O benefitima i njihovom značaju, razgovarali smo sa Karolinom Herbut, vlasnicom firme Herbut Consulting i predsednicom Centra za finansijsku edukaciju i osnaživanje (CEFIN). Karolina i njen tim pomažu fizičkim i pravnim licima, i njihovim zaposlenima, da preuzmu kontrolu nad svojim ličnim finansijama.
What do the benefits provided by the employer mean to you personally?
From the employer's perspective, it is undeniable that benefits are significant for employer branding and help the employer retain employees, as well as attract new talent.
From the employees' perspective, I see benefits as something that has the potential to "make life easier" and improve the quality of life and the daily lives of employees. In some cases, benefits can facilitate individuals' decision-making, leaving them more time and money for things that matter to them. For example, if an employee has a paid gym membership or yoga classes, or meals at work, they don't have to think about it every day. It is known that successful people try to reduce the number of decisions they make and speed up the decision-making process. If someone has voluntary-private health insurance, the option to hire a therapist, financial or other advisor, or coach, then not only does it financially benefit the employee, but they also don't have to invest additional time to find the right service for themselves.
In your opinion, to what extent can benefits affect employee satisfaction and engagement?
This depends on several factors. For example, whether the benefits available to employees are truly the benefits that they need, which ease their lives and impact their quality of life. In this regard, it is important that there is communication between the employer and employees about their needs and periodic checks to see if those needs have changed.
Providing benefits that suit everyone equally is challenging, which is why it is excellent if employers have the opportunity to allow employees to choose benefits according to their preferences. In this case, it is undeniable that benefits will positively impact employee satisfaction. Regarding employee engagement, I would refer back to my previous answer that if the benefits facilitate and enhance their lives, employees will be more relaxed, and their engagement will definitely be greater, leading to better performance.
For example, according to a survey by PwC, more than half of respondents said that financial or monetary issues/challenges cause them the most stress. Even 50% of employees who are stressed about their finances say it distracts them at work. Therefore, if the employer provides employees with financial education, support from financial advisors, and coaching to resolve financial uncertainties, it will positively affect employee engagement at work.
What benefits have you had the opportunity to use during your career that had the most positive impact on you personally?
The most significant benefit for me was the use of a company car.
Introduce your company
Herbut Consulting offers financial education, consulting, and coaching services, helping both individuals and legal entities, as well as their employees, to:
Karolina Herbut, the founder of Herbut Consulting, launched the first online course on personal finance in our region, an e-book “Managing Personal Finances,” and a unique printed financial notebook that can be attended or purchased by anyone who wants to invest in their financial education and increase their financial literacy.
Introduce your services and benefits that your company provides
Among the benefits we offer, I would highlight the online course on personal finance which is available independently (STANDARD package), as well as with 1-on-1 consultations with a financial advisor (INVEST package). The course consists of seven modules: beliefs and attitudes towards money, goal setting, creating a simple financial plan, ideas for cost optimization, additional income and creating passive income, investing and saving, and finally, automating finances.
Regarding 1-on-1 consultations with a financial advisor, they cover the following topics: 1) what are the savings and investment options in Serbia, and 2) how to set up a system for tracking your finances and create a personal financial plan.
In addition to the personal finance course packages and consultations, we also offer the e-book “Managing Personal Finances”. The book consists of 7 sections, each accompanied by worksheets that anyone can fill out according to their own examples. All benefits provided by “Herbut Consulting” are available online.
We will continue to expand and adapt the list of benefits to meet the needs of employees and employers, so we will add consultations on housing loans, business coaching services, as well as other services from our expertise as needed, based on the interest expressed by employees and employers.
What is the greatest value of the benefits your company provides for employees?
I would say that there are two greatest values: financial freedom and financial control. These are also the two most common motivations for which clients come to me. Many find it important to build financial freedom, to be able to be masters of their time and money, to learn how to manage the money they have, and at the same time, to find sources of additional income. On the other hand, some experience a feeling of not having control over their money, that no matter how much they earn, their finances slip away, and they want to change that. During the financial course and consultations, we specifically cover these topics and address the question HOW to achieve one's financial goals. When you know where your money goes, when you can spend money without guilt and set aside a part of it for saving or investing, you then have control over your finances and find yourself in a state of peace. Today, we need that state more than ever before, and the key values I would highlight are peace and freedom.
What are the biggest challenges companies face today when creating employee benefit programs?
As the biggest challenge, I would highlight the creation of a benefits program that can meet the needs and desires of employees, considering that these needs are constantly changing. That’s why I believe that the platform Benefiti.app is excellent, as it allows employers to offer their employees a variety of benefits in one place, whether it’s a finance course, yoga classes, coaching, or other options, which employees can choose according to their current needs.
Additionally, I see another great advantage of personalized benefits – the responsibility for choosing the benefits lies with the employees themselves.
Has the new situation with the pandemic influenced you to change your approach to providing your service?
I launched the online finance course back in early 2019 because I believed that online programs offer new opportunities: flexibility, time savings, and the ability to attend from different places and countries. The pandemic influenced our services so that we also transitioned other programs (workshops) and services (consultations, coaching) online.
Who is the team behind all of this?
The owner of Herbut Consulting is Karolina Herbut, a financial advisor, educator, and coach. Karolina is also the president of the Center for Financial Education and Empowerment (CEFIN). She advocates for increasing financial literacy, gender equality, and the economic empowerment of citizens. The development and functioning of these programs are supported by a group of collaborators consisting of experts from the financial sector, marketing specialists, and invaluable support from a programmer and designer.
