This SHRM survey examines how California organizations communicate employee benefits. Key findings include: - Most employees are knowledgeable about available benefits, though few organizations have benefits communication budgets. - Top communication methods are online/paper enrollment materials and group/one-on-one meetings with representatives. - Very few organizations use social media for benefits communication currently, though some plan to in the future. - Health care remains the most important benefit to employees currently and is expected to remain so in the next 3-5 years.

1. SHRM Survey Findings: Employee Benefits in
California—Communicating Benefits
April 23, 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
Employee Benefits in California—Communicating Benefits ©SHRM 2014 2
Introduction

3. • 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).
Employee Benefits in California—Communicating Benefits ©SHRM 2014 3
Key Findings
California

4. • 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.
Employee Benefits in California—Communicating Benefits ©SHRM 2014 4
What do these findings mean for the HR profession?

5. Focus and Knowledge of Benefits
Employee Benefits in California—Communicating Benefits ©SHRM 2014 5

6. Overall, how knowledgeable are your employees about the employer-
sponsored benefits available to them?
Employee Benefits in California—Communicating Benefits ©SHRM 2014 6
Note: Respondents who answered “not sure” were excluded from this analysis. Percentages may not equal 100% due to rounding.
16%
64%
18%
1%
13%
67%
19%
0%
Very
knowledgeable
Somewhat
knowledgeable
Not very
knowledgeable
Not at all
knowledgeable
California (n = 365)
Overall (n = 429)

7. How does your organization determine the knowledge level of
employees about the employer-sponsored benefits available to them?
Employee Benefits in California—Communicating Benefits ©SHRM 2014 7
Note: Percentages do not equal 100% due to multiple response options. An asterisk (*) indicates that this response option was developed from
open-ended responses.
27%
13%
7%
6%
5%
9%
24%
13%
10%
9%
3%
7%
Employee surveys
Intranet use
Employee focus group
Employee meetings*
Log of question volume
and/or type*
Other
California (n = 373)
Overall (n = 441)

8. Which benefit from your organization’s benefits package is the one most
important to the majority (more than half) of employees?
Employee Benefits in California—Communicating Benefits ©SHRM 2014 8
Note: Respondents who answered “not sure” were excluded from this analysis. Percentages may not equal 100% due to rounding.
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%

9. 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?
Employee Benefits in California—Communicating Benefits ©SHRM 2014 9
Note: Respondents who answered “not sure” were excluded from this analysis. Percentages may not equal 100% due to rounding.
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%

10. Communicating Benefits
Employee Benefits in California—Communicating Benefits ©SHRM 2014 10

11. 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.”
Employee Benefits in California—Communicating Benefits ©SHRM 2014 11
Note: Respondents who answered “not sure” were excluded from this analysis.
17%
62%
16%
5%
24%
55%
15%
6%
Strongly agree
Somewhat agree
Somewhat disagree
Strongly disagree
California (n = 354)
Overall (n = 426)

12. Did your organization have an employee benefits communications
budget in fiscal year 2012?
Employee Benefits in California—Communicating Benefits ©SHRM 2014 12
Note: Respondents who answered “not sure” were excluded from this analysis.
22%
78%
24%
76%
Yes
No
California (n = 299)
Overall (n = 360)

13. 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?
Employee Benefits in California—Communicating Benefits ©SHRM 2014 13
Note: Only respondents whose organizations had an employee benefits communication budget in fiscal year 2012 were asked this question.
40%
58%
2%
0%
28%
60%
8%
4%
Increased in
2013
Remained
the same in
2013
Decreased
in 2013
There is no
budget in
2013
California (n = 65)
Overall (n = 85)

14. Within the last 12 months, did your organization make any changes to
your employee benefits communication materials?
Employee Benefits in California—Communicating Benefits ©SHRM 2014 14
Note: Respondents who answered “not sure” were excluded from this analysis.
57%
43%
58%
42%
Yes
No
California (n = 341)
Overall (n = 410)

15. Which of the following employee benefits communications methods
does your organization use?
Employee Benefits in California—Communicating Benefits ©SHRM 2014 15
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%

16. Within the next 12 months, does your organization plan to using social
media as an employee benefits communications tool?
Employee Benefits in California—Communicating Benefits ©SHRM 2014 16
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.
8%
59%
33%
8%
57%
34%
Yes
No
Not sure
California (n = 353)
Overall (n = 416)

17. Demographics
Employee Benefits in California—Communicating Benefits ©SHRM 2014 17

18. 31%
36%
18%
10%
5%
1 to 99 employees
100 to 499 employees
500 to 2,499 employees
2,500 to 24,999 employees
25,000 or more employees
Employee Benefits in California—Communicating Benefits ©SHRM 2014 18
Demographics: Organization Staff Size
n = 310

19. 60%
19%
13%
7%
2%
Privately owned for-
profit
Nonprofit
organization
Publicly owned for-
profit
Government sector
Other
Employee Benefits in California—Communicating Benefits ©SHRM 2014 19
Demographics: Organization Sector
Note: n = 322. Percentages do not equal 100% due to rounding.

20. Percentage
Professional, 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%
20Employee Benefits in California—Communicating Benefits ©SHRM 2014
Demographics: Organization Industry
Note: n = 328. Percentages do not equal 100% due to multiple response options.

21. Employee Benefits in California—Communicating Benefits ©SHRM 2014 21
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 = 324
n = 325
Note: n = 234. Percentages do not equal 100% due to rounding.
Corporate (company-wide) 78%
Business unit/division 15%
Facility/location 16%
Note: n = 234. Percentages do not equal 100% due to rounding.
What is the HR department/function for
which you responded throughout this
survey?

22. 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
Employee Benefits in California—Communicating Benefits ©SHRM 2014 22

23. • 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
Employee Benefits in California—Communicating Benefits ©SHRM 2014 23
Additional SHRM Resources

24. 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 Research
Evren Esen, director, Survey Research Center, SHRM Research
Copy editor:
Katya Scanlan, SHRM Knowledge Center
Employee Benefits in California—Communicating Benefits ©SHRM 2014

25. 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