First Harvest Credit Union improves workplace engagement by offering ZayZoon
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By leveraging ZayZoon, this credit union relieved workplace financial stress to improve productivity across its 50,000 members.
Results
$433K+
Wages accessed early
3,500+
Payouts since launch
25%
Of staff uses ZayZoon
>80%
Of eligible staff offered access
About
Employees
3000+ eligible for benefitsLocation
Deptford, NJ; 6 branches across South JerseyIndustry
Credit union (financial services)Payroll Platform
iSolvedI think the numbers reflect that we're doing right by them, that they are engaged, they appreciate what we're doing, and our efforts show that we care about them.
Challenge
At a credit union, an employee's own money trouble carries extra weight. When staff struggled with their finances, it didn't stay private. It showed up at work as attendance problems, performance issues and, at times, discipline.
Michael came from healthcare, where his workforce was specialists who were "all in" on their craft. At First Harvest the mix was wider: some employees in their very first job, others twenty years into a finance career. Coming out of the pandemic, expectations shifted across the industry. He needed a way to support people's financial well-being without making it feel like the credit union was looking over
their shoulder.
These are tough times, he says, from groceries to gas. First Harvest opened a food pantry last year, and Michael sees supporting his own staff as part of the same job: "You could push the numbers. You could push the sales. You could run the labor. But how you show up in this world and how you treat others is ultimately how you're going to progress."
"We started to see individuals struggle, and in some cases it spilled over into the workplace, and required some disciplinary measures to be taken against individuals who did not live up to our standard of financial responsibility," says Michael.
Solutions
"This being a financial institution, it became important that we provided some tools for our employees to be financially responsible," said Michael.
Michael's test for supplemental benefit was simple: nothing intrusive, nothing that would make people feel watched or overwhelmed. ZayZoon passed. It was easy to integrate, visually attractive and user-friendly, and reporting folded straight into their existing payroll process.
Before ZayZoon, Michael's team was issuing at least one attendance-related disciplinary action a month. "That doesn't sound like a lot, but it takes time away from doing other things when you have to stop and offer some sort of corrective action," said Michael.
After First Harvest implemented ZayZoon in 2025, that number was cut in half. In 2026, its second full year, there have been just two. "For us that's a dramatic change."
"It allows us to meet employees where they are," he said. Cases tied to financial responsibility, once a recurring issue, "are almost non-existent at this point."
Employer Spotlight
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Michael Stevenson got into HR almost by accident. While he was between jobs, a former boss told him he'd be good for an HR manager opening at a healthcare org.
The role started out as paperwork but grew into something more people-focused, and that's what kept him. "I enjoy meeting the people, working with them, and just working for them, being a servant leader, so to speak."
He joined First Harvest Credit Union in 2021 as Talent Services Leader and was promoted to Director of Human Resources in 2024. First Harvest is New Jersey's largest low-income designated credit union. He leads HR for about 125 employees: payroll, benefits, leave and employee relations, mostly behind the scenes. His advice to anyone starting out comes from his own experience: "They see you showing up every day, and they start to trust you. Just make yourself present."
These are tough times, he says, from groceries to gas. First Harvest opened a food pantry last year, and Michael sees supporting his own staff as essential: "As human resources professionals, we have that duty to recognize the human side of work, and what's needed to ensure that individuals and groups ... have a voice with us."