Benefits October 12, 2007

Firms Could be More Creative in Benefits Offerings for Recruits

October 12, 2007 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - While most companies include time off, health insurance, and pension plans as part of their compensation packages, there are other types of benefits some organizations are offering to attract new talent.
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Two benefits useful in recruiting are relocation assistance and tuition reimbursement. Preliminary results of the Compensation Data Survey 2007 show relocation assistance for new employees is offered by 77.5% of organizations, and tuition reimbursement is provided by 86.4%, according to a Compdata Surveys press release.

Of those responding, 76.1% said they offer relocation assistance to management and 47.4% said they provide it to technical/professional employees. Tuition reimbursement is offered to at least 84% of administrative, technical/professional and management employees, and the majority of firms (77.3%) also provide it to hourly workers.

The release said the number of organizations actively recruiting has increased over the last five years from 85.4% to 96.1%, so employers should look to a variety of benefits to stand out.

More employees are finding themselves responsible for the care of an elder family member. In addition to increased duties outside of work, these employees also face financial challenges in providing necessary health care.

However, health insurance for dependent parents is only offered by 1.6% of organizations nationally, according to the survey. By comparison, the survey showed 21.7% of organizations are offering health insurance coverage to domestic partners – a 26.9% increase since 2005, while the number offering health insurance to dependent parents has remained flat.

The majority of companies (76.7%) offer some form of child care assistance, with most providing flexible spending accounts. The Compensation Data Survey revealed only a small percentage provide a day care center (3.4%) or offer back-up childcare (1.6%).

Compensation Data 2007 contains data on 539 job titles ranging from entry-level positions to top executive positions. Annually, more than 5,000 organizations participate in the survey. The results provide a comprehensive summary of pay data, benefits information, and pay practices with an effective date of March 1, 2007.

More information is at www.compdatasurveys.com .

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