Attraction and retention of employees foremost on minds of Indian companies: survey

The finding was part of the 2015 Asia Pacific Benefit Trends survey by Towers Watson

Attraction and retention of employees are the key focus areas for over half or 52% of Indian employers with rising benefit costs being the most pressing challenge employers in India face, says the 2015 Asia Pacific Benefit Trends survey by Towers Watson.

The survey was conducted between December 2014 and January 2015 with 1,145 respondents and suggests that in the fast moving Asia-Pacific region, it is fitting that for many, benefits review is an annual activity.

Nearly 21% of the respondents said they do not know when they last reviewed the stated objectives of their long term benefit strategy. An equal percentage said they do not know when their organisation plans to review the objectives for long-term benefit strategy.

Meanwhile, nearly one-quarter (23%) of employers in India do not have a long-term documented benefit strategy. "42% of employers said that improving employee wellbeing was an objective, but only 19% cited containing health related costs. This signals that employers may be thinking about well being more holistically, going beyond basic cost management," said the survey.

In terms of costs, benefit spend is significant, with three in 10 employers spending over 20% of payroll on benefits. Though almost one in six employers were unable to say how much they spent on benefits. Fifty-five% of employers spend more than a quarter of benefits spend on providing health-related benefits," the survey stated.

How the companies fare
Strategy	Companies in Apac Region	Indian companies
Improving attraction and retention	66%	52%
Rising benefit costs	76%	78%
Review and update benefit plan	57%	63%
Covering dependents	62%	77%
Dental benefits	55%	29%
Source: Towers Watson

Companies in India continue to review and update benefit plans and strategies, and increase employee communication.

Also, more employers in India cover dependents than their regional counterparts. While companies in the Asia-Pacific region have the percentage at 62%, Indian employers have it at 77%. For dependent parents, Indian companies' share stood at 44% and that of companies in Apac region stood at 21%.

While only 29% of India employers provide dental benefits, the figure stands at 55% for employers around the region.

Going forward, Tower Watson expects to see more employers in India offering health management programmes. Though 64% of India employers feel that their benefits package comply with market norms, less than two in 10 employers (18%) in India feel that the benefits they offer are highly valued against 16% in the Apac Region.

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

Approximately one in four (24%) employers in India think that they do not communicate effectively about benefits and that regionally, HR departments are still spending a lot of time on various administrative processes.

Among top challenges for the benefit strategy over the next three years, a significantly higher number of India employers cited poor employee understanding of benefits as a challenge.