Why survey employees about benefits?
An employee benefits survey tells an employer what its people know about their benefits, what they value and where the plan is hard to use. Benefits are a large part of pay: in private industry they made up about 30% of total compensation costs in June 2026, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Without asking, most employers are guessing how that money lands.
A survey helps you:
- Find gaps in understanding. Employees often do not know a benefit exists, or how their deductible works.
- Set priorities before renewal. Satisfaction and importance scores show which changes matter most to the people paying part of the premium.
- Fix communication. Low scores on a benefit that is actually generous point to a communication problem, not a plan problem.
- Measure change over time. The same questions asked each year show whether last year’s changes worked.
The survey template.
The 33 questions below are ready to copy into any survey tool. Each has its answer format. Unless noted, rating scales are 1 to 5, where 1 is “Very dissatisfied” or “Strongly disagree” and 5 is “Very satisfied” or “Strongly agree.” Add “Not applicable” to any question about a benefit some employees do not use.
Change the wording to match your plan names, and delete any question you would not act on.
Section 1: Awareness
| # | Question | Answer format |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | How well do you understand the benefits available to you? | Scale, 1 (Not at all) to 5 (Very well) |
| 2 | Do you know where to find information about your benefits? | Multiple choice: Yes / No / Not sure |
| 3 | Which of these benefits did you know we offer? (List each benefit you offer.) | Multiple choice, select all that apply |
| 4 | How confident are you explaining the difference between your deductible and your out-of-pocket maximum? | Scale, 1 (Not confident) to 5 (Very confident) |
Section 2: Satisfaction
| # | Question | Answer format |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | Overall, how satisfied are you with your benefits package? | Scale, 1 to 5 |
| 6 | Our benefits meet the needs of me and my family. | Scale, 1 to 5 (agree) |
| 7 | Compared with benefits at past employers, ours are: | Multiple choice: Better / About the same / Worse / No basis to compare |
| 8 | How likely are you to recommend working here to a friend because of our benefits? | Scale, 0 (Not likely) to 10 (Very likely) |
Section 3: Value
| # | Question | Answer format |
|---|---|---|
| 9 | What you pay for your coverage each paycheck is reasonable for what you get. | Scale, 1 to 5 (agree) |
| 10 | Which matters more to you: a lower paycheck deduction, or lower costs when you get care? | Multiple choice: Lower paycheck deduction / Lower costs at time of care / No preference |
| 11 | Rank the three benefits that matter most to you. (List each benefit you offer.) | Ranking, top 3 |
Section 4: Medical plan
| # | Question | Answer format |
|---|---|---|
| 12 | How satisfied are you with your medical plan options? | Scale, 1 to 5 |
| 13 | The doctors and hospitals you want to use are in your plan’s network. | Scale, 1 to 5 (agree) |
| 14 | When you need care, you can get an appointment in a reasonable time. | Scale, 1 to 5 (agree) |
| 15 | In the past 12 months, have you put off care because of what it would cost? | Multiple choice: Yes / No / Prefer not to say |
| 16 | In the past 12 months, have you had a problem with a medical bill or claim? | Multiple choice: Yes / No / Did not use the plan |
Section 5: Pharmacy
| # | Question | Answer format |
|---|---|---|
| 17 | You understand how much your prescriptions will cost before you fill them. | Scale, 1 to 5 (agree) |
| 18 | How easy is it to fill prescriptions at a pharmacy or by mail? | Scale, 1 (Very hard) to 5 (Very easy) |
| 19 | In the past 12 months, has the cost of a prescription been a problem for you or your family? | Multiple choice: Yes / No / Does not apply |
Section 6: Access and support
| # | Question | Answer format |
|---|---|---|
| 20 | How easy is it to find an in-network doctor? | Scale, 1 (Very hard) to 5 (Very easy) |
| 21 | When you have a question about a claim or bill, how easy is it to get an answer? | Scale, 1 (Very hard) to 5 (Very easy) |
| 22 | Who do you contact first with a benefits question? | Multiple choice: HR / Insurance carrier or TPA / Benefits help line / A coworker / I don’t know |
| 23 | Which of these have you used in the past 12 months? | Multiple choice, select all that apply: Benefits website or app / Carrier member services / Telehealth / Benefits help line / None |
Section 7: Communication
| # | Question | Answer format |
|---|---|---|
| 24 | Open enrollment materials helped you choose the right coverage. | Scale, 1 to 5 (agree) |
| 25 | How do you prefer to get benefits information? | Multiple choice, select all that apply: Email / Text / Printed mail / Meetings / One-on-one help / Benefits website or app |
| 26 | Besides open enrollment, when would reminders about your benefits help most? | Multiple choice, select all that apply: When I join / Before a major life event / Mid-year reminders / When I need care |
| 27 | In which language do you prefer benefits information? | Multiple choice: English / Spanish / Other (write in) |
Section 8: Voluntary benefits
| # | Question | Answer format |
|---|---|---|
| 28 | Which of these would you be interested in if they were offered? | Multiple choice, select all that apply: Accident / Critical illness / Hospital indemnity / Legal plan / Identity protection / Pet insurance / Other (write in) |
| 29 | Would you pay for an optional benefit through payroll deduction if it fit your needs? | Multiple choice: Yes / Maybe / No |
| 30 | You understand the voluntary benefits we offer today. | Scale, 1 to 5 (agree) |
Section 9: Open text
| # | Question | Answer format |
|---|---|---|
| 31 | What is one thing about your benefits you would change? | Open text |
| 32 | What is working well and should stay the same? | Open text |
| 33 | Is there anything else you want us to know about your benefits? | Open text |
If you also offer retirement, paid time off or other programs, add a short section for each in the same format. Keep the total near 35 questions.
What should a survey never ask?
A benefits survey should never ask employees about their health. That means no questions about:
- Diagnoses, conditions or symptoms
- Medications or treatments
- Disabilities or limitations
- Pregnancy or family plans
- Family medical history, which counts as genetic information
The Americans with Disabilities Act limits an employer’s questions that are likely to reveal a disability to those that are job-related and consistent with business necessity. The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act generally bars employers from requesting genetic information, including family medical history. A benefits survey meets neither exception, and you do not need the answers to design a better plan.
Ask about the experience instead: cost, access, ease of use and understanding. To learn how the plan is used, look at de-identified, aggregated claims reports from your carrier or TPA, not at what individual employees tell you.
Be careful with demographics, too. Keep them few and broad, such as coverage tier or a wide age band, and only add one when you will compare results by it.
How do you run the survey?
The survey works best as part of the renewal calendar, not as a one-off.
| Step | When | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Plan | 6 months before renewal | Set two or three goals, pick the questions, choose the tool |
| Test | 5 months before renewal | Have a few employees take it, time it, fix unclear questions |
| Launch | 4 to 5 months before renewal | Explain why you are asking, how answers stay anonymous and when results will be shared. Keep it open about two weeks |
| Remind | During the survey | Send one or two reminders, and give time during work to complete it |
| Read | Right after closing | Score each section and compare with last year and with your claims data |
| Share back | Within a month of closing | Tell employees what you heard and what will change |
Timing. Four to six months before renewal leaves time to bring the results into plan design and contribution decisions, and to shape open enrollment messages.
Anonymity. Use a survey tool that does not tie responses to names or email addresses, and say so in the invitation. Report results only for groups large enough that no one can be identified. A common rule is no breakdown for fewer than 10 responses.
Response rate. Employees respond when the survey is short, works on a phone, comes from a leader they know and can be done on work time. The strongest lever is showing that last year’s survey led to changes. Track your rate year over year rather than against an outside benchmark.
How do you read the results?
Compare how much employees value each benefit with how satisfied they are with it. The gap tells you where to act.
| Importance | Satisfaction | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|---|
| High | Low | A real problem employees care about | Fix first: plan design, network or cost share |
| High | High | A strength | Protect it at renewal and say so in communication |
| Low | Low | Often a benefit employees do not understand or use | Explain it better, or consider replacing it |
| Low | High | Liked but not a priority | Keep, but do not add spending here first |
A few more checks help:
- Low awareness with high satisfaction among users usually means a communication problem, not a plan problem.
- Open text answers often name the specific issue behind a low score, such as one hospital missing from the network.
- Survey results and claims data together tell the full story. If employees say cost stops them from getting care, look at whether preventive visits or prescription fills are falling.
- Year-over-year trends matter more than any single score.
How should you share results back?
Within about a month of closing, share a short summary: what you heard, what will change, and what will not change and why. Employees who take the time to answer want to know it mattered. A simple “You said, we did” format works well in an email, at a staff meeting and again in open enrollment materials.
Close the loop on communication problems right away. If employees did not know about a benefit, the fix is in your next message, not next year’s plan. Ethos Benefits runs year-round employee communications for clients, including open enrollment.
For how survey results fit into plan decisions, see the employee benefits strategy explainer, and for optional products, see voluntary benefits.