Survey: Employers Have Not Expanded Benefits Offerings Despite Recruitment Woes

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Jun 14, 2022, 08:55 ET

isolved Launches Survey Results and an Employee Marketplace for Customers to Exceed Today's Benefit Expectations

NEW ORLEANS, June 14, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- With recruiting and retention challenges escalating for every business size and type, it may come as a surprise that 54 percent of employers have not expanded their benefits offerings over the last year, according to isolved's second-annual benefits survey of over 1,100 full-time employees in the U.S. To help its 145,000-plus customers stay competitive, isolved, recently recognized as a Major Player in the IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Modern Talent Acquisition Suites 2022 Vendor Assessment (doc #US48357022, June 2022), has launched an Employee Marketplace within isolved People Cloud to provide discounts to over 10,000 brands and 1 million products via isolved's partner community. In fact, of all the benefits employees don't have access to, lifestyle discounts are the most coveted according to the survey results.

isolved's Employee Marketplace will be activated for customers on June 17 using Adaptive Employee Experience, an always-on consumer-grade interface designed to empower employees to self-serve from any device. Survey results show employees want access to their benefits on their terms. The most unique benefit/employment perk that would motivate employees to apply for a position is a four-day workweek, followed by 401(k) matching and unlimited paid time off (PTO). Many employers, however, need to focus on how employees sign up for those benefits initially. This is because 64 percent of full-time employees say a poor benefits-enrollment experience could cause them to look for a new job and 61 percent say open enrollment is stressful.

"Employees recognize the value of frictionless experiences," said Amy Mosher, Chief People Officer at isolved. "As business leaders, we may never hear when an experience goes perfectly well but will certainly feel the ripple effects of benefit enrollment experiences that are not up to par with today's standards or worse, when an employer doesn't offer the benefits employees want the most. Surveys like this and features like employee marketplaces from an analyst-recognized vendor like isolved, cater to today's workforce that want an optimal work-life balance – whatever that means for them."

While most employees are electing benefits electronically, over a third (36 percent) have to log in to separate platforms to do so – versus the same platform they use to request time off, view their paystubs and accomplish other human resources (HR) tasks. While this can cause friction in the employee experience, the good news is only 12 percent of respondents indicated benefits enrollment is a paper-driven process. It's clear employees want a modern benefits experience, as the most important feature to employees is having the previous year's elected benefits passively roll over for them to confirm, followed by the ability to make elections fully remotely and digitally. Other expectations and enviable benefits include:

Comprehensive Wellness Programs: A large majority (70 percent) of employees think their employer should offer a wellness program that supports their physical, mental and financial wellbeing as all three impact their work. This has increased 5 percent since last year.
Total Compensation Communication: Eighty-two percent of employees consider benefits part of their total compensation when deciding to accept a job offer or remain at their current employer, which makes communication of this critical for HR departments. The top-three benefits that contribute to employees' satisfaction with total compensation are (in order): healthcare benefits, work-hours flexibility and work-location flexibility.
Caregiver Benefits: Forty-two percent of respondents said caregiver benefits are the same or more important this year than last year which can include both childcare and elderly care.
Charitable Donations: Forty-eight percent of respondents are likely or extremely likely to take advantage of charitable donations taken straight from their paychecks.
Customizable Benefits Package: The top action employers can take to improve the benefits enrollment experience is to provide more customizable benefits packages, according to respondents.

For the full survey results and analysis, download "Benefits' Big Impact on Employee Experience: Meeting Expectations & Gaining a Competitive Advantage" here. Customers can access their new Employee Marketplace within isolved People Cloud.

About isolved
isolved is an employee experience leader, providing intuitive, people-first HCM technology. Our solutions are delivered directly or through our HRO partner network to more than five million employees and 145,000 employers across all 50 States — who use them every day to boost performance, increase productivity, and accelerate results while reducing risk. Our HCM platform, isolved People Cloud, intelligently connects and manages the employee journey across talent acquisition, HR & payroll, benefits, workforce management and talent management functions. No matter the industry, we help high-growth organizations employ, enable and empower their workforce by transforming employee experience for a better today and a better tomorrow.

Media Contact
Amberly Dressler, Sr. Director of Brand & Content Strategy
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SOURCE isolved