Employee benefits are an integral part of overall employee satisfaction. Pay and benefits greatly influence an employee’s productivity, loyalty, turnover, and morale. Most companies pay competitive salaries but fail to understand what motivates employees in the form of benefits. Benefits can be optional, and differ largely from one company to another, depending on the size of the organization, the type of industry, and the profit/non-profit categorization. Common benefits include health insurance, retirement benefits, child-care services, stock options, disability, paid leave, and fringe benefits.

Employee benefit surveys are meant to understand the employees’ feelings towards the benefits offered by the company. Such surveys would help the employers to understand the exact components in the benefit programs that are more appreciated and sought by employees. This would enable employers to provide enhancements to the benefits program, and also design newer programs on similar considerations. The surveys also enable effective communication of the benefits programs, determine employee involvement in designing the programs, and also help employees to use the programs better. Companies can also remove some least preferred programs to cut costs and use the resources to strengthen other popular benefit programs.

The employee benefit survey questionnaire typically contains questions such as: what benefit do you value the most? To what extent do the benefits determine your commitment and loyalty? How do you rate the benefits as compared to national benchmarks? Open-ended questions are generally more effective, as they enable the respondent to elaborate his/her answer. Questionnaires should also encourage comments or suggestions.

Employee benefit surveys can be designed within the company. Alternatively, there are companies that offer employee survey services. These companies use web technologies, advanced statistical techniques, and software tools for faster and more accurate analysis. These surveys can also be custom-designed to suit the company’s preferences. These companies also offer expert analysis of results, and provide suggestions to make the benefits programs more appreciable.