Evaluation of the New Zealand Sorted workplace pilot

1. Description of the programme
2. The study
3. What are the outcomes?
4. Key findings
5. Points to consider

Description of the programme

The Sorted Workplace programme consists of a series of workshops designed to help people understand their money and use it more effectively and aims to encourage and support longer-term behavioural change within workplaces and communities. The programme was piloted over eight weeks with employees at the Warehouse Distribution Centre in Auckland. 14 employees took part in the pilot and there was full attendance at nearly every session. The programme was delivered on site during working hours. The programme consists of eight workshops on budgeting, managing debt, goals, saving, retirement planning, investments, savings products, buying a house, insurance and wills – all delivered by an external facilitator. Topics become increasingly complex over the course of the programme.

The study

The evaluation included several elements:

• Pre- and post-programme surveys: All 14 participants completed questionnaires before and two months after the programme about their financial behaviour, knowledge, confidence and plans. The post survey also included process evaluation questions, to understand participants experience on the programme, and how it might be improved.
• Post-workshop surveys: All participants in each workshop completed post-workshop surveys related to the learning goals for that workshop.
• Focus groups: Two focus groups were conducted with participants two months after the programme to further explore their learning.
• Interviews: Interviews were conducted with participants’ managers and the programme facilitator.

The post-programme survey used a similar set of questions but also asked participants about their experiences in participating in the workshops.

What are the outcomes?

1. Financial behaviour (e.g. increased ability to budget and save).
2. Financial capability (connection) (e.g. increased access to saving accounts).
3. Financial capability (mind-set) (e.g. increased confidence in money management).
4. Financial capability (ability) (e.g. increased knowledge of investment and retirement planning).

Key findings

Overall, the evaluation found that the Sorted Workplace programme was effective. Immediately after each workshop, participants reported that they planned to make a number of changes to their finances. Two-months after the course, many of these plans had been actioned. Positive changes included:

• Confidence: The number who said they felt confident in dealing with day-to-day money matters increased from 29% to 64%.
• Planning and budgeting: At the start of the course one participant had a budget and by the end of the course all participants reported having a budget.
• Debt management: At the end of the course participants said they were more confident in money matters they dealt with day-to-day and many (79%) said they were now spending less money than came into their household.
• Savings: The number of participants who said they spent less money than they earned increased from 14% to 79% between the start and end of the course. There was also a small improvement in the number of participants who put money into savings (from 71% to 86%). More participants said that in an emergency they could use savings and investments to access three months’ salary.
• Retirement planning: Participants’ retirement planning improved. Many had developed retirement goals, worked out how much they needed to save and the proportion who had made a plan more than doubled (from 29% to 79%).
• Investments: As almost all (86%) participants had a savings account at the start of the course, the number of participants who were part of a saving scheme did not change substantially. However, the number of participants who said they had a financial plan increased from 7% to 79%.
• Buying a house: The number of participants who had a savings plan to purchase their own house more than doubled after the course (increasing from 25% to 67%).
• Insurance and wills: At the end of the course, 50% of participants reported they knew how to write a will and 36% were setting up a will.
• Process findings: Participants were generally satisfied with the programme, but a few suggested improvements that included more group work, having guest speakers, providing more information on programme content and increasing post-programme support. Participants identified the most successful elements of the programme as being its location in the workplace and integration with management, having an effective facilitator and involving family.

Points to consider

• Methodological limitations: The evaluation only included those who took part in the pilot. Without a comparison group, it’s not possible to rule out the chance that some of the positive effects observed would have happened anyway. However, the use of multiple evaluation methods, including focus groups and interviews, goes some way to addressing this concern. Due to the very small sample size the survey findings should be viewed qualitatively.
• Relevance: There is growing interest in financial workplace education. The findings from this pilot suggest such programmes can be effective and well-received.
• Generalisability: This evaluation focuses on 14 individuals taking part in a New Zealand-based programme at a single workplace. The small sample size and cultural differences mean we cannot be confident that the results are generalizable.
• Applicability: Any organisations planning, or currently carrying out a work-based financial intervention will find that this evaluation provides some valuable learnings.

Full report

Evaluation of the New Zealand Sorted workplace pilot - full report