The travel industry is A LOT of fun to work in but financially, well… let’s just say that you definitely don’t always stay employed in travel for major financial gains.
It’s passion that keeps us in the industry, but at the end of the day, some are forced to leave because passion doesn’t always pay the bills, and not paying the bills leads to some major stress. It’s this one major industry flaw that the Flight Centre Travel Group (FCTG) is hoping to correct.
The company became one of 30 Australian brands to develop a Financial Inclusion Action Plan (FIAP) that aims to improve the financial resilience of its people.
As part of the FIAP, the company will roll out a 54-point action plan, which includes customising staff superannuation and insurance products, introducing ‘money coaches’ and financial counselling services as well as adopting a ‘Financial Stress Indicator’ to measure and report on overall workplace stress.
Amazing right?!
FLT’s Financial Literacy and Capability Business Leader, Stacey Beckley, said increasing financial awareness was the number one objective for her business unit, Moneywise.
She continued, saying research provided by AMP’s Financial Wellness Report found that financial stress accounts for a 6.9-hour loss in productivity per week.
“The more financially aware we can make our people, the more control they can take of their finances to make smart decisions and avoid getting into unnecessary debt.”
Stacey Beckley, FLT Financial Literacy and Capability Business Leader
Moneywise has been offered as an internal service to all staff since 1994. The recent roll-out of money coaches across Australia – 13 in total – is designed to help the travel heavyweight ensure its people have access to financial experts who can provide specialist advice and support to frontline travel agents and support staff.
“Money coaches work with our people to help their financial goals become a reality; visiting stores to provide one-on-one coaching for financial goal setting, cash flow/budgeting, debt reduction and maximising their ability to save,” Beckley added.
“They also attend Welcome Aboard sessions for new starters so from day one, all our people understand the services and support offered by our Moneywise team.”
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