Papier has launched a financial wellbeing platform to support its workforce in times of need.
The British e-commerce brand is now offering its 90 employees access to Bippit, which includes personalised plans to help them manage their money, track goals, take part in challenges and analyse their spending.
Through the platform, staff can also make contact with professional coaches, use targeted learning resources, and take part in interactive workshops, which cover topics including budgeting, pensions and protections.
Claire Hunter, people and culture manager at Papier, explained that the pandemic had given employers a chance to review and discuss their existing financial wellbeing provisions.
She said: “At Papier, we never assume what people need and we really identify the gaps and listen to their feedback and implement things that really give them more of what they want.
“Anything we bring on we want it to be a genuine offering for the team, we want to make sure it’s something our employees enjoy, benefit from and can rely on in times of need. We want to ensure our approach to wellbeing at Papier doesn’t have to be reactive, and we have initiatives already in place for our team should they need the support.”
She added that Bippit’s offering matched what Papier staff were looking for and believed its personalised approach would improve the long-term financial health of the team.
In terms of supporting employees’ wellbeing, the business launched mental health provisions in 2018. It introduced an employee assistance programme (EAP), as well as access to qualified psychotherapists for those who needed more assistance. The company’s dual approach was then applied to financial wellbeing, with the EAP providing reactive interventions and Bippit supplying additional, longer-term assistance.
Explaining that the company regularly signposts available support, Hunter added: “I’m passionate about that, making sure our employees know where they can go if they need any wellbeing support. I’m also a huge advocate of the wellbeing awareness days and weeks. I think there can be stigma around them because companies feel they have to respond to them with the actions they’re taking, but I try to remind people that year round we offer these services to our employees, not just during these awareness weeks.”
