Employee Benefits

Employee benefits survey template: find out what your team actually values

Companies spend 30% or more of total compensation on benefits, but most never ask employees whether those benefits are the right ones. A benefits survey closes that gap by measuring which benefits employees value, which they actually use, and which are missing entirely.

This template helps HR teams collect the data needed to optimize benefits spend and improve retention.

Why benefits surveys matter

Benefits influence hiring and retention decisions more than most companies realize. A well-designed benefits package can be a deciding factor for candidates choosing between offers. A poorly designed one can drive employees to competitors who offer what they actually need.

The problem is that benefits decisions are often made based on what is standard in the industry, not what is valued by the specific workforce. A company with mostly 25-35 year old employees might invest heavily in retirement matching while its team cares more about student loan assistance or flexible hours.

Benefits surveys solve this by replacing assumptions with data.

Employee benefits survey questions

Overall satisfaction

1. How satisfied are you with the overall benefits package? | Rating scale (1-5) | Required
2. How important are benefits in your overall job satisfaction? | Rating scale (1-5) | Required
3. Compared to other companies, how does our benefits package compare? | Multiple choice (Much better, Somewhat better, About the same, Somewhat worse, Much worse, Not sure) | Required

Benefits usage and value

4. Which benefits do you currently use? (Select all that apply) | Multi-select checkboxes (Health insurance, Dental/vision, Retirement plan, PTO/vacation, Sick leave, Flexible hours, Remote work, Professional development, Wellness programs, Mental health support, Childcare support, Commuter benefits, Life insurance, Employee discounts) | Required
5. Which three benefits do you value most? (Select up to 3) | Multi-select checkboxes (same list as above) | Required
6. Are there benefits you are eligible for but choose not to use? | Single choice (Yes / No) | Required
7. If yes, why not? | Open text | Optional

Benefits gaps

8. Are there any benefits the company does not currently offer that you would like? | Open text | Optional
9. If you could add one new benefit, what would it be? | Open text | Required
10. How well do you understand the benefits available to you? | Multiple choice (Very well, Somewhat, Not well, Not at all) | Required

Accessibility

11. How easy is it to enroll in and access your benefits? | Rating scale (1-5) | Required
12. How satisfied are you with the information provided about benefits (enrollment guides, FAQs, HR support)? | Rating scale (1-5) | Required

Specific benefit areas

13. How satisfied are you with the health insurance options? | Rating scale (1-5) | Required
14. How satisfied are you with the PTO/vacation policy? | Rating scale (1-5) | Required
15. How satisfied are you with the flexibility options (remote work, flexible hours)? | Rating scale (1-5) | Required
16. Have you used any wellness or mental health benefits in the past 12 months? | Single choice (Yes, No, Not aware of them) | Required

Overall

17. What one change to the benefits package would make the biggest difference for you? | Open text | Optional
18. How likely are you to recommend this company as a place to work based on its benefits? | Scale (0-10) | Required

How to analyze benefits survey results

Identify the value-usage gap. Compare which benefits employees value (question 5) against which they actually use (question 4). A benefit that is highly valued but underused suggests an accessibility or awareness problem. A benefit that is used but not valued suggests it is a hygiene factor, expected but not a differentiator.

Rank the most-requested new benefits. Group open-ended responses from questions 8 and 9 by theme. Count how many employees request each. The top three to five requests are your shortlist for benefits expansion.

Segment by demographics. If you collect tenure, age range, or department data alongside the benefits survey, segment the results. Early-career employees may prioritize student loan help and flexible hours. Mid-career employees may prioritize childcare and health coverage. This segmentation prevents you from optimizing for the average and missing specific groups.

Benchmark awareness. If a significant percentage of employees say they do not understand available benefits (question 10), the problem is communication, not the benefits themselves. Fixing this is usually cheaper than adding new benefits.

When to run benefits surveys

• Annually, timed with open enrollment. Survey employees one to two months before open enrollment. This gives you time to act on the results before employees make their selections.
• After major benefits changes. If you add, remove, or modify a benefit, survey employees three to six months later to measure the impact.
• As part of a broader employee satisfaction survey. If you run annual satisfaction surveys, include three to five benefits-specific questions rather than a separate survey.

Connecting results to decisions

Benefits surveys generate clear, actionable data if you frame the results correctly:

• Cost per perceived value. If a benefit costs $X per employee per year but only 10% use it and it ranks low in value, that is a candidate for reallocation.
• Retention impact. Cross-reference benefits satisfaction (question 2) with overall job satisfaction and turnover data. If employees who rate benefits poorly are also more likely to leave, you have a direct case for investment.
• Competitive positioning. Question 3 tells you how employees perceive your package relative to the market. If the majority says "about the same" or worse, you have room to differentiate.

Formbricks supports in-app surveys and scheduled email surveys that make it easy to collect this data on a recurring basis. Browse our survey templates for related employee feedback templates, or check out exit survey examples to understand how benefits factor into departure decisions.