People-centrism in financial wellbeing of employees with Tiffany Haynes

The guest of this episode is Tiffany Haynes, COO & Chief People Officer at Fingercheck. Prior to FC, Tiffany was with Jack Henry (NASDAQ: JKHY) for nearly 20 years; much of that time was devoted to fintech operations, program management, people operations, and leading consumer-facing experiences. She served in various roles, including Chief People Officer (6500+ employees) and as General Manager | Vice President of Consumer-Facing Experiences with full P&L responsibilities.

In this episode we will focus on Tiffany’s passion, namely putting people first and enabling small businesses with feature-rich solutions that are simple and powerful, so the business owner can spend more time in the business and less time running the business.

Michał Grela: Hello and welcome to yet another episode of IT Insights by Future Processing. My name is Michał Grela and my guest today is Tiffany Haynes, CEO and Chief People Officer at Fingercheck. Hello, Tiffany!

Tiffany Haynes: Hey, how are you?

Michał Grela: Very good, thank you. It’s lovely to have you here, and I am really looking forward to this conversation. Tiffany, you have been on the market for more than 20 years now; can you say something more about your previous experience and what you have been up to all this time?

Tiffany Haynes: Yeah, for sure. I have been in the financial technology space for almost 20 years now, doing everything from operations and program management to people operations and M&A work. I was the Chief People Officer for an S&P 500 company and served as vice president of consumer-facing experiences.

Now, I am the CEO and Chief People Officer at Fingercheck, where we are about enabling small businesses with feature-rich, simple, and powerful solutions so business owners can spend more time in the business and less time running the business. It is basically HR Tech matched up with Fintech.

Michał Grela: That is exactly the topic of our conversation, as I know you are passionate about putting people first and making life easier for them. Let’s start with employee well-being and the “people-centrism” that is your jam. Trends like the “Big Quit” and “Big Resignation” are serious threats to businesses today; how do you stay on top of these risks?

Tiffany Haynes: I suppose it is all in how you frame it. Risk holds great reward when you have the right mindset and a solid plan. The COVID-19 perspective magnified the need for employers to offer more grace and flexibility, putting more control and autonomy back on the employee.

This shift in behavior led to the Big Quit and the “Big Brother resignation” [sic], and even “quiet quitting.” I believe these happenings forced a much-needed balance between the employee and employer relationship.

As a business owner, you need to think about how to leverage this risk to benefit your business. You don’t hold all the power, so you must balance the needs of the employee and the business. To win the talent war, you can pick a “lane” – whether it is winning on pay, how you pay, financial wellness, flexibility of location, or the draw of innovation. You don’t need to win on everything, but you must be committed and clear about your differentiator.

Michał Grela: Regarding the intersection of employee goals and employer interests, is improving financial wellness a real trend or just a buzzword? Also, how does technology support aspects like Earned Wage Access (EWA)?

Tiffany Haynes: Financial wellness, literacy, and accessibility are certainly trends that we need to push forward to solve real problems. Earned Wage Access is a tool to help break the cycle of payday loans and predatory lending; it is a safer, more secure alternative, though it is currently reactive rather than proactive.

We have to consider variables like the technology being present and the growing visibility of financial literacy. However, we also have inflation creating pressure on wages and global dynamics like the energy crisis.

We aren’t done talking about EWA because we are nowhere near ubiquity, and there is a big push to get the employee back in control of their financials. Right now, companies dictate when you get paid – once a month or every other week – but we have room to pursue on-demand or even streaming payments.

Michał Grela: If we have real-time payments, why don’t we have real-time payroll?

Tiffany Haynes: That is a great mental model to work through! Real-time payments aren’t even totally ubiquitous yet. Financial services tend to be slow on tech adoption because they are built on decades of archaic technology. Startups are trying to figure out how to do it faster, which is a major issue.

Michał Grela: I feel there is a big need for this conversation to help progress beyond legacy and heritage systems toward more people-centric technology.

Tiffany Haynes: Exactly. It is like living at Grand Central Station with all these different tracks and times; you are trying to figure out which track gets you to the next one to reach your final destination. It is exciting but difficult because there isn’t a one-way, non-stop pass to where we need to be.

Michał Grela: I know the aspect of women in fintech is close to you. Why is that important and how can companies contribute?

Tiffany Haynes: I implore women to take more risk. We often play it too safe and ask for permission rather than “daring greatly.” You have to be courageous in your leadership and brave in the gigs you take. Everyone is learning; nobody really has it all figured out.

For companies and allies, I say: reward the risk. Watch for when women take risks – like coming back after maternity leave, asking for a new project, or challenging something respectfully. When you encourage that, you create a safe, innovative environment where everyone benefits.

Michał Grela: Women definitely have what it takes to be bold; it’s about the attitude toward risk and self-worth. Organizations must foster a space for all people to thrive.

Finally, from your perspective, what tech trends are currently the most disruptive?

Tiffany Haynes: Fintech moves so quickly. While everyone is a bit “cold” from crypto right now, DeFi (Decentralized Finance) hasn’t made its full mark yet. Payroll hasn’t had its disruptive moment either; we are still figuring out how to counterbalance faster business payments with employees getting paid faster for earned wages.

Another interesting area is the cannabis industry. It is very tough for those players to move money due to regulations. These are the areas I research because there is definitely more work to be done.

Michał Grela: It sounds like plenty of challenges ahead! Thank you, Tiffany, for sharing your insights.

Tiffany Haynes: My pleasure.

Michał Grela: And thank you to our listeners. If you liked this episode of IT Insights, please share it and visit us at itinsights.tech for more podcasts and webinars.