How providing benefits can help employee retention

Improvement in the U.S. economy has been slow but steady, and the unemployment rate is falling. That’s good news for job seekers, and it changes the landscape for employers. A business that wants to attract and retain great employees has to do more than offer a steady job.

Consider the research

In markets where top employees have job options, pay and benefits are ways that employers can differentiate themselves. Early in 2016, the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM) issued a research report entitled “Employee Job Satisfaction and Engagement.” Among its findings: 63% of employees view compensation and pay as very important to their job satisfaction, but only 23% report being very satisfied with their current pay. In addition, 60% of employees view their overall benefits package as very important, but only 27% are very satisfied with the benefits that they have.

The SHRM report found that high-performing employees view changes in health care and retirement savings as more important considerations in retention than changes in compensation. Although hardly anyone would turn down a raise, employers can use health care and retirement benefits to gain more leverage when looking to retain high performers.

Willis Towers Watson, a benefits consulting firm, asked employees around the world about their attitudes toward benefits in 2015. They found 70% of Americans surveyed agreed retirement security has become a more important issue for them in the last two or three years. 

Of the Americans responding, 79% said their workplace retirement plan is the primary way they save for retirement, and 63% said they would be willing to deduct a higher amount from their pay each month to ensure they have a guaranteed retirement benefit.

Alternatives for employers

These issues matter to employees, and employers who can help will have a competitive advantage.

Naturally, employers may be concerned about the costs of compensation. Fortunately, there are a lot of benefits investments that pay off in loyal and productive employees.

Hard work and a focus on customers have helped businesses make it through the recession. For a few recent years, having a job was a reward in and of itself. Happily, the economy is mostly past its decline. This new phase of the business cycle requires a new approach to reward employees. Learn how Nationwide can help you differentiate your business with employee benefits.