Attraction & retention key focus for Indian companies: Towers Watson

The survey further says that rising benefit costs is the most pressing challenge employers in India face

Attraction and retention of employees is the focus for 52 per cent of Indian employers, with rising benefits being the most pressing challenge, says the 2015 Asia-Pacific Benefit Trends survey by Towers Watson.

The survey polled 1,145 respondents between December 2014 and January 2015 and found nearly 21 per cent of those surveyed did not know when they last reviewed objectives of their long-term benefit strategy.

An equal percentage said they did not know when their organisation planned to review objectives for their long-term benefit strategy.

While 23 per cent of employers in India do not have a long-term documented benefit strategy, 42 per cent of employers said improving employee well being was an objective, but only 19 per cent cited containing health-related costs.

“This signals employers may be thinking about well being more holistically, going beyond basic cost management,” the survey said.

Three in 10 employers spent over 20 per cent of payroll on benefits although almost one in six was unable to say how much was spent on benefits.

Fifty-five per cent of employers spent more than a quarter of the benefits on health-related benefits, the survey said.

Indian companies continue to update benefit plans and  and increase employee communication.

Also, more employers in India cover dependents than regional counterparts. While companies in the Asia-Pacific region have the percentage at 62 per cent, Indian employers have it at 77 per cent.

For dependent parents, Indian companies’ share was 44 per cent and that of companies in the Asia-Pacific region 21 per cent.

While only 29 per cent of Indian employers provide dental benefits, the figure stands at 55 per cent for employers around the region. Tower Watson expects to see more employers in India offering health management programmes.  Although 64 per cent of Indian employers feel their benefits package lines up with market norms, 18 per cent feel the benefits they offer are highly valued against 16 per cent in the Asia-Pacific region.

While 14 per cent of employers in India do not communicate about their benefits, they say the perceived value of benefits increases when employee insights are taken into account and when employee life events are handled effectively.

Approximately one in four employers in India thinks they do not communicate effectively about benefits and that human resources departments are spending a lot of time on administrative processes.

Among top challenges for benefit strategy over the next three years, a significantly higher number of Indian employers cited poor understanding by employees.