2013 benefits strategies communicating benefits

SHRM Survey Findings: State of Employee Benefits in the Workplace—Communicating Benefits

December 18, 2013

State of Employee Benefits in the Workplace—Communicating Benefits ©SHRM 2013 2

• This is part six 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

Introduction


• How knowledgeable are employees about their employer-sponsored benefits? The majority (80%) of 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-quarter (24%) 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 are online or paper enrollment materials (82%), group employee benefits communications with an organizational representative (62%), and one-to-one employee benefits counseling with an organizational representative (55%).

Key Findings

UPDATE


• Are organizations using social media as a platform in their employee benefits communications efforts? Very few organizations are using social media in their communication efforts. Overall, 3% of 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.

Key Findings (continued)


• In this post-recession period of slow salary growth, many 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 (24%) had an actual benefits communications budget in 2012.

• 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. And though 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 that already: More than four in five (81%) said health care is the most important benefit to the majority of their employees.

• Most organizations 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. Only 3% of organizations reported using social media for benefits communications, but among those who do not use it, another 8% said they plan to start in the next 12 months.

What do these findings mean for the HR profession?

Focus and Knowledge of Benefits

6


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

13%

67%

19%

0%

14%

72%

14%

0%

2012 (n = 433)

2013 (n = 429)


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 in 2013. A double asterisk (**) indicates that data were not available for 2012 or 2013.

Employee surveys

Intranet use

Employee focus group

Employee meetings*

Log of question volume and/or type**

Interactions with HR**

Other

24%

13%

10%

9%

3%

7%

24%

12%

14%

4%

17%

2%

2012 (n = 444)

2013 (n = 441)


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

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

2012 (n = 425)

2013 (n = 423)

Health care 84% 81%

Retirement savings and planning 4% 5%

Flexible working benefits 2% 4%

Leave benefits 4% 3%

Family-friendly benefits 2% 3%

Preventive health and wellness 2% 2%

Professional and career development benefits 2% 1%

Housing and relocation benefits 0% 0%

Other 0% 1%


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

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

2012 (n = 416)

2013 (n = 418)

Health care 68% 67%

Retirement savings and planning 9% 11%

Flexible working benefits 9% 7%

Family-friendly benefits 3% 6%

Preventive health and wellness 5% 6%

Leave benefits 2% 1%

Professional and career development benefits 3% 1%

Housing and relocation benefits 0% 0%

Other 0% 0%

Communicating Benefits

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.”


Strongly agree

Somewhat agree

Somewhat disagree

Strongly disagree

24%

55%

15%

6%

20%

57%

18%

5%

2012 (n = 439)2013 (n = 426)


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


Yes

No

24%

76%

22%

78%

2012 (n = 467)

2013 (n = 360)


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 have an employee benefits communication budget in fiscal year 2013 were asked this question.

Increased in 2013

Remained the same in 2013

Decreased in 2013

There is no budget in 2013

28%

60%

8%

4%

23%

67%

9%

1%

2012 (n = 91)

2013 (n = 85)


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

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

Yes

No

58%

42%

63%

38%

2012 (n = 432)

2013 (n = 410)


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

Note: A dash (-) indicates that this question was not asked that year. Respondents who answered “not sure” were excluded from this analysis. Percentages do not total 100% due to multiple response options.

2012 (n = 447)

2013 (n = 431)

Enrollment materials (online or paper) 84% 82%

Group employee benefits communications with an organizational representative

65% 62%

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

51% 55%

Intranet 48% 46%

Newsletters (online or paper) 39% 34%

Direct mail to home/residence 41% 33%

Benefit fairs 26% 24%

Virtual education 13% 14%

Social media 4% 3%

Group employee benefits communications with your vendor 3% -

Other 2% 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%

57%

34%

8%

60%

33%

2012 (n = 429)

2013 (n = 416)

18

Organization Demographics


Demographics: Organization Staff Size

n = 363

1 to 99 employees

100 to 499 employees

500 to 2,499 employees

2,500 to 24,999 employees

25,000 or more employees

33%

32%

17%

12%

6%


Demographics: Organization Sector

n = 377

Privately owned for-profit

Nonprofit organization

Publicly owned for-profit

Government sector

Other

51%

24%

12%

11%

2%

State of Employee Benefits in the Workplace—Wellness Initiatives ©SHRM 2013 21

PercentageProfessional, scientific and technical services 21%Health care and social assistance 17%Manufacturing 15%Government agencies 12%Finance and insurance 10%Educational services 9%Religious, grantmaking, civic, professional and similar organizations 5%Accommodation and food services 4%Administrative and support and waste management and remediation services 4%Construction 4%Mining 4%Transportation and warehousing 4%Arts, entertainment and recreation 3%Information 3%Retail trade 3%Real estate and rental and leasing 2%Repair and maintenance 2%Utilities 2%Whole trade 2%Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting 1%Personal and laundry services 1%Other 7%

Demographics: Organization Industry

Note: n = 375. Percentages do not equal 100% due to multiple response options.

State of Employee Benefits in the Workplace—Wellness Initiatives ©SHRM 2013 22

Demographics: Other

U.S.-based operations only 80%

Multinational operations 20%

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%

Multi-unit headquarters determines HR policies and practices.

59%

Each work location determines HR policies and practices.

4%

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 = 381n = 381

n = 244

Corporate (company-wide) 73%

Business unit/division 16%

Facility/location 11%

n = 244

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


SHRM Survey Findings: State of Employee Benefits in the Workplace—Communicating Benefits

• 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

Survey Methodology


• Benefits Communication Resource Page

• Open Enrollment Resource Page

Additional SHRM Resources

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

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


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.

About SHRM Research

Project leaders:Christina Lee, researcher, SHRM Research

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

Copy editor:Katya Scanlan, SHRM Knowledge Center

http://www.shrm.org/surveys

http://www.shrm.org/customizedresearch

http://twitter.com/SHRM_Research

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.

26State of Employee Benefits in the Workplace—Communicating Benefits ©SHRM 2013