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5 Ways to Reinvigorate Your Financial Literacy

5 ways to reinvigorate your financial literacy blog

Opening the books only works when people are taught to understand them — which is best done both formally and informally. When The Game is created with broad participation — specifically the people who are closest to the action and who understand the realities — it creates a level of commitment and alignment that just can't be matched.

fin litCertain financial and operational numbers define winning and achievement of a specific goal. But as Game play goes on, or as you’re starting Game play, it’s easy to assume a level of employee understanding and information that isn’t reality. That’s why it’s essential to approach Game play, and financial literacy, with the direction and structure to drive continued learning and engagement.

Successful Game play can’t be rigid; rather it must be fluid and adaptive, to accommodate for changing levels of interest, education, knowledge and tenure. Start by adding these five techniques to your toolbox:

1) Establish a definite agenda and consistent scoreboard structure for huddles. Ideally, every location and department will follow the same (or very similar) schedule.

2)  Mix up the teachers. Assign a different teacher to lead a sound byte of financial literacy in each company huddle. Record the segment, then share at each location and department huddle. To further increase engagement, include a three-to-five question quiz that is reviewed and discussed after the segment.

3)  Increase the frequency. For example, you could initiate a weekly trivia question emailed and tracked through Survey Monkey. If you’re doing a quarterly MiniGame, consider bi-monthly. The more frequent touchpoints will help keep information fresh for employees.

4)  Plan (far) ahead. Plan a year of MiniGame themes, goals and rewards. (Note: Go into it with the understanding that the plan is fluid and may need to adapt with changing goals and business climates.) This will provide a framework and impetus to stay on track and on target with Game play.

5)  Build mentors. Introduce a mentoring program for company meetings. Assign a seasoned employee to work with newer team members to find creative ways to teach financial literacy and communicate the necessary company information in an entertaining, lighthearted manner.

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Start teaching your employees financial literacy with these handouts

 

The new structure will reinvigorate your Game play, giving more employees the opportunity to not just become involved, but engaged as well. Beyond simply reporting numbers, they will have a greater understanding of what is behind them, and how playing the Game impacts everything they do.

 

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Want a professional trainer to help provide financial literacy training to your employees? See how one of our certified trainers can boost your employees' understanding of your business, how it generates cash, and how they make an impact every day.

 

Topics: Financial Literacy, Conference, business literacy

Steven Jones, Jenner Ag

Steve Jones has been focused on excellence, particularly in the agriculture industry, for his entire life. He grew up on a field crop and livestock farm in east Central Illinois, then earned his associate's in agribusiness from Danville Area Community College and his bachelor's in Agriculture from Illinois State University. He served as a regional sales manager for Growmark before joining Jenner Sales Corp in 1997. Now the sole owner of Jenner Ag, he has grown the company to more than $70 million in sales. Sought after for his business acumen, he has served the industry and the community in a variety of capacities, including the boards of the Illinois Fertilizer and Chemical Association and the Millikin Decatur Executive Association.

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Our approach to running a company was developed to help close one of the biggest gaps in business: the gap between managers and employees. We call our open-book approach The Great Game of Business. What lies at the heart of The Game is a very simple proposition: The best, most efficient, most profitable way to operate a business is to give everybody in the company a voice in saying how the company is run and a stake in the outcome. Let us teach you how to develop a culture of ownership, where employees think, act and feel like owners.