{"id":16507,"date":"2023-02-02T15:05:00","date_gmt":"2023-02-02T15:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.c12group.com\/?p=16507"},"modified":"2023-07-18T16:32:15","modified_gmt":"2023-07-18T16:32:15","slug":"caring-for-employees-during-financial-hardships","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.joinc12.com\/leadership\/caring-for-employees-during-financial-hardships\/","title":{"rendered":"Caring for Employees During Financial Hardships"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Looking for Opportunities<\/span><\/h2>\n

Picture this:<\/span><\/p>\n

Your HR leader bursts into your office.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMaria was in a major car accident! Her car is completely wrecked. It is a miracle that she is still alive. They rushed her to the hospital and she is in emergency surgery now.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Maria is your customer service representative. She is a single mom taking care of two children.<\/span><\/p>\n

As a company leader, your thoughts started racing:<\/span><\/p>\n

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How would you react in a situation such as this? What actions would you take to help meet Maria\u2019s needs?<\/span><\/p>\n

Facing Financial Roadblocks\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

The Federal Reserve has reported that 40 percent of American families do not have sufficient savings to resolve a $400.00 emergency expense\u2014and that was before the historic wave of unemployment and economic fallout related to the pandemic and inflation. Now, employees across industries are facing unprecedented financial hardship. For some, this is due to adjustments in compensation\u2014personally or for someone they depend on. Many of us leaders are left wondering what we can do to help. As employers, our businesses serve as infrastructure that can support our people through both economically turbulent times and the personal problems employees face even in relatively normal times.<\/span><\/p>\n

Improving Well-Being and Engagement<\/span><\/h2>\n

An <\/span>employee hardship fund<\/span><\/a><\/span> is a tool that enables companies to support employees and their families when unexpected crises arise. Corporate-led generosity, in turn, inspires a powerful, generous culture.<\/span><\/p>\n

In a comprehensive study, the <\/span>Aspen Institute<\/span><\/a><\/span> identified a handful of key benefits of an employee hardship fund:<\/span><\/p>\n

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Stewarding Resources<\/span><\/h2>\n

Companies are more likely to accomplish the benefits outlined above by <\/span>partnering with organizations<\/span><\/a><\/span> that set up and administer employee hardship programs through turnkey solutions. For example, <\/span>Cotribute<\/span><\/span><\/a> offers a community dashboard where teams can interact, see and contribute to specific needs, and inspire collective impact. Particularly in an era of increasingly dispersed and remote teams, a platform like Cotribute strengthens distant relationships as employees rally behind their teammates.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As we aspire to steward the resources God has entrusted to us, we may feel discouraged from seeing generosity mismanaged in the past. If that is the case, partnering with industry organizations can help us bridge the gap. Companies like <\/span>Helping Hands<\/span><\/span><\/a> perform extensive due diligence to qualify recipients and ensure the donations meet <\/span>IRS guidelines for tax exemption<\/span><\/a><\/span>. Their vetting assures us that the funds are going directly to the cause, relieving us of that responsibility. Hardship programs can also use donor-advised funds that are administered by organizations like <\/span>C12 Strategic Affiliates<\/span><\/a> National Christian Foundation<\/span><\/a><\/span> and <\/span>Waterstone<\/span><\/a><\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Caring Matrix<\/span><\/h2>\n

Everyone has unique needs that arise in various seasons of life. Recognizing and tangibly meeting others\u2019 needs demonstrates the love of Christ and puts feet into our faith. Jesus modeled throughout his ministry the importance of caring for the physical needs of those around him.<\/span><\/p>\n

The surest way to live out our\u00a0Business as a Ministry culture<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>is to fold the gospel into our routine conduct. C12\u2019s Caring Matrix is a tool we can use to consider the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of our stakeholders.<\/p>\n

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By taking the time to identify the unique mission fields served by our businesses and considering the needs of the individuals who make them up, we can create a clear plan to cascade our care for others across our organizations for the glory of God and the good of others.<\/p>\n

Fulfilling a Greater Purpose<\/span><\/h2>\n

It is critical to recognize that employees who are reaching out for assistance usually do so from a place of stress, uncertainty, and anxiety. For many, asking for help is difficult and can be accompanied by feelings of shame. Respect and dignity must remain top of mind and at the core of our approach when interacting with applicants. No one wants to think of themselves as needing charity, so it is important to position hardship funds as a resource we want to expend for anyone in the company community should they hit a rough patch.<\/span><\/p>\n

Here’s the truth: we are not the managing directors of our companies\u2014God is. At Demos\u2019 Restaurants, showing the love of Christ means sharing the gospel through practical generosity. <\/span>Watch <\/span>this video<\/span><\/a> to learn more about how CEO Peter Demos puts this principle into practice:<\/span><\/p>\n