Workers now place more value on benefits

Adding voluntary plans can increase employee satisfaction...

Independent research shows that employees’ perception of the value of their benefits continues to be at a high level. The majority of employees say benefits are important to job satisfaction.  Our research, too, shows employees continue to value life, accident, and critical illness insurance, short and long term disability coverage since first surveyed for our 2008 report.  And, benefit package satisfaction rates of those not offered voluntary benefits continued to be lower than for those that did. That’s valuable to employers, since this 100% employee-paid coverage allows a company to offer more benefits and add perceived value to a plan without impacting the bottom line.

In today’s budget-conscious times, voluntary benefits are becoming “must-haves” in a competitive benefits package.  And they offer a variety of choices in coverage that appeal to today’s diverse and versatile workforce.

Voluntary coverage provides an important safety net to employees who are vulnerable to rising health care costs.  Accident and critical illness insurance can help offset the financial impact of expensive out-of-pocket costs not covered by health insurance.  And Unum research shows that employees place a high value on these benefits when they

are effectively communicated, even though they pay the premium.

The message is clear: employees are placing more value on benefits in general — even when they have to pay for them. And today’s group and voluntary benefits make it easy to add coverages at little or no cost to the company. This strategy can result in higher workplace satisfaction, reduced turnover and increased productivity.

Please contact me to learn more.  I can also provide you with a copy of Unum's recent industry study - Beyond the Usual Benefits: 2012 - The power of employee education to influence workplace satisfaction.