Johan Romero Luna
Vice President of Workers Way, Workers Credit Union
Age: 40
Industry experience: 12 years
Littleton-based Workers Credit Union launched an initiative a few months ago to encourage Massachusetts businesses to offer financial wellness as an employee benefit. All branch staff at the $2.3 billion-asset credit union had in recent years become certified financial coaches, and the new program, known as Workers Way at Work, provides employees with one-on-one coaching.
Johan Romero Luna, who oversees Workers Way at Work, said his own background helped drive his interest in financial wellness and the credit union industry. Romero Luna, who had degrees in pre-medical studies and business, had worked at his family’s finance company in the Dominican Republic. After he and his wife arrived in the United States 12 years ago, he got a job at a bank and soon learned that the first North American credit union in Canada was founded by and for immigrants. This story so resonated with him as he adjusted to living in the U.S., he switched jobs to a credit union four years later and has now spent eight years in the sector, including two at Workers.
Q: How did you become interested in financial wellness?
A: Based on my background in medicine and finances, I was looking to see how the two relate to each other. In my time in the credit union field, I understood that there was a need for something else besides what we commonly see in the banking industry. We see how products and services can help someone to be in a better position. But there was an educational component, and this is where my medical background comes into play, because I think that addressing causes before an individual presents symptoms is an easier and more productive approach.
Based on that and my own challenges financially dealing with a different banking system, a different structure, a different way to measure credit in this country, I decided that this was a good indication that there was something more that we could do to improve people’s financial wellness. When the time comes to talk about finances, individuals are really reserved – and that’s perfectly fine. But I think that we need to break with the shame and stigma that we see when judging people by the choices or the decisions that they made or continue to make.
Q: What is the Workers Way at Work program?
A: It is an innovative employee benefit. Any Massachusetts organization that is interested in providing something different as part of their company benefits can offer their employees financial wellness at no cost to the employer or the employee. We understand that financial wellness is really important because it’s attached to productivity, to the well-being of the employee. When people think about financial wellness, they think of a blog or a website or telling employees that they have a 401(k) or meeting with someone once a year to talk about retirement. But this goes beyond that. What we are doing is giving those organizations full access to our certified financial wellness coaches for in-person or even virtual appointments in a private one-on-one setting. We give them interactive tools so that they can engage with our coaches. It is a one-on-one journey, and the main goal is that we will try to improve their financial literacy, but more importantly we want to make sure that they are able to make better decisions about their money.
Q: How do employers benefit from offering this program?
A: There are different studies out there that have identified a strong correlation between financial stress, low productivity, health issues, and mental health issues as well. When we tell our employers what is the benefit, we want to start with that by first saying we can help your employees to be more productive. We also help to make your corporate culture strong because your employees know that you offer this and that you care about them. The other benefit is providing recruitment advantages. We are going through right now what is called the Great Resignation. What better way to say we do also care about our employees?
Q: How does Workers Credit Union benefit from having this program?
A: I want to be recognized as the financial wellness institution, and the best way to do that is precisely to be doing this proactive outreach to all our local businesses and saying we are going to be offering this at no cost to you because this is what we care about, this is what we value and this is the proposition that we feel could benefit anyone. It’s all about putting employees and putting people in general in the best position to fulfil their dreams and goals, and financial wellness has a role to play on that.
Q: What has been the reaction so far?
A: Even in the early stages, we have more than a dozen employees participating with our coaches. The response has been really, really positive. Most often, some of the experiences have been that having a plan in place – having the empowerment and the encouragement – has alleviated their financial stress and has helped with their financial situation. For the employers, they have seen that employees are interested in finding out more about it, and that’s a positive indication that people actually need something like this, that people want that assistance, that they want that guidance from someone that has the expertise to empower them and encourage them to make the right financial decisions.
Q: What more needs to be done to promote financial wellness?
A: The most important thing is we need to talk more about personal finances. Everyone has the right to make a mistake or to make the wrong decisions. There’s always a way out. I think that having that conversation, being open about it – not shaming anybody, removing that stigma from the conversation – that will help tremendously not just us in this industry as a credit union but as a nation. I think employers should also give their employees’ financial wellness the same consideration as physical health. Employers right now, especially in this Great Resignation time that we’re in, we have to do a better job identifying how to help our employees as individuals.
Five Countries Romero Luna Would Like to Visit
- Spain
- Singapore
- Japan
- Hungary
- New Zealand
