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Free Workplace Seminars

by Magid Girgis on Sep 30, 2009

359 views

Are you looking for ways to enhance employee morale, improve productivity and save time? The unique services of Workplace Solutions can help you do exactly that. ...

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Are you looking for ways to enhance employee morale, improve productivity and save time? The unique services of Workplace Solutions can help you do exactly that.

This program will help your employees see how the elements of their finances work together so they can better see and manage their financial big picture. We can customize the program to your needs, and there are no fees for you or your employees.

You can offer any or all of the following services:

- information seminars
- individual financial consulting
- specialized services for executives
- assistance for terminating employees
- assistance for retiring employees.

To learn more about how Workplace Solutions can help your employees see the big picture, please contact me.

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Last updated December 2007. NOTE to presenter: This presentation has been created so advisors can use it whether or not they are the Advisor of Record (AOR) on the group plan and whether or not the group plan is with Sun Life Financial or another carrier. Presenter Script: Workplace Solutions is a program that was introduced by Sun Life Financial in early 1998. Because of my relationship with SLF, I have access to offer this service to clients such as you. Regardless of the workplace, employers across Canada face the same types of challenges. Likewise, employees also face challenges. SLF’s Workplace Solutions program was developed based on feedback from employers and employees across Canada with the intent to help people pro-actively achieve lifetime financial security. The response to the program has been very positive. As this program can be offered to you at no cost to you or your employees, I want to ensure you know it’s available. I would like to take the next 30 or 40 minutes explaining the program to you. From there, you can decide if you are interested in implementing this program into your workplace. Let’s get started…interrupt me if you have any questions.
So… what types of challenges to employers face nowadays? Part-time/contract/temp – In today’s work environment, there are more and more part-time, contract and temporary employees than ever before. Due to the high cost of benefits, many employers find it difficult to offer much to these employees. The WPS program is something employers can offer this group of employees. Over-reliance on company plans – Due to a lack of understanding ,many employees are under the assumption that their group plans will take care of them. Let’s face it – no employer will ever have a plan that takes care of everything and nor should they be expected to. As a result of this wrong assumption, employees over-rely on the company plans and often find out when it’s too late that they should have been doing some saving for retirement on their own or looking into insurance coverage in addition to their group plan. This program gives people a chance to be proactive and not find themselves in reactive mode when they can no longer do anything about the situation. Responsibility to educate - Because of over-reliance on company plans, some employers feel the responsibility to educate. More and more, this is becoming the employer’s fiduciary responsibility to provide this type of information. In the states in the US, some employees have sued and won. Our program helps employers educate their employees. It helps employees understand how government programs, employer programs and their own personal financial programs fit together in their broader financial picture. Increasing costs to provide benefits – I’m sure you know how expensive it is to provide benefits and pension plans to employees. In fact, many employers are cutting back. When you hear of companies stricking (like GM), it’s often over items like retiree benefits vs. wages or work conditions. All of the above examples illustrate the challenges that exist for employers who want to provide for their employees. Which of this examples do you feel impact your company?
Like employers, there are also challenges employees face. Many of these challenges are relatively new; previous generations likely didn’t experience these challenges. Lets look at some illustrations and Canadian stats that will illustrate the challenges employees face today…
Today, people have a much longer life expectancy. If you look at a male, age 65 and compare their life expectancy in 1980 versus 2000: In 1980, we’d expect a 65 year old male to live another 14 years In 2000, we expect a 65 year old mail to live another 17 years. This is 3 years longer than in 1980. As you know life expectancy continues to grow meaning people have to either plan for themselves financially for a longer period of time or have to make a decision to work longer or a combination of both. This can be very challenging, especially since many people today would like to retire in their 50”s rather than the traditional age 65.
At the same time the government and employers can’t afford to provide for that increased longevity. This leaves a gap that employees will need to understand as well as plan for. In the past, the government and employers provided income for retirement… to about age 80. Now, with life expectancy being longer, the same pot of money from government & employers need to last longer.
Health care offers another challenge. Employers and governments can’t afford to cover the increasing costs and individuals need to ensure they plan for the piece they’ll have to cover. Nowadays people pay for approximately 21% of their healthcare costs. By 2015, not only will the health care costs be much higher than today, we will need to cover 34% of these costs. This is a significant increase, especially considering our life expectancy will also increase (so we need to pay for more healthcare for a longer amount of time).
Other challenges we know exist in the workplace for employees includes: Insecurity – Nowadays, anytime you pick up the paper you read about companies that are downsizing or closing or cutbacks from the government. This media attention sometimes causes a feeling of insecurity amongst employees….wondering if they are next, will it happen here? Early retirement – Good news – we’re living longer. Bad news – early retirement means more years to fund. Everyone talks about wanting early retirement, but statistics show that very few people realize the savings that are required...and fewer yet are doing the necessary planning. Most people don’t understanding how government benefits, employer benefits and their own plans work together. In fact, many don’t really know how much income they will receive for their retirement from all of these sources. Complex group plans – Group plans are more complex than ever. Employees don’t understand what is covered and what isn’t; and all too often they find out when it’s too late . At the same time, companies have fewer resources to spend time educating their employees on their benefits. And again, no organization is educating employees on how the group plans are just one piece of a their total picture – not the complete picture. Difficult investment decisions - Whether it’s for their group RRSP or pension plan or for their own individual RRSP, most people are confused about their options and don’t understand the relationship between risk and fund selection. The media throws lots of information at people and although there’s a mass of information available, it’s tough for individuals to wade through, understand it, and make good choices. Most don’t understand that to properly make a fund selection, they need to consider all aspects of their financial situation. If for example, someone is counting on a portion of a Group RRSP to be available for an emergency, they would likely make a different fund selection than if they were putting that money aside for 15 years. Need for information without sales pressure – As experts in the financial industry as well as through our experience with offering this program to companies for the last 10 years, we know that employees are interested in receiving financial education in a non-threatening way and in a way that is convenient to them as everyone leads very busy lives nowadays. You’ll see how we’ve achieved this shortly, when I go into more details about how our program works. Ask the employer: What challenges exist for your employees?
We know employers are interested in our program. We know employees are interested in our program. And we know the average Canadian can benefit from our program. Looking at some statistics… did you know: Review stats. (Sources are all included on slide) Do these stats surprise you? If you combine the challenges faced by Employers & Employees in the workplace with these startling statistics you see that we have a very big problem. SLF has developed a program called Workplace Solutions to help with this problem.
… . And more and more individuals are recognizing the need for advice to help them sort out the complexity of their needs. These are the results of a retirement survey conducted by Investor Economics. You can see that a significant percentage of individuals want advice when choosing investments, developing a financial plan, planning for tax related issues like estate transfers or choosing insurance products.
Read the slide.
NOTE to presenter: Only spend a few seconds on this slide as it is meant as an introduction to the following slides. Our WPS program consists of 5 services. You can select 1 or 2 of the services…..or all of them. Marketing Material to use: Use WPS Introduction Brochure to show the list of 5 services. Let’s look at each of these one at a time.
Information Seminars . Presented by me - a professional, trained and licensed advisor. If you are wondering where to start, most employers start with “building a financial roadmap” seminar. This seminar is an excellent introduction to the many aspects people need to think about when building a finacial plan and is a great introduction to many of the other seminar topics I have to offer. Most companies offer one seminar topic per quarter. Seminars have been designed to be done in a one hour time period, including a Q & A session. Our seminars are about education. They are not about SLF products or about our company. At the end of the seminar, I will ask attendees to complete a feedback form. The forms are collected and I have compile them into a summary that you will get a copy of. This summary will also tell you other topics your employees are interested in. Use a sign up process to determine number of attendees. In terms of seminar attendees, we suggest a minimum of 10 to a maximum of 25. If the group is bigger than this size, people hesitate to ask questions. If needed, we can repeat the same seminar at different times to meet the demand. Marketing Material to use: Use the Employer Presentation binder to show them some of the seminars. No product… no branding. Show feedback form
The second service is about individual financial consultations. This can take place as a result of: An employee attending a seminar and requesting to meet one-on-one to discuss situations specific to them. To enable attendees to do this, there is a section on the bottom of the feedback form where employees can voluntarily indicate they would like the presenter to contact them. If they fill out their name & number that’s my trigger to call them. Ask Employer – any guesses as to the percentage of people who attend a seminar and actually request a one-on-one? Tell them we average 31%. In addition to employees being able to request the service via the feedback form, you have some other options: Ad hoc – some companies will want an advisor on side if there’s a specific need (i.e. bonus’ getting paid out… employees want advice on their various options). Regularly scheduled - Some companies will schedule regular times at work for advisors to meet one-on-one (For example, the first Thursday morning of every month). Some employers have offered the one-on-one counselling to all employees by letter, email or intranet and let’s the employees know to reach the advisor and they make arrangements to meet on their own time. Regardless of the process offered, consulting can take place here, or off-site, like at my office or the employee’s home. Spouses/partners are welcome.
Many people wonder what happens when they meet with an advisor. Sometimes people have a question they need answered and that’s all. Sometimes people come to an advisor knowing exactly what they want “I heard about mortgage insurance in your seminar the other day and I don’t have that so would like some.” “I’d like to set up a Registered Education Savings Plan.” Other times people want to do a full review of their financial situation. This is generally a two step process. I use a software called PATH to do a full financial review. In the first appointment, I will ask a lot of questions in terms of what the person has in place whether through work plans or on their own. Then, I will ask what their goals are… when do you want to retire? What are you going to do during retirement and what will that cost? What income would you have if you became ill? What debts would you want paid off if your partner passed away? Etc. This information is recorded in a booklet like this ( show the PATH booklet). Then I take the booklet and all of this information, in addition to all government programs, are input into the software and a report is produced. At the second appointment, I review the report with the employee and make any recommendations I feel is necessary to ensure the individual reaches his/her goals. (show a sample PATH report) So, if nothing else, if your employee is willing to invest the time, s/he gets a complete document that outlines where everything stands for him or her financially. Marketing Material to use: Path booklet Sample Path analysis
Leaving your job can also be a major transition in life and in this situation, there is often a time limit on some of the decisions that need to be made (converting group life or health insurance). Most people have many questions when going through this transition have questions on: Continuing life coverage - Do I need to? Do I want to? How much do I need? How do I do it? I can help them with these questions. Continuing health/dental coverage - Do I need to? Do I want to? How much do I need? How do I do it? I can help them with these questions. They may also have questions around transferring group pension/RRSP dollars. If severances are being offered, what are the employees options and the pros & cons of each option? The WPS program will answer all of these questions. If you have groups of people that are being downsized, you can offer our “Transition and change” seminar where we’ll review the relevant information and then have a one-on-one with each attendee to ensure their questions are answered. If there aren’t groups of employees, then similar to retiring employees, you can alert me (through the FAX form or email) when someone is leaving and I will follow-up and offer to meet. Marketing Material to use: Copy of the FAX form
Ask the ER: What is the average age of your staff? Do you have any people retiring in the next few years? Retirement is a major transition in life. Most people have many questions when going through this transition. They may have questions on: Continuing life coverage - Do I need to? Do I want to? How much do I need? How do I do it? We can help them with these questions. Continuing health/dental coverage - Do I need to? Do I want to? How much do I need? How do I do it? We can help them with these questions. They may also have questions around transferring group pension/RRSP dollars. They may also want information on RRIFs, LIFS and payout annuities – so how to turn all the dollars they’ve saved over the years into an income. The WPS program will answer all of these questions. If you have groups of people retiring every year around the same time, or if you ever have plans to offer an early retirement package, consider our “ Now that you’re retiring seminar”. This provides attendees with some basic information and then each of them will be able to have a personalized consultation with me and I will translate the information from the seminar into their specific situation. Most employers don’t have the “mass” retirement situations. What these employers often do is send an email to me when an employee is retiring and I can arrange to meet with the employee to see if they would like to review their situations. Marketing Material to use: Copy of the FAX form
Sometimes companies have senior management who have more complicated tax, estate and business planning needs. If you have executives interested in personalized financial planning, I can partner with our EFPS (Estate and Financial Planning Services) team to work with me as the need arises. EFPS reps are salaried head office employees who work in partnership with SLF advisors such as myself, when we have clients that fall into this category. These people are high-end tax experts, some are former lawyers or accountants. For these types of people, a more complex financial planning tool is used as it provides much deeper and more complex reports.
To recap the five services we offer: 17 different seminars Individual financial consulting Transition services Retirement services Executive services
To recap…. what value will these services provide your employees? Employees are getting the information and advice they need from someone who is qualified to talk about these issues. All too often they take advice from brothers, friends etc. only to end up disappointed Our approach is very non-threatening--employees can decide if they want to attend the seminars and they can decide if they like the presenter and want to talk further about their specific situation. If they choose to meet with an advisor, PATH can be used and it makes the meeting more of an objective one rather than subjective. Freedom - employees can choose to use any or all of the services...may only attend a seminar The program is flexible… allows for services to be offered at work or at client’s home. Lots of variety – 17 seminars, one-on-ones, etc. There is no cost, no obligation to employees for any of the services we discussed. Services promote financial wellness. When people are financially well, less stress, improved productivity, less turnover, etc. For those who don’t qualify for benefits (i.e. part time/temp/contract), they can still use and benefit from these services and you the employer looks good for making them available. Spouses/significant others can participate (i.e. in the one-on-ones)
What value would these services offer to you (the employer)… Enhances ER and EE relationship. Once employees understand what it is you are providing for them, they are much more appreciative--many don’t realize that not all employers provide benefits. Unique program for you to offer your employees – access to qualified professionals in a very convenient manner. Helps people understand the bigger picture of how their group plans & personal plans fit together. Overall, it’s a unique addition to the group benefits you are already offering and shows you care about your employees. At Sun Life, this is a corporate initiative. There is a team of people responsible for this initiative across the country. If you have other locations, I can contact the Workplace Solutions Team at the SLF head office in Waterloo. A rep from that team can work with us to ensure your other offices across Canada have a chance to take advantage of these services as well.
In terms of next steps, you can decide which of theses services you’d like to offer as well as the best timing to launch. Going forward, my role is to partner with you so this initiative is easy for you to offer in your workplace. I will help with: The logistics (i.e. the date, time, seminar topic, etc.) Communications – I can provide you with drafts to use to help you introduce the program and upcoming services to your employees. This can be done by email, payroll stuffers, intranets, etc…. Whatever makes sense for your workplace. Feedback – after each seminar, I will touch base with you and provide you with a summary of the employee feedback. (SHOW FEEDBACK FORM & SUMMARY). With this summary, you will also know what other seminar topics your employees are interested in. We typically offer one topic per quarter. Show the Feedback Summary here. Tell them you’ll contact them each quarter to make a recommendation on what topics to host next. (Ask the client…) So – what do you think? Tips for advisor: If the client is interested but not certain how to proceed, suggest that we launch with “Building a Financial Roadmap” seminar. Good introduction topic. Highlights several topics that we have full one-hour seminars on. If you don’t get a commitment in the first meeting, let them know when you will be following up.
In terms of next steps, you can decide which of theses services you’d like to offer as well as the best timing to launch. Going forward, my role is to partner with you so this initiative is easy for you to offer in your workplace. I will help with: The logistics (i.e. the date, time, seminar topic, etc.) Communications – I can provide you with drafts to use to help you introduce the program and upcoming services to your employees. This can be done by email, payroll stuffers, intranets, etc…. Whatever makes sense for your workplace. Feedback – after each seminar, I will touch base with you and provide you with a summary of the employee feedback. (SHOW FEEDBACK FORM & SUMMARY). With this summary, you will also know what other seminar topics your employees are interested in. We typically offer one topic per quarter. Show the Feedback Summary here. Tell them you’ll contact them each quarter to make a recommendation on what topics to host next. (Ask the client…) So – what do you think? Tips for advisor: If the client is interested but not certain how to proceed, suggest that we launch with “Building a Financial Roadmap” seminar. Good introduction topic. Highlights several topics that we have full one-hour seminars on. If you don’t get a commitment in the first meeting, let them know when you will be following up.