Benefit Trends In The Silicon Slopes
A new dawn is breaking in the Silicon Slopes, and it has to do with how employee benefits are aligned with total compensation packages.
The Deseret News recently published an article about Utah losing the fight on keeping our high tech graduates in the state, just because of starting wages. Compensation negotiations are much more than just a base salary, which has us thinking… what is going on with other total comp factors in Utah? Before we explore that, let’s break total compensation down for a second.
A million Jerry Maguire .gif’s have told us that money talks! College placement programs focus on the percentage of students placed after graduation and starting base salary. If we are trying to keep our high-tech graduates in the Beehive state, we need to align base salary with demand… and high-tech roles, are more in demand now than ever.
Personal fulfillment. Pluralsight recently conducted a survey and found the #1 reason people are leaving their job is because of the “lack of opportunities for advancement.” This beat out the previous winner, of crappy management by 4%. With financial pay only be part of total comp, how is personal fulfillment, opportunity for advancement, and your leadership team performing? Do your employees look forward to work each day? If not, time to fix the culture!
Then you’ve got other benefits like, PTO, raises, paid holidays, 401k, medical insurance, profit sharing, stock options, etc. This is where the data can do a lot of talking. Last year NFP, the insurance brokerage and consulting firm headquartered out of New York, conducted research with 4,500 companies in the Silicon Slopes to help answer some of these questions. A few of the highlights included:
· 51% of employers are offering 4.19% raises, while acknowledging 3% is the current industry average in tech.
· PTO is averaging 16–21 days depending on tenure.
· 65% of Utah companies currently allow alternative work schedules.
· 40.3% of employees are concerned about retirement, but only 9.78% feel they are on track to retire when they turn 65. As a result, employers are increasing 401k matches to 5–6%.
· 35.15% of Silicon Slopes-based companies said the main reason for increasing total comp offerings is due to employee expectation and demand.
The two questions that follow are:
1) How is your company fairing in our ever-changing market?
2) What are the trends since last year’s study?
The Desert News have done the research on compensation, Pluarlsight has told us our triggers for losing top talent, and NFP is once again helping do the research of on what additional benefit trends are looking like.
Local behemoths such as Ancestry, Younique, and Young Living Essential Oils are already joining the cause in helping Utah stay competitive in total comp packages. To join them in helping keep our top talent in the Silicon Slopes you can participate by sharing what your organization is doing for total comp. Simply go to http://utahemployeebenefitstudy.com/. All who participate will receive the results of the study, and help equip you to better navigate the 2018 tech landscape.
