Human Resources Programs & Business Climate Survey Results. January 2014

Transcription

1 Human Resources Programs & Business Climate Survey Results January 2014 Presented by: SBANE 1601 Trapelo Road, Suite 212 Waltham, MA (781) Insight Performance, Inc. 990 Washington Street, Suite S109 Dedham, MA (781)

2 The Smaller Business Association of New England (SBANE) and Insight Performance, Inc. are pleased to present the results of our third small business survey together, The Human Resources Programs & Business Climate Survey. This survey was conducted in November, 2013 to identify trends regarding business conditions, hiring, and employee benefits and programs. We hope this summary report, which offers key highlights of the findings, will help with your 2014 business and HR planning. Overall Highlights and Trends: The takeaway from this survey is business is good. For many respondents there is a marked feeling of positive energy in terms of the current year s results and the outlook for the future. At the same time, companies continue to remain conservative and fiscally responsible, but are recognizing the value of rewarding employees through benefits and employee programs. Many organizations anticipate an even better year in 2014 and expect to add to and enhance benefits. A small percentage of employers report continued financial struggles which directly affect pay and benefits. As you review this data, it may be useful to use it as you plan your 2014 Business and Human Resources Strategy. Specifically: Compare your programs and budgets to those outlined here to get an idea of the market. Consider an Employee Opinion Survey to better understand your specific employee s state and morale with respect to these areas. Set HR goals that are directly tied to the business. Use the New Year as a chance to communicate the state of the business with employees. Transparency is a great way to engage employees with the business. We hope that this survey is helpful in providing you with valuable information regarding smaller organizations business strategies and human resources programs as we head into Please feel free to contact Insight at (781) or hrsolved@insightperformance.com with any questions you may have. Small Business and Human Resources Outlook Survey Results January 2014 Page 2

3 Data Sections: Section 1: Current Business Conditions Section 2: Compensation Section 3: Employee Benefits Section 4: Time Off Programs Data Scope: The three (3) bolded categories represent the most represented categories: Number of Employees: Small Business and Human Resources Outlook Survey Results January 2014 Page 3

4 Industry Sector: The data responses for each section are for all respondents ; as such, data breakouts are not available by any of the scope factors above. Please interpret the following data keeping the above data scope percentages in mind. Small Business and Human Resources Outlook Survey Results January 2014 Page 4

5 Survey Data Section 1 Current Business Conditions Question 1: Compared to twelve months ago, please indicate your current business conditions. Question 2: What is your company expecting in 2014? Small Business and Human Resources Outlook Survey Results January 2014 Page 5

6 Question 3: In 2013 please indicate the employee conditions your company enjoyed. (select all that apply) Small Business and Human Resources Outlook Survey Results January 2014 Page 6

7 Section 2 Compensation Question 1: During 2014, what is your company planning to do with regard to compensation? Question 2: If you are planning a base pay increase, please select the merit increase budget amount. Small Business and Human Resources Outlook Survey Results January 2014 Page 7

8 Question 3: Is your company planning to payout bonuses/incentive compensation (not including commissions) in 2014? Small Business and Human Resources Outlook Survey Results January 2014 Page 8

9 Section 3 Employee Benefits Question 1: How many hours must an employee work to be considered a full-time employee? Question 2: Do you offer the following health and welfare benefits to employees? Small Business and Human Resources Outlook Survey Results January 2014 Page 9

10 Question 3: Do you offer the following programs to employees? Please share any additional programs you offer to employees: Monthly cookouts Professional society memberships Give turkeys out at Thanksgiving Quarterly birthday celebrations Professional development programs Paid community service time Small Business and Human Resources Outlook Survey Results January 2014 Page 10

11 Section 4 Time Off Benefits Question 1: Does your organization combine vacation, sick, personal, floating holidays or other paid time in a PTO program? Questions 2: How many PTO days does a full-time employee receive? Small Business and Human Resources Outlook Survey Results January 2014 Page 11

12 Question 3: How many vacation days does a full-time employee receive? Question 4: How many sick days does a full-time employee receive? Note: Many companies offer the same number of sick days to all employees, regardless of length of service. Small Business and Human Resources Outlook Survey Results January 2014 Page 12

13 Question 5: How many personal days does a full-time employee receive? Note: 26% of the respondents do not offer any personal days. Many companies offer the same number of personal days to all employees, regardless of length of service. Question 6: Are employees able to carry over unused time into the next year? Small Business and Human Resources Outlook Survey Results January 2014 Page 13

14 Question 7: What is the total number of paid holidays provided each year? Small Business and Human Resources Outlook Survey Results January 2014 Page 14

15 So What Does This All Mean? More than ever, over the past three years, HR and benefits have been considered a calculated component to a businesses overall strategy. While we re still seeing much of the cautious optimism we saw in our surveys beginning in 2010, today the financial landscape proves to be a bit more fruitful and companies are stretching their wings ever so slightly in terms of moving forward and expanding. Our observations, based on this survey and our experience in the smaller business marketplace, are that companies are currently sitting on more cash and profit, as evidenced by 64% of survey respondents indicating they are better off financially than a year ago. Companies remain cautious about adding to payroll and are investing in their current staff to secure retention. We expect this caution to continue for at least another year, as some companies who became too aggressive too soon seem to have gotten burned looks to be the year of doing more with less, or in other terms, investing in what companies already have rather than increasing headcount as a top priority. We will see more businesses finding ways to be creative with their existing staff, rethinking job positions and reorganizing strategically. We are seeing significant investments being made in leadership development, managerial training and coaching, for example, to ensure that employees are engaged, motivated and ready to accept new challenges. Interestingly, recruiting is down and correlates to unemployment holding steady in the single digits. According to the survey, some companies plan to recruit in 2014, but time will tell if those hires will actually be made and if unemployment will decrease by a meaningful rate this year. Similarly, companies are spending money to benchmark their existing salaries against the marketplace and are installing bonus and incentive programs to ensure they remain competitive in a demanding marketplace. For those who will be hiring, companies are valuing benefits and employee programs to attract and retain employees. Overall, we see the industry heading in a positive direction, but each move proves to be much more closely aligned with overall business strategy. There must be a return on investment that is easily demonstrable to justify any HR and benefits decisions made in Small Business and Human Resources Outlook Survey Results January 2014 Page 15