Voluntary benefits are key to hiring, retaining and engaging talent. Employees increasingly recognize that voluntary benefits play a major factor in their decision to work for and/or stay with an employer.

HR professionals believe that offering more voluntary benefits will retain employees (83%), engage employees (72%) and attract new talent (72%). They also believe that a more robust voluntary benefits offering will save employees money (63%) and increase productivity (53%).
Voluntary benefits increasingly are affecting employees' decision to work for and/or stay with an employer. Three in four employees said voluntary benefits would affect their employer's ability to retain them, compared to 68% in 2020.

Employees now demand financial health and wellness benefits. As employees ask for more assistance, employers are listening and delivering.

This year, 80% of employees said they would take advantage of financial wellness and financial assistance programs offered by their employer, compared to 69% in 2020.
The top three financial wellness benefits employees would sign up for, if offered, are purchasing programs (48%), low-cost loans (45%) and debt refinancing (29%).
The top three supplemental health benefits employees are interested in signing up for, if offered, are life (54%), accident (35%) and critical illness (35%).

A communications gap exists between HR professionals and employees.

Less than one-fourth of employers said they communicate benefits to employees on a regular basis throughout the year.
Only 54% of employees agree they have an adequate understanding of the benefits available to them.
Additionally, more than one-third of HR professionals believe that their employees don't fully understand the core and voluntary benefits available to them.

"Efforts surrounding workforce retention will be critical to the success of all businesses," Vaswani said. "Looking at what's happening in the job market, plus employees' demand for more benefits as a top motivator to stay, makes employers stop and look around to realize that their competitors are also enhancing their offerings. The time to act is now — the risk of maintaining the status quo is too high."

Instant Insights /

Employers respond to increased demand for voluntary benefits increases

More From HR Executive

Related Stories

Recommended For You