Gamified financial literacy for employee wellness

Though organisations are already including financial wellness initiatives in their larger wellness programmes, the stickiness and real implementation of a saving plan is mostly amiss.

Most working professionals now live under the pressures of maintaining a lifestyle defined by societal interactions at the workplace and beyond. Matching up to peer group benchmarks in everything, starting from what one wears to what kind of gadgets one owns, leads to expenses in various forms. Unlike a few decades ago, saving and investment have become more difficult not only because of rising expenses but also because of the plethora of options available for the investor.

Although there is nothing wrong in the constant need to increase earnings, it is also important to approach one’s financial woes in a systematic manner. The solution to money problems lies not just in seeking salary increments but also in managing one’s finances, starting at an early age. In doing so, one doesn’t really need to depend on a salary hike to satisfy ever-growing needs.

Robert Kiyosaki, author of the famous book ‘Rich dad poor dad’ says that considering the impact of major stock falls globally, there is no point in holding on to a job and that everyone should look at being an entrepreneur. In a wider context, this implies that by managing finances wisely, one avoids the risk of a downfall following a job-loss. The resulting sense of security helps people be more relaxed and focused in the workplace, making them more productive, which is why it is crucial for organisations to support employees in saving and spending wisely.

Many organisations are already including financial wellness initiatives in their larger wellness programmes. However, the stickiness and real implementation of a saving plan is something that is mostly amiss.

Thanks to technology and increasing awareness about  the importance of meticulous financial planning, there are certain useful apps and advisory programmes that organisations can leverage to engage their employees and help them understand why they need to save. One such app, iMoneyPlant, comes to  the rescue of organisations that strive to ensure the financial wellbeing of their staff.

Offering SEBI authorised and monitored advisory services, PoAncho has gamified financial literacy through its application iMoneyPlant. “The gamified app makes people manage their virtual finances while fulfilling their needs and desires. In that virtual world they can even go bankrupt but then the app scores them on their understanding of how to manage their finances well and lets them know where they stand,” says Nanda Kishore Sethuraman, co-founder, PoAncho.

After the gaming experience, the company offers free of cost financial wellness workshops with an aim to create stress free workforces, enhancing the overall productivity in organisations. Sethuraman says, “It is an important employee engagement agenda as having a stress-free resource around is better for both the business and its stakeholders. However, curtailing the stress caused by financial issues requires expert help and a clear understanding of how one can plan well.”

iMoneyPlant comes in as an intuitive app that monitors income and expense and provides investment recommendations, reminders and alerts to its users. It assists the individual to make the right investment choice and hence ensures that financial wellness does not remain as a mere tick in the training list.