From Crisis to Commitment:  How Emergency Financial Relief Drives Employee Loyalty and Performance

Opportunity

Newrez leadership recognized multiple converging needs that led the team to an Emergency Financial Relief solution: 

The company needed an objective, comprehensive solution that would replace inconsistent, informal assistance with equitable support accessible to all employees during critical times. 

Solution

Newrez partnered with E4E Relief, creating a disaster and hardship Emergency Financial Relief program aligned with the company's "Care Fiercely" value. The program was designed with employee dignity and autonomy at its center. 

Program Design Features 

• Strategic category selection: Newrez refined its supported hardship categories through an iterative process, ultimately focusing on: 

• Employee-led philosophy: Consistent with Newrez's community investment approach, the program gives employees direct access to apply for financial assistance, maintaining the company's commitment to employee participation and engagement in support programs. 

• Proactive launch timing: When Hurricane Beryl struck Houston just as the program was finalizing, leadership made the decision to include Beryl dates to ensure affected employees could access support.

• Corporate funding priority: Leadership chose to emphasize corporate commitment to funding rather than heavily marketing employee donation options, sending a clear message: "Newrez leaders are doing this for you." While employee contributions remain available with 100% company match, the focus stayed on organizational investment for employee well-being. 

Key Implementation Elements

Key Outcomes

The Newrez Emergency Financial Relief solution has delivered measurable impact across organizational and individual dimensions:

Organizational Benefits

• Demonstrated authentic care: Transformed we "Care Fiercely" from tagline to tangible action, earning elevation to the company's official 2025 business ethos underpinning.

• Enabled workforce focus: Removed critical mental burden for employees managing their own crises while supporting homeowners facing similar disasters.

• Strengthened recruitment: The program now appears on recruitment materials as a distinctive offering that attracts top talent seeking socially responsible employers.

• Provided executive confidence: Leadership engagement with detailed reporting confirmed grants reach those with greatest need through objective criteria.

• Generated organic advocacy: Employee word-of-mouth became the primary program awareness driver, indicating genuine value and trust.

A People-First Investment 

The Connection Between Crisis Support and Business Outcomes

Newrez's experience reveals critical insights about the relationship between emergency financial assistance and organizational performance:

• Call center operations: For Newrez's servicing business, call center employee presence and focus directly impacts revenue. The tight margins in mortgage servicing mean that employees unable to work—or present but distracted by financial crisis—create measurable business impact. 

• Employee-customer parallel: Newrez call center employees often assist homeowners experiencing the same disasters affecting the employees themselves. Decreasing financial stress through the Emergency Financial Relief program enables employees to provide compassionate, focused support to customers navigating identical crises.

• Mental load reduction: Knowing that basic needs can be covered minimizes mental burden, allowing employees to arrive at work ready to focus rather than distracted and anxious to meet unexpected expenses.

• Company perception investment: The program demonstrates long-term commitment to employees during their most vulnerable moments, building loyalty that extends beyond the crisis period.

• Executive engagement: Leadership's direct involvement with program reporting—personally logging in to review data and ask questions—signals that employee well-being isn't delegated but owned at the highest levels. 

Results At-A-Glance

E4E Relief’s groundbreaking, survey-based ImpactStack® measurement tool provides real-time results pointing to the positive effects cash grants had on Newrez employees.