The Client
Freedom Financial
Freedom Financial Network is a family of companies providing innovative financial solutions that empower everyday Americans to live healthier financial lives. For people struggling with debt, Freedom Debt Relief offers a custom program to significantly reduce and resolve what they owe more quickly than they could on their own. FreedomPlus tailors personal loans to each borrower with a level of customer service unmatched in the industry. For consumers enrolled in qualifying debt relief programs, ConsolidationPlus offers loans that accelerate debt settlements and enable them to be free of the debts sooner. Headquartered in San Mateo, California, Freedom Financial Network also operates an office in Tempe, Arizona. The company employs more than 2,200 and has been voted one of the places to work in both the San Francisco Bay Area and Phoenix area for several years running.
The Challenge
Reduce turnover, simplify administration, and promote core values.
Freedom Financial Network wanted to improve employee retention within their call center environment where their workforce is made up of 60% millennials and rapidly growing in size, from 550 employees in 2013 to 2,200 in 2019. They also wanted to create a more formal recognition program that was easier to administer and nurtured a deep connection for their staff with their 4 core values: Care, Act with Integrity, Get Better, and Collaborate.
The Solution
Freedom Financial Network partnered with rewards and recognition provider Terryberry to implement Terryberry’s 360 Recognition Platform for their employees.
They utilized Terryberry’s modules for Give a WOW (peer-to-peer recognition), AwardPoints, and Service Awards. Using Terryberry’s custom branding functionality, Freedom Financial Network branded the program the Freedom Star Recognition Program and launched in July 2013.
The Results
Employees connect with each other and core values through peer recognition. Simplified processes reduce administration time and improve employee experiences. Consistent recognition helped improve employee retention.
As Freedom Financial’s workforce grows, program engagement remains strong. Nearly 6 years into the Freedom Star recognition program, employees continue to use and enjoy the program consistently. Manager participation has grown from 74% in year 1 to 79% in year 5. Meanwhile, employee participation has held steady at 77%. Heffley attributes the consistent performance in part to the ease-of-use and the engaging style of the social media-style interface. “It’s intuitive to use, like Facebook,” says Heffley. “One of the great things to come out of the program is to see how employees are having fun with it and enjoying it,” Heffley continues.