Human Resources Issues for Senior Management
Issue link: https://digital.hrreporter.com/i/747024
10/CANADIAN HR STRATEGY And through word-of-mouth, we've started to get more enqui- ries and a little bit more demand for it, so it's very interesting to see how you can have a little tidal shift occur through word-of- mouth as well when there's good experiences." Cineplex has made a real determination to keep general programs as simple as possible, says Briant. Many years ago, it switched from a de ned bene t to a de ned contribution pen- sion plan. And a couple of years ago, it switched to a group RSP. "We felt that while there's always a painful transition year that, at the end of the day, employees would be better-served with a plan that they already had frequently a general, intuitive understanding of, just from the external marketplace," she says. "We could make it simpler for ourselves in not having the whole actuarial level of detail and reporting level of detail that's required in the pension plan. And they're just simpler plans to understand and of course have a degree of affordability that in today's economy, employees really value… I think you up your chances of participation if it's something that employees can easily understand and make a simple choice about, rather than trying to sort of drive them to the well to learn more." Another option is welcome programs for employees. A few years back, Economical introduced one in partnership with its provider, says Buchanan. "We wanted to stem that sort of behaviour, that lull or that lack of information, that gap when they start," she says. "So they're very much engaged from day one in the programs that we offer and knowing the age and stage that that individual is at — it could be somebody who's just entering the workforce, it could somebody who is well-established in their career, so they have different needs... they make the connection right away with the provider and they also have access to additional re- sources, whether that be investment advice and/or a nancial advisor as well. So (it's about) really making that commitment to them the minute they walk through the door and having an understanding of those resources that are available." Sun Life also introduced a welcome solution program that's had an incredible impact, says Daniels, adding it can be done over the phone, with little paperwork to confuse people. "What it's translated to is a bit of a tiered approach in terms of contribution scales," he says, adding many employees are now contributing at the maximum. "A lot of that was because of the implementation of this reach-out program when people are rst enrolled. So that way, they're in from the gates and then it's a matter of just furthering their learning, so it can be incredibly powerful if the employees have nothing to do but to say yes or no over the phone. I think it's that path of least resistance — people are always looking for that and it's an easy way to get en- rolled." GAUGING KNOWLEDGE What would also be helpful would be some kind of question- naire that assesses a person's nancial situation, says Daniels. behaviour, with their nances, with their perception of their - nances," he says. "If they have a better understanding of how they're manag- ing and dealing with their money, if we change how they think about their money and get them to start seeing their money in a different way, then we can start in uencing the change, in uencing the behaviour that can then lead to them getting rid of their debt, putting money into these savings programs and giving them the con dence to then go and sit down with that advisor… to do that." One successful program by Sun Life involved nancial advi- sors as part of nancial literacy campaign, says Daniels, where people could log in to book an appointment. "What's interesting is when we bring the advisor to the peo- ple, they generally go. And it's all surrounding the heightened awareness of this nancial literacy for this 30-day period." Workshops on cash ow planning were also popular, he says. "People that entered the program… didn't quite understand 100 per cent what it was. When they exited the event, they were really surprised and they found it incredibly valuable. "IF WE CHANGE HOW THEY THINK ABOUT THEIR MONEY, WE CAN INFLUENCE THE CHANGE."