Cost-containment is a top concern of HR professionals, survey finds

For much of the past year, talent retention and hiring has been a top concern for HR professionals. Now, a new survey from business services company HealthEquity suggests that, though turnover remains high, HR professionals are increasingly concerned about benefit cost-containment. In fact, while 48% of professionals ranked talent retention as a top concern, 60% say the same of benefit cost-containment.

The HealthEquity survey looked at responses from 174 HR professionals at a range of different employers in a range of different roles. While describing their concerns, nearly half of these HR professionals say managing benefit costs is like trying to buy a steak dinner on a spaghetti budget. Meanwhile, 39% say that it was like employees were asking for 31 ice cream flavors and all they had to offer was Neopolitan. Only 11% of survey respondents say they were like a kid in a candy store with their birthday money.

Concerns about employee benefits could impact talent retention, the survey suggests. While nearly all HR professionals say that benefits were key to talent retention, less than 7 in 10 say that their benefits packages improved retention efforts.