Sodexo
Manee: Immediate access to earned salary
Our Expertise
Marketable Innovation
Business Growth
Business Design
Prototyping
Manee is rewriting the rules of payday, granting employees access to their hard-earned wages when they need them most. Discover how this revolutionary approach is reshaping financial stability.
Challenge
Our client, a prominent B2B employer benefits provider, faced a revenue decline due to new legislation in the Czech Republic. Seeking to address this challenge and enhance employee financial stability, they approached us for a solution. The goal was to discover new revenue streams, expand their services, innovate on their business and maintain market leadership.
Key Insight
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic and rising inflation, financial stress gripped many, with a significant portion of households living paycheck to paycheck. Our research unveiled that 70% of individuals experienced financial strain, and half encountered shortfalls between pay periods. The inflexible monthly salary cycle led employees to seek alternatives to bridge gaps, affecting financial planning. Young professionals often struggled with financial management, which extended to other demographic groups.
Our approach
Understanding employer and employee needs was pivotal. We recognized an opportunity to reshape the traditional monthly salary cycle. By offering immediate earned salary access, we aimed to enhance financial well-being. Discussions and research showed that instant access resonated positively with employees, motivating them and reducing the need for payday loans. This innovative benefit aligned with the global trend of on-demand salary pay.
Product Solution
After the research and ideation phase, our task was to design a product to secure revenue streams and introduce a business model; valid and ready to be implemented.
Our response is Manee: A new tool offering flexible access to earned salary for financially stressed professionals. The product aimed to aid financial well-being, increase employee retention and cut HR costs. We designed the service, built a prototype, mapped user journeys, and developed essential features for the pilot phase. Manee provided immediate value to both employers and employees, addressing financial concerns and fostering loyalty.
Business Solution
The business strategy encompassed partnership models, technical feasibility, budgeting, legal diligence, and risk assessment. The Business Case we built outlined target clients, customer journeys, costs, revenue models, pricing options, distribution channels, and value propositions. We then constructed a growth plan for scalability. We created a realistic roadmap with a rollout strategy and delivered it to the client to be tested with their main business partners. Together with our client, we conducted an extensive feasibility study with the objectives;
- To design the business strategy
- To identify the technical implementation & its feasibility
- To budget the project
- To modelize the product profitability & financial forecast
- To create the due diligence on legal matters
- And conduct risk assessment in order to identify, score and mitigate risks
Outcome
According to our feasibility study, Manee’s impact was profound:
- Employee Satisfaction: Flexible access to earned money emerged as a coveted benefit, boosting employee contentment.
- Financial Well-being: Manee helped users bridge financial gaps, reducing reliance on payday loans.
- Revenue Diversification: The new benefit opened avenues for our client to navigate revenue loss and expand their customer base.
Through innovative thinking, market insight, and strategic planning, we designed a solution that addressed both our client’s revenue challenge and employees’ financial well-being. Manee showcased the power of responding to real-world issues with tailored, effective solutions.
