Financial education for employees has always been a top priority for the University of Lincoln. At the height of the Covid-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic, the organisation launched a new portal to ensure that employees have access to sources of financial education during this time of uncertainty.
The website, Lifechoice, was launched in March 2020 due to the cancellation of in-person events and aims to educate employees about financial wellbeing and pension savings. Through the website, employees can access webinars, articles and walk-throughs on how they can better manage their finances and savings.
Natasha McLaren, pensions and benefits manager at University of Lincoln, says: “Since Coronavirus happened, finances have been at the front of many people’s minds, so the site that we introduced helped employees to understand how they can better manage their finances during a disruption.”
To further support employees through the pandemic, in June the university introduced a microsite called Homehub to specifically address the health and wellbeing issues that employees may face working from home, during and after the pandemic, and how to best deal with these situations. The site also includes a section focusing on financial wellbeing.
“More so than ever people are thinking more about their finances,” says McLaren. “These lessons have given people a buffer to rethink their finances and better understand what their situation could look like if they fall into a similar situation.”
This has encouraged employees to access the website more often, demonstrating a shift towards the workforce being more transparent about financial education, says Rosie Damarell, engagement and wellbeing advisor at University of Lincoln.
“It’s reinforced the point about how important savings are for everyone and the platform we introduced has done that for employees at the university,” she explains.
“With employees working from home, the feedback we have been getting has been really positive. They have more flexibility to use it and therefore have more of a chance to be educated.”