How Microsoft is building financial health at scale

For years, financial health sat in the “too difficult” pile. Important, yes, but complex, highly personal, and difficult to deliver consistently across a global workforce.

That has changed.

For U.S. employers, financial pressure now cuts across some of the biggest workforce challenges facing Total Rewards and Benefits leaders, from healthcare and retirement readiness to employee engagement, productivity, and benefits utilization. And for multinational organizations, those challenges become even more complex when different financial systems, benefits, regulations, and employee needs are added to the mix.

Financial health can no longer be treated as a standalone wellbeing initiative. It is increasingly part of how organizations help employees understand their options, make informed financial decisions, and get more from the benefits and support already available to them. As nudge CEO and Co-Founder Tim Perkins puts it:

“Financial wellbeing was, in some people's eyes, perhaps neglected, forgotten, it was in the too difficult pile, but financial health is now recognized the world over to be critical to business success.”

The question for employers is no longer simply whether financial health matters. It is how to support it at scale while still making the experience personal and relevant to each employee.

Drawing on insights shared during a recent conversation with Brandon Diersch, Director, Global Financial Benefits at Microsoft, here are seven lessons for Total Rewards and Benefits leaders building global financial health programs.

1. Treat employee financial health as a business issue

One of the clearest lessons from large global employers is that employee financial health and business outcomes are connected. Financial stress doesn’t exist in isolation. It can affect mental and physical health, decision-making, confidence, and an employee’s ability to focus at work.

Crucially, helping employees make better financial decisions is not a zero-sum game. As Diersch explains:

“It's not a zero-sum game [when it comes to financial wellbeing]. Our employees making better personal finance decisions don’t necessarily mean it's a trade-off for the business. It actually is complementary.”

Helping employees understand their finances, navigate their benefits and make more informed decisions doesn’t have to come at the expense of the organization.

It can support wider organizational goals by helping build a more confident, resilient workforce, and making existing benefits easier for employees to understand and use.

For Total Rewards leaders building the business case, that distinction matters. Financial health isn’t simply another benefit to add to the stack. It can help employees get more value from the benefits and resources employers are already investing in.

2. Design financial health programs for different employees, not just different countries

Global scale creates complexity, but geography is only part of it. A multinational employer may need to navigate different retirement systems, tax rules, healthcare systems, and regulations. But it is also supporting employees with very different jobs, incomes, life stages, and financial priorities.

One workforce might include software engineers, frontline employees, skilled trades, corporate functions, and professional services. A new graduate managing student loans may have very different priorities from an employee balancing childcare and retirement contributions or someone approaching retirement.

A global financial health strategy therefore can't simply translate the same content into different languages. It has to meet employees where they are. As Diersch puts it,

‍“being able to make sure that you can meet them where they're at becomes paramount.”

For employers, that means creating a consistent global foundation while personalizing the experience around the employee: where they live, their financial priorities, their life stage, and the decisions they are trying to make.

3. Local relevance drives employee engagement

Global consistency matters. But consistency does not mean giving every employee exactly the same experience.

Financial decisions are inherently local. A 401(k), HSA or student loan decision in the US looks very different from a pension, savings or tax decision elsewhere. Employees are more likely to engage when financial education reflects the systems they actually use, the benefits available to them, and the decisions they need to make.

The same principle applies to timing. Relevant support delivered around a real financial decision or life moment is more useful than another generic content library employees have to search themselves.

The strongest global programs combine a consistent strategy and employee experience with locally relevant financial education. That is how global scale becomes personal rather than generic.

4. Make financial health simple to navigate

Employees already operate in complex benefits ecosystems. Adding another portal, content library or source of information doesn't necessarily make things easier.

Simplicity is therefore a strategic advantage.

Employees are more likely to engage when:

• there is one trusted place to start
• entry points are clear and accessible
• assessments are short and easy to complete
• information is relevant to their circumstances
• next steps are clear and actionable

The objective isn't simply to give employees more financial information. It is to help them understand what matters to them and what they can do next.

Technology and personalization can remove much of that complexity, helping employees move from information to action without having to become financial experts first.

5. Use scalable financial education as the foundation, with human support where it matters

Employees often want personalized support with their finances. But delivering individual financial advice across a global workforce is complex, expensive, and subject to different regulatory requirements.

That doesn't mean employers have to choose between scale and personalization. Financial education and guidance can provide a scalable foundation, using technology to personalize support around an employee's needs, circumstances, and location. Human expertise can then complement that experience where it adds the greatest value.

This combination allows employers to support large, diverse workforces while helping employees build the knowledge and confidence to make their own informed financial decisions.

The goal isn't to tell people what to do with their money. It's to make the right education and support easier to access when they need it.

6. Use employee data and insight to continuously improve your program

A global financial health program shouldn't be static.

One of the biggest opportunities for employers is understanding what employees are engaging with, where they need more support, and which financial topics are becoming more important.

Speaking about insights from nudge, Diersch said:

“[nudgenomics] was really informative as far as identifying areas of interest for our employee base. A lot of the topics tended to be more around savings and investment and tax.”

For Total Rewards and Benefits leaders, employee financial health insights can help:

• identify emerging financial needs across the workforce
• understand differences between countries or employee groups
• prioritize financial education topics
• identify potential gaps in existing benefits
• guide where deeper local support may be valuable
• evolve the program as employee needs change

This creates a continuous cycle: understand employee needs, personalize support, learn from engagement and outcomes, and use those insights to improve what comes next. The strongest programs aren't “set and forget.” They continuously evolve around the people they're designed to support.

7. Start by understanding your workforce

For employers earlier in their financial health journey, one principle sits underneath everything else: know your people. Understand your workforce demographics, financial pressures, benefits, life stages, and regional differences before deciding what the program needs to look like. Then ask what employees actually need help doing.

Is it understanding their 401(k) or other retirement benefits? Building emergency savings? Managing debt? Navigating healthcare costs? Making sense of taxes? Preparing for a major life event?

Those needs will differ across countries, employee populations, and individuals. The objective isn't to copy another organization's financial health strategy. It's to create a global framework that is consistent enough to scale and personal enough to matter.

The opportunity ahead: financial health at global scale

Financial health is one of the areas where employers have an opportunity to create meaningful impact at scale: helping people make better financial decisions while supporting a healthier, more resilient workforce. As Perkins explains:

“One of the reasons that I love this industry so much is the opportunity that we have to create impact at scale. Money is intimidating, it's dangerous. And there is so much missed opportunity, so to be able to support so many people through one global program.”

For Total Rewards and Benefits leaders, the challenge is no longer simply convincing stakeholders that employee financial health matters. It's designing a program that can deliver both global scale and local relevance; intelligent technology and human expertise; personalization and simplicity. Diersch commented:

“It’s inspiring to see the growing momentum in financial wellbeing across the industry. When employees feel more confident in their financial lives, it strengthens every part of the wellbeing ecosystem and ultimately benefits both our people and our businesses.”

The organizations that get this right won't simply provide more financial education. They'll make it easier for employees to understand their finances, navigate their benefits, and take informed action at the moments that matter. And they'll have the insight to keep improving that experience over time.

You can watch the full conversation with Microsoft on demand.

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