United @ Work: Promoting productivity for employers and employees
By Carmen Derby, Executive Director, United Way of Windham County
With our history of workplace giving campaigns and close partnerships with businesses, UWWC is in a unique position to lead and engage in conversations and programs pertaining to workplace supports. Based on feedback from these engagements, UWWC has created United @ Work to help ensure that all who wish to work have the skills and resources they need to seek, gain and maintain employment.
An employer’s economic growth and stability depends on their employees’ financial wellness and vice versa. For example, barriers such as finding affordable child care, reliable transportation or emergency financial assistance for an unexpected expense can derail good employees by interfering with continuous employment. Consequently, employers may face such costly impediments as high employee turnover and reduced productivity.
To help break this unproductive cycle, United @ Work comprises four core components:
1. Facilitated by UWWC, the employer workgroup meets bimonthly to discuss issues affecting employee stability, develop creative strategies, and share innovative practices and policy refinements that address common employee productivity and retention challenges. These meetings are open to all interested employers of any size or sector in Windham County.
2. Resource coordination offers fee-for-service support for employees to address non-work-related challenges that may affect their work. In addition to providing on-site resource assistance to employees to avoid disrupting work, the resource coordinator is available to help management and supervisors with policy design and human resources practices that help minimize work disruptions, decrease absenteeism, improve financial stability, and ultimately increase retention and advancement.
3. UWWC runs workforce training annually to educate management staff about creative solutions for workplace issues. This year’s training on May 22 at Mount Snow will feature keynote speaker Shannon Prescott of The Richards Group and UWWC’s board chair. Space is limited, and pre-registration is required. To register, visit www.unitedwaywindham.org or call 802-257-4011, ext. 113.
4. Financial Wellness programs support support employee financial wellness, including an Employee Loan and Savings Program through River Valley Credit Union, tax preparation assistance through the VITA and MyFreeTaxes programs, and on-site classes to help employees build financial literacy and stability for them and their families.
Would you like to help employees reduce turnover, increase productivity, and enhance their well-being and that of the community? Please contact Sue Graff at sue@unitedwaywindham.org or 802-257-4011, ext. 113, for more information about United @ Work.