1. SHRM Survey Findings: State of Employee Benefits in
the Workplace—Leveraging Benefits to Retain
Employees
December 18, 2013

2. Introduction
• 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
State of Employee Benefits in the Workplace—Leveraging Benefits to Retain Employees ©SHRM 2013
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3. Definitions
• 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 shortand 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.
State of Employee Benefits in the Workplace—Leveraging Benefits to Retain Employees ©SHRM 2013
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4. Key Findings for Retaining Employees at All Levels
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.
State of Employee Benefits in the Workplace—Leveraging Benefits to Retain Employees ©SHRM 2013
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5. Key Findings for Retaining Highly Skilled Employees
Leveraging Benefits to Retain Highly Skilled Employees
• Are organizations leveraging their benefits program to retain highly skilled employees? Onefifth (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.
State of Employee Benefits in the Workplace—Leveraging Benefits to Retain Employees ©SHRM 2013
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6. Key Findings for Retaining High-Performing 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 highperforming 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.
State of Employee Benefits in the Workplace—Leveraging Benefits to Retain Employees ©SHRM 2013
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7. What do these findings mean for the HR profession?
• 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.
State of Employee Benefits in the Workplace—Leveraging Benefits to Retain Employees ©SHRM 2013
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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
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9. Over the past 12 months, has your organization had difficulty retaining
employees at all levels of the organization?
26%
Yes
2013 (n = 349)
25%
2012 (n = 389)
74%
No
75%
Note: Respondents who answered “not sure” were excluded for this analysis.
State of Employee Benefits in the Workplace—Leveraging Benefits to Retain Employees ©SHRM 2013
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10. Over the past 12 months, has your organization had difficulty retaining
employees at all levels of the organization?
Comparisons by organization staff size
•
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.
Comparisons by organization staff size
100 to 499 employees (28%)
500 to 2,499 employees (33%)
>
1 to 99 employees (12%)
Note: Only statistically significant differences are shown.
State of Employee Benefits in the Workplace—Leveraging Benefits to Retain Employees ©SHRM 2013
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11. Over the past 12 months, has your organization leveraged your benefits
program to retain employees at all levels of the organization?
18%
Yes
20%
2013 (n = 335)
2012 (n = 379)
82%
No
80%
Note: Respondents who answered “not sure” were excluded from this analysis.
State of Employee Benefits in the Workplace—Leveraging Benefits to Retain Employees ©SHRM 2013
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12. Which of the following benefits has your organization leveraged to retain
employees at all levels within your organization?
68%
72%
Health care
57%
58%
Retirement savings and
planning
43%
Flexible working benefits
35%
40%
39%
Professional and career
development benefits
38%
Family-friendly benefits
2012 (n = 74)
27%
37%
37%
Leave benefits
27%
30%
Preventive health and
wellness
Housing and relocation
benefits
2013 (n = 60)
15%
20%
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.
State of Employee Benefits in the Workplace—Leveraging Benefits to Retain Employees ©SHRM 2013
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13. 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
67%
33%
0%
Retirement savings and
planning
67%
33%
0%
Preventive health and
wellness
61%
Professional and career
development benefits
57%
Flexible working benefits
57%
Family-friendly benefits
Housing and relocation
benefits
43%
0%
67%
64%
Increase in importance
4%
45%
33%
9%
0%
39%
55%
Leave benefits
2%
37%
Remain the same
0%
27%
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.
State of Employee Benefits in the Workplace—Leveraging Benefits to Retain Employees ©SHRM 2013
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14. Leveraging Benefits to Retain
Highly Skilled Employees
State of Employee Benefits in the Workplace—Leveraging Benefits to Retain Employees ©SHRM 2013
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15. Over the past 12 months, has your organization had difficulty retaining
highly skilled employees?
28%
Yes
27%
2013 (n =
348)
72%
No
73%
Note: Respondents who answered “not sure” were excluded for this analysis.
State of Employee Benefits in the Workplace—Leveraging Benefits to Retain Employees ©SHRM 2013
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16. Over the past 12 months, has your organization had difficulty retaining
highly skilled employees?
Comparisons by organization staff size
•
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.
Comparisons by organization staff size
500 to 2,499 employees (40%)
>
1 to 99 employees (15%)
Note: Only statistically significant differences are shown.
State of Employee Benefits in the Workplace—Leveraging Benefits to Retain Employees ©SHRM 2013
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17. Over the past 12 months, has your organization leveraged your benefits
program to retain highly skilled employees?
20%
Yes
2013 (n = 335)
2012 (n = 371)
19%
80%
No
81%
Note: Respondents who answered “not sure” were excluded for this analysis.
State of Employee Benefits in the Workplace—Leveraging Benefits to Retain Employees ©SHRM 2013
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18. Which of the following benefits has your organization leveraged to retain
highly skilled employees?
63%
Health care
69%
59%
Retirement savings and
planning
46%
55%
54%
Professional and career
development benefits
55%
Flexible working benefits
44%
41%
Family-friendly benefits
2012 (n = 71)
35%
38%
Leave benefits
31%
28%
27%
Preventive health and
wellness
Housing and relocation
benefits
2013 (n = 64)
19%
11%
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.
State of Employee Benefits in the Workplace—Leveraging Benefits to Retain Employees ©SHRM 2013
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19. 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?
Family-friendly benefits
66%
Retirement savings and
planning
64%
Flexible working benefits
64%
Health care
5%
2%
45%
58%
71%
Increase in importance
2%
40%
42%
11%
5%
38%
53%
Leave benefits
0%
31%
55%
Preventive health and
wellness
Housing and relocation
benefits
36%
60%
Professional and career
development benefits
0%
34%
Remain the same
0%
18%
Decrease in importance
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.
State of Employee Benefits in the Workplace—Leveraging Benefits to Retain Employees ©SHRM 2013
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20. Leveraging Employee Benefits
to Retain High-Performing Employees
State of Employee Benefits in the Workplace—Leveraging Benefits to Retain Employees ©SHRM 2013
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21. Over the past 12 months, has your organization had difficulty retaining
high-performing employees?
26%
Yes
2013 (n = 350)
23%
2012 (n = 386)
74%
No
77%
Note: Respondents who answered “not sure” were excluded for this analysis.
State of Employee Benefits in the Workplace—Leveraging Benefits to Retain Employees ©SHRM 2013
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22. Over the past 12 months, has your organization had difficulty retaining
high-performing employees?
Comparisons by organization staff size
•
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.
Comparisons by organization staff size
500 to 2,499 employees (34%)
>
1 to 99 employees (13%)
Note: Only statistically significant differences are shown.
State of Employee Benefits in the Workplace—Leveraging Benefits to Retain Employees ©SHRM 2013
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23. Over the past 12 months, has your organization leveraged your benefits
program to retain high-performing employees?
19%
Yes
2013 (n = 336)
20%
2012 (n = 370)
81%
No
80%
Note: Respondents who answered “not sure” were excluded from this analysis.
State of Employee Benefits in the Workplace—Leveraging Benefits to Retain Employees ©SHRM 2013
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24. Which of the following benefits has your organization leveraged to retain
high-performing employees?
63%
Retirement savings and
planning
47%
63%
Health care
58%
57%
Flexible working benefits
48%
49%
Professional and career
development benefits
55%
38%
Leave benefits
Housing and relocation
benefits
2012 (n = 73)
29%
37%
Family-friendly benefits
Preventive health and
wellness
2013 (n = 63)
27%
27%
26%
22%
21%
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.
State of Employee Benefits in the Workplace—Leveraging Benefits to Retain Employees ©SHRM 2013
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25. Within the next three to five years, what benefits offerings will increase
or decrease in importance in your organization’s efforts to retain highperforming employees?
Retirement savings and
planning
28%
72%
Flexible working benefits
32%
64%
0%
3%
Health care
61%
38%
2%
Professional and career
development benefits
61%
38%
2%
Family-friendly benefits
58%
Preventive health and
wellness
52%
13%
3%
56%
67%
Increase in importance
2%
45%
42%
Leave benefits
Housing and relocation
benefits
40%
Remain the same
2%
20%
Decrease in importance
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.
State of Employee Benefits in the Workplace—Leveraging Benefits to Retain Employees ©SHRM 2013
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26. Organization Demographics
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27. Demographics: Organization Staff Size
1 to 99
employees
33%
100 to 499
employees
32%
500 to 2,499
employees
17%
2,500 to 24,999
employees
25,000 or more
employees
12%
6%
n = 363
State of Employee Benefits in the Workplace—Leveraging Benefits to Retain Employees ©SHRM 2013
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28. Demographics: Organization Sector
Privately owned
for-profit
51%
Nonprofit
organization
24%
Publicly owned
for-profit
12%
Government
sector
11%
Other
2%
n = 377
State of Employee Benefits in the Workplace—Leveraging Benefits to Retain Employees ©SHRM 2013
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29. Demographics: Organization Industry
Professional, scientific and technical services
Health care and social assistance
Manufacturing
Government agencies
Finance and insurance
Educational services
Religious, grantmaking, civic, professional and similar organizations
Accommodation and food services
Administrative and support and waste management and remediation services
Construction
Mining
Transportation and warehousing
Arts, entertainment and recreation
Information
Retail trade
Real estate and rental and leasing
Repair and maintenance
Utilities
Whole trade
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting
Personal and laundry services
Other
Percentage
21%
17%
15%
12%
10%
9%
5%
4%
4%
4%
4%
4%
3%
3%
3%
2%
2%
2%
2%
1%
1%
7%
Note: n = 375. Percentages do not equal 100% due to multiple response options.
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30. Demographics: Other
Is your organization a single-unit organization or a multiunit organization?
Does your organization have U.S.based operations (business units) only,
or does it operate multinationally?
U.S.-based operations only
80%
Multinational operations
20%
n = 381
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%
n = 381
What is the HR department/function for
which you responded throughout this
survey?
For multi-unit organizations, are HR policies and practices
determined by the multi-unit headquarters, by each work
location or by both?
Corporate (company-wide)
73%
Multi-unit headquarters determines HR policies
and practices.
59%
Business unit/division
16%
Each work location determines HR policies and
practices.
4%
Facility/location
11%
A combination of both the work location and the
multi-unit headquarters determines HR policies
and practices.
37%
n = 244
n = 244
State of Employee Benefits in the Workplace—Leveraging Benefits to Retain Employees ©SHRM 2013
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31. SHRM Survey Findings: State of Employee Benefits in
the Workplace—Leveraging Benefits to Retain
Employees
Survey Methodology
• 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
State of Employee Benefits in the Workplace—Leveraging Benefits to Retain Employees ©SHRM 2013
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32. Additional SHRM Resources
• Retention Resource Page
• Staffing Management Resource Page
• Managing for Employee Retention Toolkit
• Retention: How Do I Calculate Retention? Is Retention Related to Turnover?
State of Employee Benefits in the Workplace—Leveraging Benefits to Retain Employees ©SHRM 2013
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33. About SHRM Research
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
Project contributors:
Alexander Alonso, Ph.D., SPHR, vice president, SHRM Research
Evren Esen, manager, Survey Research Center, SHRM Research
Copy editor:
Katya Scanlan, SHRM Knowledge Center
State of Employee Benefits in the Workplace—Leveraging Benefits to Retain Employees ©SHRM 2013
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34. About SHRM
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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