3 key insights from the Employee Happiness Index

What makes a happy workplace – and why is it so important for business?

The result of Benify's annual employee and HR survey is finally here. To put together our groundbreaking index, we surveyed over 20,000 employees and HR leaders across all industries – to find out exactly what it is that contributes to overall employee happiness. During the survey, we gauged employee satisfaction (and the resulting effect on engagement) against a whole range of workplace factors including benefits, rewards, employer communication, pension, personal finances and more. The resulting data sets new benchmarks for today’s employers looking to increase traction, save costs and raise business performance.

Download our free eBook today to find out answers to questions such as:

• What are the most popular benefits for employees in 2018?
• Why do businesses offer employee benefits?
• What do today’s HR professionals think about their offer?
• How can today’s employers attract and retain top talents?

What are the results of the employee survey when it comes to benefits?

Our findings show a clear correlation between the quality (and quantity) of the benefits on offer and employee satisfaction: Employees offered twenty or more benefits are up to 17% more satisfied than those who are offered fewer than ten.

However, employers must do their homework if they really want to attract, engage and retain their talents. We found that the employee attitudes regarding what they want, need and expect from their employer differ across both age group and industry. We know this because we found that employees attach different types of value to their benefits – those which they consider important, and those which they appreciate.

For example, health and wellness benefits are considered by younger employees to be the most important employee benefit, yet becomes less important for older employees. Whereas, perhaps more predictably, pension benefits are less important for younger employees – yet become more important with age.

But which benefits are most appreciated by employees? For young employees, food and drink benefits ranked as the most appreciated benefit (followed by workplace clubs, associations and employee gifts) – while health and wellness benefits are the most appreciated benefit for all other age groups. This is a strong indication that today’s graduates and young professionals regard health and wellness benefits to be key to today’s employee experience (in fact, it’s somewhat expected) – while other age groups tend to view these benefits as a perk of the job (albeit a very effective perk). 

What we learned from the employee survey: 3 key insights to create a happy workplace

The Employee Happiness Index 2018 is one of the most ambitious employee benchmark surveys to date – combining both quantitative and qualitative data from more than 20,000 employees and HR leaders across 20 different industries. The scale and scope of our data allowed us to identify new benchmarks for the most engaged workplaces. Moreover, we have identified which factors have had the biggest impact in creating a happy workforce.

1. Develop a benefits strategy

To attract and retain today’s talents, employers must now customize their benefit offer per each unique employee group – including those they want to lure from the job market. They should evaluate regularly (at the very least, once every year) to stay on top of benefit trends and market shifts – and to cut loose the benefits which aren’t attracting any value. Surprisingly, we found that most employers still don’t have a benefits strategy – despite huge investments in the area. In other words, put a plan together today and you’ll already gain an edge on your competitors.

2. Use the right employee communication channel

Want to improve your corporate communication? Our data reveals that the intranet is losing appeal for today’s younger employees. In fact, customized employee platforms ranked consistently higher when employees were asked to list their preferred communication channels for the workplace. From our portal’s own data, we see that more than 85% of today’s young employees prefer to log in to their portal using their smartphone, compared to just 47% of the workplace’s oldest employees.

3. Connect employee benefits to your employer brand

What values are important to you as an employer? Health? Sustainability? Work/life balance? By linking your values to your employee benefit offer, you’ll help your employees to understand what you’re all about. This increases their engagement with your employer brand. Employees who understand their employer’s vision, goals and values are up to 28% more committed than those who don’t.

Want to know what else you can do to attract, engage and retain the right employees? In our groundbreaking Employee Happiness Index 2018 we reveal the latest benchmarks and insights from the world’s most engaged workplaces.

Download the Employee Happiness Index 2018 for free today!