Press Release Summary: METLIFE SURVEY FINDS INDIAN EMPLOYERS ARE MISSING AN OPPORTUNITY TO ATTRACT AND RETAIN SKILLED WORKERS BY OFFERING EMPLOYEE BENEFITS
Despite Workers' Financial Worries and Desire for More Coverage, Few Employers Offer it Employers Have Opportunity to Help India and Help Themselves
Press Release Body: METLIFE SURVEY FINDS INDIAN EMPLOYERS ARE MISSING AN OPPORTUNITY TO ATTRACT AND RETAIN SKILLED WORKERS BY OFFERING EMPLOYEE BENEFITS
Despite Workers' Financial Worries and Desire for More Coverage, Few Employers Offer it Employers Have Opportunity to Help India and Help Themselves
Bangalore, November 15, 2007 - In India's fast-growing economy, Indian employers are not maximizing the potential of benefits to fulfill business objectives and generally offer employees few benefits besides life and health, according to a just-released survey from MetLife. That's in spite of employees' high level of financial concern about providing for their families in case of illness, disability or death, and their expressed desire to buy benefits at work - even if they have to pay all of the cost themselves. With the skilled Indian workforce becoming increasingly aware of international best practices at the workplace, Indian employers must soon address the growing need for workplace benefits.
The inaugural MetLife Study of International Employee Benefits Trends surveyed employers and employees in four countries-India, Mexico, Australia, and the U.K.-that represent mature and emerging economies and differing workplace environments. MetLife has conducted an annual Employee Benefits Trends Study in the U.S. since 2001.
The international study reveals a disconnect between what benefits Indian employees say they need and want and the benefits Indian employers are prepared to offer now - or in the future. About one-third of Indian companies that currently offer no benefits, think it is likely they will offer benefits, and more specifically, 35% indicated they would offer retirement benefits within the next three years. The top benefits objectives of almost all India employers that provide benefits are to control employee health and welfare benefits costs and increase employee productivity. And they cite retaining skilled workers as the least important objective in offering employee benefits. -more- In contrast, many Indian workers are so interested in employee benefits at work that they are willing to pay the full cost themselves, with 51% who don't own products through the workplace interested in purchasing term life; 48% in retirement planning products. Yet workers generally own only one product at work, versus 6.9 products for employees in the U.S., and 1.5 for their Mexican counterparts. The reason, the majority (72%) of Indian workers says, is because their employers do not offer benefits.
A weapon in the war for talent "Rapid economic expansion and the growth of multinational companies in India with benefits programs are increasing competition for the limited pool of highly skilled and better educated workers," said William J. Toppeta, president of MetLife International. "With a variety of world-class companies operating extensively in India, workers are now more aware of how workplace benefits can help meet their health, protection and retirement needs. Companies that develop benefit programs highly prized by employees will have more leverage in attracting and retaining the best and brightest in an increasingly competitive marketplace," Mr. Toppeta said.
The study has found, however, that in the larger cities in India, employers have begun using benefits as a strategic tool. While India's large cities attract more multinationals with their more generous benefit programs, of possible greater significance is that big cities are home to more information technology, biotechnology and manufacturing companies, which often have difficulty finding skilled workers to fill their more specialized positions. These employers have greater incentive to offer competitive benefit programs in order to attract and retain talent.
What Employees Want The survey finds workers are extremely concerned about such financial worries as adequate health insurance (82%) and having enough money to live on (80%). India employees' top financial concerns regarding retirement include "having enough money to take care of elderly parents or in-laws" (79%) and "running out of retirement money" (71%). Yet only about one out of every three workers (35%) say they have taken steps to determine retirement needs and only 20% say they have done actual planning for retirement. In a sharp departure from the other countries surveyed, one-third (33%) of Indian employees say they never expect to retire, which may account for why so many have done so little retirement planning. -more- But for those Indian workers who have planned for retirement, nearly six out of 10 (58%) say they have either achieved or are on track to achieving their retirement goals. They are ahead of U.S. workers - with only 21% saying they are on track, and only 5% report having achieved their retirement goals.
"From the survey, we found that there is no single over-riding reason that employers are not offering benefits to their employees in India," added Rajesh Relan, managing director, MetLife India Insurance Company Private Limited. "And as Indian employees become more aware of their health, protection and retirement needs, they will increasingly demand workplace benefits that their counterparts in other emerging and developed markets enjoy. Therefore, educating employers about the value of employee benefits can help to change the employer mindset to see what they could gain from offering benefits to employees."
The MetLife Study of International Employee Benefits Trends provides insight into the financial needs, habits and perceptions of employees in India, Mexico, Australia and the U.K. as well as details about the benefits objectives and practices of employers. For copies of this study and the 5th annual MetLife Study of Employee Benefits Trends in the U.S., please visit www.metlife.co.in.
Survey Methodology The first-ever MetLife Study of International Employee Benefits Trends was conducted between November 2006 and March 2007 by GfK Custom Research in India, Mexico, Australia and the U.K. The employee survey polled 2,507 full-time employees beginning at age 18, including a mix of men and women at different employer sizes in each country. The employer survey consisted of 1,275 interviews with benefits decision-makers at companies with differing number of employees, representing a mix of industries and geographic regions. In India, the study surveyed 1,039 Indian employees and 523 Indian employers.
About MetLife MetLife is a subsidiary of MetLife, Inc. (NYSE: MET), a leading provider of insurance and financial services with operations throughout the United States and the Latin America, Europe and Asia Pacific regions. Through its domestic and international subsidiaries and affiliates, MetLife, Inc. reaches more than 70 million customers around the world and MetLife is the largest life insurer in the U.S. (based on life insurance in-force). The MetLife companies offer life insurance, annuities, auto and home insurance, retail banking and other financial services to individuals, as well as group insurance, reinsurance and retirement & savings products and services to corporations and other institutions. For more information, please visit www.metlife.com. ###
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