Financial Wellness Is the Frontier of Wellbeing

riverside_preet_& kelsey_beyond_the paycheck === Hi everyone, and welcome to Beyond the Paycheck, where we bring you candid conversations with CHROs and people leaders who are rethinking how compensation and benefits impact far more than just employee bank accounts. From the first paycheck to financial wellness programs, we explore how money shapes identity, equity, purpose, and power at work, and how forward-thinking companies are using pay and perks to transform lives. This podcast is presented by Aura Finance, a psychology-based financial wellness employee benefit that combines coaching and financial management.

Now, let's get started and jump in with our next guest. Welcome, Preet Michelsen, Chief People Officer for Morgan Street Holdings and their operating company, TMS. We are so excited to have you today. Thank you so much for joining us.

Of course. To kick us off, we'd love for you to share a little bit about your current role, where you're calling in from today, and your background. Terrific. Thank you so much for having me.

I am sitting in Chicago. I'm born and raised, proud Chicagoan. I'm the Chief People Officer for Morgan Street Holdings, and an operating company called TMS. Um, I've been here for about two and a half years.

I've kind of had a nontraditional path to Chief People Officer. I started out out of college as an accountant and worked at KPMG, and spent a lot of my career in accounting and finance and strategy before finding my way to my real passion, which is being the Chief People Officer of this company. So it's been a lot of fun, and I've learned a lot along the way. And can you tell me a little bit about Morgan Street Holdings and TMS?

A, a little bit about the company, what does the workforce look like, et cetera. Sure. So Morgan Street Holdings is a privately held company. We have five partners.

And they are a long-term hold company. What that means is, unlike private equity where you would buy and tend to flip companies, um, we tend to buy and hold. And so we have four operating companies. One is TMS.

We serve in as a really significant vendor for McDonald's actually in supply chain and category management. We supply everything from cups and straws and fry bags and all sorts, sorts of paper goods to McDonald's around the world. We also, uh, make the Happy Meal, which you might think of that cute red box, and that's really only a part of the story. The bigger story is we make the toy, which makes us one of the largest toy manufacturers in the whole world.

We do lots of other things, included, including, um, loyalty marketing. So for example, we created T-Mobile Tuesdays. We work with companies like SIBO and Samsung and Virgin and O2, all kinds of, uh, global companies, and it's just a dynamic, amazing company. And we are one of four operating companies.

The other one you would probably recognize is Stanley, like the Stanley Cup. So it makes it, uh, very fun, and particularly exciting when you get that consumer element of what you do. I think it's very hard to... I, I have my Stanley right next to me.

Oh, perfect. All right. I see it. Ever since I saw that video of someone's car that burned down- Yes ...

my Stanley cup was alive in it, I was like, "You know what, I'm gonna get that." It's fantastic. Yep So I have so many questions, and I wanna dig a lot deeper into the company, you know, some of the things that you've seen at the company and where the market is today. Yeah.

But before we get there, I wanna get to know you better personally a little bit more. So if you'll indulge me, I'd love for you to share your earliest memory of money. Yes. Goodness.

I'm a first-generation child of immigrants from India, and I remember my parents have al- always worked incredibly hard. I think we were, definitely the average middle-class family. We didn't ever want for anything, but we certainly heard the mantra that, you know, money doesn't grow on trees all the time. And so my first memory of money was just that money equaled independence to me.

Money meant that if I earned it, I didn't have to ask about, the record I wanted to buy or the candy I wanted to buy or even clothing that other kids were wearing that I thought was super special. And so for me, it was really about independence. What was your first job, and do you recall what you did with your first paycheck? Yes.

My first job, my very first job was as a, a newspaper gal and I would fling newspapers, uh, you know, onto people's porches in, in the suburb I grew up in. And I remember getting my very first paycheck and thinking, I... Just this dilemma of whether I save it, because saving was so important to me and, saving f- you know, for a, a bigger reward later or do I spend it on, kind of the, the candy and the, the more immediate pleasures of, as a, what? 8 or 10-year-old kid.

So I ended up saving it because I think those are the values that were kind of instilled in me. Um, so I didn't... I wasn't very frivolous with it because I just knew that value was really important to to hold onto. You know, it's so important.

I ask this question to so, so many people and it's, you know, it's... Many of the time it's actually food that money ends being spent. Yeah. Clothes.

That's true. And it's really always wonderful to hear, you know? And it often is because parents taught us, you know- Yes ... what should we do and how should we value money at a young age, and it- So true ...

it often, you know, it, it, it helps guide how we think about money for the rest of our lives. So- Absolutely thank you for sharing that. Sure thing. So I wanna talk a little bit about, you know, what's going on today, and specifically today's challenges.

Yes. Where are we seeing compensation and benefits break down most often today? Yeah, I think where it breaks down is not enough leaders, particularly in HR- our are demonstrating the value of what employees are earning. So let me just talk about that a moment.

Anybody, you know, gets their paycheck, they look at it. Sometimes you don't. Sometimes nowadays it goes right to direct deposit, and they're not really s- staring at their pay stub per se 'cause it's all electronic. But my question is, are we really demonstrating to employees the full value of total rewards?

So when you think about, your base salary, your incentives that you earn, your health benefits that you earn, maybe there's profit sharing, maybe there's loan repayment for school, there's so many benefits that collectively add up to your total rewards package, and I think therein lies both the value and the opportunity that CHROs in particular today may not be availing that opportunity to demonstrate to employees the full value of what we offer. Yep. Historically the answer to that, that, that issue was a total rewards statement.

However, you know, I'm kind of noticing that total reward statements aren't the silver bullet that maybe they hoped to be. Why do you think they weren't that silver bullet, and is there anything that you're seeing working that helps better communicate the value of this kind of total rewards package? Yeah. I think you actually just touched on it, maybe unknowingly.

It's about the communication. How many people are really doing what we're describing? I think th- there are a lot of different benefits out there, right? We could throw lots of money at mental health benefits, for example.

That's very on trend right now, and there are great companies like BetterUp or lots of companies out there that offer it, and, uh, companies that are investing in it e- even. But are we stopping to really document that and communicate it in a way that is understood by our employee base? And I'd argue no, we're really not. As a matter of fact, I think most people get their statement about once a year, typically around bonus time, um, or often merit time for those maybe that are not bonus eligible, and it's kind of a one and done.

Where in fact, if you were to thread this conversation throughout the year, whether it's via your manager, maybe at midyear conversations, maybe it's year-end conversations or it's an un scripted time of year, and what I mean by that is, everybody gets it at the end of the year, but is there a midyear time where you say, "Hey, here's how the profit sharing's profit sharing is doing for your portfolio or for you as, as an employee." I think that's really energizing for some people.

We're so well-marketed to in consumer world. Yeah. Now I think I log into my, my Instagram, and the f- the first ad that comes up is, "Oh, that's a Zara dress I've been thinking about." Yeah.

But when it comes to benefits, we don't necessarily have this deeply personalized marketing push at us. Exactly. I'm very curious about what the future of that looks like because it's almost the expectation these days. You know, you better know me i- in order to effectively communicate to me.

No, you're absolutely right, and there's so many examples of that personalization that can really up the ante for and make it, um, m- make the employee feel recognized, feel seen. So a couple of examples for that are, I think the way that we offer, uh, benefits today is really changing, right? That's kind of the ante. Everybody offers benefits, but what kind?

To what extent are you offering medical... I'm sorry, uh, mental health benefits? How easy is it to sign up? Another somewhat forgotten, uh, benefit that not every company uses is student loan repayment assistance.

I think that's something that, if done right, could be a true differentiator. I saw one midsize company pair their student loan benefit with mandatory financial coaching. Mm. It wasn't optional.

That's really intriguing. Every employee enrolling that enrolled in loan repayment also got a financial wellness session, and I think within 18 months they could track employees who were on a path to being debt-free within two or three years. That's really phenomenal. And it's one of those things, even if it doesn't necessarily impact the entire company and it impacts a subset of the company, if it's effectively marketed to that one subset- That's right ...

those people are getting real hard value out of the benefit, and it's not getting lost in, you know, open enrollment comms. Absolutely. And benefits res- uh, with respect to budgeting, financial wellness I think those are being underplayed right now. I think that could make a real meaningful difference to our workforce.

I love that you bring that up. How important is financial wellbeing to you and the company right now? It's incredibly important. I think we've normalized physical wellness programs for decades.

And the next frontier is really employees taking a genuine responsibility for employees' financial health with them. Mm-hmm. Right? It's a partnership.

And, things like emergency savings, coaching, debt management, I think we underestimate the financial stress that many people can be under, and when they are in that space, it can lead to distraction, disengagement at work. I think there's a number of real barriers to creating a high-functioning workforce if you don't lean into those benefits. I think what's also so largely ignored in terms of financial health is how much it impacts physical health. Absolutely.

And we all understand mental and physical health is so important, but we often forget, you know, that kind of missing piece to a holistic wellbeing routine is- Yeah financial health. You know, there's stats like if you are financially stressed, you're more likely to delay care and eventually end up in the ER. So I love that you bring up it's becoming a- Yeah ... we're becoming aware in the workforce that this is largely ignored because historically financial wellbeing was just retirement once you've left the company.

You're spot on. And many of us, I'm, I'm in this situation, you know, we are the, the sandwich generation. You're worrying about your parents. Have they saved enough?

Have- are they taking care of their health? And then conversely, you're worrying about your children. Are you saving up for college? Are you getting them to their, uh, routine medical visits?

You know, you're in the middle having to balance both above you and below you, and that's tricky and can really add to stress to, you know, just to the general population. And what I'm thinking about, too, you've mentioned that this major breakdown of we might not understand the value of what our employers provide to us, you know, beyond the dollar amount. That's all about financial wellbeing. Yes.

I was, uh, recently at a, a dinner. A woman who had actually had a, a colleague at work at the same dinner was talking about how much money she was spending in fertility. And the other woman next to her said, "Did you not know the company offers this?" Yeah.

She was spending thousands of dollars out of pocket just because, you know, she really just didn't understand how valuable- Sure what the employer was providing to her. Yeah. And whether that's avoidance or, you know, miscommunication of, of the cons of that specific benefit it's impacting- Right ... people financially.

Yeah, and there are numerous examples. I mean- Frankly, it's almost embarrassingly simple, and nobody does it. If you were to run a total compensation statement, I mean holistically for your entire workforce, even for a quarter, okay? And I'm not talking about at open enrollment, because that's where most people think about it, kind of one and done.

Yeah. But right now, kind of in the middle of the year when nobody's expecting it, and you send every employee a personalized statement. And you could include things like that you're even referring to, your transportation benefits. Maybe it's including parking, maybe it's including your train passes.

A personalized statement that demonstrates every dollar that the company is spending, uh, with respect to benefits, employer retirement contributions equity if it's ap-applicable. You know, and then just add one line at the bottom that says, "Your total annual investment from TMS, from Morgan Street Holdings is X." Mm-hmm. I think that it would really move the needle in terms of people opening up their eyes and saying, "Wow, this company's truly investing in me."

And I might be leaving money on the table. Absolutely. Absolutely. So I'm really curious.

You- you've mentioned there's so many interesting and unique tools out there, whether it's mental health tools and more. What's a change in benefits that you've enacted either in your current role or a previous company where you've seen go from really just attracting talent to transforming the lives of your employees? One thing in particular that legislation has really forced us to look into is pay transparency. So we are, adhering to those laws and, you know, we are including pay ranges on our, our job descriptions.

You'll see, uh, ads on LinkedIn or Indeed, and w-we always include that on there. That's kind of a game changer. I think the transparency that it offers applicants and you know that internal folks are also looking at that. So even just as you're looking at internal equity I think it adds a level of, uh, transparency that probably didn't exist in years past.

So that's a pretty big one. With respect to wellness which I would also include mental health, it's really fascinating to see the uptick and the destigmatization, if that's, uh, if I could say that correctly of, going to therapy. People talk about it freely, and I love that. And so for us to start measuring how much utilization we have of these types of benefits really helps inform- future benefits and how we should amend, be amending our programs, if at all to make them more personal for the workforce that we have.

So when you think about measurable impact that introducing concepts or, or new benefits have and what you seek out, it sounds like engagement is really important. Absolutely. Is there anything else, or, or what is top of the list important to you? Gosh, two things always, uh, are at the top of the list, engagement and enablement.

So engagement, are people really feeling like they are excited about their jobs? Are they engaged in a way that they feel both productive that they can contribute freely, that they're accepted for their ideas and who they are authentically? That, that to me is all melded into this metric for engagement that I think we must track. It's incumbent upon us to track.

The other one is enablement. Are we giving employees the right tools that will allow them to succeed? And I think in some ways you can really classify benefits as a tool. It's one less thing that you're thinking about, that you're stressing about as you think about your entire package both financially as well as from a wellbeing perspective, uh, to come to work and then really be able to enjoy doing your job.

So those are a couple of examples. And it's, I think, a really interesting point because it's, it's not just this hard ROI metric of, we're seeing less retention. It's, you know, people are happier at work, therefore we know that that matters and impacts our bottom line. 100%.

And that's most important to us. Yeah. Look, there's a... those are very common metrics that we should be tracking as our HR scorecard looks at attrition even things like revenue per employee labor cost per employee.

However, I think if we were to focus on the metrics that really matter to employees, they wanna provide feedback, they want to join a workforce that values them. I think that enablement and engagement score will really help get down into taking those insights that they're providing and make them actionable so that you're constantly asking and constantly evolving your strategies to make it enjoyable for people to do great work. What compensation and benefits trends do you believe are gonna shape the employee experience most over the next year?

I think it goes back to personalization, I think, a- and probably transparency. Okay, so certainly as we think about, you know, the benefits that maybe- Your mom and dad were offered decades ago were good for that time. We've evolved, and particularly post-COVID. People want to see that you're caring about where we are with the geopolitical scene, the eco- economic scene right now.

There are companies right now that are distributing gas cards because gas is five and six dollars a gallon. So it's really demonstrating to your workforce that you're in tune with what they're going through. Now, you can't always flex up and down. Obviously, there's a P&L impact to that.

But I think there's something that's very real about making sure that as an employer, we are in tune with what resonates with our workforce, with our employees, and what matters to them. Another example I can give you is we used to offer passes to certain classes, and we would, expect that people would stay healthy that way or engage with different, you know, health classes in that way. And people were like, "You're not giving me the freedom to go where I want and when I want, or to the type of club or, uh, workout facility that I want."

And so we reverted back to just a set amount of money that was allowed for people to take care of their health. You know, that's... I don't think that's typical. We don't probably pause enough to really ask our workforce what resonates with you?

What would matter to you?" And then to flex our offerings accordingly. It's a good reminder that, you know, the squeaky wheel gets the grease if you are an employee. That's true.

But as an employer, we always have to make sure we're finding ways to really, you know, put our ears to the ground. Absolutely. Because we all do surveys, but sometimes, you know, we've gotta do them more frequently, more often a- and in- Absolutely ... unique ways.

My last question for you, it's what one 30-day experiment our listeners could try to boost financial wellbeing or engagement at their companies? Yeah, I think it goes back to really going h- going ahead and trying to do that holistic exercise of what you're offering to your employees. I think that will really move the needle. Um, I feel like I've been doing this work long enough to know that compensation and benefits sounds like a technical discipline.

You think about things like spreadsheets and benchmarks and plan design. All of that is certainly important. But at its core, I think what we're talking about is whether people who show up for your company every day feel like the company's genuinely invested in their lives, right? Not just their output or what they produce every day, and that's really important.

And I think when you get that the dynamic changes. People's level of investment back into you really changes, which impacts things that are quantifiable, like retention and engagement and performance, and that all follows when you get the rewards, the total rewards right. I think, if people can just take a moment to really invest in that, I think I really believe that'll move the needle. If you invest and reflect your values, that value comes back.

It's like this, uh- Yeah ... this cycle. So Preet, thank you so much for joining. I, I learned- My pleasure ...

so much from you, and I could certainly continue speaking with you for at least another hour. But I will be, uh, kind and, and make sure that we, we wrap up on time. Where can our listeners connect with you beyond this conversation? I'm on LinkedIn, so you can look for me at Preet Michaelson on LinkedIn, and I'm happy to always connect with others, and I'm always excited to learn from others as well, so would welcome your ideas in this space and, um, any other HR topics.

It thrills me to talk about, so welcome, welcome. Fantastic. Thank you so much again for joining us, and I hope you have a wonderful rest of your afternoon. Thanks for having me on.

Thank you for joining us on Beyond the Paycheck, presented by Aura Finance. If you enjoyed this conversation, be sure to follow Beyond the Paycheck wherever you get your podcasts. Beyond the Paycheck is brought to you by Aura Finance, the personal finance platform helping employees build confidence, security, and freedom with their money. See how Aura Finance is redefining financial well-being at aurafinance.

I'm Kelsey Wheelock.