2015 Strategic Benefits—Leveraging Benefits to Recruit Employees

October 15, 2015
SHRM Survey Findings: 2015 Strategic Benefits—
Leveraging Benefits to Recruit Employees

2
Introduction
The 2015 Strategic Benefits Survey is part of a survey series administered annually since 2012 by the
Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). This research is used to determine whether
various employee benefits are leveraged to recruit and retain top talent. The six-part series features
the following topics:
 Part 1: Wellness Initiatives
 Part 2: Flexible Work Arrangements
 Part 3: Health Care
 Part 4: Leveraging Benefits to Retain Employees
 Part 5: Leveraging Benefits to Recruit Employees
 Part 6: Assessment and Communication of Benefits
Definitions
For the purpose of this survey, a highly skilled employee was defined as any employee with skills that
are critical to the short- and long-term success of his or her operating unit or organization.
2015 Strategic Benefits Survey—Leveraging Benefits to Recruit Employees ©SHRM 2015
Introduction and Definitions

Employees at All Levels of the Organization
• Difficulty recruiting employees at all levels: About two-fifths (38%) of respondents indicated their
organizations had difficulty recruiting employees at all levels of the organization in the past 12
months, a statistically significant increase from 2013 (26%) and 2012 (23%).
• Leveraging benefits to recruit employees at all levels of the organization: About two-fifths (38%) of
respondents indicated their organizations leveraged their benefits program to recruit employees
at all levels of the organization in the past 12 months, a statistically significant increase from
2013 (26%) and 2012 (29%).
3
Key Findings

Employees at All Levels of the Organization (continued)
• Change in importance of benefits to recruit employees at all levels of the organization in the next three to five years:
About two-thirds of respondents thought health care benefits (66%) would increase in
importance in their organizations’ efforts to recruit employees at all levels of the organization in
the next three to five years. More than one-half indicated the same for retirement savings and
planning (59%), financial and compensation (53%), flexible working (52%), and professional and
career development (50%) benefits. About two-fifths (42%) of respondents indicated preventive
health and wellness benefits would increase in importance to recruit employees at all levels of
the organization, a statistically significant decrease from 2014 (63%); just one-fifth (22%) of
respondents indicated the same for family-friendly benefits, a statistically significant decrease
from 2014 (47%) and 2013 (50%).
4
Key Findings (continued)

Highly Skilled Employees
• Difficulty recruiting highly skilled employees: More than one-half (55%) of respondents indicated their
organizations had difficulty recruiting highly skilled employees in the past 12 months.
• Leveraging benefits to recruit highly skilled employees: Two-fifths (40%) of respondents indicated their
organizations leveraged their benefits program to recruit highly skilled employees in the past 12
months, a statistically significant increase from 2013 (30%).
• Change in importance of benefits to recruit highly skilled employees in the next three to five years: About two-
thirds of respondents believed health care benefits (69%) would increase in importance when
recruiting highly skilled employees in the next three to five years; more than one-half reported
the same for financial and compensation (59%), flexible working (56%), retirement savings and
planning (55%), and professional and career development (54%) benefits. About one-third (32%)
of respondents indicated housing and relocation benefits would become more important to
recruit highly skilled employees in the future, up from 12% in 2013; one-quarter indicated the
same for family-friendly benefits (24%), down from 47% in 2014 and 55% in 2013.
5
Key Findings (continued)

• The use of benefits as a recruiting tool by HR professionals has increased and is not coincidental,
given the rise in recruiting difficulty in recent years. In addition to these survey findings that show an
increase in recruiting difficulty, SHRM’s Leading Indicators of National Employment (LINE) survey,
which tracks recruiting difficulty in the manufacturing and service sectors, has shown similar results.
September 2015 marked the 18th straight month that the recruiting difficulty metric rose in both
sectors on an annual basis, according to LINE historical data.1
• As the competition for talent remains heightened, at a time when there has been little growth in
base salaries, HR professionals should use benefits as a means of attracting skilled professionals.
This total rewards approach to staffing management should include such benefits as health care,
retirement savings and planning, financial and compensation, flexible work, and professional career
development benefits, which the majority of HR professionals agreed will all increase in importance
during the next three to five years as part of recruitment strategies.
• Health care remains the most highly valued benefit for job seekers. HR professionals should devote
increased attention to this benefit and its role in the recruitment process, particularly as they face
increased requirements associated with the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA).
More than four out of five HR professionals already leverage health care benefits for recruitment
purposes.
6
What Do These Findings Mean for the HR Profession?
1 September 2015 Leading Indicators of National Employment Survey Report by SHRM.

7
Key Findings
Leveraging Benefits to Recruit Employees

38%
33%
26%
23%
2015 (n = 344, 325)
2014 (n = 306, 305)
2013 (n = 351, 341)
2012 (n = 394, 377)
38%
29%
26%
29%
Comparison of Difficulty Recruiting and Leveraging Benefits to Recruit
Employees at All Levels of the Organization in the Past 12 Months
1, 2 1, 2
Organizations That Leveraged Their
Benefits Program to Recruit Employees at
All Levels of the Organization in the Past 12
Months
Organizations That Reported Difficulty
Recruiting Employees at All Levels of the
Organization in the Past 12 Months
Note: Response options provided were “yes/no/not sure.” Respondents who indicated they were “not sure” were excluded from this analysis. Only
“yes” responses are shown.
1Statistically significant difference from 2013. 2Statistically significant difference from 2012.

9
What do these findings mean for the HR profession?
Benefits Positively Leveraged to Recruit Employees at All Levels of the
Organization
84%
69%
51%
40%
85%
72%
42%
48%
45%
81%
70%
50%
45%
80%
63%
38%
31%
Health care benefits
Retirement savings and
planning benefits
Leave benefits
Financial and
compensation benefits*
Professional and career
development benefits
2015 (n = 124)
2014 (n = 86)
2013 (n = 88)
2012 (n = 108)
35%
31%
25%
14%
36%
43%
34%
21%
43%
33%
33%
24%
30%
29%
27%
19%
Flexible working benefits
Preventive health and
wellness benefits
Family-friendly benefits
Housing and relocation
benefits
Note: Respondents whose organizations leveraged their benefits to recruit employees at all levels of the organization were asked this question.
Respondents who answered “not sure” were excluded from this analysis.
*New item on the Strategic Benefits Survey

10
Change in Importance of Benefits in the Next Three to Five Years to
Recruit Employees at All Levels of the Organization
Preventive health
and wellness
benefits
52%
67%
50%
56%
62%
52%
53%
64%
63%
59%
63%
66%
66%
47%
32%
50%
40%
37%
47%
46%
35%
35%
41%
37%
32%
34%
1%
1%
1%
4%
1%
1%
1%
1%
1%
0%
0%
1%
0%
2013
2014
2015
2013
2014
2015
2015
2013
2014
2015
2013
2014
2015
Housing and
relocation
benefits
Leave benefits
Family-friendly
benefits
Professional and
career development
benefits
Flexible working
benefits
Retirement savings
and planning
benefits
11%
16%
21%
50%
47%
22%
30%
30%
31%
59%
63%
42%
71%
69%
67%
49%
52%
75%
67%
70%
67%
39%
37%
57%
18%
16%
12%
1%
1%
3%
4%
0%
2%
2%
0%
1%
2013
2014
2015
2013
2014
2015
2013
2014
2015
2013
2014
2015
Increase in importance
Remain the same
Decrease in importance
Financial and
compensation
benefits*
Note: 2015 n = 86-106; 2014 n = 58-79; 2013 n = 65-88. Respondents whose organizations leveraged their benefits to recruit employees at all levels
of the organization were asked this question. Respondents who answered “not sure” were excluded from this analysis. Percentages may not total
100% due to rounding. 1Statistically significant difference from 2014. 2Statistically significant difference from 2013.
*New item on the 2015 Strategic Benefits Survey
1,2 1,2
11

40%
32%
30%
31%
55%
56%
50%
49%
2015 (n = 344, 319)
2014 (n = 305, 302)
2013 (n = 353, 343)
2012 (n = 400, 379)
11
Comparison of Difficulty Recruiting and Leveraging Benefits to Recruit
Highly Skilled Employees in the Past 12 Months
1
Note: Response options provided were “yes/no/not sure.” Respondents who indicated they were “not sure” were excluded from this analysis. Only
“yes” responses are shown.
1Statistically significant difference from 2013.
Organizations That Leveraged Their
Benefits Program to Recruit Highly Skilled
Employees in the Past 12 Months
Organizations That Reported Difficulty
Recruiting Highly Skilled Employees in the
Past 12 Months

12
What do these findings mean for the HR profession?Benefits Positively Leveraged to Recruit Highly Skilled Employees
82%
66%
45%
41%
77%
57%
55%
49%
36%
70%
61%
46%
55%
75%
58%
34%
33%
Retirement savings and
planning benefits
Financial and compensation
benefits*
Leave benefits
Flexible working benefits
2015 (n = 128)
2014 (n = 91)
2013 (n = 104)
2012 (n = 116)
39%
28%
23%
23%
51%
32%
26%
25%
41%
25%
33%
35%
41%
24%
23%
28%
Professional and career
development benefits
Preventive health and
wellness benefits
Housing and relocation
benefits
Family-friendly benefits
Note: Respondents whose organizations leveraged their benefits to recruit employees at all levels of the organization were asked this question.
Respondents who answered “not sure” were excluded from this analysis.

13
Change in Importance of Benefits in the Next Three to Five Years to
Recruit Highly Skilled Employees
Preventive health
and wellness
benefits
Housing and
relocation
benefits
Leave benefits
Family-friendly
benefits
Retirement savings
and planning
benefits
55%
47%
24%
38%
38%
30%
12%
20%
32%
47%
52%
43%
45%
52%
73%
61%
60%
70%
75%
66%
61%
51%
48%
56%
0%
1%
3%
1%
2%
0%
13%
14%
8%
2%
0%
1%
2013
2014
2015
2013
2014
2015
2013
2014
2015
2013
2014
2015
Increase in importance
Remain the same
Decrease in importance
Financial and
compensation
benefits*
56%
65%
54%
70%
61%
55%
65%
63%
56%
59%
66%
57%
69%
43%
34%
45%
30%
37%
44%
33%
37%
43%
41%
33%
41%
31%
1%
1%
1%
0%
2%
1%
2%
0%
1%
0%
1%
2%
0%
2013
2014
2015
2013
2014
2015
2013
2014
2015
2015
2013
2014
2015
Professional and
career development
benefits
Flexible working
benefits
Note: 2015 n = 66-116; 2014 n = 65-88; 2013 n = 77-100. Respondents whose organizations leveraged their benefits to recruit employees at all levels
of the organization were asked this question. Respondents who answered “not sure” were excluded from this analysis. Percentages may not total
100% due to rounding. 1Statistically significant difference from 2014. 2Statistically significant difference from 2013.
1,2 1,2
2

2015 Strategic Benefits Survey—Leveraging Benefits to Retain Employees ©SHRM 2015 14
Key Findings
Demographics

15
Note: n = 361. Percentages do not total 100% due to multiple response options.
Percentage
Manufacturing 23%
Health care and social assistance 16%
Professional, scientific and technical services 12%
Finance and insurance 10%
Government agencies 8%
Educational services 7%
Transportation and warehousing 6%
Retail trade 6%
Construction 5%
Utilities 4%
Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction 4%
Demographics: Organization Industry

16
Key FinDemographics: Organization Industry (continued)
Note: n = 361. Percentages do not total 100% due to multiple response options.
Percentage
Wholesale trade 4%
Administrative and support, and waste management and remediation services 4%
Real estate and rental and leasing 3%
Accommodation and food services 3%
Religious, grant-making, civic, professional and similar organizations 3%
Arts, entertainment and recreation 2%
Repair and maintenance 2%
Information 2%
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting 1%
Personal and laundry services 0%
Other industry 11%

17
Key FinDemographics: Organization Sector
57%
18%
13%
9%
3%
Privately owned for-profit
Nonprofit
Publicly owned for-profit
Government
Other
n = 355

18
Key FinDemographics: Organization Staff Size
n = 343
30%
35%
21%
10%
4%
1 to 99 employees
100 to 499 employees
500 to 2,499 employees
2,500 to 24,999 employees
25,000 or more employees

19
Key FinDemographics: Other
n = 359
U.S.-based operations only 77%
Multinational operations 23%
Does your organization have U.S.-based
operations (business units) only, or does it operate
multinationally?
n = 360
n = 226
n = 226
Single-unit organization: An organization in
which the location and the organization are
one and the same.
38%
Multi-unit organization: An organization that
has more than one location.
62%
Is your organization a single-unit organization or a multi-unit
organization?
For multi-unit organizations, are HR policies and practices determined
by the multi-unit headquarters, by each work location or by both?
Multi-unit headquarters determines HR
policies and practices.
56%
Each work location determines HR policies
and practices.
3%
A combination of both the work location and
the multi-unit headquarters determines HR
policies and practices.
41%
Corporate (companywide) 75%
Business unit/division 11%
Facility/location 14%
What is the HR department/function for which you
responded throughout this survey?

20
SHRM Survey Findings:
Survey Methodology
SHRM Survey Findings: Strategic Benefits—Leveraging Benefits to
Recruit Employees
Survey Methodology:
• Response rate = 12%
• 461 HR professionals from a randomly selected sample of SHRM’s membership participated in this
survey
• Margin of error +/- 5%
• Survey fielded May-June 2015
Project Lead:
Karen Wessels, researcher, workforce planning, SHRM Research
Project Contributors:
Evren Esen, director, SHRM-SCP, Survey Programs, SHRM Research
Bruce Elliott, manager, SHRM-SCP, Compensation and Benefits
Joseph Coombs, senior analyst, workforce trends, SHRM Research

Additional SHRM Resources
Health Care Reform Resource Page: shrm.org/healthcare
For more survey/poll findings, visit shrm.org/surveys
For more information about SHRM’s Research Services:
» Customized Research Service, visit shrm.org/customizedresearch
» Engagement Survey Service, visit shrm.org/peopleinsight
» Customized Benchmarking Service, visit shrm.org/benchmarks
Follow us on Twitter @SHRM_Research

About SHRM
Founded in 1948, the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) is the
world’s largest HR membership organization devoted to human resource management.
Representing more than 275,000 members in over 160 countries, the Society is the
leading provider of resources to serve the needs of HR professionals and advance the
professional practice of human resource management. SHRM has more than 575
affiliated chapters within the United States and subsidiary offices in China, India and
United Arab Emirates. Visit us at shrm.org.

2015 Strategic Benefits—Leveraging Benefits to Recruit Employees

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2015 Strategic Benefits—Leveraging Benefits to Recruit Employees