Competing in a tight labor market requires an innovative approach when culture and benefits often matter as much or more to job seekers than compensation. One key factor that is increasingly driving candidates’ decision-making is student loan debt.
Student loans are making headlines for a variety of reasons. Notably, economic consequences are high when graduates delay investments for years because of student loan debt. In a post-COVID economy where place of residence and employment is fluid, 73% of millennials and 62% of Gen X respondents report delaying buying a home and putting down roots because of student loans. More than half of recent graduates are worried that they’ll need to work two jobs to make their payments. Another 38% delay saving for retirement, and 40% delay investing anything at all.
Recognizing the debt crisis faced by graduates today, employers can stand out by offering student loan repayment assistance to attract and retain top talent.
There are three steps to creating a winning student loan repayment assistance program:
- Get feedback from your team
- Find the right partner
- Design a program that fits your goals and budget
1. Get Feedback from Your Team
The first step to considering a student loan repayment program is determining how much of your team is impacted by student debt. Using pulse surveys or requests for feedback from your team will help you gauge whether this program is worth investing in.
Send an email to hello@getdolr.com to access to our free Student Loan Repayment Assistance Survey.
It is a mistake to assume that student debt is a challenged faced only by younger people. An excess of 4.1 million people over the age of 50 have more than $20,000 in outstanding federal student loans. Asking your team if they’re impacted by student debt is the best place to start. You will be surprised by the results.
2. Find the Right Partner
With new tax incentives by the IRS, the number of private companies offering student loan repayment assistance administration is growing. Each offering different services, fees structures, and features.
We know it can be hard finding what’s right for your team, so we put together a list of the top things to consider when evaluating third-party student loan repayment administrators.
- Focus on helping your people. The student debt crisis has grown from a lack of focus on borrower well-being and success. Make sure your provider has tools available for your people to better understand their student debt so they can repay it in the fastest and most affordable way possible. The goal of your program is to reduce outstanding student debt and lower financial stress among your employees. Not add to their confusion.
- Flexible program design. Your program should be flexible enough to meet your team’s needs while hitting your goals and fitting your budget. Finding a provider that allows you to customize your program structure and eligibility criteria helps you ensure this is a sustainable benefit that you can maintain for many years.
- Straight forward pricing. The world of business services is full of complex pricing. Fixed pricing based on the size of your program makes budget planning easy and makes sure your costs only grow as the benefits of the program do.
- Seamless onboarding. We are all used to apps that take less than five minutes to sign up for. Your benefits should be the same way for both you and your team.
- Flexibility. The pandemic has taught us the need to have partners who are flexible to our evolving needs. You should be able to cancel or adjust your contributions at any time.
- Clear transaction reporting. If you’re taking advantage of potential tax deductions, you’ll want a service that offers clear reporting so that your CPA has everything they need come tax season.
3. Design a Program That Fits Your Goals and Budget
With the above considerations in mind, now it’s time to start designing a student loan repayment assistance program that’s unique to your company’s goals and capabilities as an employee benefit. The average employer contribution with Dolr is between $85 and $150 per month per employee, but a program can fit any budget. The team at Dolr can work with you to communicate value and find creative ways to minimize payments. Whether relief is coming through your contributions, an employee’s village, or our brand partners, your employees will be thrilled with your custom benefits program.
Reduce Turnover with Student Loan Repayment Assistance
Student loan debt is a societal problem requiring a societal solution. Providing student loan repayment assistance as a perk meets a real need for your team and is a relevant, impactful, and affordable solution. Especially with the tax benefits of offering this type of program.
The demand for student loan repayment assistance as a perk continues to grow. To maximize the benefits of such a program to both employee and employer it is critical to pick a partner that understands your needs.
About Workmorphis
At Workmorphis, we help our partners ask themselves what they could be doing differently to stand out from the competition. Competing in a tight labor market requires an innovative approach when culture and benefits often matter as much or more to job seekers than compensation.
Workmorphis provides a full suite of services to help organizations across the U.S. revitalize their workforce, including workforce planning strategies, skills transformation, diversified workforce pipeline strategies, employee support and empowerment, and more.
Connect with us at 877.999.7717 or info@workmorphis.com to offer your insights or learn how we can help you transform your workforce.
About Dolr
Dolr is a Columbus-based Fintech accelerating its members to $0 student debt by surrounding them with the help they need for their biggest financial burdens. Dolr helps employees navigate their loans and find new ways to lower their monthly payments while offering low-overhead, and a seamless, integrated experience for employers. Dolr connects its members with extra cash for student loan repayment from where they work, live, and shop. According to co-founder and CEO Naveed Iqbal, Dolr’s purpose is to “create joy” for borrowers by helping them repay their debts sooner while helping employers attract and retain top talent.
Meet the Authors
Naveed Iqbal is the CEO and co-founder at Dolr, a Columbus-based Fintech focused on tackling the student debt crisis by surrounding people with the help they need for their biggest financial burdens. He is experienced in data science with bank scale data, product development, and delivery of consumer-facing financial products at the largest bank in the country. Naveed holds a PhD in Applied Mathematics from the Florida Institute of Technology. In his spare time, he enjoys reading, exploring the outdoors, and baking.
Emily Fabiano is the founder of Workmorphis, a cross-sector workforce consultancy helping organizations build a more resilient workforce to thrive in a changing economy. Fabiano has deep experience in workforce transformation at the government level, working at the cross section of workforce strategy, economic development, and public policy. With a keen understanding of the unique challenges facing today’s and tomorrow’s workforce and the ability to communicate across sectors, Fabiano brings a new level of understanding and collaboration required to connect industry and education and prepare people for jobs.
Nicholas Klein is a consultant at Workmorphis where he focuses on project execution and policy strategy. He specializes in labor market-driven solutions and is passionate about advancing policies that create economic mobility. Nick is a two-time graduate of The Ohio State University, earning his Master of Public Administration (MPA) from the John Glenn College of Public Affairs in 2022 and his BA in 2016. In between, he worked in the entertainment industry. His favorite things include action-adventure video games, history, indie and Americana music, and science fiction movies.
