MILWAUKEE, Wis. — With the pressures of the current economy stressing most employees out, Brewery Credit Union says to give BEER a try.
Only on tap for area businesses, the Brewery's Employee Education Resource (BEER) program is designed to position the credit union as the primary re-source for information, education and financial services.
"We're really looking to make an impact with our SEGs, and we wanted an acronym that will get noticed," said Brewery CU Marketing Director Mikal Gilliat. "Well, we're not shy about who we are and figured why not BEER? What's important is that the program hones in on what people need now in the workplace especially with the subprime mess. We're here to reach out and help employers provide some much needed financial education."
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The BEER program focuses on financial education and includes employee-only promotional offers, on-site seminars, free direct deposit and access to the BrewMaster, an e-mail system where employees can have their financial questions answered at anytime.
"We're getting back to basics and we want to be the trusted source people turn to for their financial information," said Gilliat. "That's why the BrewMaster is open to anyone who has a question regardless of if they are a member. Basically we created it to make sure that these SEGs are taken care of so even if an employee can't make it to a seminar they can still get the answers they need within 24 hours."
Brewery CU has made the program available to all companies in Southeastern Wisconsin with 50 or more full-time employees.
The first on-site seminars will include a home-buyers education class.
"A mortgage is one of the largest financial decisions a person can make that causes stress especially in this market," said Gilliat. "The housing market has been a large discussion lately that has caused some fears and confusion. Brewery Credit Union wants to educate the community on buying a home because right now is a great time to invest in or refinance a home."
To ensure that the program is a right fit for each SEG, the credit union's in-house design team can customize everything from the program content mix to incorporating the company's colors and slogans within the promotional materials.
"Nothing is worse than feeling like what being offered is just some generic add on," said Gilliat. "We recently signed Time Warner Cable here, and they wanted to encourage their employees to have direct deposit so their BEER program includes direct deposit incentives and Brewery CU switch kits."
That personal attention to detail extends even to pitching the program to area SEGs. Gilliat spends
time talking to HR personnel determining how Brewery CU can help meet or round out their existing education efforts.
"We're hoping that over time as more and more employees turn to us for information they will trust us so much they won't look at the competition because they know we can help," said Gilliat.
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