Financial Health

A 2017 CareerBuilder survey showed that 78 percent of U.S. workers live paycheck to paycheck to make ends meet.  Nearly three in four workers confess that they are in debt.

These statistics came out even before COVID-19 upended our world, and I am sure they paint a far rosier picture of the state of today’s workforce and their fragile financial health.

As an employer, Dasher believes that workplace productivity correlates with issues impacting our employees outside of the workplace.  Therefore, we know that our team’s financial problems are instantly our financial problems.  When our associates worry about their financial struggles, that worry will undoubtedly affect their quality of work, erode their morale, and limit productivity.

Interestingly, annual compensation, gender and education are not indicators of whether an employee will have financial problems.  Anyone can be financially illiterate.

How SmartDollar® Helps

The SmartDollar® system of customized videos and financial tracking teaches a seven-step financial literacy plan of “baby steps.”  Regardless of age or income, the money management program teaches our team members how to start melting the debt snowball.  Twenty-three percent of the American paycheck goes to pay off debt, the program notes, and that position is untenable for families struggling to live happy, healthy lives.

The program allows most team members to pay off debt in two years or less, through behavior changes, incentives, structured savings and more.

We based our program on Financial Peace University, pioneered by Dave Ramsey and used by churches to help congregants achieve financial stability.  Ramsey’s program did so well in the church setting that businesses adopted the idea.

In the corporate world, Financial Peace University evolved to become the secular, SmartDollar® program.

Team members frequently can save $100 a week without feeling a difference at all in what they can buy or how they live. They receive tips on avoiding impulse buying, how to look for sales, use coupons and more to become solvent.

Studies also show that more than three in 10 Americans do not have money to pay for an unexpected expense. We have turned again to Dave Ramsey’s model to help team members save at least $1,000 for emergencies.

Team members can ask Dasher to automatically take a certain amount from their paycheck to build their emergency fund. When team members show us their statement, we match their contributions.

We make sure our teammates never feel pressured to take part. But we also make sure they know we are here to help, and back it up by offering tools to assist them in reaching and maintaining financial stability.

We’ve seen the proof that financially secure team members can better focus on their work and feel good about where they are, as our low turnover bares out. In short, we believe our SmartDollar® program is not only the right thing to do, its smart business.

Dasher is a data-driven, customer contact services operation with a focus on communicating complex messages to diverse populations. Specific capabilities include face-to-face communications provided by our field teams, customer engagement strategies provided by our call center and member engagement staff, and secure, complex, variable mailing services provided by our production team. Dasher is an experienced Minority, Women and Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (MWDBE) with a bestselling book, “The Talent Pool,” and is certified by AICPA with the SOC2^SM Type2 data certification and validation.