Thrive: Four Days of Inspiration, Education and Networking

As employee expectations evolve, employers are looking for innovative ways to attract and retain key talent. Thrive, our annual conference, was created to deliver those insights and help companies get the most out of their financial benefits. Over four days, attendees have the chance to connect with thought leaders in the workplace financial benefits industry, explore emerging tools and strategies, and network with their peers.

This was the case at Thrive 2024 in Phoenix, AZ. This year’s conference featured engaging keynote presentations, 90+ breakout sessions, hands-on labs, exhibitor booths and live music at Thrive After Dark events. We also set a record for the highest attendance ever, with 1,000+ benefits professionals joining from public and private companies across numerous industries.

Enhancing the Employer and Participant Experience

A central theme of this year’s conference revolved around our commitment to helping companies improve both the employer and stock plan participant experience.“By continuously investing in a digital first agenda, we are helping businesses differentiate through innovation and workflow automation,” explained Scott Whatley, Head of Morgan Stanley at Work.¹

Along with the power of automation, financial wellness, education and scalability were other key themes at the forefront of several keynotes and breakout sessions. Speakers emphasized that, when participants have access to technology and information to help them gain financial confidence, they may be able to more effectively chart a path to achieving their financial and life goals.

“The democratization of technology has long been linked to economic prosperity,” said Mark Mitchell, Chief Product Officer. “By giving employers and employees access to products enabled by powerful tools and technology platforms, we are helping them grow.”

Speakers also noted that when it comes to making life decisions, its not just about technology, its also about having a way to get answers to questions on potentially confusing financial topics. In 2023, Morgan Stanley Financial Advisors delivered over 1,300 education sessions and provided employees with bespoke training on topics such as goal setting, building emergency savings and paying down debt.

Helping Employers Support Employees

For employees to truly thrive, HR leaders need to understand what matters to them. Thrive speakers delved into this by sharing relevant takeaways from the fourth annual State of the Workplace Financial Benefits Study, including:

• 85% of employees believe their company needs to do a better job explaining how to maximize their financial benefits
  
• 81% of employees want help with specific financial challenges
• 82% of HR leaders say employees have asked for specific benefits they do not offer

This requires HR leaders to “toggle between operations and feelings,” according to Mandell Crawley, Chief Human Resources Officer at Morgan Stanley. “Pay, benefits and access to equity and job architecture all matter—but so does showing that we care about our employees and their families, promoting mental health and helping to close the wealth differential. In the context of inclusion, we’ve found that it’s a lot easier to think like an owner if you’re an actual owner, which puts equity participation front and center.” 

“Economic uncertainty and individual financial stress remain real,” stressed Brian McDonald, Head of Direct and Institutional Businesses. “Employees are seeking financial guidance and they expect their employers to help them navigate this environment.”

The Transformative Power of AI

As one of the top technology trends in 2024, the rise of AI has permeated nearly every industry, and financial services are no exception. In fact, 82% of employees and 98% of HR leaders believe AI will have some impact on their benefits experience, according to the 2024 State of the Workplace Study.

At Thrive, our leadership team highlighted that Morgan Stanley is already exploring how AI can potentially help enhance the employee and benefits experience. For example, in addition to matching internal job seekers with jobs across the company, AI solutions are also being tested to empower financial advisors within their roles. This includes enabling them to automate the recording of meetings (with client consent) and summarize key takeaways at the click of a button.

“We’re making internal Morgan Stanley information, such as charts and policies, available to all our financial advisors,” explained Jeremy Wright, Head of Workplace Innovation. “It’s all about making our smartest people smarter.”

 “Through our partnership with OpenAI, we’re using generative AI (GenAI) to manage scalable and repeatable processes so we can free up our people’s capacity to focus on higher-order tasks, “enthused Jeff McMillan, Head of Firmwide AI.

Looking Forward to Thrive 2025

Following on the success of Thrive 2024, Morgan Stanley at Work anticipates a stellar 2025 event. Slated to take place in Los Angeles, California, Thrive 2025 will build on this year’s momentum to deliver even more value and opportunities for inspiration, learning and growth.

We look forward to welcoming everyone who joined us this year, as well as a growing roster of your peers, colleagues and industry leaders, as we continue into 2025 and beyond.