Top 25 Employee Benefits Survey Questions for 2024

Since benefits are an integral aspect of anyone's job satisfaction, it’s relevant to conduct regular surveys that evaluate whether plans and policies might need modifications or enhancements. But why exactly should you run this type of survey? And what can you ask to make it successful? We’ve looked into both of those questions and have gathered a series of tips.

Also, if you need to find a survey tool, we have a full article with the very best of the best.

Why should you run a benefits survey?

Benefits packages are an important staple of company contracts, a great way to attract high-quality applicants for vacant positions, and a means to keep top talent once they have been recruited. Employee benefits offer a unique way to impact employee satisfaction rates as companies around the world leverage new and exciting perks to set them apart from their competitors.   

Since employee benefits play such an important role in employee satisfaction, retention, and attraction, it's important to understand how your employees feel about what you are providing. Understanding what types of employee benefits your employees actually care about will help you make better decisions and spend money on the right things in both the short and long term.

“Organization responsiveness to employee feedback leads to higher retention rates, lower absenteeism, improved productivity, better customer service and higher employee morale. The simple fact that the organization is conducting a survey can send a positive message to employees that their opinions are valued.”

SHRM

What questions should you ask in your survey?

When conducting surveys, the goal should be to generate actionable insights that can drive change and foster better relationships between your organization and those responsible for essential work. 

Gathering responses alone is insufficient; it's important to gather input that can help identify the root causes of issues and discontentment – as well as encouraging signs. Instead of merely highlighting problems, a well-designed survey can provide insights into why they occur and suggest strategies to address them.

Additionally, surveys should not only measure people's satisfaction with specific benefits such as healthcare or pension plans, but also examine their understanding of the benefits offered and how they compare to those of competitors or previous employers. This information is crucial to help organizations identify areas for improvement and stay competitive in the job market.

Benefits Survey Template

Don't feel like creating a full survey yourself or just looking for some help getting started? We've already jumped in and got the ball rolling for you. Check out this template you can download and use with just a few clicks:

Employee Benefits Survey

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Best questions to ask

As we mentioned in our post on employee engagement surveys, how you phrase questions is just as important as the topic. But what exactly do I mean by this? Well...

1. Keep questions short and concise: Avoid long-winded questions with multiple parts. Keep it short so people understand exactly what they are being asked. 
2. Avoid irrelevant questions: This should go without saying, but remember this is about benefits – so keep it on topic.
3. Add open-ended questions: Scales and ratings are great, but asking people for their honest opinion can turn out to be a treasure trove of good information. 

Remember: you don’t have to use these examples word for word if you don’t feel they are applicable to your situation. Feel free to adjust them as needed. 

Scales questions

Scales are great for both gathering data and plotting the average result of the responses you receive. Likewise, you can chart whether there is general consensus between responses or if there is a high degree of variance. 

You can of course re-label the title of the scales as needed: 1 - 10, Very dissatisfied - Very satisfied, Strongly disagree - Strongly agree, etc.

1. How would you rate our health insurance benefits? 
2. How would you rate our sick leave policies?
3. How would you rate our flexible work policy?
4. Rate each of our benefits in terms of importance to you.
5. How happy are you with our paid time off policy?
6. Are you satisfied with our professional development guidelines?
7. I believe my benefits package is good by industry standards.
8. How often have you used any of our insurance plans?
9. How often have you used the lunch benefit?
10. I understand the benefits on offer.
11. I understand the pension program.
12. Accessing and using my benefits is a simple and straightforward process.
13. The current series of benefits match what I expect from a company.
14. All of the benefits were explained to me when I joined the company.
15. How likely are you to recommend the company to others based on the benefits plan?

Open-ended questions

Earlier, we referenced just how rewarding it can be to use open-ended questions when conducting your next benefits survey; now let's examine some specific examples you could include. 

Remember that an open-ended question is arguably the best format for eliciting more detailed answers. For example, you may want to gather insights about an issue raised in a previous survey. 

Again, this is not just asking ‘Are you happy?’. It’s about digging deeper and uncovering, for example, what aspect of the health insurance is not up to par, or if it's worth dropping the lunch benefit because no one seems to use it. Those are the type of actionable insights we want to gain here. 

1. What would you say is the best part of our benefits package and why?
2. If you could change one element of our benefits package what would you change and why?
3. Do you have any concerns about our current package?
4. What benefits do you value the most? (These may be ones we offer or ones we do not)
5. Is there any other benefit you think we could / should change and why?
6. If you could add one additional benefit to our current package what would it be and why (life insurance, retirement benefits, etc)?
7. How do our benefits compare to other companies you have worked with?
8. What elements of our work-from-home / flexible work policy do you like or dislike?
9. Is there anything related to the benefits package you are still unclear about?
10. Have you read or heard about any interesting initiatives related to benefits you would like to mention?

Create more engaging employee questionnaires and surveys

Running regular surveys with this type of focused view can help HR and executives stay updated on their organization's culture and improve employee experience, job satisfaction, and countless other metrics. Benefits are a key component of people’s workplace, but they shouldn't be viewed in isolation. 

It is therefore crucial that organizations serious about making improvements, checking in on their workforce, and listening to what they have to say, use a tool that can help them gain those all-important insights.

Mentimeter is a survey tool that allows respondents to answer in their own time with anonymous submissions, without the need to create a series of charts or graphs to display results. As answers compile (they can of course be hidden so you don’t have to worry about groupthink), the built-in charts will visualize responses when voting closes; meaning less work and more engagement.