A Season on the Road: Conversations, Connections, and a Clearer Purpose

This fall, the Rhino Foods Foundation team hit the road, traveling to conferences and gatherings across the country — from Oklahoma to Utah, St. Louis to Washington, D.C., and Arkansas to Massachusetts. We engaged with leaders, innovators, and advocates dedicated to designing a more equitable workplace at events including The Workers' Wealth Lab (hosted by the Aspen Institute Financial Security Program and DCIIA), Crossing the Credit Barrier (Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis), the Financial Equity Summit (Partnership for Financial Equity), the Human Potential Summit (Stand Together, Western Governors University, Walmart, and Common Group), the Consumer Impact Summit, and Engaging Workers & Businesses for Mutual Gains (Mechanism).

Across industries, sectors, and geographies, one thing became clear: there's growing hunger for approaches that put workers at the center and bridge the gaps between business, community, and policy. Whether the focus was workforce retention, employee engagement, credit access, or long-term wealth-building, conversations kept returning to the same questions: How do we truly understand what workers need? How do we design solutions that address root causes rather than symptoms?

As we reflect on the season, three key themes emerged:

1. We need to see the whole system, not just the workplace to develop effective solutions.

Across workforce development and financial equity forums, leaders consistently acknowledged a gap: too few organizations are connecting the dots between immediate worker needs and long-term business and economic outcomes. This is what we mean by a "systems-level lens" — recognizing that when a worker faces a financial crisis, the strain shows up at work but it is also deeply connected to the opportunities they have access to outside of work.

At the National Forum on Engaging Employers & Workers in Oklahoma, board members Justin Worthley and Ted Castle joined workforce intermediaries, employers, and local partners grappling with high turnover and talent retention. During small-group discussions with manufacturers, they shared lessons from Rhino's experience: listening to employees, providing holistic support beyond paychecks, and designing programs in partnership with workers and community organizations. The response was striking — attendees noted that workforce conversations often focus either on employers or on policy, rarely thinking beyond the workplace.

Similar themes surfaced at other gatherings. At the Human Potential Summit in Utah, discussions centered on retention and holistic support. At financial-focused events like Crossing the Credit Barrier and the Workers' Wealth Lab, the connection between worker stability and long-term financial health emerged as a critical — yet often overlooked — piece of the puzzle.

2. Authentic worker perspectives belong at the center of business and policy decisions.

At every stop, we witnessed growing recognition that workforce solutions cannot be designed for people alone; they must be designed with people. Workers understand the barriers to their success and can identify solutions leaders often overlook.

At the Human Potential Summit, Ted co-presented a session with Bridgett Beene and Michele Smith from Advocate Health titled "Cracking the Retention Code: Two Models That Drastically Reduced Turnover." The session explored how both organizations reduced turnover by supporting employees beyond paychecks and skill-building. A key insight resonated across the room: even the most skilled worker will struggle if they are unstable outside of the workplace. Skills training alone isn't enough.

This insight appeared everywhere we went. When organizations genuinely invite worker voice into program design, solutions become more relevant, effective, and trusted. It's not just good practice — it's increasingly recognized as essential for solutions that endure.

3. You can’t plan for tomorrow when today is uncertain.

Whether conversations focused on credit access, retirement, or wealth-building tools, leaders across sectors kept naming the same challenge: financial systems often expect workers to focus on tomorrow when today is still uncertain.

At Crossing the Credit Barrier in St. Louis, Executive Director Christina Blunt participated on a panel about employer solutions to credit access. Conversations highlighted how creditworthiness is often used as a tool for exclusion rather than access. The options that are offered to credit thin or invisible workers, like historically high APR credit cards and earned wage access programs, are not fit for purpose and often extract at predatory rates. Many families are trapped not because they are "high risk," but because the market fails to provide quality, affordable options when they need them most. A compelling question emerged: What if, instead of designing products that require consumers to prove they deserve safety, we designed products that inherently protect them?

At the Workers' Wealth Lab in Washington, D.C., conversations focused on retirement and long-term savings but repeatedly returned to liquidity and emergency resilience. Participants acknowledged that pre-retirement withdrawals aren't signs of irresponsibility — they're signs of ongoing instability. Christina and Laura Rowell of the FINRA Foundation supported a lab session on Employer Sponsored Small Dollar Loans. When they shared how Employer Sponsored Small Dollar Loans, like the Income Advance Program, help workers more effectively manage their current financial life and plan for a secure retirement, it sparked deeper discussion about why access to cheap liquidity and savings pathways are at the very foundation of retirement planning.

The message was clear: you cannot expect people to meet financial challenges if their only tools in a crisis are predatory or punitive. You cannot expect people to save for retirement when every unexpected expense requires tapping those savings early at a steep cost. Stability must come first.

Moving Forward Together

These conversations reinforced what many in the field are recognizing: solutions are strongest when they are collaborative, equitable, and grounded in the realities of workers' lives. Stability, access, and voice aren't optional — they're the foundation for sustainable workplaces and long-term financial mobility.

The appetite for this approach is growing. Employers, community partners, and financial institutions are increasingly ready to shift from designing programs based on assumptions to co-creating solutions with the people they're meant to serve.

If these themes resonate with your work, or if you're interested in exploring how human-centered, systems-level approaches might strengthen your organization's impact, reach out, we'd welcome the conversation. The work ahead requires partnership, and we're eager to learn from and collaborate with others committed to building more equitable pathways for working people.