Shrm survey findings_strategic-benefits-communicating-benefits

March 17, 2015

SHRM Survey Findings: 2014 Strategic Benefits—

Communicating Benefits

2

The 2014 Strategic Benefits Survey, administered annually since 2012 by the Society for

Human Resource Management (SHRM), is used to determine whether various employee

benefits are leveraged to recruit and retain top talent. This research study, split into a six-

part series, features the following topics:

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

2014 Strategic Benefits Survey—Communicating Benefits ©SHRM 2015

Introduction

• Employee awareness of employer-sponsored benefits available to them: Nine percent

of respondents indicated their organization’s employees were “very knowledgeable” about

the employer-sponsored benefits available to them; about three-quarters (73%) indicated

their employees were “somewhat knowledgeable.”

• Effectiveness of organization’s employee benefits communications efforts: Just over

one-fifth (22%) of HR professionals indicated they “strongly agree” that their organization’s

employee benefits communications efforts are very effective in informing employees about

their benefits; about three-fifths (58%) indicated they “somewhat agree.”

• Employee benefits communication budget: One-quarter (24%) of respondents indicated

their organization had an employee benefits communication budget in fiscal year 2013.

• Changes to employee benefits communication materials in the last 12 months: Over

three-fifths (63%) of respondents indicated changes were made to their organization’s

employee benefits communication materials in the last 12 months. In 2014, there was a

pattern of increased use of group employee benefits communications with an organizational

representative compared with 2013 (70% vs. 62%); the same was observed for the use of

online or paper newsletters (41% vs. 34%).

3

Key Findings


• Employee benefits communications methods used by organizations: The top two

benefits communications methods used by organizations were providing online or paper

enrollment materials to employees (83%) and/or group employee benefits

communications with an organizational representative (70%); about one-half indicated

their organization offers one-on-one employee benefits counseling with an organizational

representative (52%) and/or posts information on the company’s intranet (46%).

• Use of social media as an employee benefits communications tool: Very few

respondents (4%) indicated their organization used social media as an employee benefits

communications tool. Among respondents who indicated their organization was not using

social media in their employee benefits communications efforts, 8% indicated they plan to

start using social media within the next 12 months; about two-thirds (65%) indicated they

did not plan to use social media for this purpose.

4

Key Findings (Continued)


• Improving employee’s knowledge of the benefits available to them may be an

opportunity to help improve employee job satisfaction and engagement. A recent

SHRM Employee Job Satisfaction and Engagement Survey found that 53% of

employees rated their benefits package as “very important” to their overall job

satisfaction. This finding suggests that improving the effectiveness of employee

benefits communications and making more employees aware of the employee-

sponsored benefits available to them may also raise employee job satisfaction.

• HR professionals may want to consider setting aside funds for an employee

benefits communication program. Because a better understanding of employee

benefits may also improve employee satisfaction, creating a budget for communicating

the value of available benefits could be a wise investment.


What Do These Findings Mean for the HR Profession?

• Most employers need to constantly revisit their benefits communications efforts.

The benefits landscape is in constant flux due to changes in laws, costs and benefits

strategies. As a result, most organizations need to routinely review their benefits

communications and strategies, something most organizations already appear to be

doing with over three-fifths (63%) of respondents indicating changes were made to

their organization’s employee benefits communication materials in the last 12 months.

• Traditional employee benefits communications methods appear poised to

continue to dominate for the foreseeable future. The top two benefit

communications methods used by organizations were providing online or paper

enrollment materials to employees (83%) and/or group employee benefits

communications with an organizational representative (70%); very few (4%) said they

plan to disseminate communications via social media. However, social media is often a

good way to reach employees, and organizations should consider adding as many

avenues of communication as possible to increase their reach and boost employee

awareness.


What Do These Findings Mean for the HR Profession?

(Continued)

7

Key Findings

Awareness and Importance of Benefits

8

What do these findings mean for the HR profession?Employee Awareness of Employer-Sponsored Benefits Available to Them


9%

73%

17%

1%

13%

67%

19%

0%

14%

72%

14%

0%

Very knowledgeable

Somewhat knowledgeable

Not very knowledgeable

Not at all knowledgeable

2014 (n = 372)

2013 (n = 429)

2012 (n = 433)

Note: Respondents who answered “not sure” were excluded from this analysis. Percentages may not total100% due to rounding.

9

What do these findings mean for the HR profession?Methods Used to Determine the Knowledge Level of Employees on the

Employer-Sponsored Benefits Available to Them


24%

13%

12%

11%

4%

6%

24%

10%

13%

9%

7%

24%

14%

12%

17%

4%

2%

Employee surveys

Employee focus groups

Intranet use

Interactions with HR* **

Employee meetings*

Other

2014 (n = 380)

2013 (n = 441)

2012 (n = 444)

Note: Percentages do not total 100% due to multiple response options. An asterisk (*) indicates that the response option was

developed from open-ended responses. A double asterisk (**) indicates that data were not available for that year’s Strategic

Benefits survey.

,


2014 (n = 362) 2013 (n = 423) 2012 (n = 425)

Health care 83% 81% 84%

Retirement savings and planning 7% 5% 4%

Leave benefits 4% 3% 4%

Flexible working benefits 3% 4% 2%

Professional and career development 1% 1% 2%

Preventive health and wellness 1% 2% 2%

Family-friendly benefits 0% 3% 2%

Housing and relocation benefits 0% 0% 0%

Other 1% 1% 0%

Most Important Benefit from Organization’s Benefits Package to the

Majority (More Than Half) of Employees

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

11

What do these findings mean for the HR profession?Most Important Benefit From Organization’s Benefits Package in the

Next 3 to 5 Years


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

2014 (n = 359) 2013 (n = 418) 2012 (n = 416)

Health care 68% 67% 68%

Retirement savings and planning 12% 11% 9%

Flexible working benefits 8% 7% 9%

Professional and career development 5% 1% 3%

Leave benefits 4% 1% 2%

Preventive health and wellness 3% 6% 5%

Family-friendly benefits 1% 6% 3%

Housing and relocation benefits 0% 0% 0%

Other 1% 0% 0%

12

Key Findings

Communicating Benefits

13

What do these findings mean for the HR profession?Employee Benefits Communications Efforts


22%

58%

15%

5%

24%

55%

15%

6%

20%

57%

18%

5%

Strongly agree

Somewhat agree

Somewhat disagree

Strongly disagree

2014 (n = 364)

2013 (n = 426)

2012 (n = 439)

Over three-fifths (63%) of

respondents indicated changes

were made to their organization’s

employee benefits

communication materials in the

last 12 months, representing no

change from 2013 and 2012

(58% and 63%, respectively).

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..


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

2014 (n = 368) 2013 (n = 431) 2012 (n = 447)

Enrollment materials (online or paper) 83% 82% 84%

Group employee benefits communications with an

organizational representative70% 62% 65%

One-on-one employee benefits counseling with an

organizational representative52% 55% 51%

Intranet 46% 46% 48%

Newsletters (online or paper) 41% 34% 39%

Direct mail to home/residence 38% 33% 41%

Benefit fairs 25% 24% 26%

Virtual education 15% 14% 13%

Social media 4% 3% 4%

Other 9% 9% 2%

Employee Benefits Communications Methods Used by Organizations

15

What do these findings mean for the HR profession?Plans to Use Social Media as an Employee Benefits Communications Tool

Within the Next 12 Months


8%

65%

27%

8%

57%

34%

8%

60%

33%

Yes

No

Not sure2014 (n = 347)

2013 (n = 416)

2012 (n = 429)

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.

16

What do these findings mean for the HR profession?Employee Benefits Communications Budget


Note: Only respondents who indicated their organization had an employee benefits

communication budget in the current fiscal year were asked this question. Respondents who

answered “not sure” were excluded from this analysis..

32%

57%

9%

3%

28%

60%

8%

4%

23%

67%

9%

1%

Increased in current fiscalyear compared with previous

fiscal year

Remained the same

Decreased in current fiscalyear compared with previous

fiscal year

There is no budget this fiscalyear

2014 (n = 76)

2013 (n = 85)

2012 (n = 91)

Change in Organization’s Current Fiscal Year’s Employee

Benefits Communications Budget Compared with Previous

Fiscal Year

One-quarter (24%) of

organizations had a budget for

employee benefits communication

in the previous fiscal year,

representing no change from 2013

and 2012 (24% and 22%,

respectively).

2014 Strategic Benefits Survey—Leveraging Benefits to Retain Employees ©SHRM 2015 17

Key Findings

Demographics

18

Note: n = 320. Percentages do not total 100% due to multiple response options.

Percentage

Manufacturing 27%

Professional, scientific and technical services 14%

Health care and social assistance 14%

Finance and insurance 12%

Government agencies 9%

Educational services 7%

Transportation and warehousing 5%

Construction 5%

Real estate and rental and leasing 5%

Retail trade 4%

Utilities 3%

Demographics: Organization Industry


19

Key FinDemographics: Organization Industry (Continued)

Note: n = 320. Percentages do not total 100% due to multiple response options.

Percentage

Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction 3%

Arts, entertainment and recreation 3%

Wholesale trade 3%

Repair and maintenance 3%

Accommodation and food services 2%

Administrative and support, and waste management and remediation services 2%

Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting 2%

Information 2%

Religious, grant-making, civic, professional and similar organizations 2%

Personal and laundry services 0%

Other industry 8%


20

Key FinDemographics: Organization Sector

53%

23%

13%

9%

2%

Privately owned for-profit

Nonprofit

Publicly owned for-profit

Government

Other

n = 317


21

Key FinDemographics: Organization Staff Size

n = 304


26%

39%

19%

12%

4%

1 to 99 employees

100 to 499 employees

500 to 2,499 employees

2,500 to 24,999 employees

25,000 or more employees

22

Key FinDemographics: Other


n = 319

U.S.-based operations only 75%

Multinational operations 25%

Does your organization have U.S.-

based operations (business units) only,

or does it operate multinationally?

n = 320

n = 207

n = 208

Single-unit organization: An organization in

which the location and the organization are

one and the same.

38%

Multi-unit organization: An organization that

has more than one location.62%

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?

Multi-unit headquarters determines HR

policies and practices.58%

Each work location determines HR policies

and practices.3%

A combination of both the work location and

the multi-unit headquarters determines HR

policies and practices.

39%

Corporate (companywide) 79%

Business unit/division 12%

Facility/location 9%

What is the HR department/function for

which you responded throughout this

survey?

23

SHRM Survey Findings:

Survey Methodology

• Response rate = 10%

• 380 HR professionals from a randomly selected sample of SHRM’s membership participated in this

survey

• Margin of error +/- 5%

• Survey fielded April-May 2014

Survey Methodology


24

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

For more information about SHRM’s Customized Research Services, visit

shrm.org/customizedresearch

Follow us on Twitter @SHRM_Research


About SHRM Research

Project lead:

Karen Wessels, researcher, SHRM Research

Project contributors:

Evren Esen, director, SHRM-SCP, Survey Programs, SHRM Research

Alexander Alonso, Ph.D., SHRM-SCP, vice president, SHRM Research

Jennifer Schramm, manager, SHRM-SCP, Workforce Trends and Forecasting, SHRM Research

http://www.shrm.org/surveys

http://www.shrm.org/customizedresearch

http://twitter.com/SHRM_Research

25

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.


About SHRM

http://www.shrm.org/

Shrm survey findings_strategic-benefits-communicating-benefits

Recruiting & HR

Transcript of Shrm survey findings_strategic-benefits-communicating-benefits