What Benefits Employers Provide vs. What Employees Want

The Benefits Mismatch: What Employers Provide vs. What Employees Want

In our last blog post, we talked about how in spite of – and actually because of – a generally strong economy and job market over the last several years, a significant number of Millennial employees are expected to leave their current jobs over the next year or two. Given that hiring costs over $4,000 per employee, this kind of turnover can take a significant bite out of any company’s bottom line. But, by introducing student loan repayment services into their benefits packages, HR teams can make better plays for keeping those Millennials from jumping ship anytime soon.

A 2017 American Student Assistance survey makes this crystal clear: 86 percent of Millennial employees said they would give their employers a 5-year commitment if offered student loan repayment benefits. And yet despite that, only 4 percent (!) of employers have implemented any kind of student loan assistance benefits.

When these benefits are so highly in demand by employees, businesses that aren’t making the effort to bridge the gap between what they offer and what these employees want are effectively pushing their people away to competitors who will offer student loan repayment.

What Millennials want: Health insurance, a 401(k) match and student loan assistance

That survey, which polled over 500 workers between the ages of 22 and 33 for their thoughts on workplace benefits, also found that:

• Over 50 percent said student loan repayment was among one of the most important benefits they could be offered by an employer.
• Student loan assistance ranked third behind health insurance and a 401(k) match program – both of which are already staples of workplace benefits.
• Over 90 percent said that employers need to recognize that retaining employees requires more than just health insurance and a paycheck.

In this area, HR departments are well behind the curve and employee turnover continues to increase as—especially—Millennials leave their current roles for greener pastures and better financial prospects.

That’s why we do what we do at Vault. If HR needs a refresh of their recruiting and retention strategies, and if Millennial employees are saying that student loan assistance would be what entices them to go to or stay at a job, that’s where we come in: to help bridge that gap, giving employers a leg-up in keeping the best employees and giving employees a new tool toward achieving debt defiance.

Both employers and employees win when companies modernize their benefits programs to include student loan repayment programs. Ask us today about how Vault’s student loan repayment solution can be used to attract and keep the best talent.

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