Charleston, SC – December, 19, 2017 – Today, Questis, a financial wellness technology (finwelltech) platform, is excited to announce a new white paper that explores what does and does not work in changing financial behaviors and improving outcomes for employees. The white paper was developed to publicize the severity of employee financial stress in the United States workforce, and to help employers understand how they can improve business productivity by providing solutions beyond financial education in order to improve employees financial health.
“The way our brains are wired to process information typically works against us when it comes to making sound financial decisions, and changing behavior takes more than a single class,” says Martha Menard, PhD, researcher at Questis and author of the white paper. “Increasing financial literacy through employee education seems like an obvious solution. If only people really understood how compound interest works, or had more information about how to make good financial decisions, then surely they could avoid getting a low credit score, paying high interest rates on consumer loans, or even borrowing against their 401(k). Unfortunately, research shows that financial education accounts for only one-tenth of 1% of actual behavior change.”
Titled, “So Many Courses, So Little Progress: Why Financial Education Doesn’t Work — And What Does,” this white paper provides an overview of the history of financial education, why financial education doesn’t work, and the difference that financial coaching makes. Further, it suggests considerations for decision makers when choosing a financial wellness solution.
“We all know the financial epidemic is out of control. People are out there trying to fix the problem — and they’re failing,” said Steve Wilbourne, CEO of Questis. “We believe financial education is only the first step toward making progress. As a society, we need to peel back the onion and get to the core of the problem. Only then, with transparency, qualitative feedback, and actual data, will we be able to make meaningful change happen. And that, with the help of the power of software, is what we’re doing at Questis.”
As a company dedicated to helping improve the level of satisfaction people feel about their finances, Questis closely monitors the financial wellness landscape for new data, information, and trends relating to financial stress and well-being. Behavioral finance is clearly a trend that’s here to stay. The purpose of our latest white paper: So Many Courses, So Little Progress: Why Financial Education Doesn’t Work — and What Does, is to share our findings about typical financial education’s surprising lack of effectiveness. We invite you to take a detailed walk through the research to see what does and doesn’t work to change financial behaviors and improve outcomes for employees.
To view and download the white paper, click here.
About The Author
Martha Brown Menard currently conducts user experience research for Questis. An award-winning healthcare researcher and program evaluator, Dr. Menard is a guest lecturer at Georgetown University and the author of a textbook, Making Sense of Research. She is a member of the Association for Financial Counseling and Planning Education, the American Evaluation Association and the Interaction Design Foundation.
About Questis
Questis is the most comprehensive financial wellness technology platform built for the enterprise. With configurable features, scalable architecture, and secure software, fueled by advisors’ personalized coaching and guidance, Questis gives financial planners and consumers alike a clear digital roadmap to reach and surpass their financial goals. Founded by experienced financial advisory professionals, Questis harnesses the power of software to offer the configurability necessary to work within any business model. Now, anyone looking to offer financial wellness as a service to their customers can do so simply, and to their requirements and preferences, to inspire real, quantifiable change in financial health. Learn more at myquestis.com.