Why It’s Important That CHROs Champion On-Demand Pay For Their Employees

By Irene Hendricks, Chief People Officer, DailyPay

As human capital professionals, and as humans in general, we are living through unprecedented change on a scale we’ve likely never seen in our own lifetimes. We can expect to need to rethink, rapidly and iteratively, how we approach almost every facet of our work and home lives, while supporting our employees to do the same.

Pre-pandemic, the “war for talent” — attracting and retaining a workforce who could work, often flexibly, and adapt to new technologies, schedules and customer expectations — was a high priority for all of us. This hasn’t changed, but what has changed is the dynamic around our employees. They have even more financial stress and uncertainty than ever before. 

Meanwhile, customer demands are shifting rapidly (who ever thought toilet paper would be the hottest commodity of the year?) and putting even more pressure on our workforces. Look no further than the SHRM study, which found that nearly 1 in 4 employees often reports feeling down, depressed or hopeless and 41% feel burnt out, drained or exhausted from their work. And only 7% have reached out to a mental health professional for support.

The American Psychological Association (APA) notes that the toll of unrelenting stress accumulates and can contribute to a number of illnesses, such as heart disease and diabetes.   In the human capital world, while we seek to attract and retain staff, we are also trying to help our companies manage engagement, retention and healthcare costs. We’re facing a number of headwinds there too, including potential post-election regulatory changes, the expense associated with COVID treatment and post-COVID syndromes, and increased demand for mental healthcare.

These are complex issues and solutions are not simple. However, as we look at all of the tools we have available to support and care for employees, while ensuring our companies remain economically competitive, we should not overlook the opportunity to provide empowerment to our employees via on-demand pay. When I first learned about this space, it immediately resonated with me. So often we have the desire to help our employees from the very human place in our hearts, with the very real issues they face financially, but we don’t have the tools to do so.

With on-demand pay, we can (EASILY – I know you are all busy!) provide employees with the ability to access their earned income, as they need it, before payday. Studies have proven that this provides a very real benefit for employer attraction and retention, but I suggest that it also has the dual benefit of eliminating very real stress with its attendant mental and physical health benefits. 

When I think of my friends in the HR space, we love solutions like that don’t create extra work for us, we appreciate them even more. That’s exactly what DailyPay does — we handle everything from communication, to implementation, to ongoing support, to answering your employee’s questions in real time. Your company benefits from increased ability to recruit, retain,and engage a healthier and less stressed workforce. Win/Win!