Continually improving the perks helps financial advice and investment firm OpenMoney provide their people with a work-life balance that suits them, says Clair Staines, group people director.
It will be no surprise to anyone that the cost-of-living crisis and retaining our people are the biggest challenges for our organisation right now.
At OpenMoney, we strive to create an inclusive, positive workplace that thrives on collaboration and innovation. We’re continually improving the perks we offer our people to make sure they have a work-life balance that suits them, feel empowered and inspired, and secure in their role.
People Perks
Back in June, we launched People Perks, which breaks down our offering into four key features:
- Financial Freedom – making sure our people are paid fairly and can make the most of their money.
- Life Balance – We never want work to get in the way of life. This perk offers flexible working, to allow staff to create a life balance that works for them.
- Satisfy Curiosity – Feeling inspired leads our people to greater innovation. These perks are built to make sure our people are continually learning new skills and developing their career.
- Collaborative Community – these perks help our people feel part of a bigger team, whether they’re working from home or in the office.
Trialing a shorter workweek
With the launch of People Perks, we also trialed a 4.5-day working week which was very successful and allowed our people to have a better life balance. We saw no dip in productivity across OpenMoney, which was the key metric that was measured, and at the same time, we saw a 50% reduction in sickness absence.
At OpenMoney we regularly review pay and benefits and don’t wait till the end of the year to approve pay rises and promotions. We ensure that we have honest conversations with our people about their career paths and what is required to move forward.
Helping our people through the cost-of-living crisis
We give our people access to a benefits platform called WorkLife, which offers numerous benefits across five pillars of wellbeing (financial, mental, environment, physical and social).
These benefits include financial coaching, mortgage advice, retail discounts, discounted home insurance, along with critical illness and income protection, a health cash plan and discounted bikes and gym memberships.
But we also go above and beyond this to help our people through the cost-of-living crisis and add additional benefits to support our people’s financial wellbeing, including:
- Giving all staff £100 ASDA vouchers every month, which we have committed to until March 2023.
- Access to a bonus scheme of up to 10%, which is based on monthly performance reviews, where each person gets a performance score for the month. This can be used to recognise and reward someone when they have gone above and beyond on a project.
- Delivering workshops on how to deal with the cost-of-living crisis, and how the markets are impacting first-time buyers, etc.
Caring and retaining our people
I care about our people. I want them to feel OpenMoney is a place where they feel supported, learn a lot, and enjoy their time here. I understand that it is likely our people will move on to other organisations throughout their careers, but I want it to be a career highlight on their CV. Creating this environment is what I enjoy the most about my role. And not only could it help retain our people, but help share a good message about us as employers.
For anyone starting a career in our profession, I will share what my mentor shared with me “measure it twice and cut it once”. This piece of advice has ensured that my recommendations are fully thought through and relevant.
About OpenMoney
OpenMoney’s purpose is to make financial advice affordable and accessible for everyone. The organisation – which has around 100 people situated across the UK - provides honest and expert financial advice and because of its extensive use of technology, customer costs are kept low. Find out more: www.open-money.co.uk
