What made Pizza Hut decide to focus on financial wellbeing?

Working with young people has really highlighted that in Australia we don’t really educate our youth on how to manage their money and how to manage life. It’s not as easy as we seem to think. This means financial wellbeing is something really important that employers need to support so that we end up with a workforce that understands their value, as well as their benefits and what options are available to them.

I think that financial wellbeing really underpins mental health. If you’re financially stressed you’re going to get further into depression and it puts additional stress on you as an individual. It’s really important to fix the foundational stuff and provide that education and support to our workforce so that we alleviate these additional pressures.

The most common reason people argue at home is because of financial stress so if we can provide them with additional support in the workforce hopefully they’ll be better for it.

‍

Why did you choose to partner with Wagestream?

I met with four or five different financial wellbeing suppliers before we finally agreed to sign up with Wagestream. Our values just aligned, it was transparent, easy and there was very little integration work needed.

At the end of the day, Wagestream Australia started for a good cause, with the team wanting to help a friend that had got into financial trouble. I know lots of friends that have gotten themselves into a debt spiral and it’s really difficult to get out of. 

‍

Have you had any feedback about Wagestream?

In terms of integration, it was seamless. It was nothing from our end. We were able to just provide a couple of spreadsheets and now we update these on a regular basis. We process our payroll monthly and it’s been hassle free with essentially no added administrative work.

In terms of using the app, everyone loves the fact they have some flexibility. It’s interesting to see how differently people use Wagestream. 

For example, you can put the money into your offset account and it’s actually going to save you money on your mortgage. And you often get pay on time discounts from different suppliers, so if payday doesn’t align with when your electricity, water or gas bills are due you can draw down through Wagestream to pay on time for a substantial saving.  

I use Wagestream when something unexpected comes up, like when rego is due or something breaks down. Rather than put it on a credit card, I’ll access the money through Wagestream and it makes things so much easier.

‍

Has Wagestream helped in terms of any business objectives or challenges?

We list Wagestream in our job ads because it’s an absolute benefit. Paying people monthly is easier for an organisation, it’s not attractive for an employee. So having the ability to provide this flexibility is a benefit to our workforce. 

In terms of what group of employees benefit the most, it’s the team members at the store level. Because they’re casual and they don’t know what each shift is going to earn them so they can’t plan for the future. We’re starting to see a big shift at the store level where employees are actually able to plan ahead. 

It helps our franchise partners fill shifts as well. If they’ve been struggling to fill shifts, providing Wagestream means employees know if they do an extra shift they can access the money the next day. So it’s been very helpful to the business.

‍

Would you recommend Wagestream to other employers?

I highly recommend Wagestream. Anytime I’m asked about different providers I give the feedback of how easy to implement and relatable the product is for our team. It’s not just about accessing money, it’s also about educating our people and providing them with different options.

‍