1. SHRM Survey Findings: Employee Benefits
in California—Leveraging Benefits to
Recruit Employees
April 23, 2014

2. • This is part five 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—Leveraging Benefits to Recruit Employees ©SHRM 2014 2
Introduction

3. • For the purpose of this survey, the term highly skilled employees is defined as employees with skills
that are critical to the short- and long-term success of their operating unit or the organization.
Employee Benefits in California—Leveraging Benefits to Recruit Employees ©SHRM 2014 3
Definition

4. Leveraging Benefits to Recruit Employees at All Levels of the Organization
• Do organizations leverage their benefits program to recruit employees?
Thirty percent of organizations in California reported having difficulty recruiting employees; one-
third (33%) indicated leveraging their benefits program to recruit employees.
• What benefits offerings have been leveraged to recruit employees? Similar
to the overall findings, health care (85%) and retirement savings and planning (61%) still remain the
top two benefits that organizations in California most frequently leverage to recruit employees.
These benefits are followed by flexible working benefits (39%), leave benefits (38%), and
professional and career development benefits (37%).
• What benefits offerings will increase in importance to help recruit
employees in the next three to five years? Organizations indicated that retirement
savings and planning benefits (69%), health care benefits (62%), and flexible working benefits
(62%) are the benefits that will increase in importance the most with respect to recruiting
employees in California.
Employee Benefits in California—Leveraging Benefits to Recruit Employees ©SHRM 2014 4
Key Findings for Recruiting Employees at All Levels
California

5. Leveraging Benefits to Recruit Highly Skilled Employees
• Are organizations leveraging their benefits program to recruit highly skilled employees?
Although more than one-half (54%) of organizations in California indicated having difficulty in
recruiting highly skilled employees, only 35% reported leveraging their benefits program to recruit
these applicants.
• What benefits offerings have been leveraged to recruit highly skilled employees? Health care
(73%) was the benefit most frequently leveraged to recruit these employees in California.
Compared to the overall findings, many benefits were leveraged less frequently by organizations in
California, with the largest difference of 15 percentage points for flexible working benefits (40% in
California, 55% nationally).
• In the next three to five years, what benefits offerings will increase in importance to help
organizations recruit highly skilled employees? In 2013, HR professionals in California
organizations indicated that retirement savings and planning benefits (70%) and heath care (63%)
would be the most important benefits to leverage during recruitment.
Employee Benefits in California—Leveraging Benefits to Recruit Employees ©SHRM 2014 5
Key Findings for Recruiting Highly Skilled Employees
California

6. • California organizations use benefits as a recruitment tool at a higher rate than the rest of the
United States (33%, compared with 26% nationally). Those are not significant rates, but many
recruiters now advocate using a “total rewards” approach to attracting new employees, and they
encourage leveraging an employer’s benefits package as part of that strategy. HR professionals
cannot always use higher salaries as a draw for new talent because wage growth has been weak in
the post-recession economy.
• 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 recruitment strategy. Even with some uncertainty surrounding health care
plans in connection with the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, HR professionals should
view this benefit, if offered at their employer, as a valuable tool for attracting workers.
• Several 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. Many HR
professionals have recognized this trend: 40% of California organizations and 55% of organizations
nationally leveraged flexible working benefits to recruit highly skilled employees in 2013. If this
benefit is offered at their employer, HR professionals should highlight this aspect of their overall
benefits plans as a tool to attract younger, talented workers to their organizations.
Employee Benefits in California—Leveraging Benefits to Recruit Employees ©SHRM 2014 6
What do these findings mean for the HR profession?

7. Leveraging Benefits to Recruit
Employees at All Levels of the
Organization
Employee Benefits in California—Leveraging Benefits to Recruit Employees ©SHRM 2014 7

8. Over the past 12 months, has your organization had
difficulty recruiting employees at all levels of the
organization?
Employee Benefits in California—Leveraging Benefits to Recruit Employees ©SHRM 2014 8
Note: Respondents who answered “not sure” were excluded from this analysis.
30%
70%
26%
74%
Yes
No
California (n =
310)
Overall (n = 351)

9. Over the past 12 months, has your organization
leveraged your benefits program to recruit employees
at all levels of the organization?
Employee Benefits in California—Leveraging Benefits to Recruit Employees ©SHRM 2014 9
Note: Respondents who answered “not sure” were excluded from this analysis.
33%
67%
26%
74%
Yes
No
California (n =
298)
Overall (n =
341)

10. Which of the following benefits has your organization
leveraged to recruit employees at all levels within
your organization?
Employee Benefits in California—Leveraging Benefits to Recruit Employees ©SHRM 2014 10
Note: Only respondents whose organizations leveraged their benefits program to recruit employees at all levels
within the organization were asked this question. Respondents who answered “not sure” were excluded from this
analysis. Percentages do not equal 100% due to multiple response options.
85%
61%
39%
38%
37%
29%
25%
20%
81%
70%
43%
50%
45%
33%
33%
24%
Health care
Retirement
savings and
planning
Flexible working
benefits
Leave benefits
Professional and
career
development…
Preventive health
and wellness
Family-friendly
benefits
Housing and
relocation
benefits
California (n = 97)
Overall (n = 88)

11. 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
recruit all levels of employees?
Employee Benefits in California—Leveraging Benefits to Recruit Employees ©SHRM 2014 11
Note: n = 76-94. Only respondents whose organizations leveraged their benefits program to recruit employees at
all levels within the organization were asked this question. Respondents who answered “not sure” were excluded
from this analysis. Percentages may not equal 100% due to rounding.
69%
62%
62%
51%
49%
43%
34%
14%
29%
37%
37%
49%
44%
54%
63%
64%
2%
1%
1%
0%
7%
3%
2%
21%
Retirement savings
and planning
Health care
Flexible working
benefits
Professional and
career development
benefits
Preventive health
and wellness
Family-friendly
benefits
Leave benefits
Housing and
relocation benefits
Increase in importance Remain the same

12. Leveraging Benefits to
Recruit
Highly Skilled Employees
Employee Benefits in California—Leveraging Benefits to Recruit Employees ©SHRM 2014 12

13. Over the past 12 months, has your organization had
difficulty recruiting highly skilled employees?
Employee Benefits in California—Leveraging Benefits to Recruit Employees ©SHRM 2014 13
Note: Respondents who answered “not sure” were excluded from this analysis.
54%
46%
50%
50%
Yes
No
California (n =
309)
Overall (n =
353)

14. Over the past 12 months, has your organization
leveraged your benefits program to recruit highly
skilled employees?
Employee Benefits in California—Leveraging Benefits to Recruit Employees ©SHRM 2014 14
Note: Respondents who answered “not sure” were excluded from this analysis.
35%
65%
30%
70%
Yes
No
California (n =
296)
Overall (n =
343)

15. Employee Benefits in California—Leveraging Benefits to Recruit Employees ©SHRM 2014 15
73%
48%
45%
40%
32%
29%
22%
21%
70%
61%
41%
55%
46%
33%
35%
25%
Health care
Retirement savings
and planning
Professional and
career development
benefits
Flexible working
benefits
Leave benefits
Housing and
relocation benefits
Family-friendly
benefits
Preventive health
and wellness
California (n = 103)
Overall (n = 104)
Which of the following benefits has your organization
leveraged to recruit highly skilled employees?
Note: Only respondents whose organizations leveraged their benefits program to recruit highly skilled employees
were asked this question. Respondents who answered “not sure” were excluded from this analysis. Percentages do
not equal 100% due to multiple response options.

16. 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
recruit highly skilled employees?
Employee Benefits in California—Leveraging Benefits to Recruit Employees ©SHRM 2014 16
Note: n = 83-98. Only respondents whose organizations leveraged their benefits program to recruit highly skilled
employees were asked this question. Respondents who answered “not sure” were excluded from this analysis.
Percentages may not equal 100% due to rounding.
70%
63%
56%
55%
46%
41%
29%
24%
28%
36%
44%
42%
51%
55%
69%
61%
2%
1%
0%
2%
3%
3%
2%
14%
Retirement savings
and planning
Health care
Professional and
career development
benefits
Flexible working
benefits
Family-friendly
benefits
Preventive health
and wellness
Leave benefits
Housing and
relocation
benefits
Increase in importance Remain the same

17. Demographics
Employee Benefits in California—Leveraging Benefits to Recruit Employees ©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—Leveraging Benefits to Recruit Employees
©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—Leveraging Benefits to Recruit Employees
©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—Leveraging Benefits to Recruit Employees ©SHRM 2014
Demographics: Organization Industry
Note: n = 328. Percentages do not equal 100% due to multiple response options.

21. Employee Benefits in California—Leveraging Benefits to Recruit Employees
©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—Leveraging Benefits to Recruit
Employees
• 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—Leveraging Benefits to Recruit Employees
©SHRM 2014
22

23. • SHRM Research Findings: State of Employee Benefits in the Workplace—
Leveraging benefits to recruit employees
• SHRM Research Findings: The Ongoing Impact of the Recession—California
Recruiting and Skill Gaps
• SHRM Research Findings: Employee Benefits Landscape in California
• California Resources Page
• Managing the Hiring Process in California
• Benefits Underused to Recruit, Retain, SHRM Finds
23
Additional SHRM Resources
Employee Benefits in California—Leveraging Benefits to Recruit Employees
©SHRM 2014

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—Leveraging Benefits to Recruit Employees
©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—Leveraging Benefits to Recruit Employees ©SHRM 2014