Attract and retain talent

Ford says Momentum was born out of Truist’s desire to alleviate financial stress for its own employees. About 10 years ago, the bank surveyed teammates and found they experienced just as much financial stress as the average American. After rolling out what’s now Momentum to Truist employees and seeing its positive effects on teammates, the bank wanted to share the program with clients.

“Today, we offer Momentum to our clients at cost, at no profit for Truist,” says Ford. “The program is completely product agnostic—it’s not about selling any products but truly about financial literacy with no strings attached.”

Through a combination of live, instructor-led classes and online tools, Momentum helps users learn about saving for emergencies, budgeting, getting out of debt, improving their credit score, and other financial topics. The program also includes an employer-sponsored emergency savings program that lets employees put money aside with a match from their company. The amount and frequency of matches can be customized to each company’s needs and can even be structured as incentives for completing Momentum.

If you think Momentum could help your employees, talk to your Truist relationship manager. They can bring in a colleague from the Momentum team to kick the program off.

Truist client Brightview Senior Living is a developer and operator of more than 50 independent and assisted senior living communities in eight states. As caregivers, Brightview’s associates do a job that can take an emotional toll, and financial worries can put additional strain on their mental and physical well-being. With high turnover common in the senior care industry, Brightview leaders are taking steps to make their associates feel valued and cared for.

“Brightview recognized that their employees had financial stress in their lives,” says Ben Appel, senior vice president of Truist Momentum. “Many of them were asking for advances on their pay or pulling from their 401(k) to help with emergencies. As a very thoughtful organization, Brightview wanted to do something to help.”

After learning about Momentum, Brightview introduced the program to its employees in 2023. Brightview’s 24/7 operations, with associates spread across dozens of locations, posed a common challenge.

“Over three weeks, we visited 43 communities in eight states, plus the corporate office,” says Appel. “We held sessions as early as six in the morning and as late as 10 at night. The fact that they have an almost 50% participation rate is phenomenal.”

“We’re really proud of the fact that nine out of 10 associates say, ‘I’m proud to work at Brightview,’” says Dollenberg. “Nine out of 10 say, ‘I feel trusted and valued and appreciated.’ Momentum absolutely plays a role in that.”

Since Brightview introduced Momentum and the emergency savings program that comes with it, their associates have saved more than $1.4 million.

“This has been life-changing for some of our associates,” says Dollenberg. “And we know that when associates aren’t worried about making ends meet, they’re in a better headspace to provide exceptional care and hospitality for our residents.”

Ford says Brightview’s story perfectly illustrates how he envisions Momentum working for any company looking to boost its employee benefit offerings. “Momentum is a great way Brightview can help their employees take as much advantage of their income as possible and really make it go a lot further.”