PETALUMA, Calif., Jan. 28, 2009 — Now more than ever, money issues are a leading stressor in people’s lives. Burdened by debt and steeped in financial chaos, employees are bringing their financial issues to work at unprecedented rates and at great cost to their productivity. “Most employers and Employee Assistance Program (EAP) providers have been caught off guard and are unprepared to handle the growing financial problems affecting their employees,” says Deborah Price, president of The Money Coaching Institute. Price is a leading expert in her field who has authored three books and appeared on numerous radio and television shows.
While EAPs offer mental health resources to employees, most mental health professionals will readily admit they are not trained or educated about money issues. At the same time, few financial advisors or debt counselors are suited to handle people in serious emotional crisis. “When it comes to identifying and changing money patterns and behaviors,” says Price, “there is less help or even real understanding of these issues.” A financial advisor for over 20 years with firms including Merrill Lynch, Mass Mutual, AIG and London Pacific Advisor, Price left the financial industry to pioneer the Money Coaching field.
Money Coaching is a step-by-step process for understanding and changing one’s relationship with money in order to live a more purposeful and prosperous life. Through education and awareness, The Money Coaching Institute is committed to empowering others around money, both personally and practically.
FIVE PROACTIVE MEASURES TO HELP COMPANIES AND EMPLOYEES
Price offers five proactive measures that companies can undertake in these difficult financial times:
- Be aware that employees’ personal financial issues are detrimental to their personal and professional well-being and can pose a risk to a company’s productivity and profitability.
- Understand that health insurance providers, EAPs and financial advisors do not have the specific expertise and skills to sufficiently help financially stressed and traumatized employees.
- Build a culture that provides and supports financial education programs. Consider, for instance, programs offered by the Garrett Financial Education Alliance (http://www.gfea.org).
- Provide new training programs and incentives for EAP providers to create a more integrative and holistic model that more adequately addresses the needs of employees in financial crisis.
- Provide resources to employees that can help them identify and change their money patterns, beliefs and behaviors (more information available at http://www.moneycoachinginstitute.com).
According to a 2005 report from Financial Literacy Partners, LLC, money issues are the “silent epidemic that afflicts 30 million workers in the U.S. and costs businesses $15,000 per year per affected employee. In addition, the report found that financial stressors can lead to reduced productivity – as much as 20 hours per month per employee – and a higher rate of employee turnover.
“There is a great need for a new model that can effectively manage the current environment which, based upon all forecasts, will almost certainly get worse in the coming year,” observes Price. “At The Money Coaching Institute, we provide both professional training and direct services to employees in a ‘financial triage’ model that effectively bridges the gap between financial and mental health issues.”
The role and responsibility of an Institute-certified Money Coach is to properly assess an individual’s “money type,” profile personal and financial needs, and then provide coaching through the best available options. Once the initial assessment and action plan is established, individuals are triaged to appropriate professionals for help, including mental health professionals, financial advisors, debt counselors and attorneys. Money Coaches have a deep understanding of the clients’ underlying money issues and possess the emotional and financial literacy skills necessary to help clients move beyond their money issues, patterns and behaviors. They provide ongoing support and often confer with the other professionals on the employee “triage team” to help articulate their money issues and needs when they are financially overwhelmed and emotionally distressed.
“People seldom forget those who have helped them in their time of need. Those who respond to their employees today will undoubtedly be rewarded with loyalty, gratitude and improved productivity that will pay dividends for years to come,” adds Price.
Learn more at http://www.moneycoachinginstitute.com.
Contact:
Deborah Price, Founder
Money Coaching Institute
707-778-6206
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