25-Aug-15 ,
- 73% of Indian employees seek life insurance as a key benefit; however only 30% of employers offer the same
- 57% employees are concerned about lack of comfortable lifestyle post retirement
- 70% of Indian employers feel highly challenged to retain employees; highest compared to other markets
- 46% of Indian employers say that shortage of talent will affect their business in next 12 months
- 64% said that buying benefits at workplace is more convenient and time-saving
- Effective benefit communication leads to greater commitment to employers
- Large gap between how employers and employees judged the quality of their workplace and strength of their relationship
Mumbai, August 25, 2015 : The biggest financial concern of employees in India is financial security of their family in case of premature death. However, employers may be overlooking this fundamental need, according to a new study released today from PNB MetLife .
The PNB MetLife Employee Benefits Trend Study 2015 (EBTS) surveyed employers and employees in India to gain insights into employee loyalty, financial concerns, talent retention and productivity. According to the study, 54% of Indian employees admitted spending more time thinking about personal financial issues at work than they should, impacting productivity and engagement in the workplace.
The findings revealed that employees in India are seeking benefits that will help provide protection coverage in order to help ease their financial concerns. For example, 65% of employees are worried about their family’s financial security in case of premature death followed by having enough money to cover healthcare costs and child’s education. Due to lack of financial security in the country, these concerns are more pronounced in India than developed markets. As per the survey, 73% of the employees are seeking life insurance as a key protection product and 61% would even buy life insurance without support from employers. Nevertheless, a huge perception gap exists between what benefits employees want and the benefits employers are more likely to offer with only 30% of employers surveyed providing life insurance in India. One solution is for employers to offer employees a choice to customize their own personal benefits through flexible or voluntary benefits program. The study showed employees are willing to take up additional coverage on health, life and accidents either jointly paid by employers and employees or pay from employees’ own purses.
“Globally, we are seeing employers increasingly challenged to find ways to attract and retain talent, as well as drive loyalty and commitment, while managing costs,” said Maria Morris, executive vice president, Global Employee Benefits, MetLife. “Employee benefits are becoming a valuable tool in helping employers win the war for talent. This is why we conduct our global employee benefit trends study in dynamic markets like India. It provides us with the opportunity to examine what’s on the minds of employees, and at the same time, provide employers with insights that will help better leverage benefits as a tool to address their talent challenges and rising costs.”
Tarun Chugh, MD & CEO, PNB MetLife: “As one of the fastest growing economies, India presents unique challenges to both domestic businesses and multinational corporations. Since the rapid growth of India’s economy has put its employment market under stress, we at PNB MetLife conducted a study to gauge insights that will help employers better navigate these challenges. In India, our findings revealed employers need to address a broader employee value proposition that focuses on meeting the needs of Indian employees. In doing so, employers can differentiate themselves in the marketplace.”
The insatiable demand for talent
India is the world’s largest producers of graduates, but talent to meet the demand of the largest hires, IT, ITES and financial services is in acute shortage. The study indicated that 46% of employers are concerned that shortage of talent will affect their business in the next 12 months. The war for talent is pushing salaries to levels where companies face the risk of losing the cost leverage that made them successful in the first place. This study helps answer, how can employers drive commitment and productivity, while avoiding rampant salary inflation.
“Our study reveals that employers are facing talent crunch which cannot be filled by providing high pay packages as it will impact the cost benefit analysis for the business,” says Tarun. “Employees are open to a broader ‘value proposition’ that can be demonstrated by providing an environment which is just beyond monetary benefits and rather conducive to high performance.”
The commitment challenge
According to the study, a majority of Indian employers (70%) feel highly challenged to retain employees; highest compared to other markets, which includes comparative data across markets like USA, Poland, China, Russia and UAE. And they’re right to feel challenged – only 51% of employees are satisfied with their current job with 47% saying they will look for another job within the next year. Interestingly, the study reveals a strong correlation between employees who are provided benefits and those employees who feel “a strong sense of loyalty to my employer. Underscoring the importance of benefits, more than half (55%) of employees who are considering moving jobs said improving their benefits package would be a reason to stay. The common perception has been that employees shift jobs due to higher salary packages, however EBTS shows there is just a 7% difference between “increase my salary” and “improve my benefits package” in India. Meanwhile, the disparity was far higher in markets like Poland and Russia.
Finally, the study highlights two critical factors that help in making a benefits package successful: a benefit structure that meets employees’ needs and effective communications of this benefit structure. In India, employees had a strong interest in protection products that would help provide financial security for their families. This included: health insurance, life insurance, and accidental insurance. Employees were also willing to opt for voluntary benefits if the costs were shared with the employer. However, the study reveals that employers could improve their benefit offerings. While 80% of employers believe that benefits are important in attracting and retaining talent, they fail to offer benefits that address employees’ concerns. Furthermore, the benefits are not communicated effectively so that employees understand their value.
Methodology
PNB MetLife Employee Benefits Trend study covers the perspective of both employees and employers and this is what differentiates it from any other available surveys on the same subject. The study has been conducted in India by Nielsen. MetLife provides data and best practices from around the world to help employers enrich their benefit plans and retain top talent. The Employee Benefit Trends Study (EBTS) is considered to be one of the most comprehensive employee benefits studies of its kind.
The India chapter of the Employee Benefits study is based on a pan India survey sample consisting of 323 employers and 2,432 employees split across SMEs, Medium, MNC and Large Indian Corporates. It covers industries like ITES, BFSI, Pharma, Construction, Hospitality, Professional Services Firms, FMCG and Manufacturing. This study examines factors such as employee benefits currently provided, demand for talent, commitment conundrum, technique of communication of benefits to the employees, employee engagement and their expectations of employer benefits and highlights the increasing competition in India for talent, and the important role of benefits in attracting, retaining talent, with health and wellness bring driven up the benefits agenda.
About PNB MetLife India Insurance Company Limited
PNB MetLife India Insurance Company Limited (PNB MetLife) is a joint venture between MetLife International Holdings LLC. (MIHL), Punjab National Bank Limited (PNB), Jammu & Kashmir Bank Limited (JKB), M. Pallonji and Company Private Limited and other private investors, with MIHL and PNB being the majority shareholders. PNB MetLife was previously known as MetLife India Insurance Company Limited and has been present in India since 2001.
About MetLife
MetLife, Inc. (NYSE: MET), through its subsidiaries and affiliates (“MetLife”), is one of the largest life insurance companies in the world. Founded in 1868, MetLife is a global provider of life insurance, annuities, employee benefits and asset management. Serving approximately 100 million customers, MetLife has operations in nearly 50 countriesand holds leading market positions in the United States, Japan, Latin America, Asia, Europe and the Middle East. For more information, visit
www.metlife.com.
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