Looking for loyal employees? Trying to attract new workers? If so, you may want to optimize your benefits plan.
According to the 6th annual MetLife Study of Employee Benefits Trends, 45% of employees say benefits were a contributing factor to their decisions to stay with their current employer, up from 33% a year ago. Also, an additional 33% of employees say benefits were one of the factors that attracted them to their current position, up from 28% last year.
When employees were asked to rank the importance of benefits in retention and workplace loyalty, they ranked retirement benefits third behind health benefits (second) and salary/wages (first). In fact, 72% of employees say that retirement benefits are an important factor in loyalty.
But, employers don’t always see it the same way. Only 41% of them believe retirement benefits are an important factor to their employees. However, 58% of employers believe that benefits (on the whole) play an important role in retention, and that number climbs to 65% among employers with 500 or more employees.
“With retention a key business concern, employers are looking to improve employee loyalty more than ever. This year’s data on benefits behaviors shows a gap between what employers think will help drive improved loyalty and satisfaction, and what employees are actually looking for,” says Ronald Leopold, M.D., vice-president with MetLife Institutional Business. “By better understanding what ways benefits drive employee loyalty in an increasingly diverse workforce, employers have an untapped opportunity to maximize the effectiveness of their benefits plans.”
Employees also say that they would like to see employers offer a wider range of voluntary benefits, even if that means a little extra would come out of their own pockets. Access to financial advice and guidance in the workplace is another benefit employees would like their bosses to offer.
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