1. SHRM Survey Findings: State of Employee Benefits in
the Workplace—Leveraging Benefits to Retain
Employees
January 10, 2013

2. Introduction
• This is part four of a series of SHRM surveys examining the state of employee benefits in the
workplace.
• The following topics are included in this six-part series:
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 2012 2

3. Key Findings
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? One in five (20%) 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 health care (72%) and retirement savings and
planning (58%) were 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 retirement savings and
planning and health care are the benefits that will increase in importance with respect to
retaining employees.
State of Employee Benefits in the Workplace—Leveraging Benefits to Retain Employees ©SHRM 2012 3

4. Key Findings
Leveraging Benefits to Retain Highly Skilled Employees
• Are organizations leveraging their benefits program to retain highly skilled employees?
About two out of 10 (19%) organizations reported leveraging their benefits program to
retain highly skilled employees.
• What benefits offerings have been leveraged to retain highly skilled employees? Health
care (69%), professional and career development (54%), and retirement savings and
planning (46%) were 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 1) retirement
savings and planning and 2) flexible working benefits are the benefits that will increase in
importance with respect to retaining highly skilled employees.
State of Employee Benefits in the Workplace—Leveraging Benefits to Retain Employees ©SHRM 2012 4

5. Key Findings
Leveraging Employee Benefits to Retain High-Performing Employees
• Do organizations leverage their benefits program to retain high-performing employees?
One in five (20%) organizations reported leveraging their benefits program to retain high-
performing employees.
• What benefits offerings have been leveraged to retain high-performing employees? HR
professionals reported health care (58%), professional and career development benefits
(55%), flexible working benefits (48%), and retirement savings and planning benefits (47%)
as the 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 high-performing employees? Organizations indicated that 1)
retirement savings and planning, 2) health care, and 3) professional and career
development 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 2012 5

6. Leveraging Benefits to Retain Employees at All
Levels of the Organization

7. Over the past 12 months, has your organization had difficulty retaining
employees at all levels of the organization?
Yes 25%
No 75%
Note: n = 389. Respondents who answered “not sure” were excluded for this analysis .
State of Employee Benefits in the Workplace—Leveraging Benefits to Retain Employees ©SHRM 2012 7

8. Over the past 12 months, has your organization leveraged your benefits
program to retain employees at all levels of the organization?
Yes 20%
No 80%
Note: n = 379. Respondents who answered “not sure” were excluded from this analysis .
State of Employee Benefits in the Workplace—Leveraging Benefits to Retain Employees ©SHRM 2012 8

9. Which of the following benefits has your organization leveraged to
retain employees at all levels within your organization?
Health care 72%
Retirement savings and
planning 58%
Professional and career
development benefits 39%
Leave benefits 37%
Flexible working benefits 35%
Preventive health and 30%
wellness
Family-friendly benefits 27%
Housing and relocation
20%
benefits
Note: n = 74. 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 2012 9

10. Within the next three to five years, what benefits offerings will increase
or decrease in importance in your organization’s efforts to retain all
levels of employees?
Retirement savings and
70% 30% 0%
planning
Health care 70% 26% 4%
Preventive health and
65% 32% 3%
wellness
Professional and career
64% 33% 3%
development benefits
Flexible working benefits 63% 36% 1%
Leave benefits 51% 46% 3%
Family-friendly benefits 50% 49% 1%
Housing and relocation 24% 62% 14%
benefits
Increase in importance Remain the same Decrease in importance
Note: n = 58-74. 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 2012 10

11. Leveraging Benefits to Retain Highly Skilled
Employees

12. Definition
• For the purpose of this survey, a highly skilled employee is defined as any employee with
skills that are critical to the short- and long-term success of their operating unit or the
organization.
State of Employee Benefits in the Workplace—Leveraging Benefits to Retain Employees ©SHRM 2012 12

13. Over the past 12 months, has your organization had difficulty
retaining highly skilled employees?
Yes 27%
No 73%
Note: n = 389. Respondents who answered “not sure” were excluded for this analysis.
State of Employee Benefits in the Workplace—Leveraging Benefits to Retain Employees ©SHRM 2012 13

14. Over the past 12 months, has your organization had difficulty
retaining highly skilled employees?
Comparisons by organization staff size
• Organizations with 2,500 to 24,999 employees are more likely than organizations with 1 to 2,499 employees to have had
difficulty retaining highly skilled employees over the past 12 months.
Comparisons by organization staff size
1 to 99 employees (21%)
2,500 to 24,999 employees (42%) > 100 to 499 employees (20%)
500 to 2,499 employees (21%)
Note: Only statistically significant differences are shown.
State of Employee Benefits in the Workplace—Leveraging Benefits to Retain Employees ©SHRM 2012 14

15. Over the past 12 months, has your organization leveraged your benefits
program to retain highly skilled employees?
Yes 19%
No 81%
Note: n = 371. Respondents who answered “not sure” were excluded for this analysis .
State of Employee Benefits in the Workplace—Leveraging Benefits to Retain Employees ©SHRM 2012 15

16. Over the past 12 months, has your organization leveraged your
benefits program to retain highly skilled employees?
Comparisons by organization sector
• Nonprofit organizations are more likely than publicly owned for-profit organizations to leverage their benefits
program to retain highly skilled employees.
Comparisons by organization sector
Nonprofit (23%) > Publicly owned for-profit (8%)
Note: Only statistically significant differences are shown.
State of Employee Benefits in the Workplace—Leveraging Benefits to Retain Employees ©SHRM 2012 16

17. Which of the following benefits has your organization leveraged to
retain highly skilled employees?
Health care 69%
Professional and career
development benefits 54%
Retirement savings and
planning 46%
Flexible working benefits 44%
Family-friendly benefits 35%
Leave benefits 31%
Preventive health and 27%
wellness
Housing and relocation
11%
benefits
Note: n = 71. 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 2012 17

18. Within the next three to five years, what benefits offerings will increase
or decrease in importance in your organization’s efforts to retain highly
skilled employees?
Retirement savings and
70% 30% 0%
planning
Flexible working benefits 67% 31% 2%
Health care 66% 31% 3%
Professional and career
66% 31% 3%
development benefits
Preventive health and
59% 38% 3%
wellness
Family-friendly benefits 53% 44% 3%
Leave benefits 49% 48% 3%
Housing and relocation 27% 65% 8%
benefits
Increase in importance Remain the same Decrease in importance
Note: n = 52-68. 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 2012 18

19. Leveraging Employee Benefits to Retain High-
Performing Employees

20. Definition
• For the purpose of this survey, a high-performing employee is defined as any employee
ranked among the top 10% in the organization’s last performance review cycle.
State of Employee Benefits in the Workplace—Leveraging Benefits to Retain Employees ©SHRM 2012 20

21. Over the past 12 months, has your organization had difficulty retaining
high-performing employees?
Yes 23%
No 77%
Note: n = 386. Respondents who answered “not sure” were excluded for this analysis.
State of Employee Benefits in the Workplace—Leveraging Benefits to Retain Employees ©SHRM 2012 21

22. Over the past 12 months, has your organization leveraged your benefits
program to retain high-performing employees?
Yes 20%
No 80%
Note: n = 370. Respondents who answered “not sure” were excluded from this analysis.
State of Employee Benefits in the Workplace—Leveraging Benefits to Retain Employees ©SHRM 2012 22

23. Which of the following benefits has your organization leveraged to retain
high-performing employees?
Health care 58%
Professional and career
development benefits 55%
Flexible working benefits 48%
Retirement savings and
planning 47%
Leave benefits 29%
Family-friendly benefits 27%
Preventive health and 26%
wellness
Housing and relocation
21%
benefits
Note: n = 73. 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 2012 23

24. Within the next three to five years, what benefits offerings will increase or
decrease in importance in your organization’s efforts to retain high
performing employees?
Retirement savings and
70% 30% 0%
planning
Health care 69% 28% 3%
Professional and career
68% 29% 3%
development benefits
Flexible working benefits 65% 33% 1%
Preventive health and
57% 41% 1%
wellness
Family-friendly benefits 51% 46% 3%
Leave benefits 49% 46% 4%
Housing and relocation 23% 70% 7%
benefits
Increase in importance Remain the same Decrease in importance
Note: n = 56-71. 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 2012 24

25. Organization Demographics
State of Employee Benefits in the Workplace—Leveraging Benefits to Retain Employees ©SHRM 2012 25

26. Demographics: Organization Staff Size
1 - 99
23%
employees
100 - 499
employees 39%
500 - 2,499 22%
employees
2,500 - 24,999
employees
13%
25,000 or more
employees
3%
n = 447
State of Employee Benefits in the Workplace—Leveraging Benefits to Retain Employees ©SHRM 2012 26

27. Demographics: Organization Sector
Privately
owned for- 51%
profit
Nonprofit
organization 22%
Publicly
owned for- 19%
profit
Government
sector 8%
n = 440
State of Employee Benefits in the Workplace—Leveraging Benefits to Retain Employees ©SHRM 2012 27

28. Demographics: Organization Industry
Percentage
Health care and social assistance 19%
Manufacturing 19%
Professional, scientific and technical services 17%
Finance and insurance 11%
Government agencies 9%
Educational services 7%
Retail trade 5%
Accommodation and food services 4%
Construction 4%
Information 4%
Religious, grantmaking, civic, professional and similar organizations 4%
Transportation and warehousing 4%
Whole trade 4%
Administrative and support and waste management and remediation services 3%
Arts, entertainment and recreation 3%
Repair and maintenance 3%
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting 2%
Mining 2%
Real estate and rental and leasing 2%
Utilities 2%
Personal and laundry services 1%
Note: n = 447. Percentages do not equal 100% due to multiple response options.
State of Employee Benefits in the Workplace—Leveraging Benefits to Retain Employees ©SHRM 2012 28

29. Demographics: Other
Does your organization have U.S.-based Is your organization a single-unit organization or a multi-
operations (business units) only, or does it unit organization?
operate multinationally? Single-unit organization: An organization in
which the location and the organization are 39%
U.S.-based operations only 77% one and the same.
Multi-unit organization: An organization that
Multinational operations 23% 61%
has more than one location.
n = 447 n = 447
For multi-unit organizations, are HR policies and practices
determined by the multi-unit headquarters, by each work
What is the HR department/function for location or by both?
which you responded throughout this
survey? Multi-unit headquarters determines HR policies
62%
Corporate (company-wide) 75% and practices
Business unit/division 13% Each work location determines HR policies
5%
and practices
Facility/location 12%
n = 286
A combination of both the work location and
the multi-unit headquarters determines HR 34%
policies and practices
Note: n = 286. Percentages do not equal 100% due to rounding.
State of Employee Benefits in the Workplace—Leveraging Benefits to Retain Employees ©SHRM 2012 29

30. SHRM Survey Findings: State of Employee Benefits in the
Workplace—Leveraging Benefits to Retain Employees
Survey Methodology
• Response rate = 12%
• 447 HR professional respondents from a randomly selected sample of SHRM’s
membership participated in this survey
• Margin of error +/- 4%
• Survey fielded March 1-April 6, 2012
State of Employee Benefits in the Workplace—Leveraging Benefits to Retain Employees ©SHRM 2012 30

31. 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:
Shawn Fegley, SPHR, survey research analyst, SHRM Research
Christina Lee, intern, SHRM Research
Project contributors:
Mark Schmit, Ph.D., SPHR, vice president, SHRM Research
Evren Esen, manager, Survey Research Center, SHRM Research
Copy editor:
Katya Scanlan, SHRM Knowledge Center
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State of Employee Benefits in the Workplace—Leveraging Benefits to Retain Employees ©SHRM 2012