PLANSPONSOR - April - May 2022 - 20

PLAN DESIGN | COVER STORY
behaviors when the data is split by factors such as race and
ethnicity. " It is better for employers to scrutinize these differences
than to avoid them, he says. " Just because you [ignore] the
data, and any discrepancies among employee groups, " he says,
" doesn't mean they're not there. "
Why Now?
The increasing focus on DE&I shortfalls in retirement plans
comes at a time when more employers are evaluating the issues
comprehensively, says Kezia Charles, director, retirement, at
consulting firm WTW (formerly Willis Towers Watson) in
Arlington, Virginia. " They are really trying to determine, what
does diversity and inclusion mean across the organization? And
that includes the retirement plan, " she says. " It's not just about
the benefits people get when they're working. It's more than, 'Do
we all have the same retirement benefit?' It's the outcome that
people get when they retire. "
As employers dig deeper into analytics for their plan, some
find differences between engagement and outcomes based on the
demographic group. " More employers are asking, 'How can we
assess what the problem is?' I see considerable movement in that
direction, " says Joshua Dietch, head of retirement thought leadership
at T. Rowe Price in Boston. " They're saying, 'This plan is a
core benefit of employment. How do we make it equitable for all?' "
Benefits such as a retirement plan also have become more
WELLNESS FEEDBACK
IF YOU WANT to know what can help a particular group of employees with
their financial wellness challenges, ask them. " That's probably the best way for
an employer to find potential solutions and answers, " says Rob Austin of Alight
Solutions. If an organization has employee resource groups, each aligned to a specific
identity, those are a good place to run a survey or create focus groups, he says.
He suggests asking employees questions such as: What is the most important
thing to you about your financial health? And, what do you think makes those in
your identifying group different from other people in terms of being able to achieve
financial goals? " As people in the groups provide answers to those questions, it
means the employer can come up with solutions to their issues without seeming
like it has stereotyped that group, " Austin notes.
Surveys and focus groups also can uncover any misunderstandings employees
important in competing for talent, and whether those benefits
are equitable affects their perceived value,
says Kai Walker, head of inclusion transformation
at Bank of America RPWS in
Jacksonville, Florida. " In this day and age,
particularly with the Great Resignation, it
has produced this need to really focus on
attracting and retaining talent. So I'm not
sure that employers can really afford to not
look at this, " he says. " That's not to say that
once you uncover findings, you have to
resolve those issues on day one or that you
necessarily have to commit more dollars to
resolving the issues. "
The first step in assessing a retiremay
have about their benefits package. " Much of inclusion is ensuring that the information
provided is reaching employees in a way that's accessible to them, " Kezia
Charles of WTW says. " When we do employee 'listening sessions' for clients, oftentimes
employees are asking for access to benefits they already have but don't know
they have. " This can include things such as parental leave or flex-work opportunities.
Through such surveys and focus groups, employers can also get employee
feedback about their biggest challenges to achieving their financial goals, says T.
Rowe Price's Joshua Dietch. " It's getting the people who would benefit from these
programs and asking them, 'How can we help?' If you want to help solve a problem,
you have to understand what the barriers are. It's really involving the employee
population you're seeking to reach that will lead you to a solution. "
When putting together a program to help with those challenges, Dietch indicates,
focus on helping employees build their capabilities in a particularly challenging
area. So instead of doing a group education session that just explains
about emergency savings, for instance, the session could also include how to set up
automatic paycheck deferrals for employees who want to build emergency savings
accounts. " I tend to shy away from doing just a financial literacy program, which is
seemingly more academic or theoretical than practical, " he says. " You want to have
a program that shows people, 'How do I do these things?' " -JW
20 PLANSPONSOR.COM April - May 2022
ment plan from a DE&I standpoint is for
those leading the review to clarify why
they are doing it, says Uche Enemchukwu,
co-founder and CEO of NELU Diversified
Consulting Solutions LLC, a DE&I consultancy
that specializes in employee benefits,
in Chicago. " You need to understand what
you're trying to achieve, and not just start
doing something, " she says.
Some employers use their organization's
broader DE&I vision as a guide.
" These benefits leaders can work on
aligning their retirement plan and financial
wellness program with the organization's
broader corporate DE&I program, "
Enemchukwu says. " For example, if the
company is trying to attract more women
or people of color as employees, you can
take that clarity and translate it into the
benefits issues to evaluate in the review. "
Other employers
at
without
a broader DE&I
organizations
strategy can
examine plan data to establish goals. For
instance, a retailer might do a plan data
http://www.PLANSPONSOR.COM

PLANSPONSOR - April - May 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of PLANSPONSOR - April - May 2022

INSIGHTS
INDUSTRY ANALYSIS
RULES & REGULATIONS
UPFRONT
The DE&I Lens
By Design
Things People Do
Leakproof Your Plan
The ESG Decision
When Retirees Stay in the Plan
PLANSPONSOR - April - May 2022 - Cover1
PLANSPONSOR - April - May 2022 - CT1
PLANSPONSOR - April - May 2022 - CT2
PLANSPONSOR - April - May 2022 - Cover2
PLANSPONSOR - April - May 2022 - 1
PLANSPONSOR - April - May 2022 - INSIGHTS
PLANSPONSOR - April - May 2022 - 3
PLANSPONSOR - April - May 2022 - INDUSTRY ANALYSIS
PLANSPONSOR - April - May 2022 - 5
PLANSPONSOR - April - May 2022 - RULES & REGULATIONS
PLANSPONSOR - April - May 2022 - 7
PLANSPONSOR - April - May 2022 - 8
PLANSPONSOR - April - May 2022 - 9
PLANSPONSOR - April - May 2022 - UPFRONT
PLANSPONSOR - April - May 2022 - 11
PLANSPONSOR - April - May 2022 - 12
PLANSPONSOR - April - May 2022 - 13
PLANSPONSOR - April - May 2022 - 14
PLANSPONSOR - April - May 2022 - 15
PLANSPONSOR - April - May 2022 - 16
PLANSPONSOR - April - May 2022 - 17
PLANSPONSOR - April - May 2022 - The DE&I Lens
PLANSPONSOR - April - May 2022 - 19
PLANSPONSOR - April - May 2022 - 20
PLANSPONSOR - April - May 2022 - 21
PLANSPONSOR - April - May 2022 - By Design
PLANSPONSOR - April - May 2022 - 23
PLANSPONSOR - April - May 2022 - 24
PLANSPONSOR - April - May 2022 - 25
PLANSPONSOR - April - May 2022 - 26
PLANSPONSOR - April - May 2022 - 27
PLANSPONSOR - April - May 2022 - Things People Do
PLANSPONSOR - April - May 2022 - 29
PLANSPONSOR - April - May 2022 - 30
PLANSPONSOR - April - May 2022 - 31
PLANSPONSOR - April - May 2022 - Leakproof Your Plan
PLANSPONSOR - April - May 2022 - 33
PLANSPONSOR - April - May 2022 - The ESG Decision
PLANSPONSOR - April - May 2022 - 35
PLANSPONSOR - April - May 2022 - When Retirees Stay in the Plan
PLANSPONSOR - April - May 2022 - 37
PLANSPONSOR - April - May 2022 - 38
PLANSPONSOR - April - May 2022 - 39
PLANSPONSOR - April - May 2022 - 40
PLANSPONSOR - April - May 2022 - Cover3
PLANSPONSOR - April - May 2022 - Cover4
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/march_april_2024
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/january_february_2024
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/november_december_2023
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/september_october_2023
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/july_august_2023
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/may_june_2023
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/march_april_2023
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/december_2022_february_2023
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/october_november_2022
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/august_september_2022
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/june_july_2022
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/excellenceawards_2022
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/april_may_2022
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/february_march_2022
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/december_2021_january_2022
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/october_november_2021
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/august_september_2021
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/june_july_2021
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/april-may_2021
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/february-march_2021
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/december-january_2021
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/october-november_2020
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/august-september_2020
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/june-july_2020
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/april-may_2020
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/february-march_2020
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/december-january_2020
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/october-november_2019
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/august-september_2019
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/june-july_2019
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/april-may_2019
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/february-march_2019
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/december_2018-january_2019
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/october-november_2018
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/august-september_2018
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/june-july_2018
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/april-may_2018
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/february-march_2018
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/december_2017-january_2018
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/november_december_2017
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/october_2017
https://www.plansponsordigital.com/plansponsor/september_2017
https://www.nxtbookmedia.com