A well-designed employee benefits survey can reveal valuable insights into which benefits truly matter to your employees and your organization’s success. Here, we outline best practices for survey design and list 60 employee benefits survey questions that yield reliable, actionable insights.
| Sample Employee Benefits Survey Download our free sample employee benefits survey. Use this example as inspiration to create your own survey tailored to your organization’s unique needs. |
Importance of Employee Benefits Surveys
Employee benefits surveys lend insight into how happy employees are with your benefits package, which often correlates with overall job satisfaction, presenteeism and absenteeism rates, and workplace morale.
Consider these statistics:
- 60% of employees say benefits are extremely or very important when deciding to stay with employers (Forbes)
- 73% of employees would change jobs for better family benefits (Benefits Pro/Ovia Health)
- 76% of employees who understand their benefits are happy, and 50% say benefits make them more loyal to their employers (ASPPA)
A well-designed survey helps employers:
- Identify opportunities to improve existing benefits
- Introduce benefits that cater to their employees’ unique needs
- Benchmark their benefits packages against industry competitors
- Gauge vendor performance
- Identify and close communication gaps
- Invest more wisely based on employee needs and preferences
There are many examples of employers offering perks such as on-site fitness centers, game rooms, or massages when employees really want better mental health benefits, family-related perks, or more flexible work options. Misjudging which benefits employees truly want causes companies to waste money and risk employee satisfaction, recruitment, and retention.
Knowing which benefits employees value most – and how they rate and understand them – is key to offering a fantastic benefits package that fosters positive business outcomes. Various employees and employee groups have different needs and values, so insights gained through surveys guide benefits-related decisions.
RELATED: 15 Ways to Promote High Job Satisfaction
60 Employee Benefits Survey Questions
Here are 60 example employee benefits survey questions, segmented by “general” and specific types of benefits. You can use these to develop your own survey tailored to your employees’ and organization’s unique needs.
TIP: Before you start designing your survey, read the best practices outlined below the questions. You can also find a sample employee benefits survey at the end of this article.
General
1. Which benefits are most important to you? (alternatively, rate each benefit by order of importance)
2. Which benefits are least important to you?
3. How often do you use your benefits?
4. How easy is it to use your benefits? Are there any barriers to using them?
5. How well do you understand your benefits package?
6. Do you feel your benefits were effectively communicated during onboarding?
7. Do you know how to get answers to questions about your benefits?
8. How would you rate the open enrollment process? What works well, and what could be improved?
9. Do you feel you have enough time and information to make informed decisions during open
enrollment?
10. Do you feel your benefits package meets your needs? Why or why not?
11. Are there any benefits we don’t currently offer but you would take advantage of if we did?
12. Overall, how would you rate the quality of our benefits vendors?
13. Do you feel your benefits package is competitive compared to similar employers?
14. How likely would you recommend working here to friends and family, based on your benefits
package?
15. What is the best and worst part of our benefits program?
16. Do you have any additional questions, comments, concerns, or recommendations regarding your
benefits package?
RELATED: Are Happy Employees More Productive in the Workplace?
Health Insurance
17. Are you and your family enrolled in health insurance?
18. Are you satisfied with your health insurance? Why or why not?
19. Do you feel your health insurance will meet your needs in the future?
20. Are your premiums, deductibles, co-pays, etc. affordable?
21. Do you feel your health plan has adequate mental health benefits?
22. What are the most valuable aspects of your health plan?
23. Do you take advantage of an HSA?
24. Are there any features missing from your health plan?
RELATED: Impact of Employee Wellness Programs on Health Care Costs
Wellness Program
25. Are you familiar with our wellness program?
26. Do you participate in our wellness program? Why or why not?
27. Which wellness initiatives do you participate in?
28. What are the most valuable aspects of our wellness program?
29. What are the least valuable aspects of our wellness program?
30. What would encourage you to engage more in our wellness program?
31. Are there any wellness initiatives or activities we should consider adding?
RELATED: 50 Employee Wellness Program Examples for Any Budget
Family (Childcare, FMLA, Parental Leave)
32. How important are childcare benefits?
33. Does childcare make it easier to do your job?
34. Do you understand your FMLA and parental leave rights and options?
35. Do your parental leave benefits meet your family’s needs?
36. How could we improve childcare and parental leave?
Time Off (PTO, Sick Leave)
37. How well do you understand our PTO and sick leave policies?
38. Do you feel we offer adequate PTO and sick leave time?
39. Do you feel you can take time off when needed?
40. How easy is it to return to work after taking time off?
41. Do you feel supported when you’re sick?
Retirement
42. How well do you understand your retirement plan?
43. Do you feel our retirement contribution is adequate?
44. How confident are you that you will be able to comfortably retire?
45. What age do you plan to retire?
46. Do you contribute to a retirement savings plan?
47. Do you feel we offer good resources for financial and retirement planning?
RELATED: Financial Wellness Programs in the Workplace: A Comprehensive Guide
Professional Development and Tuition Reimbursement
48. Are you familiar with our professional development benefits?
49. Do you take advantage of our professional development benefits to acquire new skills?
50. Do you feel we offer adequate professional development allowances and opportunities?
51. Do you understand our tuition reimbursement benefits?
Stock Options/Equity
52. Are you familiar with our stock options/equity?
53. How important is it to be offered stock options and equity?
Flexible Work
54. Do you feel you have a good work-life balance?
55. How important is it to have remote work/work from home/hybrid work opportunities?
56. How many days per week would you prefer to work remotely?
57. How satisfied are you with our flexible work arrangements?
RELATED: Strategies for Successful Wellness with Remote Workers
Stipends/Reimbursements
58. Are you familiar with our allowances for technology/transportation/housing/gym memberships?
59. Do you know how to get reimbursed for technology/transportation/housing/gym memberships?
60. Do you feel your reimbursement/stipend benefits are adequate?
Employee Data
Your benefits survey should also include questions to help you segment employee responses so you can better understand the unique needs of each employee group. For example, you might find that employees with children prioritize different benefits than those who do not have children.
Example questions include:
- Age
- Gender
- Marital status
- Parental status
- Job role
- Number of years employed by your organization
Employee Benefits Survey Best Practices
Follow these best practices to design effective employee benefits surveys that yield actionable insights.
1. Keep It Short (But Ask Enough Questions)
Strike a balance between asking enough questions to get the insights you need yet keeping your survey short enough for employees to thoughtfully consider each question and give honest, insightful answers.
Though some sources recommend including up to 75 survey questions that take around 30 minutes to complete, you might fare better with up to 30 questions and a survey that takes less than 15 minutes to complete.
2. Make It Easy to Participate
The easier it is to take your survey, the more likely employees will participate and give useful responses. One option is to use online survey software and email the link to each employee.
3. Allow Employees to Answer Anonymously
Consider making your survey anonymous or giving employees the option to remain anonymous. Anonymous surveys encourage participation and are likely to elicit honest responses, since employees won’t fear potential backlash (even if it’s an irrational fear).
Keep in mind that anonymous surveys do have drawbacks, including the inability to follow up with employees for additional insights and an overall lack of accountability for their responses.
4. Use Static and Open-Ended Questions
Your employee benefits survey should include a mix of response types. Options include:
- Rating scales (1-10)
- Yes/No questions
- The Likert Scale (strongly agree, agree, neither agree nor disagree, disagree, strongly agree)
- Open-ended (best for questions where unique insights add value; for example, which benefits employees would like added)
5. Be Transparent
Explain to employees why you are conducting the survey and reassure them that their responses will not be used against them. Instead, they’ll be used to improve their benefits package.
6. Consult Key Stakeholders
Consult others in your organization to assist with survey design, including department leaders, HR representatives, and employees. These conversations can help you develop relevant survey questions.
7. Give a Deadline (and an Incentive)
Give employees a deadline to complete their surveys and consider an incentive to encourage responses. Incentive ideas include gift cards, early leave, and additional time off.
8. Analyze Survey Results
Use survey responses to gain actionable insights to improve your benefits program and employee satisfaction. Survey software can make it easy to segment responses by employee attributes, which can lend deeper insights into how you can tailor your benefits packages to meet the needs of your best employees.
If you conduct annual employee benefits surveys (and you should), it’s a good idea to compare year-over-year results to gauge improvement over time.
Sample Employee Benefits Survey
Download our free sample employee benefits survey. Use this example as inspiration to design a survey customized to your organization’s unique needs.
| A mountain of evidence illustrates the value of wellness programs as part of a strong employee benefits package. Wellness programs improve employee health behaviors, reduce health risks, improve productivity, decrease absenteeism, improve recruitment and retention, and decrease employer healthcare costs. WellSteps makes it easy to introduce a wellness program to your organization. Our program features a dedicated guide, the WellSteps app, and the industry’s only guaranteed ROI. Learn more or schedule a demo today. |
Frequently Asked Questions
What is an employee benefits survey?
An employee benefits survey reveals insights into how satisfied employees are with their benefits package. A well-designed survey helps employers understand which benefits employees value most and identify areas for improvement so they can develop a benefits package that attracts and retains top talent while improving overall job satisfaction.
How do employee benefits surveys help businesses?
Employee benefits surveys help businesses:
- Make better decisions about which benefits to offer based on what their employees value most
- Reduce costs by eliminating unnecessary benefits employees do not want
- Attract and retain top-performing employees who value strong benefits packages
- Benchmark their benefits packages against industry competitors
- Improve overall employee satisfaction and boost morale
- Evaluate benefits vendor performance
- Gauge year-over-year improvement (by comparing current and past survey results)
How many questions should an employee benefits survey have?
Generally speaking, you can include anywhere from 2 to 75+ questions on an employee benefits survey. We recommend around 30 questions – long enough to gain valuable insights but short enough to encourage employees to complete their surveys.
How often should you have employees take benefits surveys?
We recommend conducting employee benefits surveys once each year. That gives you time to analyze your surveys, adjust your benefits package based on responses, and evaluate whether those adjustments influence desirable outcomes for employees and your organization.
What is the best employee benefits survey software or platform?
You can use just about any survey software to conduct employee benefits surveys. Some HR platforms feature built-in survey capabilities, while other popular options include SurveyMonkey and Google Forms.
What benefits do employees value most?
It’s dependent on your employees, but in general, SHRM states that employers place the greatest importance on the following benefits categories:
- Health
- Retirement
- Leave
- Flexible work
- Family
- Professional development
- Financial (non-retirement)
- Wellness
- Education
- Technology
- Transportation
- Housing
Read SHRM’s employee benefits report for additional insights.
Where can I find an example employee benefits survey?
You can download a free employee benefits survey here.