According to recent data, 78% of employees say they’re more likely to stay at a job based on the benefits offered. Furthermore, the cost of replacing an employee can be between one-half and two times the departing employee’s salary.
To discover which industries offer the most comprehensive employee packages, international telecom provider TollFreeForwarding.com gathered new data to rank 16 industries on their employee benefits. Each industry was ranked across 20 different benefits based on the average number of businesses in the sector that offer each perk.
Based on the findings, the Finance & Insurance industry has the best benefits, as the industry earned the highest overall score of 92.33 out of a possible 100. This industry scored highly for all 20 benefits, ranking either first or second for 14 of the 20 included in the study. Benefits that Finance & Insurance ranked best for include access to wellness programs (79%), access to employee assistance programs (84%), and access to student loan repayment (12%).
The complete rankings are as follows:
| Industry | Total Score (100) |
| Finance and Insurance | 92.33 |
| Utilities | 85.87 |
| Information | 79.98 |
| Professional, Scientific, and Technology | 74.68 |
| Manufacturing | 67.92 |
| Elementary and Secondary School (Public) | 62.33 |
| Wholesale Trade | 56.73 |
| Elementary and Secondary School (Private) | 54.98 |
| Healthcare | 54.09 |
| Professional and Business Services | 51.16 |
| Goods Producing | 44.98 |
| Transportation and Warehousing | 44.10 |
| Real Estate, Rental, and Leasing | 38.52 |
| Retail Trade | 30.86 |
| Construction | 23.22 |
| Leisure and Hospitality | 19.73 |
| Accommodation & Food Services | 18.24 |
TollFreeForwarding.com also looked at which benefits are offered most overall across industries. The results are:
| Benefit | Average |
| Access to Paid Sick Leave | 82.1% |
| Access to Healthcare Benefits | 78.5% |
| Access to Paid Holidays | 78.1% |
| Access to All Retirement Benefits | 76% |
| Access to Paid Vacation | 71.4% |
| Access to Life Insurance Plans | 65.4% |
| Access to Employee Assistance Programs | 58.6% |
| Access to Paid Personal Leave | 53.2% |
| Access to Nonproduction Bonuses | 47.6% |
| Access to Wellness Programs | 46.4% |
| Access to Financial Planning | 25.6% |
| Access to Retiree Healthcare at 65 and Over | 21.8% |
| Access to Flexible Work Schedule | 15.6% |
| Access to Childcare | 11.6% |
| Access to Flexible Workplace | 10% |
| Access to Subsidized Commuting | 9.7% |
| Access to Student Loan Repayment | 5.1% |
| Benefit | Average Number of Days |
| Paid Sick Leave | 30.3 |
| Paid Holidays | 8.1 |
Jason O’Brien, COO of TollFreeForwarding.com, said this of the findings:
“While it’s interesting to see how employee benefits compare across different industries, it can’t be overstated just how important it is, for both employers and employees, that businesses offer competitive benefit packages. Studies show how significant employee benefits are to attracting and retaining workers, but even businesses with comprehensive offerings can’t be static. We’ve found that younger employees don’t necessarily want the same benefits that were appealing to their parents’ generations. Therefore, business leaders need to continuously be learning what their employees want, as well as what else is being offered by others.”
No matter what industry you may be in, comprehensive benefits packages are beneficial to employers and employees alike. Not only do benefits enable employees to have more balance in their lives, but it also ensures businesses can retain their workers, preventing unneeded costs. Visit the TollFreeForwarding.com blog to learn more.
