The 90-Day Pilot: How a Rapid City Small Business Tests a Financial Wellness Benefit Without the Risk

Small business team reviewing a simple 90-day financial wellness plan with a coach

You know financial stress is affecting your team.

You see it in missed shifts. Distracted employees. Benefits nobody uses. People leaving for a slightly higher paycheck because they cannot see the full value of staying.

But adding another employee benefit feels risky.

Will people use it? Will HR have to manage another complicated platform? Will you be locked into a long contract?

That is why a 90-day financial wellness pilot makes sense.

It gives your Rapid City business a practical way to test real support with limited administration and no long-term guesswork.

The problem: money stress follows employees to work

Financial stress does not stay at home.

It shows up as:

  • Lower focus during the workday
  • Unplanned absences
  • Missed retirement contributions
  • Poor understanding of health benefits
  • Delayed medical care because employees do not understand their plan
  • Employees taking other jobs to keep up with bills
  • Turnover that costs far more than most small businesses expect

Your team may already have a 401(k), HSA, health plan, life insurance, and other benefits.

But having benefits is not the same as understanding them.

Employees often do not know:

  • How the 401(k) match works
  • Whether they should use an HSA or FSA
  • What their deductible actually means
  • How much they need to contribute for retirement
  • How to build a budget around irregular income
  • Where to start with debt or emergency savings

The Employee Benefit Research Institute’s 2025 research on small employers found that half of surveyed businesses with fewer than 100 employees already offered financial wellness initiatives. Another 28% were actively implementing them.

Small businesses are paying attention.

The same research found that 20% of small employers use a pilot program as their primary approach to financial wellness. That makes sense. You do not need to promise a permanent benefit before you know whether it works for your team.

Employee feeling overwhelmed by bills, missed work, and confusing retirement benefits

Video libraries and apps are not enough

A video library can explain compound interest.

An app can show someone how to create a budget.

Neither one can sit with an employee who is embarrassed about debt and help them take the next step.

That is where many financial wellness programs fall short.

They offer information. They do not always create action.

Your employees do not need another login they will forget. They need a person who can answer questions in plain English.

FundWise is not a video library. Not an app. Not a chatbot.

It is hands-on education and coaching from real financial guides.

That human support matters because money is personal. Employees may feel stress, shame, confusion, or fear. They may not ask a question in a group chat or click through a digital course.

A real coach can help them move from:

“I do not know where to start.”

to:

“Here is the next step I can take this week.”

That change can benefit the employee and the business.

What the 90-day pilot includes

The FundWise pilot is built for small businesses with 5 to 100 employees in Rapid City and surrounding Black Hills communities.

The pilot includes five practical pieces:

1. Employer kickoff call

We start with a short kickoff call to confirm your goals, your current benefits, workshop timing, delivery format, and privacy guidelines.

2. Anonymous employee money-stress survey

Employees complete a short, anonymous survey.

The survey identifies common needs without collecting private financial details.

It may ask about:

  • Financial stress
  • Retirement confidence
  • Benefits questions
  • Budgeting concerns
  • Debt
  • Emergency savings
  • Preferred workshop topics

3. One live 45–60 minute group workshop

Your employees attend one live workshop either:

  • In person at your place of business
  • Or through Zoom

Workshops focus on real issues, such as:

  • Building a workable spending plan
  • Managing debt without shame
  • Preparing for unexpected expenses
  • Saving for short-term goals
  • Understanding retirement basics
  • Reducing money-related stress
  • Knowing when to ask for help

The goal is not to overwhelm employees with financial theory.

The goal is to give them clear information and useful next actions.

4. HR summary report

You receive a practical summary of engagement and general themes, not a report exposing who has debt or who is struggling financially.

5. Renewal recommendation

At the end of the pilot, you get a clear recommendation on next steps based on what your team needed and how they engaged.

The pilot is free and requires no long-term commitment.

Education on your company’s actual benefits

Generic benefits education is not enough.

Your employees need help understanding your 401(k), your HSA, and your health plan.

FundWise can help your team understand:

  • Your 401(k) contribution and match rules
  • How to enroll or change contributions
  • HSA eligibility and everyday use
  • Deductibles, copays, and out-of-pocket limits
  • How to compare plan options
  • Where employees may be leaving money on the table

This turns your benefits package into something employees can actually use.

It also helps you get more value from benefits you are already paying for.

If employees want deeper personal support, one-on-one coaching is available separately as an optional add-on.

The rollout: simple enough to launch in under a week

You should not need a six-week implementation project to support your employees.

Here is the basic rollout.

Simple four-stage timeline showing Week 1 kickoff, Week 2 survey, Week 3 workshop, and Week 12 results

Week 1: Employer setup and kickoff call

We start with a short kickoff call.

During the call, we confirm:

  • Your employee count
  • Your current benefits
  • Your biggest workforce concerns
  • Workshop timing
  • In-person or virtual delivery
  • Privacy guidelines
  • The outcomes you want to track

We also provide employee communication materials.

You do not need to build the program from scratch.

Week 2: Anonymous employee survey and announcement

Employees complete a short, anonymous survey.

The survey identifies common needs without collecting private financial details.

It may ask about:

  • Financial stress
  • Retirement confidence
  • Benefits questions
  • Budgeting concerns
  • Debt
  • Emergency savings
  • Preferred workshop topics

The results help shape the program around your team instead of forcing a generic curriculum on everyone.

Weeks 3–4: Group workshop

Your team attends one live 45–60 minute workshop.

The process is designed to fit a normal workweek. No complicated technology rollout. No major HR lift.

Weeks 5–12: HR summary report and renewal discussion

FundWise tracks useful, non-invasive information such as:

  • Workshop attendance
  • Common education topics
  • Employee feedback
  • Benefits questions
  • Self-reported confidence

Your employees’ personal financial information stays private.

You receive a practical summary of engagement and general themes, not a report exposing who has debt or who is struggling financially.

Free pilot. No per-seat math. No long contract.

Small businesses should not have to calculate a new fee every time they hire someone.

The FundWise 90-Day Employee Financial Wellness Pilot is free for teams of 5 to 100 employees.

That means:

  • $0 to test the pilot
  • No per-seat costs
  • No surprise usage charges
  • No complicated pricing tiers
  • No long-term contract required to test the program
  • Clear expectations before the pilot starts

You know what the pilot includes before you launch.

You know when the 90 days end.

If the program is not a fit, you can stop. No strings attached.

If it works, you can continue with quarterly workshops, optional one-on-one coaching, bi-monthly support, or a customized plan.

What success looks like at day 90

A successful pilot is not simply “employees attended a workshop.”

You should leave day 90 with useful answers.

Employee outcomes

You may see:

  • Higher confidence around money decisions
  • Better understanding of your 401(k), HSA, and health plan
  • More employees taking a first step with budgeting or savings
  • Employees asking questions earlier instead of waiting for a crisis
  • Less shame around seeking financial help

Business outcomes

You can also review:

  • Workshop participation
  • Employee feedback
  • Benefits education needs
  • Changes in 401(k) participation or contribution behavior
  • Trends in unplanned absences
  • Employee satisfaction
  • Turnover patterns over time

Do not expect one quarter to solve every retention problem.

Turnover is measured over months and years. A 90-day pilot is not a magic wand.

It is a controlled test.

You learn whether employees engage. You learn what they need. You see whether human support improves confidence and benefits understanding. Then you decide whether to continue.

Business owner and financial coach reviewing a simple day-90 outcomes dashboard

A practical next step for your Rapid City business

If you have 5 to 100 employees and want to support their financial well-being, you do not need to commit to a full-year program today.

Start smaller.

Test the benefit. Listen to your team. Measure participation. Review the results.

The FundWise 90-Day Pilot is designed to make that first step simple.

You can also book a quick conversation to ask questions before deciding.

No pressure. No pitch deck. No complicated implementation.

Just a straightforward conversation about what your team needs and whether FundWise is the right fit.