MetLife Study Finds Employees Who Are Satisfied with Benefits More Likely to Recommend Employer as a “Great Place to Work”
MetLife’s 11th Annual Study of Employee Benefits Trends,
released today, reveals that while only two out of five U.S. workers
would strongly recommend their employer as a “great place to work,”
those who do are three times more likely to be satisfied with their
benefits.
Other notable findings include:
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Three out of five employees who would strongly recommend their
employer report benefits are an important reason why they remain with
the company.
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More than half (51%) of employees report they are willing to bear more
of their benefits costs in order to have a choice of products that
meet their needs.
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58% of employers say providing voluntary benefits is a significant
benefits strategy – up significantly in 2012 from 32 percent in 2010.
“Companies that are recognized by employees as great places to work
appear to be making the connection between job satisfaction and benefits
satisfaction. With many employees saying they would pay more for a wider
range of voluntary benefits, employers clearly have an opportunity to
increase benefits satisfaction without increasing the bottom line,” said
Anthony J. Nugent, executive vice president, MetLife.
As companies grow their voluntary benefits offerings, encouraging and
enabling participation in their programs is vital. Less than half (42%)
of employers are very satisfied with the current employee participation
levels in their voluntary benefits programs. The study explores several
strategies for improving employee participation rates, including:
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Improving communications around benefits: While 52% of employers
believe their communications are very easy to understand, only 43% of
employees agree. More than one-third of employees grade their
company’s benefits communications a “C” or below.
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Creating a benefits shopping experience that consumers find familiar:
Seventy-five percent of employers who offer online enrollment and are
satisfied with employee participation rates report a buying experience
that compares favorably with the best online consumer shopping
experiences.
To learn more about how employers can improve the voluntary benefits
experience and receive employee recommendations as a “great place to
work,” as well as the top benefits communications tactics employees find
most helpful, access MetLife’s 11th Annual Study of Employee Benefits
Trends by visiting BenefitTrends.MetLife.com.
Methodology
MetLife’s 11th Annual Study of Employee Benefits Trends was conducted
during October 2012 and consisted of two distinct studies fielded by GfK
Custom Research North America. The employer survey comprised 1,503
interviews with benefits decision-makers at companies with staff sizes
of at least two employees. The employee sample comprised 1,422
interviews with full-time employees age 21 and over, at companies with a
minimum of two employees.
About GfK
GfK is one of the world’s largest research companies, with more than
11,500 experts working to discover new insights into the way people
live, think and shop, in over 100 markets, every day. GfK is constantly
innovating and using the latest technologies and the smartest
methodologies to give its clients the clearest understanding of the most
important people in the world: their customers. To find out more, visit www.gfk.com/us
or follow GfK on Twitter: www.twitter.com/gfk_en.
About MetLife
Metropolitan Life Insurance Company (MetLife) is a subsidiary of
MetLife, Inc. (NYSE: MET), a leading global provider of insurance,
annuities and employee benefit programs, serving 90 million customers in
over 50 countries. Through its subsidiaries and affiliates, MetLife
holds leading market positions in the United States, Japan, Latin
America, Asia Pacific, Europe and the Middle East. For more information,
visit www.metlife.com.