SHRM Survey Findings: Employee Benefits in California—Communicating Benefits April 23, 2014.

SHRM Survey Findings: Employee Benefits in California—Communicating Benefits

April 23, 2014

Employee Benefits in California—Communicating Benefits ©SHRM 2014 2

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

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

» 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


• How knowledgeable are employees about their employer-sponsored benefits? The majority (80%) of California organizations reported their employees were “very knowledgeable” or “somewhat knowledgeable” of the employer-sponsored benefits available to them.

• Are organizations effective in informing employees about their benefits? Roughly three-fourths (79%) of organizations “strongly agree” or “somewhat agree” with the statement, “My organization’s employee benefits communications efforts are very effective in informing employees about their benefits.” However, only about one-fifth (22%) of organizations had an employee benefits communications budget in fiscal year 2012.

• What are the top employee benefits communications methods organizations use? The top three communications methods used by organizations in California are online or paper enrollment materials (83%), group employee benefits communications with an organizational representative (64%) and one-to-one employee benefits counseling with an organizational representative (50%).

• Are organizations using social media as a platform in their employee benefits communications efforts? Very few organizations use social media in their communication efforts. Overall, 2% of California organizations reported using social media. Among organizations not using social media in their employee benefits communications efforts, 8% of organizations indicated they plan to start using social media within the next 12 months (both in California and nationally).

Key FindingsCalifornia


• In this post-recession period of slow salary growth, some employers and HR professionals are using comprehensive benefits packages as a means to attract and retain talent. Consequently, clear communication about benefits has become important. Most HR professionals think their benefits communications are effective, but less than one in four (22% in California, 24% nationally) had an actual benefits communications budget.

• HR professionals have likely spent much time navigating the ins and outs of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). Given the complexity of the law, HR professionals should pay particular attention to health care-related benefits communications for the foreseeable future. Although some employers may choose to opt out of coverage and pay a penalty, some experts have argued that decision will have a negative impact on recruitment and retention. HR professionals appear to be aware of this. More than four in five respondents (81% in California and nationally) said health care is the most important benefit to the majority of their employees.

• Most organizations in California and nationally are not using social media channels for benefits-related communications. However, that may change in the future, perhaps due to employers’ increased use of social media in other aspects of business operations, as well as workers’ increased comfort with those forms of technology.

What do these findings mean for the HR profession?

Focus and Knowledge of Benefits



Overall, how knowledgeable are your employees about the employer-sponsored benefits available to them?

Note: Respondents who answered “not sure” were excluded from this analysis. Percentages may not equal 100% due to rounding.

Very knowledgeable

Somewhat knowledgeable

Not very knowledgeable

Not at all knowledgeable

16%

64%

18%

1%

13%

67%

19%

0%

Overall (n = 429)California (n = 365)


How does your organization determine the knowledge level of employees about the employer-sponsored benefits available to them?

Note: Percentages do not equal 100% due to multiple response options. An asterisk (*) indicates that this response option was developed from open-ended responses.

Employee surveys

Intranet use

Employee focus group

Employee meetings*

Log of question volume and/or type*

Other

27%

13%

7%

6%

5%

9%

24%

13%

10%

9%

3%

7%



Which benefit from your organization’s benefits package is the one most important to the majority (more than half) of employees?


California(n = 355)

Overall(n = 423)

Health care 81% 81%

Flexible working benefits 5% 4%

Retirement savings and planning 4% 5%

Leave benefits 3% 3%

Family-friendly benefits 3% 3%

Preventive health and wellness 3% 2%

Professional and career development benefits 2% 1%

Housing and relocation benefits 0% 0%

Other 1% 1%


In three to five years, which benefit from your organization’s benefits package do you think will be the one most important to your employees?


California(n = 355)

Overall(n = 418)

Health care 65% 67%

Retirement savings and planning 10% 11%

Family-friendly benefits 7% 6%

Flexible working benefits 6% 7%

Preventive health and wellness 5% 6%

Professional and career development benefits 5% 1%

Housing and relocation benefits 1% 0%

Leave benefits <1% 1%

Other <1% 0%

Communicating Benefits



How strongly do you agree or disagree with this statement, “My organization’s employee benefits communications efforts are very effective in informing employees about their benefits.”

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

Strongly agree

Somewhat agree

Somewhat disagree

Strongly disagree

17%

62%

16%

5%

24%

55%

15%

6%



Did your organization have an employee benefits communications budget in fiscal year 2012?


Yes

No

22%

78%

24%

76%



Did your organization’s fiscal year 2013 employee benefits communications budget increase, remain the same or decrease when compared with the fiscal year 2012 employee benefits communications budget?

Note: Only respondents whose organizations had an employee benefits communication budget in fiscal year 2012 were asked this question.

Increased in 2013

Remained the same in 2013

Decreased in 2013

There is no budget in 2013

40%

58%

2%

0%

28%

60%

8%

4%



Within the last 12 months, did your organization make any changes to your employee benefits communication materials?


Yes

No

57%

43%

58%

42%



Which of the following employee benefits communications methods does your organization use?

Note: Respondents who answered “not sure” were excluded from this analysis. Percentages do not total 100% due to multiple response options.

California(n = 361)

Overall(n = 431)

Enrollment materials (online or paper) 83% 82%

Group employee benefits communications with an organizational representative

64% 62%

One-to-one employee benefits counseling with an organizational representative

50% 55%

Intranet 44% 46%

Direct mail to home/residence 32% 33%

Newsletters (online or paper) 30% 34%

Benefit fairs 27% 24%

Virtual education 18% 14%

Social media 2% 3%

Other 9% 9%


Within the next 12 months, does your organization plan to using social media as an employee benefits communications tool?

Note: Only organizations that currently do not use social media as an employee benefits communications method were asked this question. Percentages may not total 100% due to rounding.

Yes

No

Not sure

8%

59%

33%

8%

57%

34%


Demographics



1 to 99 employees

100 to 499 employees

500 to 2,499 employees

2,500 to 24,999 employees

25,000 or more employees

31%

36%

18%

10%

5%

Demographics: Organization Staff Size

n = 310


Privately owned for-profit

Nonprofit organization

Publicly owned for-profit

Government sector

Other

60%

19%

13%

7%

2%

Demographics: Organization Sector

Note: n = 322. Percentages do not equal 100% due to rounding.


PercentageProfessional, scientific and technical services 24%Health care and social assistance 13%Manufacturing 12%Finance and insurance 10%Government agencies 8%Educational services 8%Transportation and warehousing 7%Retail trade 7%Whole trade 6%Real estate and rental and leasing 5%Accommodation and food services 4%Administrative and support and waste management and remediation services 4%Construction 4%Information 4%Utilities 4%Religious, grantmaking, civic, professional and similar organizations 3%Mining 2%Arts, entertainment and recreation 2%Repair and maintenance 2%Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting 2%Personal and laundry services 1%Other 9%

Demographics: Organization Industry

Note: n = 328. Percentages do not equal 100% due to multiple response options.


Demographics: Other

U.S.-based operations only 79%

Multinational operations 21%

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

30%

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

70%

Multi-unit headquarters determines HR policies and practices.

59%

Each work location determines HR policies and practices.

5%

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 = 324n = 325


Corporate (company-wide) 78%

Business unit/division 15%

Facility/location 16%


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


SHRM Survey Findings: Employee Benefits in California—Wellness Initiatives

• Response rate = 13%

• 373 HR professional respondents in California organizations from a randomly selected sample of SHRM’s membership participated in this survey

• Margin of error +/- 5%

• Survey fielded May 3 - June 7, 2013

Survey Methodology


• Benefits Communication Resource Page

• Open Enrollment Resource Page

• Managing Medical Leave in California

• Communicating with Employees About Health Care Benefits Under the Affordable Care Act

Additional SHRM Resources

http://www.shrm.org/hrdisciplines/benefits/pages/benefitscommunication.aspx

http://www.shrm.org/hrdisciplines/benefits/pages/openenrollment.aspx

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

http://www.shrm.org/templatestools/toolkits/pages/communicating-about-health-care-benefits-under-aca.aspx

http://www.shrm.org/templatestools/toolkits/pages/communicating-about-health-care-benefits-under-aca.aspx

About SHRM Research

24

• 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

Project leaders:Christina Lee, researcher, SHRM Research Yan Dong, SHRM Research

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

Copy editor:Katya Scanlan, SHRM Knowledge Center

Employee Benefits in California—Communicating Benefits ©SHRM 2014

http://www.shrm.org/surveys

http://www.shrm.org/customizedresearch

http://twitter.com/SHRM_Research

About SHRM

Founded in 1948, the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) is the world’s largest HR membership organization devoted to human resource management. Representing more than 275,000 members in over 160 countries, the Society is the leading provider of resources to serve the needs of HR professionals and advance the professional practice of human resource management. SHRM has more than 575 affiliated chapters within the United States and subsidiary offices in China, India and United Arab Emirates. Visit us at shrm.org.

25Employee Benefits in California—Communicating Benefits ©SHRM 2014

http://www.shrm.org/

SHRM Survey Findings: Employee Benefits in California—Communicating Benefits April 23, 2014.

Documents

Transcript of SHRM Survey Findings: Employee Benefits in California—Communicating Benefits April 23, 2014.