The benefits of prioritizing employee feedback for compensation and benefits
As workers and businesses alike grapple with economic downturn and labor market woes, compensation and benefits has become a lifeline for employers to both attract and retain top talent. For employees, a solid compensation and benefits package can help them combat the cost-of-living crisis and lower outside financial stressors.
The days of a one-size-fits-all approach to compensation and benefits are long gone. With four generations in the workplace, employees are diverse and have wide-ranging needs when it comes to benefits.
When employee expectations aren’t met, employees aren’t afraid to leave. In fact, data shows 83% of workers expect a raise in 2023 and if employers can’t meet employee expectations, they can risk losing them altogether.
But tailoring your compensation and benefits package to meet employees’ needs can’t be done without truly understanding what employees want and need. Here’s how two companies utilized employee feedback to tailor compensation and benefits, leading to high employee satisfaction and even recognition as a Top Workplace of 2023.
The importance of employee feedback
Even for a company that surveys employees regularly, just gathering demographics isn’t enough to truly understand what your workforce needs. For example, employees could be caregivers outside of work or have a chronic illness that hasn’t been disclosed.
That’s why employee feedback needs to be a critical part of your company’s benefits strategy. It can give employees a chance to tell you exactly what they need so you can work it into your benefits offerings. Seeking out feedback may also help employees feel listened to and cared for.
Many employers who have top compensation and benefits packages – like the winners of the Top Workplaces 2023 Culture Excellence Awards for Compensation and Benefits – utilize employee feedback to ensure that their package is catered to employee needs.
How these companies did it – and you can too
Two companies among the Top Workplace winners – Paycor and Gorilla Glue – utilize employee feedback as a key part of their compensation and benefits strategy.
“The decisions around compensation and benefits first and foremost need to be centered around the people who make up the organization,” says Ashley Terrell, Director, HR Business Partner at Gorilla Glue. “Sensing and asking for feedback around these areas will help guide an impactful benefits package that will also meet the immediate needs of your organization and anticipate future needs.”
Plus, compensation and benefits strategies that include routine employee feedback can help keep your strategy aligned with the current state of the world.
“Our compensation and benefits philosophies support our diverse/global workforce, aligning market-competitive benefits to attract and retain top talent,” says Jennifer Gessendorf, VP of HR, and head of compensation and benefits, Paycor. “The team places an intentional focus on inclusive programs and provides deliberate emphasis on the total rewards value proposition for all of our associates.”
Employee feedback can help inform benefits offerings that make a real impact on employee health and satisfaction. Here are some tips from Terrell and Gessendorf for revamping your compensation and benefits strategy to meet employee needs.
- Keep a pulse on your people
- Establish a philosophy that aligns with the organization’s people strategy
- Focus on making data-driven decisions from employee survey feedback and market benchmarks, and
- Understand the market and your competitors to keep your package competitive.
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