HRchat Podcast
Listen to the HRchat podcast by HR Gazette to get insights and tips from HR leaders, influencers and tech experts. Topics include HR Tech, AI, Leadership, Talent, Recruitment, Employee Engagement, Recognition, Wellness, DEI, and Company Culture.
Hosted by Bill Banham and other HR enthusiasts, the HRchat show publishes interviews with influencers, leaders, analysts, and those in the HR trenches 2-4 times each week. Shows are typically 15 to 30 minutes.
Past guests are from organizations including ADP, SAP, Ceridian, IBM, UPS, Deloitte Consulting LLP, Simon Sinek Inc, NASA, SHRM, Government of Canada, Hacking HR, Ultimate Software, McLean & Company, Microsoft, Shopify, DisruptHR, Talent Board, Virgin Pulse, Salesforce, Make-A-Wish Foundation, and Coca-Cola Beverages Company.
Podcast Music Credit"Funky One"Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
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HRchat Podcast
Flexible Pay Options for a New Generation of Workers with Tal Clark
Unlock the secrets to transforming your HR practices and significantly boosting employee satisfaction with our latest episode of the HRchat Show.
This time, we sit down with Tal Clark, CEO of Instant Financial, to discuss the game-changing potential of earned wage access (EWA).
Learn why EWA is a must-have for attracting and retaining Millennials and Gen Zers in high-turnover industries like retail and hospitality.
Tal brings a wealth of fintech experience to the table, revealing how Instant Financial seamlessly integrates tips, earned wage access, and payroll cards into one efficient service, providing employees with immediate, fee-free access to their earnings. Discover how this innovative approach not only benefits employees but also simplifies payroll processes for employers.
Join us for an in-depth look at the evolving benefits of instant pay, backed by hard-hitting studies that show a 27% boost in employee retention when EWA is implemented. We also highlight the importance of pay optionality for Gen Z workers, who prioritize immediate access to their earnings and flexible banking options. Tal Clark shares his insights on current HR trends, best practices, and effective strategies for managing talent in today's fast-paced work environment. Tune in for invaluable advice and expert opinions that can help you stay ahead in the competitive landscape of modern workforce management.
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Welcome to the HR Chat Show, one of the world's most downloaded and shared podcasts designed for HR pros, talent execs, tech enthusiasts and business leaders. For hundreds more episodes and what's new in the world of work, subscribe to the show, follow us on social media and visit HRGazettecom and visit HRGazettecom.
Speaker 2:In this HR Chat episode, we consider why earned wage access can be a key differentiator for employers looking to hire and retain millennials and Gen Zers, particularly in high-churn industries like retail and hospitality. Hey, this is Bill Bannam, your host today, and joining me on this episode of the HR Chat Show is Tal Clark, ceo over at Instant Financial, a company on a mission to help hardworking employees get fee-free access to their earned wages. No questions asked, tal leads the organizational strategy at Instant, and previously he worked at Money Network as a member of the prepaid card team. In 2008, first Data bought Money Network From there. He continued his career at First Data in various leadership roles through to 2018. One of those roles was general manager of the money network business. Hey, tal, welcome to the show today.
Speaker 3:Yeah, thanks, bill, it's great to be here.
Speaker 2:So, beyond my reintroduction just then, tal, why don't you take a couple of minutes and tell our listeners more about yourself and some of your passions?
Speaker 3:Sure sure. Tal Clark. I have been in the fintech space for a bit really before it became fintech and excited about the opportunity to provide wages both tips and earned wage access to employees that need it, when they need it, where they would like it and how they would like it, and that's sort of our mission. I have spent the last 20 years creating opportunities and access for employees, starting with a business we started back in early 2000 to facilitate direct deposit to all employees that may not have access and we sold that business and then, a few years after that, joined, distant and excited about the opportunity here to continue to change the pay landscape for employees and employers.
Speaker 2:Many years ago, before I got into this world, before I started a white-collar career, if you will, I was a barman. Okay, I worked at bars. I traveled around, I worked in bars when I was at university and whatnot. It was great fun. I loved it. I'm acutely aware of some of the pain points that you guys solve, so I'm pretty excited for this conversation today. For those unfamiliar with Instant Financial's earned wage access, can you explain what your company does and how EWA and paid delivery are transforming the HR and payroll landscape?
Speaker 3:Yeah, absolutely so. Instant is unique. We started this business in 2017 and we started it in a format that allows us to create access for employees at no cost across all 50 states in the US. That puts us in a very unique spot. We also have built in the opportunity for employers to provide tips, earned wage access and a payroll card as needed, either separately or all together.
Speaker 3:We are very unique in being able to bring all three of those tools to an employer in many cases, creating an environment for them so that they don't need three vendors. They can use one vendor for all those services, and the employers that we work with are very excited about that opportunity and, at the same time, to be able to do that in a way where employees have access and no cost has been very significant. We see employees who need access to their wages or their tips same day, and they certainly shouldn't have to pay what we see as absorbent fees in many cases to get that. So that's really been our model since we started this business. We're at the point now that we're providing you know, moving over $2 billion in loads to employees from their employers on an annual basis, and so the market is clearly excited about the way that we do things and we look forward to continuing to innovate and evolve from here to make sure that you know what we're providing are the best in market financial wellness tools for these employees.
Speaker 4:Thanks for listening to this episode of the HR Chat Podcast. If you enjoy the audio content we produce, you'll love our articles on the HR Gazette. Learn more at hrgazettecom. And now back to the show.
Speaker 2:I want to get into some of the numbers with you now. Then, if that's okay, sure. How does offering earned wage access and other financial services impact employee engagement and retention? What are some of the key benefits employers have reported? So, for example, boosting employee retention by 27% is something that I saw on your website when I was doing my homework. Tell us more.
Speaker 3:Yeah, absolutely. Well, you know in the restaurant, in the quick service restaurant space in the US, that all businesses struggle with high turnover rates in those markets. So if you can reduce that turnover rate by 20 plus percent that's what we see then it's a significant cost savings for employers, right, and we really bring value to them. And at the same time, we recently completed a wages and well-being study in 2024. And that study indicates that the vast majority of working Americans you know 85%, so they would stay at a job much longer if they have immediate access to their pay after a day's work and then another, you know then again, as they're being recruited, employees say that they would be 83% more likely to take a role if they have access to their pay each day. So the numbers certainly support what we're doing and we're excited to continue to try to find ways to innovate and make those even better as we go forward.
Speaker 2:Okay, thank you. So a bit of a follow up to that one then tell in a recent post by Ryan Ashton, one of your colleagues on the on the instant blog. He wrote Gen Z workers are looking for employers who are aware of their financial insecurity and can help them address, address that and build their financial wellness. How can employers meet these expectations? He asks the solution lies in pay optionality. Talk to me a bit about this concept of pay optionality and why it's a priority for Gen Zers in industries like hospitality and retail.
Speaker 3:Employees, gen Z has greater access to the payment environment than they've ever had. They have choices today, right, they can. There's neobank opportunities that they can use to receive their pay. Credit unions are more widely available to employees than they were, you know, even five, 10 years ago. So the payment landscape and how you receive your pay and how you conduct your banking has changed dramatically and certainly we want to make sure that we're changing with that. And that means providing access to these employees, especially Gen Z right that wherever they would like to receive their pay. So we continue to innovate to make sure we're doing that.
Speaker 3:One of the things an instant we'll be making available is the opportunity to move those funds to wherever they would like to receive them. And it may be, it may be their choice of neobank, it may be a more traditional brick and mortar bank, but the importance to them is to make sure that they can receive it. You know where they would like to receive it and when they would like to receive it, and we you know Gen Z, we know as a demographic group really expects sort of immediate gratification. So those two things go together and being able to receive your pay today and then being able to receive it where you would like to be able to manage that. So that's, that's really the model that we're continuing to pursue and make sure we deliver.
Speaker 5:This episode of the HR chat show is supported by our friends at the people in performance podcast, a popular show offering insights into the strategic competencies, behaviors and results needed to increase the performance of employees and leaders. The show looks at all areas of the world of work, including attraction and recruitment, onboarding, training and succession planning. Tune in to get a better handle on the stages of workforce planning you need to master in order to guarantee long-term success in a rapidly changing world of work. Check out the latest people and performance episodes on your podcast platform of choice. Follow us on socials and read the latest articles at pp-podcom. And now back to this episode of the HR Chat Show.
Speaker 2:Talk to me now a bit more about how companies in high-churn industries are currently offering earned wage access.
Speaker 3:We certainly anticipate that there is a lot of growth ahead for the space. The tools continue to evolve right, this becomes a true financial wellness benefit, and most employers are looking for delivering and meeting the financial wellness requirements of their employees, and there's no better tool than the one like instant provides for doing that. So how many companies actually are using this today? It is uh, you know, I don't know that. I think there is still plenty that uh are evolving and pursuing these type solutions. Uh, so I would say you know probably less than 20 of the total market has been exposed to both tips and earned wage access for immediate payouts, and I think we'll work to cover as much of that ground as we can over the next few years.
Speaker 2:You mentioned your 2020 pool report a little while ago, tal. In fact, your team creates lots of white papers, including another one I was looking at Earned Wage Access. Is HR Sleeping on this Valuable Benefit? That report offers key insights into why nearly half of HR leaders say they offer EWA and why there are misconceptions around the role and value of EWA as an employee benefit. Why is it important to conduct such reports and how does it help you better serve your customers and also educate the community?
Speaker 3:Yeah, well, look, we want to continue to be apprised of the needs of both employers and employees, and I think it is also very important that we use that message to communicate to those employers who have not yet pursued an earned wage access solution for instant pay or instant tips.
Speaker 3:And that's really the motivation there is to educate the marketplace, make sure that they know it is available, make sure they understand the financial wellness benefits. Look, we're often asked about financial wellness. Understand the financial wellness benefits. Look, we're often asked about financial wellness and financial wellness certainly starts with being able to access funds when you need it. Right that we know that employee satisfaction is much higher if they're not in financial stress, and that's you know. That's a key component of what we do, and I think our messaging anytime that we're doing research and studies and communicating that the intent is to make sure that employers understand the desires of their employees for services like instant pay and the availability for those services. I think you know there's many that are, but there's still a large group out there that are learning about instant pay and looking forward to covering that ground with those guys to make sure they understand it as we move forward.
Speaker 2:Rock and roll. I think we connected because you guys recently exhibited at sherman, chicago. One way that you guys get out there and educate the audience and the community is through your blog and through your white papers, of course, um, and you are at events like sherm, any other events coming up for you guys in the next sort of six months or so.
Speaker 3:Yeah, well, certainly, off the top of my mind, we'll be at FSTech, which is a food service technology show that is in Grapevine, texas, this year.
Speaker 3:We are, you know, we do a lot of business in the restaurant and quick service restaurant space and we're uniquely able to meet their needs, as I mentioned earlier, by providing all three of the services that they generally need for their employees, from payments, which is, card tips, and earned wage access, and so we want to make sure we're advanced where restaurant professionals are, and that's one of them We'll start gearing up for next year as well. We'll be back at the American Payroll Association Congress next year, and then we build off of relationships we have with clients too. So we are at Papa John's events when they are, and then we build off of relationships we have with clients too, so we are at Papa John's events when they are there. We cover about 70 percent of Papa John's franchisees. Today we are at Buffalo Wild Wings events and really have great relationships for tips payouts with Buffalo Wild Wings and they're expanding that to their franchisees. So we make industry shows and certainly support our client shows as well when we go out.
Speaker 2:And are you guys nationwide or are you in a certain number of states at the moment? Tal?
Speaker 3:No, absolutely. We are nationwide. We have a 50-state solution and developed that 50-state solution early on, compliant in all 50 states and have a client base. We have Lazy Dog in Irvine, california, and then we have Bloomin' Brands in Tampa, florida, so we really cover across the country. Cotton Patch is with us in Dallas, texas, and a number of others in that area, and so, yeah, we're nationwide and I look forward to serving wherever the needs for.
Speaker 2:Instant Pay and Instant Tips are. Talk to me, then, a little bit about compliance. How does Instant Financial ensure that compliance across all of these different states? You guys are staying ahead of regulatory changes. You're understanding what's coming up. Talk to me a bit more about that side of things.
Speaker 3:Yeah, absolutely. We are look instant really focused to make sure that, as we moved into the broader market a few years ago, that we did the work necessary to assure the solution met the requirements of each of the 50 states. We were really ahead of the curve in doing that. A number of states, as an example, require loan licenses Even though what we're doing is not a loan. We did a survey to make sure that we met the requirements of, again, each of the 50 states and there were about eight states that did require loan licenses. After they learned more detail about what we did and that there was no cost for access and new higher ed solution work. Many of those went away. And new higher-up solution work. Many of those went away.
Speaker 3:So we obtained loan licenses and the four states that were still out there that we needed to make sure we met their requirements. That includes the state of California. Now we see these states evolving. In many cases they are putting earned wage, access requirements and licensing requirements out there. The state of Nevada is one that most people have talked about. We anticipate there might be changes in the state of California. We've seen Missouri, we've seen Maryland and other states make changes in regulations to support, earn wage access, and we are certainly in the place we need to be with each of those states.
Speaker 2:Perfect In that case. How can folks then learn more, how can they get to your website, check out all the awesome information you're sharing there, and also how can they connect with you? Tal, Is that LinkedIn? Do you want to share your email? Tell us more.
Speaker 3:I encourage anyone, certainly feel free to reach out to me directly. My email is talclark at instantco, and so feel free to email me directly. I am also on LinkedIn and those would be the best two ways to reach me. And yeah, we're open and certainly willing to meet with anybody that has interest in instant pay and instant tips and just the general market and well-being of their employees.
Speaker 2:And, as always listeners, there will be links in the show notes. Fear not, Okay. Well, that just leaves me to say for today Tal Clark, thank you very much for being my guest on this episode of the HR Chat Show.
Speaker 3:Thank you, bill, appreciate it.
Speaker 1:And listeners as always. Until next time, happy working. Thanks for listening to the HR Chat Show. If you enjoyed this episode, why not subscribe and listen to some of the hundreds of episodes published by HR Gazette and remember for what's new in the world of work? Subscribe to the show, follow us on social media and visit hrgazettecom.
