Jonathan Wishnick, owner of the Chicago franchise of Senior Helpers, cares a lot about his employees. He’s aware of the emotional and physical challenges they face in providing care for the frail elderly—including patients with dementia, and victims of strokes or serious illness—for up to twelve hours a day.
Retaining good employees is essential to his business because it’s relationship-driven, and when an employee leaves, there’s both financial and emotional costs. “Our workers are very skilled—and they go through a training period. We invest in them and don’t want to lose them.”
Wishnick began offering Working Credit’s financial wellness program as a benefit to workers who’d been with his company for at least four months. For Wishnick and his workers, the results have exceeded expectations:
- 82% of employees who were offered the benefit signed up.
- The number of employees with prime credit scores (660 or higher) has almost tripled.
- The number of employees with a safety net of at least $1,000 in available credit (through one or more credit cards) has increased by 52%.
He now has an effective, low-cost incentive that helps him retain his best workers and gives him a leg up on the competition. “We provide space for workshops and counseling, but after that, we get out of the way and let the Working Credit’s staff do their job. It’s basically a turnkey program.”
The result has been a big win for his employees, the clients they serve, and the business bottom line.
“Do I care about my employees? Absolutely, but I’m also a businessperson,” says Wishnick, “and from an economic perspective, Working Credit’s program just makes sense.”
