Employee benefits more tailored than ever to attract, retain top talent: 5 trends

Employers are increasingly using benefits packages to attract employees, particularly when they may not be able to match competitors' salaries, according to the Society for Human Resource Management.

"With more than two-thirds of organizations reporting difficulty filling full-time positions, competition for talent is high. Therefore, it is important for organizations to offer a lucrative benefits package to retain and attract top talent," wrote SHRM in a report released Monday detailing employee benefits trends in the U.S. over the past 20 years.

The majority of organizations (60 percent) reported maintaining their benefits offerings, while 33 percent of organizations have increased them over the past year. Based on the 13 new benefits added to the survey, organizations have also expanded the benefits they offer. Some of the new benefits added to this year's survey include executive coaching, subsidies for using employee-owned technological devices for work and vacation stipends.

Here are five trends in employee benefits, as noted by SHRM.

1. Monetary bonus benefits are gaining popularity. Compared with 2012, the following monetary bonuses have increased: employee referral bonus (45 percent of organizations offered in 2016), spot bonus or award (43 percent), sign-on bonus for executives (23 percent), sign-on bonus for nonexecutives (14 percent) and retention bonus for nonexecutives (14 percent).

2. Millennials and employees 55-and-older value flexible work arrangements. These two demographic groups account for a significant portion of the workforce, and may help explain why telecommuting benefits have seen a three-fold increase over the past 20 years.

3. Organizations are adding wellness programs to reduce healthcare costs. Compared to 1996 when 54 percent of companies offered wellness programs, now 72 percent of companies do, though SHRM notes a small decline between 2012 and 2015. Wellness programs now tend to take the form of rewards or bonuses given to employees for completing health and wellness programs, or a standing desk or onsite fitness center. SHRM research cited in the report indicates 77 percent of organizations have found their wellness programs somewhat or very effective in reducing healthcare costs.

4. To fill applied skills shortages, companies are offering career development benefits. Almost 60 percent of organizations said job applicants lacked basic skills and knowledge for the job, and 84 percent reported applied skills shortages, according to SHRM. To help fill in this gap, organizations are offering career development programs, trainings and even career counseling and mentoring programs.

5. However, educational assistance is becoming less common. SHRM noted a 6-percentage-point decline in undergraduate and graduate educational assistance between 2012 and 2016, and just 4 percent of organizations reported offering student loan repayments, according to SHRM.

 

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