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Learn about the importance of collecting and acting on employee feedback when building an employee benefits program for your business.

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The importance of employee benefits in today’s modern workforce cannot be understated. Employee benefits packages greatly influence how employees feel about their company. According to MetLife, 73% of employees would feel encouraged to stay at their current jobs longer if offered more benefits.

Additionally, employee benefits such as time and location flexibility have become increasingly important since the global pandemic in 2020. Employees are more than two times as likely to recommend their employer to a job seeker if they’re happy with its workplace adaptability. 

In this article, we’ll share why you should care about employee benefits and share how to build an employee benefits program step-by-step using feedback from online surveys. 

An employee benefits program consists of employer-provided perks or incentives in addition to the individual’s salary or hourly wages. Employee benefits can stretch from healthcare plans and matching 401(k) contributions to workplace perks like free coffee and snacks in the office. Such benefits are vital to employee experience (EX) or the holistic experience an employee has throughout their tenure from recruitment to offboarding. Employees feel valued by their employers when they offer a robust employee benefits program. 

An employee benefits package should be well-rounded and reflect your company’s values. There are some employee benefits required by law, but organizations also have some creative freedom when it comes to additional voluntary benefits. Employee benefits programs should be transparent and easy for employees to access to ensure they take advantage of what your company provides them.  

There is a multitude of different employee benefits a company may choose to offer as well as some required by federal law (these will be marked with an asterisk*). Statutory benefits, or full-time employee benefits required by law are few. Most benefits are voluntary and determined by an employer. 

Some common employee benefits include:

  • Medical insurance.* Medical insurance is legally required for statutory employees. Applicable large employers (ALEs) that don’t offer adequate and affordable healthcare coverage to full-time employees and dependents risk potential assessment under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). ALEs typically have at least 50 full-time employees.
    • Medical, dental, and vision coverage
    • Health savings accounts (HSAs)
    • Health reimbursement accounts (HRAs)
    • Flexible spending accounts (FSAs)
    • Medicare*
    • Mental health counseling
  • Paid time off (PTO). Paid time off is one of the staple benefits of any benefits program in today’s era. Employers may choose to give employees a set number of work days or hours for the year or offer the modern “unlimited PTO” model. PTO is often accrued based on time spent with a company and more tenured employees may have more opportunities to take paid vacation.
    • Paid vacation days
    • Sick days
    • Mental health days
  • Retirement plans. Retirement plans are another popular benefit offered by employers. To help employees prepare for retirement, companies offer retirement accounts as a retirement savings vehicle. Additionally, employers may offer a contribution match to these accounts up to a certain percentage as an incentive for employees to save for retirement.
    • Social security*
    • 401(k)
    • IRAs
    • Stock options
  • Life insurance. Company-sponsored life insurance policies are another voluntary but common benefit many employers offer. This typically is “group life insurance” and coverage amounts are capped at lower levels.
  • Bonuses. Bonus structures may be put into place by employers as performance incentives. An annual or quarterly bonus can be included in a compensation and benefits package.
  • Disability insurance.* Disability insurance is required by law in the form of worker’s compensation and unemployment insurance. This ensures that an employee’s income is protected in the event of a medical disability.
    • Worker’s compensation insurance*
    • Unemployment insurance*
  • Family benefits. Family benefits such as parental leave, on-site childcare, or childcare subsidies are other benefits employers can consider. Under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), employers are required to offer 12 workweeks of unpaid, job-protected leave for the birth of a child, foster care placement, adoption, etc.  However, some employers offer paid leave for parents or medical emergencies.
    • Parental leave (FMLA protection*)
    • On-site childcare
    • Childcare subsidies
  • Lifestyle benefits. Lifestyle benefits are voluntary and companies can get creative with this type of benefit. Some companies offer educational benefits such as tuition reimbursement or even health and wellness stipends for employees to use on physical therapy, massages, fitness classes, etc.
    • Discounted or free gym membership
    • Pet insurance
    • Tuition reimbursement
    • Health and wellness stipends
  • Workplace benefits. Workplace benefits are perks such as an annual company-wide teambuilding retreat, free office snacks or coffee, an on-site fitness center, etc. These will be unique to every company and are highly voluntary.
    • Company retreat
    • Employee assistance programs (EAPs)
    • Bring your child/dog/etc. to work day
    • Professional development stipend
    • Work-from-home equipment stipend

It’s worth mentioning that some states or regions may legally require companies to offer additional benefits beyond those mandated by federal law. To ensure compliance, please research your state and region’s requirements when evaluating your benefits package.  

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What’s the big deal about employee benefits programs? Do they really matter all that much? Yes, they do, and here’s why! 

A robust benefits package is important when recruiting new talent for your company. In fact, nearly 60% of job seekers say employee benefits are their first consideration when deciding whether to take a job. Some job seekers consider benefits even more important than salary. 

Having exceptional benefits or unique workplace perks can intrigue qualified candidates and boost the number of applicants you get. Additionally, a strong benefits package offering sets up your relationship with your new recruit for success.  

Having happy employees reduces churn and helps keep talented professionals part of your team. By providing a wide variety of employee benefits, you can help ensure your team members feel valued and appreciated for their dedication to the company. 

Employee retention is extremely important, especially for smaller companies, as the cost of replacing employees is high. Also, employee churn takes a toll on team morale. If employees are constantly coming and going, it can be difficult to foster good company culture and build colleague connections.

Employee engagement is a measurement of your employee’s enthusiasm and commitment to your company. Engagement is a critical part of ensuring a productive workforce. When employees are disengaged in their work, they are unlikely to give it their all and produce high-quality results.  

A thoughtful employee benefits program impacts how engaged your employees feel at work By providing health and wellness benefits, adequate PTO, and more, you can boost employee engagement and drive productivity for your business. 

Employee engagement also affects the customer experience. There is a connection between engaged employees are positive customer interactions. Employees are more likely to represent your organization well through their work and customer interactions when they are engaged and satisfied with their jobs.  

The health and well-being of your employees should be something you care deeply about, and building an employee benefits program is one way to promote employee well-being. Giving employees vacation and sick time to use as well as other health benefits such as vision, dental, and health insurance allow your employees to get the proper care they need. 

Employee well-being affects the day-to-day operations of your company in a big way. If employees aren’t being taken care of and able to focus on their health and well-being, they won’t perform their best and may consider looking elsewhere for other job options. 

In summary, employee benefits are of paramount importance as they help in the recruitment process, reduce churn, boost employee engagement rates, and promote employee well-being. 

Building an employee benefits program can be a bit daunting for HR professionals. How do you know what to choose and what employees want? We’ll take you through the process of building an employee benefits program step-by-step. 

To build a better employee benefits program, first, you will need to analyze your current benefits program. What benefits does your company offer to employees already? Do employees seem satisfied with what’s currently offered? Set goals for what you would like as a result of a revamped employee benefits program.

Is your goal to provide a better employee experience? Or is it to increase retention rates? Maybe it’s to boost company morale. Whatever your goals are, be sure to make a plan on how to achieve them and determine how you can measure your results.

You’ll also need to review your budget and calculate what additional benefits you can afford to offer your workforce. As much as you wish you could offer every benefit in the book, you will need to decide what makes the most sense financially. 

Additionally, you should ask yourself a few questions before diving into the process of updating your employee benefits program. 

  • How will the benefits program be tied to the employee value proposition?
    • An employee value proposition outlines an employer’s offerings in exchange for employees’ hard work and expertise. This is a combination of compensation, benefits, and perks, as well as company culture and values. Tying specific benefits to the employee value proposition (EVP) can help employees reach their highest potential. EVP pillars do your benefits fall under? Be sure that every pillar has at least one benefit associated with it.
        
  • How will you support the health and well-being of employees?
    • The health and well-being of employees should be your top priority. If employees aren’t feeling their best, they won’t be performing their best. This can affect your bottom line and hurt company culture. Ensure work-life balance is prioritized as this significantly affects employee well-being. 
  • Are there gaps that you need to fill? What are they?
    • Evaluate your current benefits package and see what’s missing. Then make the call on what you can afford to add. Be strategic and gather feedback on what benefits your employees currently have and love and what new benefits they would appreciate the most.

Next, you will need to use that budget to evaluate what voluntary benefits you wish to offer employees. At this stage of the process, you can use employee benefits surveys to determine which current benefits employees enjoy and which ones they’d like you to offer them. 

Here are some survey templates to help you determine which benefits to offer your team:

  • Employee benefits planning survey template: Use this SurveyMonkey template is perfect for businesses to use when adjusting their benefits program. It asks questions about what benefits employees love and what areas are lacking and could use improvement. 
  • Employee benefits survey template: Send an employee benefits surveys to collect employee feedback on your current benefits program. With this survey, you can collect feedback on how employees feel about specific work benefits.
  • Employee satisfaction survey template: While not directly aimed at benefits, this employee satisfaction survey template can assess things like employee burnout, loyalty, workplace culture, and more. It gauges if employees feel satisfied with your organization overall. 

Additionally, you can utilize exit interviews and exit interview surveys to get feedback from departing employees about how employee benefits affected their time at your organization. They may be willing to give more candid feedback since they are leaving your company.

Review your current employee benefits program carefully. What benefits are useful and well-liked by your employees? What’s no longer affordable or underutilized? Ask yourself these questions and combine your answers with the employee feedback you receive to make decisions. 

You must also be aware of your legal requirements and what benefits you are required to offer by local, state, or federal law. As mentioned before, these benefits are for statutory full-time employees and may vary from state to state. 

Voluntary benefits don’t have to be super expensive. Can you offer any “low-level” benefits such as a free catered lunch once per quarter or a half-day on an employee’s birthday? These affordable perks can make a big difference in employee satisfaction and aren’t too big of a weight. 

After you’ve evaluated what you want your employee benefits program to look like, you need to make a decision. Does your current plan need to be revamped or completely scrapped? There is no right answer to this and is completely dependent on your specific organization. 

You may need to see what you can do to cut costs and evaluate if any benefits aren’t getting used by employees. Ask yourself if it is better to focus on getting employees to use these benefits or if it is a sign they should be excluded from your revamped plan. 

Lastly, when designing the benefits program, you will need to decide what employees contribute or if your organization will be covering all of the costs. For instance, health insurance plans are typically covered by both the employer and the employee. 

Implementation is an important stage of rolling out your updated benefits program. Before you implement the new plan or changes, you must assess several things. First, who should be notified about the new benefits plan, and who will be communicating the information? When will the plan be fully rolled out and accessible to employees? 

You need to make these decisions and share this information with stakeholders. Employee benefits programs should be implemented transparently and efficiently to ensure all employees are made aware of how to sign up for new benefits. 

You may consider hiring a third-party administrator to help implement the benefits successfully. This can take the stress off your in-house HR team and allow them to better learn about the new benefits from the experts. 

Your communication plan is essential when implementing new benefits. Decide how you will share and explain the plan to your employees effectively. You will need to make sure communication is clear so that all employees understand what is available to them. Be sure you are explaining all of your benefits and how each one functions. Employees may not be aware of every benefit or how to utilize it.

Employees should understand what benefits are offered to them, if and how much they will pay toward each benefit, how to elect each benefit for themselves and/or their family, and how and when they can make these changes to their benefits plan. HR representatives should always be available to answer employee questions about benefits elections and changes. 

These best practices for employee benefits are key to rolling them out successfully. Review these top tips to ensure a smooth delivery and great employee experience. 

  • Prioritize benefits during onboarding: Benefits should be some of the first things HR helps the new hire take care of during the onboarding process. Your HR team should clearly explain your company’s benefits program to new employees and share when and how to access them. Employees should be able to ask HR representatives questions during the onboarding process about signing up for benefits such as health insurance, how to take PTO, and what specific medical plans are available. Provide all of the resources employees need to make informed decisions on their benefits during onboarding.
  • Benchmark against industry standards: To remain competitive, benchmark your benefits program against industry standards. Your benefits program should offer similar perks to other companies in your industry. This helps your business stack up against other potential employers in the industry and ensures candidates and new hires won’t feel underwhelmed by your offerings. Evaluate industry standards and compare what your company can offer employees to know where you stand amongst your competition.
  • Personalize your plan as needed: You can always personalize your benefits program as needed to make benefits specific to employees, departments, and regions. This is especially true for remote employees working in different states. Medical plans are often state-based and will need to be customized for each remote employee unless you offer a national plan. 
  • Provide resources: Providing resources such as a checklist or an online benefits portal is essential. This makes accessing and reviewing benefits easy for employees and ensures they take advantage of the benefits you are offering. There are plenty of different options for this to choose from or you can create your own resources for employees. This can be in the form of a presentation with a digital download, a checklist, an online platform, etc.
  • Continuously improve your benefits program: It should be a priority to continuously improve your benefits program to provide the best for your employees. Use pulse surveys, eNPS surveys, or a workplace benefits survey template to measure the impact of your program. This way, you have the feedback and data to support your decisions for improvement. Send these types of surveys regularly to keep an up-to-date bank of feedback to rely on for your benefits program
  • Close experience gaps and look for trends/patterns: The employee experience (EX) often has gaps that need to be addressed. Using surveys can help you identify these gaps in EX and see trends or patterns in responses. Utilize this feedback and act on it in a timely manner. Additionally, share your initiatives with all stakeholders involved, including managers, employees, C-suite, etc.

Now that you understand the value of employee benefits, it’s time to build or adjust your benefits program. With SurveyMonkey, you can easily collect employee feedback using pre-made survey templates.

Learn how SurveyMonkey makes evaluating your employee benefits program simple. 

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