The Future of Employee Benefits Benchmarking

Empower your consulting practice with real-time insights and custom reporting that help your clients stay ahead in the benefits landscape.

What is Employee Benefits Benchmarking?

Employee benefits benchmarking is the process of comparing an organization's benefits programs against peers to evaluate competitiveness. For consultants, it's a critical tool to help clients make informed decisions and attract top talent.

In today's competitive job market, salary alone isn't enough. 91% of employees consider benefits a key factor when evaluating job offers, and 88% would choose a job with better benefits over higher pay if the salary difference is minimal.

As an employee benefits consultant, your clients depend on you to provide actionable insights that improve their benefits strategies. What benchmarking brings to your clients:

Cost Management

Highlight areas where clients may be overspending or underspending compared to industry averages. Without proper benchmarking, organizations risk:

• Overspending on benefits that don't matter to their workforce
• Under-investing in areas that would significantly impact retention
• Losing talent to competitors with better-positioned packages

Competitive Advantage

Help clients offer benefits packages that attract and retain top-tier talent. Modern benchmarking provides:

• Accurate comparisons with specific details like deductibles, copays, and employer contribution percentages
• Current market data showing what companies are offering right now
• Granular filtering by industry, size, geography, and role level

Why You Need a Modern Benchmarking Tool

In today's fast-paced benefits landscape, relying on outdated or static data is no longer sufficient. To meet client expectations and stay competitive, you need a tool that evolves with the market.

The Traditional Benchmarking Problem

Most benefits benchmarking has relied on:

• Annual industry surveys (often 6-12 months outdated)
• HR consultants with limited, recycled datasets
• Informal networking and "what we heard" information
• Carrier-provided data (which can be biased toward their products)

This approach leads to slow decision-making, incomplete comparisons, and missed opportunities to optimize your clients' benefits spend.

Real-Time Updates

Traditional benchmarking reports often rely on data that's already outdated. A modern tool updates in real-time, ensuring your recommendations are based on the most current information available.

Real-time benchmarking shows you what companies are offering right now, not what they reported 12 months ago in a survey. This means you can help clients:

• React quickly to market changes
• Stay ahead of compensation trends
• Make decisions based on current competitive landscape

Custom Reporting

Every client has unique needs. A modern tool allows you to tailor reports to fit specific industries, geographic locations, and organizational sizes, delivering insights that truly matter.

Compare against companies that actually matter to your client's talent acquisition:

• Similar industry and size
• Same geographic markets
• Comparable revenue or growth stage
• Specific job roles and levels

Data Visualization

Present your findings with engaging visuals that make complex data easy to understand and actionable for your clients.

Instead of overwhelming spreadsheets, modern tools provide:

• Interactive dashboards
• Clear comparison charts
• Visual trend analysis
• Executive-ready presentations

Client Collaboration

Use intuitive tools to share insights and collaborate with clients directly, enhancing the consulting experience.

Modern platforms enable:

• Real-time sharing of benchmarking results
• Collaborative analysis sessions
• Direct client access to updated data
• Streamlined communication and decision-making

Key Areas to Benchmark

Health Benefits

• Medical plan design: Deductibles, copays, coinsurance
• Employer contribution: Percentage of premium covered
• Plan options: Number of tiers, HMO vs PPO availability
• Additional coverage: Dental, vision, mental health

Time Off Policies

• PTO accrual rates by tenure and role level
• Holiday schedules and floating holidays
• Parental leave policies and pay continuation
• Sabbatical or extended leave options

Financial Benefits

• 401(k) matching: Percentage and vesting schedules
• Stock options or equity participation
• Life and disability insurance coverage levels
• Flexible spending accounts and contribution limits

Work-Life Benefits

• Remote work policies and flexibility options
• Professional development budgets and opportunities
• Wellness programs and gym memberships
• Commuter benefits and transportation support

Making Benchmarking Actionable

Good benchmarking data is only valuable if you can act on it. The best approach for consultants:

1. Start with client priorities: What matters most to their current workforce?
2. Set realistic targets: Aim for 50th-75th percentile in their priority areas
3. Consider total rewards: How do all benefits work together?
4. Plan for changes: Help clients budget for adjustments based on market shifts

The Bottom Line

Benefits benchmarking isn't about copying what everyone else does—it's about making informed decisions that help your clients compete for talent while managing costs effectively.

The consulting firms that excel use current, detailed data to help clients create benefits packages that employees actually value, rather than generic offerings that check boxes but don't move the needle on attraction and retention.

Ready to transform your consulting practice with modern benchmarking tools? Request a demo to see how Bnchmrk can help you deliver better insights to your clients.