Astrid & Miyu is on a mission to revolutionise the jewellery experience.

In an industry that’s largely defined by luxury price points or mass production, and stale or impersonal experiences, theirs is a company that wants to do things differently.

Central to this, is a passion for working as a team to break down boundaries, learn together, and grow together. Alexia Aronsten, People and Culture Director at Astrid & Miyu, explains: “we want to support our people holistically. We cannot ask them to flourish at work if they’re not flourishing in their personal lives.”

“Mental health is a huge conversation in our workplace, and the link between mental and financial health is very, very close. So much stress comes from poor financial wellbeing. The problem is, that unless you have financially savvy friends or family, we often don’t receive the education needed to manage our finances.”

The power of financial support in the retail industry

Last year Astrid & Miyu ran an employee engagement survey to gather feedback, and financial wellbeing came up as the company’s number one challenge. This was unsurprising, as Alexia describes…

“Most of our young workforce is in London and in entry-level roles. The retail industry doesn’t pay huge amounts, which makes living in one of the most expensive cities in the world a real struggle.”

"We’ve benchmarked everyone’s pay but I think pay rises in themselves aren’t always the fix. They provide motivation for a short amount of time but their novelty soon wears off once people have adjusted to a new salary and lifestyle.”

“We want to make sure our staff are supported in managing their money effectively and have the guidance they need. We want to help them make their salary go further.”

This is why Alexia turned to Bippit’s financial wellbeing platform.

“Unlike other platforms, all of Bippit’s coaches are qualified financial experts and the platform caters to all types of learning.

The importance of variety and control

Bippit can improve an employee’s financial literacy through a wide array of supportive features, such as tailored educational resources, goal setting, analytics, webinars, or expert one-to-one coaching. It’s this variety that appealed to Alexia.

“Unlike other platforms, all of Bippit’s coaches are qualified financial experts and the platform caters to all types of learning. Some of our team will want to learn through reading, some through webinars, and others through personal coaching. Bippit provides all of those options."

“Bippit’s pricing model also puts us in control. We don’t pay per coaching session, but just per person. It means we have a better idea on what to budget for and we don’t have to limit people’s sessions.”

Breaking the taboo of financial conversations

In the past few years we’ve seen a huge, and vital, rise in conversations about mental health. There is less stigma surrounding it - both in our personal lives and at work.

Sadly, talking about money still remains one of society’s biggest taboos and that’s something Alexia wants to tackle. “It's rare that friends talk about money or how they’re doing financially. We want to make money part of the conversation.”

“It’s why Bippit’s monthly webinars are so brilliant. Our employees can see why they need financial support and how helpful it can be for them.”

“If I think back to my younger self, I wish I had had something like Bippit. It will have a big impact for our team quickly, and will make it much easier for everyone to manage their finances. As a company looking after people, that’s all you can ask for.”  

Want to improve your team’s financial health?

Along with the likes of Sipsmith and What3words, Astrid & Miyu is one of the many companies benefitting from Bippit’s all-in-one financial wellbeing platform.