401(k) Specialist Issue 3 - 2021 - 31

SEPTEMBER
ERIN HALL, Strategic Retirement Partners
Brainstorming for Better
Outcomes
ERIN HALL WAS PROUD of the metrics produced by a plan on which she recently worked,
yet one area of focus fueled her excitement-financial wellness-and how it turned into a
" usable tool " for participants.
The client had 194 active plan participants, and Hall, Managing Director at Strategic
Retirement Partners, noted their generosity. They instituted a match, paid all fees, and constantly
asked about how they could be more competitive and even more generous with their
employees.
" We brought them a financial wellness solution that engages with participants across multiple
mediums, " she explained. " Their crown jewel is a one-on-one financial coaching solution.
Participants can call in if they have an immediate need for help with a financial problem or
the other extreme if they want to plan for buying a house or getting out of debt. "
Financial wellness is typically promoted as a push to the employees, she added, but employees
need to take action in order to register for the service. Plan sponsors are reluctant
to auto-register their participants for several reasons, so they send push emails for them to
instead do it themselves.
" We implemented this program for just shy of 200 folks, but after almost a year, we only
had 26 go online to register, " Hall lamented. " Of those, 19 had specifically taken the next step
to say then needed help with something. Of those that registered, we had tremendous usage,
so the organization really wanted to improve that engagement. "
Hall and her team met with the organization's leadership to get more of an idea of what
would resonate with their particular employee population-maybe a contest, offering a carrot,
or holding a raffle. They had multiple locations, all of whom were extremely competitive
with each other.
" We ended up with a two-week registration campaign tracked by location, " she said. " We
helped to get a personalized video produced to get the word out and the plan sponsor was
really engaged. When the message is personalized and tailored to the organization, it makes a
big difference. "
At the end of the two-week campaign, there were 184 financial wellness registrations out
of 194 total participants. Of those, 31 people took the next step to get help with their financial
situation, which Hall said speaks to the power of having an engaged and committed plan
sponsor. The plan itself went from a 52% participation rate to a 95% participation rate from
2018 to 2020 and financial wellness was the next goal to accomplish.
" It was a perfect mix of the resources from our financial wellness partner, combined with
our input and brainstorming with the client about what motivated their employees, " Hall
concluded. " It's a template to use with other clients and proof that folks want and need this
assistance. It's a huge success story about which we're really proud. "
" When the
message is
personalized
and tailored to
the organization,
it makes a big
difference. "
Erin Hall, MBA, AIF®, C(k)P®, CPFA is
Managing Director with Strategic
Retirement Partners.
ISSUE 3 2021 | 401kSpecialist.com
31

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401(k) Specialist Issue 3 - 2021

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