impartial financial expert. This is why Bippit’s platform, and support from their professional coaches, is so popular. They can deal with queries about pension schemes, equity plans, taxation, insurance cover, and many other areas.

“The platform will help us create a more comfortable working environment so people aren’t bottling up any stresses that impact them on a day-to-day basis.”

Ryzard adds: “A platform like Bippit is not something I had access to when I started my career. I was paid a salary and that was it. There was no support around managing or understanding money.”

“At Suvera we recognise that people may not feel comfortable bringing their financial stresses to us, but those stresses will impact their work.”

“Bippit will be their outlet to get support, feel good about their money, and plan for the future. The platform will help us create a more comfortable working environment so people aren’t bottling up any stresses that impact them on a day-to-day basis.”

“This will help us retain talent and give everyone peace of mind. We want our team to grow and progress, both in their career and outside of it. Understanding how to manage money is a big part of that.”

“Bippit is an investment in our people, but also an investment in our business.”

Free support for your own business

Along with the likes of HelloFresh and Beam, Suvera is one of the many companies benefitting from Bippit’s all-in-one financial wellbeing platform.

Want to improve your team’s financial health? Book a free Financial Wellbeing Lunch & Learn for your workplace.