The majority (81%) of respondents claim that they use employee benefits as an effective retention tool, according to research by Employee Benefits and Xerox HR Services.
The Benefits research 2016, which surveyed 338 respondents in May 2016, found that retention and recruitment are still the top two reasons why respondents offer employee benefits, with 76% using benefits to aid recruitment.
This compares with 66% of respondents that used benefits for effective recruitment and 64% for staff retention in 2014.
Over the past 12 years, other consistently-popular reasons why employers offer benefits include their role in supporting the employer brand (52%), the way in which they can support employee health and wellbeing (72%), and because industry or regional competitors do (39%).
However, not all of the reasons why employers offer benefits have remained quite so popular over the years. For example, this year 26% of respondents claim that they offer benefits because they are good value for money; the same proportion as in 2014.
That said, the proportion of respondents that offer benefits because of their value has fallen consistently over the years, from 64% in 2009 to 50% in 2011 and 34% in 2013.
