Dive Brief:

• SHRM released a new report that highlights the right mix of benefits that appeals to employees. These benefits help in recruitment efforts as well as retaining new hires for the long term, CIO reports.

• The SHRM report, which surveyed nearly 750 randomly selected HR practitioners, revealed that 95% rate health care benefits as one of the top most important benefits to employees. Coming in second at 71% were retirement savings plans, with the third most important benefit being paid leave, rated by 50% of the HR pros as a popular benefit.  

• 19% of the respondents in the SHRM survey said that they had made changes to their benefits programs to improve employee retention in the last year. In the IT industry, that number jumped to 25%, a reflection of increased competition for skilled talent. 

Dive Insight:

The results of the SHRM study are not surprising, considering that this year the Affordable Care Act requires all employees to have health insurance and the penalties are at their next highest rate. In the coming year, more candidates will be seeking companies that offer health insurance as a primary benefit, followed by retirement plans as more workers enter their pre-retirement years.

It's positive to see that companies are making an effort to improve employee benefits packages, which can support productivity and retention rates. Recruitment professionals can work closely with human resources to develop marketing materials around employee benefits offerings in order to boost their results, too.