During Financial Literacy Month and throughout the entire year, Desjardins Group is promoting financial literacy by offering employees personalized financial advice, as well as hosting a program geared towards young workers.
“Over the last few years, we’ve worked incredibly hard on several initiatives that support the financial empowerment of our [employees and customers],” says Isabelle Garon, executive vice-president of marketing, communications and cooperation at Desjardins. “If you look at household debt levels and general saving habits in Canada, financial literacy is a serious issue. Employers can play a crucial role by encouraging employees’ financial empowerment and giving them the tools they need to improve their financial literacy.”
In October, Desjardins improved its app experience for employees and customers by offering users personalized financial advice based on their spending habits. “It’s another tool to help [employees] set financial goals and serves as a bit of an alert,” says Garon. “Tips range from an alert when spending goes up to a change in a subscription fee. [Employees] can analyze how their money came in and went out in a monthly activity report and create a detailed budget using seven different categories.”
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The financial cooperative also implemented a financial literacy program for young adults with a dynamic approach focused on participation. The program involves workshops, available both in person and online, that aim to help young adults develop financial autonomy and gives them tools to make responsible, informed decisions that align with their values.
Desjardins also offers a broad slate of engaging webinar and conference topics for employees such as succession planning, retirement planning, buying a property, tax planning and understanding the economy.
It also set up a training program to ensure employees understand financial autonomy and know the best possible way to support the customers they work with. Garon notes the feedback from employees has been very positive and shows they feel more confident in their financial education.
“[Financial literacy] can’t only be a focus for one month, so we’ve incorporated the idea into our organizational culture and into the things we’re doing every day,” she says. “For us, Financial Literacy Month is about highlighting the initiatives we already have going and reminding people that our tools and programs are there for their benefit.”
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