We at Idealist continue to hear from job seekers about the importance of benefits when navigating the job search process. In fact, our 2024 Idealist Employer Report showed us that job seekers will consider accepting a position that offers a lower salary range than their expectations, and benefits definitely play a role in determining how your organization stacks up.
To help you evaluate your organization’s benefits offerings, I’m once again bringing in Idealist’s own HR expert Angie St. Louis, SHRM-SCP to introduce the concept of benefits benchmarking.
Benefits benchmarking is a strategic tool that can provide valuable insights for your organization's continued growth and success. Whether you're just starting out or looking to refine your existing benefits strategy, Angie’s tips can help your organization stay competitive in today’s job market.
As an HR professional, how would you define benefits benchmarking?
Benefits benchmarking is the process of comparing your organization's benefits package to similar organizations in your industry and area (region). This comparison typically includes looking at different benefits offerings, such as health insurance, paid time off (PTO), retirement plans, and other perks, to assess your organization’s competitiveness.
What is the value-add for an organization to perform benefits benchmarking?
The value-add for an organization to perform benefits benchmarking includes the ability to assess its competitive position based on industry standards, easily identify areas for improvement, evaluate the attractiveness of its offerings to potential hires compared to other organizations, assess cost-effectiveness, and plan ahead for future years.
How is benefits benchmarking beneficial for an organization’s employees?
It allows the organization to offer competitive benefits to its staff, which can lead to higher employee satisfaction, commitment, morale, productivity, and retention rates.
What are the first five things an organization can do to start the benefits benchmarking process?
- Survey staff to see how they feel about current benefits offerings.
- Analyze current benefits with their brokers.
- Fill out a benchmarking survey from a respected organization or association.
- Conduct research or reach out to similar organizations to see what they are offering for benefits.
- Make a wishlist of benefits offerings based on data from employees, brokers, and competitive research to determine a plan of action for improving the organization's overall benefits package.
Are there any other resources you’d recommend for organizations interested in learning more about benefits benchmarking?
Your organization's broker is a great resource for benefits benchmarking because they likely have clients similar to your organization and have access to a wealth of data, including basic information, price breakdowns needed to start benchmarking, and nationwide industry norms for similar organizations.
Also, the USI Benefits Benchmarking Study is a great resource to start the benefits benchmarking process.
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Find more tips and expert advice on everything from recruiting, hiring, and retaining quality employees using our existing resources for organizations.
Angie St.Louis, SHRM-SCP is Idealist’s Senior HR Manager. She was born in Brooklyn and now has an art studio less than a mile away from the hospital she was born in. She is a mixed media artist and loves serving her community through art and mentoring. Her first nonprofit job was at Queens Library while in college. After she graduated, she began working in Operations and Human Resources in various charter schools throughout New York City. She is happy to work in a role at Idealist that combines her two areas of expertise.
