1. SHRM Survey Findings: Employee Benefits in California—Leveraging Benefits to Retain Employees
April 23, 2014

2. Introduction
This is part four of a series of SHRM survey findings examining employee benefits in the workplace of California organizations.
The following topics are included in the six-part series titled Employee Benefits in California:
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: Communicating benefits
Employee Benefits in California—Leveraging Benefits to Retain Employees ©SHRM 2014

3. Definitions
For the purpose of this survey, the following definitions were used:
Highly skilled employees: employees with skills that are critical to the short- and long-term success of their operating unit or the organization.
High-performing employees: employees who were ranked among the top 10% in their organization’s last performance review.
Employee Benefits in California—Leveraging Benefits to Retain Employees ©SHRM 2014

4. Key Findings for Retaining Employees at All Levels California
Leveraging Benefits to Retain Employees at All Levels of the Organization
Do organizations leverage their benefits program to retain employees at all levels of the organization? Only one in five (20%) California organizations reported leveraging their benefits program to retain employees.
What benefits offerings have been leveraged to retain employees at all levels of the organization? Similar to the overall findings, organizations in California reported that health care (68%) and retirement savings and planning (55%) are the benefits most frequently leveraged to retain employees.
In the next three to five years, what benefits offerings will increase in importance to help organizations retain all employees? HR professionals in California indicated that professional and career development benefits (67%) and health care (63%) are two of the benefits that would increase in importance with respect to retaining employees.
Employee Benefits in California—Leveraging Benefits to Retain Employees ©SHRM 2014

5. Key Findings for Retaining Highly Skilled Employees California
Leveraging Benefits to Retain Highly Skilled Employees
Are organizations leveraging their benefits program to retain highly skilled employees? About one-fifth (21%) of organizations in California reported leveraging their benefits program to retain highly skilled employees.
What benefits offerings have been leveraged to retain highly skilled employees? Health care (67%), professional and career development benefits (46%), and flexible working benefits (46%) are the benefits most frequently leveraged to retain these employees in California. Compared to the overall findings, many benefits were leveraged less often by organizations in California, with the largest difference of 23 percentage points for retirement savings and planning benefits (36% in California, 59% nationally).
In the next three to five years, what benefits offerings will increase in importance to help organizations retain highly skilled employees? Organizations indicated that retirement savings and planning benefits (64%) and heath care (64%) will increase in importance to help organizations retain highly skilled employees.
Employee Benefits in California—Leveraging Benefits to Retain Employees ©SHRM 2014

6. Key Findings for Retaining High-Performing Employees California
Leveraging Employee Benefits to Retain High-Performing Employees
Do organizations leverage their benefits program to retain high-performing employees? Only one in five (20%) organizations reported leveraging their benefits program over the past 12 months to retain high-performing employees.
What benefits offerings have been leveraged to retain high-performing employees? HR professionals in California reported both health care (69%) and professional and career development benefits (50%) as the benefits they leverage the most to retain high-performing employees. Compared to the overall findings, some benefits were leveraged less often by organizations in California, with the largest difference of 25 percentage points for retirement savings and planning benefits (38% in California, 63% nationally).
In the next three to five years, what benefits offerings will increase in importance to help organizations retain high-performing employees? Organizations indicated that health care (65%), retirement savings and planning (63%), and professional and career development benefits (60%) are the benefits that will increase the most in importance with respect to retaining high-performing employees.
Employee Benefits in California—Leveraging Benefits to Retain Employees ©SHRM 2014

7. What do these findings mean for the HR profession?
The use of benefits as a retention tool is not widespread among HR professionals (20% in California, 18% nationally in the past 12 months). However, considering that wage growth has been weak in the post-recession economy, HR professionals cannot always use higher salaries as a draw for keeping talent. Many recruiters now advocate using a “total rewards” approach to retention, and they encourage leveraging an employer’s benefits package as part of that strategy.
With medical costs on the rise and many workers unprepared financially for retirement, HR professionals should consider leveraging health care benefits as part of their retention strategy. Of those organizations that used benefits as a retention tool, 68% in California and nationally cited health care benefits as part of that strategy. Even with some uncertainty surrounding health care plans in connection with the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, HR professionals should view health care benefits, if offered at their employer, as a valuable tool for keeping workers in the fold.
Many studies have shown that members of the Millennial generation, or those born between 1982 and 2002, place a high value on flexible work schedules and managing their own time. Many organizations (46% in California, 55% nationally) that used benefits for retention of highly-skilled workers cited flexible work benefits as part of that strategy. If this benefit is offered at their employer, HR professionals should highlight this aspect of their overall benefits plans as a tool to keep talented Millennials at their organizations.
Employee Benefits in California—Leveraging Benefits to Retain Employees ©SHRM 2014

8. Leveraging Benefits to Retain Employees
at All Levels of the Organization
Employee Benefits in California—Leveraging Benefits to Retain Employees ©SHRM 2014

9. Over the past 12 months, has your organization had difficulty retaining employees at all levels of the organization?
Note: Respondents who answered “not sure” were excluded from this analysis.
Employee Benefits in California—Leveraging Benefits to Retain Employees ©SHRM 2014

10. Over the past 12 months, has your organization leveraged your benefits program to retain employees at all levels of the organization?
Note: Respondents who answered “not sure” were excluded from this analysis.
Employee Benefits in California—Leveraging Benefits to Retain Employees ©SHRM 2014

11. Which of the following benefits has your organization leveraged to retain employees at all levels within your organization?
Note: Respondents who answered “not sure” and those whose organizations did not leverage their benefits program to retain employees at all levels within the organization were excluded from this analysis. Percentages do not equal 100% due to multiple response options.
Employee Benefits in California—Leveraging Benefits to Retain Employees ©SHRM 2014

12. Within the next three to five years, what benefits offerings will increase, remain the same or decrease in importance in your organization’s efforts to retain all levels of employees?
Note: n = Respondents who answered “not sure” and whose organizations did not leverage their benefits program to retain employees at all levels within the organization were excluded from this analysis. Percentages may not equal 100% due to rounding.
Employee Benefits in California—Leveraging Benefits to Retain Employees ©SHRM 2014

13. Leveraging Employee Benefits to Retain Highly Skilled Employees
Employee Benefits in California—Leveraging Benefits to Retain Employees ©SHRM 2014

14. Over the past 12 months, has your organization had difficulty retaining highly skilled employees?
Note: Respondents who answered “not sure” were excluded from this analysis.
Employee Benefits in California—Leveraging Benefits to Retain Employees ©SHRM 2014

15. Over the past 12 months, has your organization had difficulty retaining highly skilled employees?
Comparisons by organization staff size
Organizations with 100 to 499 employees are more likely than organizations with 1 to 99 employees to have had difficulty retaining highly skilled employees over the past 12 months.
Comparisons by organization staff size
100 to 499 employees (36%)
>
1 to 99 employees (14%)
Comparisons by organization sector
Publicly owned for-profit organizations are more likely than privately owned for-profit organizations to have had difficulty retaining highly skilled employees over the past 12 months.
Comparisons by organization sector
Publicly owned for-profit (50%)
>
Privately owned for-profit (28%)
Note: Only statistically significant differences are shown.
Employee Benefits in California—Leveraging Benefits to Retain Employees ©SHRM 2014

16. Over the past 12 months, has your organization leveraged your benefits program to retain highly skilled employees?
Note: Respondents who answered “not sure” were excluded from this analysis.
Employee Benefits in California—Leveraging Benefits to Retain Employees ©SHRM 2014

17. Which of the following benefits has your organization leveraged to retain highly skilled employees?
Note: Respondents who answered “not sure” and whose organizations did not leverage their benefits program to retain highly skilled employees were excluded from this analysis. Percentages do not equal 100% due to multiple response options.
Employee Benefits in California—Leveraging Benefits to Retain Employees ©SHRM 2014

18. Within the next three to five years, what benefits offerings will increase, remain the same or decrease in importance in your organization’s efforts to retain highly skilled employees?
Note: n = Respondents who answered “not sure” and whose organizations did not leverage their benefits program to retain highly skilled employees were excluded from this analysis. Percentages may not equal 100% due to rounding.
Employee Benefits in California—Leveraging Benefits to Retain Employees ©SHRM 2014

19. Leveraging Employee Benefits to Retain High-Performing Employees
Employee Benefits in California—Leveraging Benefits to Retain Employees ©SHRM 2014

20. Over the past 12 months, has your organization had difficulty retaining high-performing employees?
Note: Respondents who answered “not sure” were excluded from this analysis.
Employee Benefits in California—Leveraging Benefits to Retain Employees ©SHRM 2014

21. Comparisons by organization staff size
Over the past 12 months, has your organization had difficulty retaining high-performing employees?
Comparisons by organization staff size
Organizations with 500 to 2,499 employees are more likely than organizations with 1 to 99 employees to have had difficulty retaining high-performing employees over the past 12 months.
Comparisons by organization staff size
500 to 2,499 employees (38%)
>
1 to 99 employees (15%)
Note: Only statistically significant differences are shown.
Employee Benefits in California—Leveraging Benefits to Retain Employees ©SHRM 2014

22. Over the past 12 months, has your organization leveraged your benefits program to retain high-performing employees?
Note: Respondents who answered “not sure” were excluded from this analysis.
Employee Benefits in California—Leveraging Benefits to Retain Employees ©SHRM 2014

23. Which of the following benefits has your organization leveraged to retain high-performing employees?
Note: Respondents who answered “not sure” and whose organizations did not leverage their benefits program to retain high-performing employees were excluded from this analysis. Percentages do not equal 100% due to multiple response options.
Employee Benefits in California—Leveraging Benefits to Retain Employees ©SHRM 2014

24. Within the next three to five years, what benefits offerings will increase or decrease in importance in your organization’s efforts to retain high-performing employees?
Note: n = Respondents who answered “not sure” and whose organizations did not leverage their benefits program to retain high-performing employees were excluded from this analysis.
Employee Benefits in California—Leveraging Benefits to Retain Employees ©SHRM 2014

25. Demographics
Employee Benefits in California—Leveraging Benefits to Retain Employees ©SHRM 2014

26. Demographics: Organization Staff Size
Employee Benefits in California—Leveraging Benefits to Retain Employees ©SHRM 2014

27. Demographics: Organization Sector
Note: n = 322. Percentages do not equal 100% due to rounding.
Employee Benefits in California—Leveraging Benefits to Retain Employees ©SHRM 2014

28. Demographics: Organization Industry
Percentage
Professional, scientific and technical services
24%
Health care and social assistance
13%
Manufacturing
12%
Finance and insurance
10%
Government agencies 8%
Educational services
Transportation and warehousing 7%
Retail trade
Whole trade 6%
Real estate and rental and leasing 5%
Accommodation and food services 4%
Administrative and support and waste management and remediation services
Construction
Information
Utilities
Religious, grantmaking, civic, professional and similar organizations 3%
Mining 2%
Arts, entertainment and recreation
Repair and maintenance
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting
Personal and laundry services 1%
Other 9%
Note: n = 328. Percentages do not equal 100% due to multiple response options.
Employee Benefits in California—Leveraging Benefits to Retain Employees ©SHRM 2014

29. Demographics: Other
Does your organization have U.S.-based operations (business units) only, or does it operate multinationally?
Is your organization a single-unit organization or a multi-unit organization?
Single-unit organization: An organization in which the location and the organization are one and the same.
30%
Multi-unit organization: An organization that has more than one location.
70%
U.S.-based operations only
79%
Multinational operations
21%
n = 324
n = 325
What is the HR department/function for which you responded throughout this survey?
For multi-unit organizations, are HR policies and practices determined by the multi-unit headquarters, by each work location or by both?
Corporate (company-wide)
78%
Business unit/division
15%
Facility/location
16%
Multi-unit headquarters determines HR policies and practices.
59%
Each work location determines HR policies and practices. 5%
A combination of both the work location and the multi-unit headquarters determines HR policies and practices.
37%
Note: n = 234. Percentages do not equal 100% due to rounding.
Note: n = 234. Percentages do not equal 100% due to rounding.
Employee Benefits in California—Leveraging Benefits to Retain Employees ©SHRM 2014

30. SHRM Survey Findings: Employee Benefits in California—Leveraging Benefits to Recruit Employees
Survey Methodology
Response rate = 13%
373 HR professional respondents in California organizations from a randomly selected sample of SHRM’s membership participated in this survey
Margin of error +/- 5%
Survey fielded May 3 - June 7, 2013
Employee Benefits in California—Leveraging Benefits to Retain Employees ©SHRM 2014

31. Additional SHRM Resources
SHRM Research Findings: State of Employee Benefits in the Workplace—Leveraging Benefits to Retain Employees 
SHRM Research Findings: Employee Benefits Landscape in California
California Resources Page 
Benefits Underused to Recruit, Retain, SHRM Finds
Retention Resource Page
Staffing Management Resource Page
Employee Benefits in California—Leveraging Benefits to Retain Employees ©SHRM 2014

32. About SHRM Research
For more survey/poll findings, visit
For more information about SHRM’s Customized Research Services, visit
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Project leaders:
Christina Lee, researcher, SHRM Research
Yan Dong, SHRM Research
Project contributors:
Alexander Alonso, Ph.D., SPHR, vice president, SHRM Research
Evren Esen, director, Survey Research Center, SHRM Research
Copy editor:
Katya Scanlan, SHRM Knowledge Center
Employee Benefits in California—Leveraging Benefits to Retain Employees ©SHRM 2014

33. 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.
Employee Benefits in California—Leveraging Benefits to Retain Employees ©SHRM 2014