2013 benefits strategies leveraging-benefits-to-retain

SHRM Survey Findings: State of Employee Benefits in the Workplace—Leveraging Benefits to Retain Employees

December 18, 2013

State of Employee Benefits in the Workplace—Leveraging Benefits to Retain Employees ©SHRM 2013 2

• This is part four of a series of SHRM survey findings examining employee benefits in the workplace.

• The following topics are included in the six-part series titled State of Employee Benefits in the Workplace:

» Part 1: Wellness initiatives » Part 2: Flexible work arrangements» Part 3: Health care» Part 4: Leveraging benefits to retain employees» Part 5: Leveraging benefits to recruit employees» Part 6: Communicating benefits

Introduction


• For the purpose of this survey, the following definitions were used:

» Highly skilled employees are defined as employees with skills that are critical to the short- and long-term success of their operating unit or the organization.

» High-performing employees are defined as employees ranked among the top 10 percent in their organization’s last performance review.

Definitions


Leveraging Benefits to Retain Employees at All Levels of the Organization

• Do organizations leverage their benefits program to retain employees at all levels of the organization? Less than one in five (18%) organizations reported leveraging their benefits program to retain employees.

• What benefits offerings have been leveraged to retain employees at all levels of the organization? Organizations reported that health care (68%) and retirement savings and planning (57%) are the benefits most frequently leveraged to retain employees.

• In the next three to five years, what benefits offerings will increase in importance to help organizations retain all employees? Organizations indicated that health care and retirement savings and planning are two of the benefits that would increase in importance with respect to retaining employees.

Key Findings for Retaining Employees at All Levels


Leveraging Benefits to Retain Highly Skilled Employees

• Are organizations leveraging their benefits program to retain highly skilled employees? One-fifth (20%) of organizations reported leveraging their benefits program to retain highly skilled employees.

• What benefits offerings have been leveraged to retain highly skilled employees? Health care (63%), retirement savings and planning (59%), professional and career development (55%), and flexible working benefits (55%) are the benefits most frequently leveraged to retain these employees.

• In the next three to five years, what benefits offerings will increase in importance to help organizations retain highly skilled employees? Organizations indicated that family-friendly benefits, retirement savings and planning, and flexible working benefits will increase the most in importance with respect to retaining highly skilled employees.

Key Findings for Retaining Highly Skilled Employees


Leveraging Employee Benefits to Retain High-Performing Employees

• Do organizations leverage their benefits program to retain high-performing employees? Less than one in five (19%) organizations reported leveraging their benefits program to retain high-performing employees.

• What benefits offerings have been leveraged to retain high-performing employees? HR professionals reported both health care (63%) and retirement savings and planning benefits (63%) as the benefits they leverage the most when retaining these employees. Other commonly leveraged benefits include flexible working benefits (57%) and professional and career development benefits (49%).

• In the next three to five years, what benefits offerings will increase in importance to help organizations retain high-performing employees? Organizations indicated that retirement savings and planning, flexible working benefits, professional and career development, and health care are the benefits that will increase in importance with respect to retaining high-performing employees.

Key Findings for Retaining High-Performing Employees


• The use of benefits as a retention tool is not widespread among HR professionals. However, considering that wage growth has been very weak in the post-recession economy, HR professionals cannot always use higher salaries as a draw for keeping talent. Many recruiters now advocate using a “total rewards” approach to retention, and they encourage leveraging an employer’s benefits package as part of that strategy.

• With medical costs on the rise and many workers unprepared financially for retirement, HR professionals should consider leveraging health care benefits and retirement savings and planning benefits as part of their retention strategy. Even with some uncertainty surrounding health care plans in connection with the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, HR professionals should view health care benefits, if offered at their employer, as a valuable tool for keeping workers in the fold.

• Many studies have shown that members of the Millennial generation, or those born between 1982 and 2002, place high value on flexible work schedules and managing their own time. If this benefit is offered at their employer, HR professionals should highlight this aspect of their overall benefit plans as a tool to keep younger, talented workers at their organizations.

What do these findings mean for the HR profession?

8

Leveraging Benefits to Retain Employees

at All Levels of the Organization

State of Employee Benefits in the Workplace—Leveraging Benefits to Retain Employees ©SHRM 2013


Over the past 12 months, has your organization had difficulty retaining employees at all levels of the organization?

Note: Respondents who answered “not sure” were excluded for this analysis.

Yes

No

26%

74%

25%

75%

2012 (n = 389)

2013 (n = 349)


Over the past 12 months, has your organization had difficulty retaining employees at all levels of the organization?

Note: Only statistically significant differences are shown.

Comparisons by organization staff size

100 to 499 employees (28%)500 to 2,499 employees (33%) > 1 to 99 employees (12%)


• Organizations with 100 to 2,499 employees are more likely than organizations with 1 to 99 employees to have had difficulty retaining employees at all levels of the organization over the past 12 months.


Over the past 12 months, has your organization leveraged your benefits program to retain employees at all levels of the organization?

Note: Respondents who answered “not sure” were excluded from this analysis.

Yes

No

18%

82%

20%

80%

2012 (n = 379)


Which of the following benefits has your organization leveraged to retain employees at all levels within your organization?

Note: Respondents who answered “not sure” and those whose organizations did not leverage their benefits program to retain employees at all levels within the organization were excluded from this analysis. Percentages do not equal 100% due to multiple response options.

Health care

Retirement savings and planning

Flexible working benefits

Professional and career development benefits

Family-friendly benefits

Leave benefits

Preventive health and wellness

Housing and relocation benefits

68%

57%

43%

40%

38%

37%

27%

15%

72%

58%

35%

39%

27%

37%

30%

20%

2012 (n = 74)2013 (n = 60)


Within the next three to five years, what benefits offerings will increase, remain the same or decrease in importance in your organization’s efforts to retain all levels of employees?

Health care






Leave benefits


67%

67%

61%

57%

57%

55%

33%

9%

33%

33%

37%

43%

39%

45%

67%

64%

0%

0%

2%

0%

4%

0%

0%

27%

Increase in importance Remain the same Decrease in importance

Note: n = 44-58. Respondents who answered “not sure” and whose organization did not leverage their benefits program to retain employees at all levels within the organization were excluded from this analysis.

Leveraging Benefits to Retain Highly Skilled Employees

14State of Employee Benefits in the Workplace—Leveraging Benefits to Retain Employees ©SHRM 2013


Over the past 12 months, has your organization had difficulty retaining highly skilled employees?

Yes

No

28%

72%

27%

73%

2012 (n = 389)



Over the past 12 months, has your organization had difficulty retaining highly skilled employees?



500 to 2,499 employees (40%) > 1 to 99 employees (15%)


• Organizations with 500 to 2,499 employees are more likely than organizations with 1 to 99 employees to have had difficulty retaining highly skilled employees over the past 12 months.


Over the past 12 months, has your organization leveraged your benefits program to retain highly skilled employees?


Yes

No

20%

80%

19%

81%

2012 (n = 371)


Which of the following benefits has your organization leveraged to retain highly skilled employees?

Health care





Leave benefits



63%

59%

55%

55%

41%

38%

28%

19%

69%

46%

54%

44%

35%

31%

27%

11%

2012 (n = 71)2013 (n = 64)

Note: Respondents who answered “not sure” and whose organizations did not leverage their benefits program to retain highly skilled employees were excluded from this analysis. Percentages do not equal 100% due to multiple response options.


Within the next three to five years, what benefits offerings will increase, remain the same or decrease in importance in your organization’s efforts to retain highly skilled employees?




Health care



Leave benefits


66%

64%

64%

60%

55%

53%

42%

11%

34%

36%

31%

38%

40%

45%

58%

71%

0%

0%

5%

2%

5%

2%

0%

18%


Note: n = 45-61. Respondents who answered “not sure” and whose organizations did not leverage their benefits program to retain highly skilled employees were excluded from this analysis.

Leveraging Employee Benefits to Retain High-Performing Employees

20State of Employee Benefits in the Workplace—Leveraging Benefits to Retain Employees ©SHRM 2013


Over the past 12 months, has your organization had difficulty retaining high-performing employees?


Yes

No

26%

74%

23%

77%

2012 (n = 386)


Over the past 12 months, has your organization had difficulty retaining high-performing employees?



500 to 2,499 employees (34%) > 1 to 99 employees (13%)


• Organizations with 500 to 2,499 employees are more likely than organizations with 1 to 99 employees to have had difficulty retaining high-performing employees over the past 12 months.


Over the past 12 months, has your organization leveraged your benefits program to retain high-performing employees?

Note: Respondents who answered “not sure” were excluded from this analysis.

Yes

No

19%

81%

20%

80%

2012 (n = 370)


Which of the following benefits has your organization leveraged to retain high-performing employees?


Health care



Leave benefits




63%

63%

57%

49%

38%

37%

27%

22%

47%

58%

48%

55%

29%

27%

26%

21%

2012 (n = 73)2013 (n = 63)

Note: Respondents who answered “not sure” and whose organizations did not leverage their benefits program to retain high-performing employees were excluded from this analysis. Percentages do not equal 100% due to multiple response options.


Within the next three to five years, what benefits offerings will increase or decrease in importance in your organization’s efforts to retain high-performing employees?



Health care




Leave benefits


72%

64%

61%

61%

58%

52%

42%

13%

28%

32%

38%

38%

40%

45%

56%

67%

0%

3%

2%

2%

2%

3%

2%

20%


Note: n = 45-61. Respondents who answered “not sure” and whose organizations did not leverage their benefits program to retain high-performing employees were excluded from this analysis. Percentages may not total 100% due to rounding.

26

Organization Demographics

State of Employee Benefits in the Workplace—Leveraging Benefits to Retain Employees ©SHRM 2013


Demographics: Organization Staff Size

n = 363

1 to 99 em-ployees

100 to 499 employees

500 to 2,499 employees

2,500 to 24,999 employees

25,000 or more employees

33%

32%

17%

12%

6%


Demographics: Organization Sector

n = 377

Privately owned for-profit

Nonprofit organization

Publicly owned for-profit

Government sector

Other

51%

24%

12%

11%

2%


Demographics: Organization Industry

Note: n = 375. Percentages do not equal 100% due to multiple response options.

PercentageProfessional, scientific and technical services 21%Health care and social assistance 17%Manufacturing 15%Government agencies 12%Finance and insurance 10%Educational services 9%Religious, grantmaking, civic, professional and similar organizations 5%Accommodation and food services 4%Administrative and support and waste management and remediation services 4%Construction 4%Mining 4%Transportation and warehousing 4%Arts, entertainment and recreation 3%Information 3%Retail trade 3%Real estate and rental and leasing 2%Repair and maintenance 2%Utilities 2%Whole trade 2%Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting 1%Personal and laundry services 1%Other 7%


Demographics: Other

U.S.-based operations only 80%

Multinational operations 20%

Single-unit organization: An organization in which the location and the organization are one and the same.

39%

Multi-unit organization: An organization that has more than one location.

61%

Multi-unit headquarters determines HR policies and practices.

59%

Each work location determines HR policies and practices.

4%

A combination of both the work location and the multi-unit headquarters determines HR policies and practices.

37%

Is your organization a single-unit organization or a multi-unit organization?

For multi-unit organizations, are HR policies and practices determined by the multi-unit headquarters, by each work location or by both?

Does your organization have U.S.-based operations (business units) only, or does it operate multinationally?

n = 381 n = 381

n = 244

Corporate (company-wide) 73%

Business unit/division 16%

Facility/location 11%

n = 244

What is the HR department/function for which you responded throughout this survey?


SHRM Survey Findings: State of Employee Benefits in the Workplace—Leveraging Benefits to Retain Employees

• Response rate = 11%• 441 HR professional respondents from a randomly selected sample of SHRM’s

membership participated in this survey• Margin of error +/- 5%• Survey fielded May 3-22, 2013

Survey Methodology


• Retention Resource Page

• Staffing Management Resource Page

• Managing for Employee Retention Toolkit

• Retention: How Do I Calculate Retention? Is Retention Related to Turnover?

Additional SHRM Resources

http://www.shrm.org/hrdisciplines/staffingmanagement/Pages/Retention.aspx

http://www.shrm.org/hrdisciplines/staffingmanagement/Pages/default.aspx

http://www.shrm.org/templatestools/toolkits/pages/managingforemployeeretention.aspx

http://www.shrm.org/templatestools/hrqa/pages/calculatingretentionandturnover.aspx


For more survey/poll findings, visit www.shrm.org/surveys.

For more information about SHRM’s Customized Research Services, visit www.shrm.org/customizedresearch.

Follow us on Twitter @SHRM_Research.

About SHRM Research

Project leaders:Christina Lee, researcher, SHRM Research

Project contributors:Alexander Alonso, Ph.D., SPHR, vice president, SHRM ResearchEvren Esen, manager, Survey Research Center, SHRM Research

Copy editor:Katya Scanlan, SHRM Knowledge Center

http://www.shrm.org/surveys

http://www.shrm.org/customizedresearch

http://twitter.com/SHRM_Research


The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) is the world’s largest association devoted to human resource management. Representing more than 250,000 members in over 140 countries, the Society serves the needs of HR professionals and advances the interests of the HR profession. Founded in 1948, SHRM has more than 575 affiliated chapters within the United States and subsidiary offices in China, India and United Arab Emirates.

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