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Employee Benefits Survey Template

Fourteen questions that rank your eight benefits by what staff would protect and what they would cut first.

  • 14questions
  • about 5 minto complete
  • 8 benefitsranked by a forced choice
  • -100 to +100keep score per benefit
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Employee Benefits Survey · answer to move through it
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Question 1 of 14 Protect one, cut one
If we could protect only one of these benefits next year, which one would you choose?
Health insurance (medical, dental, vision)
Retirement or 401(k) contributions
Paid time off above the minimum
Flexible work (hours or location)
Paid parental or family leave
Dependent care (childcare or elder care)
Learning budget
Wellness (gym, counseling, mental health)
Question 2 of 14 Protect one, cut one
If we had to cut one of these benefits next year, which would go first?
Health insurance (medical, dental, vision)
Retirement or 401(k) contributions
Paid time off above the minimum
Flexible work (hours or location)
Paid parental or family leave
Dependent care (childcare or elder care)
Learning budget
Wellness (gym, counseling, mental health)
Question 3 of 14 Known and used
Which of these did you already know we offer?
Health insurance (medical, dental, vision)
Retirement or 401(k) contributions
Paid time off above the minimum
Flexible work (hours or location)
Paid parental or family leave
Dependent care (childcare or elder care)
Learning budget
Wellness (gym, counseling, mental health)
None of these
Question 4 of 14 Known and used
Which of these have you used in the last 12 months?
Health insurance (medical, dental, vision)
Retirement or 401(k) contributions
Paid time off above the minimum
Flexible work (hours or location)
Paid parental or family leave
Dependent care (childcare or elder care)
Learning budget
Wellness (gym, counseling, mental health)
None of these
Question 5 of 14 Using what you have
I know which benefits I am entitled to.
1
2
3
4
5
Strongly disagreeStrongly agree
Question 6 of 14 Using what you have
When I want to use a benefit, I know what to do next.
1
2
3
4
5
Strongly disagreeStrongly agree
Question 7 of 14 Using what you have
Where do you go first to find out what a benefit covers?
The benefits portal or intranet
The enrollment documents
My manager
HR directly
A coworker
The insurer or provider
I would not know where to look
Question 8 of 14 What the package is worth
Our benefits fit my life outside of work.
1
2
3
4
5
Strongly disagreeStrongly agree
Question 9 of 14 What the package is worth
If our benefits cost more next year, what should we do?
Keep everything and take the increase from my paycheck
Drop the benefit fewest people use and keep the rest whole
Reduce every benefit a little
Keep everything and cut spending somewhere else
I would rather the company decided
Question 10 of 14 What the package is worth
Would you rather we improved a benefit we already offer, or added a new one?
Improve a benefit we already offer
Add a benefit we do not have
Neither, the package is about right
No strong view
Question 11 of 14 In your words
If we could add one benefit we do not offer today, what would it be?
Question 12 of 14 In your words
What stops you using a benefit you would otherwise want?
Question 13 of 14 Staying, then overall
Our benefits are one of the reasons I stay here.
1
2
3
4
5
Strongly disagreeStrongly agree
Question 14 of 14 Staying, then overall
Overall, how satisfied are you with our benefits package?
1
2
3
4
5
Very dissatisfiedVery satisfied

The 14 employee benefits survey questions

An employee benefits survey asks employees which of the benefits you offer they value most, which they know about and which they use, so the next renewal funds what people would keep. This one makes them choose. All fourteen questions are ready to edit in the free questionnaire maker.

Plain text, one question per line, with the answer scale.

Protect one, cut one

One list of eight benefits, asked twice: one vote for, one against.

  1. If we could protect only one of these benefits next year, which one would you choose?Pick one of 8, requireduse the names your enrollment guide uses.
  2. If we had to cut one of these benefits next year, which would go first?Pick one of 8, required

Known and used

The same eight as tick-all lists, so every benefit gets two more counts.

  1. Which of these did you already know we offer?Tick all that apply, requireda benefit people would protect but never knew about needs telling.
  2. Which of these have you used in the last 12 months?Tick all that apply, requiredlow use can be normal for leave tied to life events.

Using what you have

Knowing a benefit exists and knowing how to claim it have different fixes.

  1. I know which benefits I am entitled to.Strongly disagree to strongly agree, required
  2. When I want to use a benefit, I know what to do next.Strongly disagree to strongly agree, required
  3. Where do you go first to find out what a benefit covers?Pick one of 7, requiredput next year's benefits guide wherever the top answer points.

What the package is worth

Fit and the two trade-offs; pay itself is for the compensation survey questions.

  1. Our benefits fit my life outside of work.Strongly disagree to strongly agree, required
  2. If our benefits cost more next year, what should we do?Pick one of 5, requiredif most people pick the last option, the ranking is your mandate.
  3. Would you rather we improved a benefit we already offer, or added a new one?Pick one of 4, required

In your words

One wish and one obstacle, both optional.

  1. If we could add one benefit we do not offer today, what would it be?Short text, optional
  2. What stops you using a benefit you would otherwise want?Open text, optionalsort the answers by benefit before you read them.

Staying, then overall

The two outcomes; when staying falls, the employee retention survey asks what else matters.

  1. Our benefits are one of the reasons I stay here.Strongly disagree to strongly agree, requiredcompare it across two runs, before and after any plan change.
  2. Overall, how satisfied are you with our benefits package?Very dissatisfied to very satisfied, required

How to send and score a benefits survey

Send it to everyone eligible for benefits, claimants or not, eight to twelve weeks before your renewal, while next year's budget is still open. It asks for no name or email address, so report one company-wide list and never a cut by team.

Rank the eight with a keep score: the percent who chose a benefit in question 1 minus the percent who chose it in question 2.[1] If 20 of 50 people would protect health cover and 2 would cut it, its score is 40 minus 4, or +36. The eight scores always add up to zero.

Set the counts from questions 3 and 4 beside each score. If this year's new hires knew least, the induction feedback form shows what their first weeks left out.

Employee benefits survey design: one list of eight benefit blocks feeding two separate choices, one marked to protect and one marked to cut, with the difference drawn as a ranked column of bars on the right
One list, asked twice: the difference is the order you fund in.

Employee benefits survey FAQ

What questions should an employee benefits survey ask?

Ask which benefit people would protect and which they would cut first, which ones they knew about and used, whether they know how to claim, and how to handle a cost rise. The forced choice turns those answers into an order.[1]

Can I use it as a flexible benefits survey?

Yes. On a cafeteria plan, people choose between cash and qualified benefits such as health cover and dependent care, paid for before tax.[2] List the options your plan offers in questions 1 to 4, and the keep score shows which to fund first.

How do I ask about health benefits?

Health insurance is one line in questions 1 to 4, so it competes with everything else. If you price medical, dental and vision separately, split them into three lines. For mental health support, the employee wellness survey goes deeper.

Related employee survey templates

When benefits are one line in a wider cost review, the job security questionnaire asks how settled people feel in their roles. The other employee survey templates sit together in one library.

EmployeeEmployee Engagement SurveyThe whole-organization read: an engagement index, its six drivers and a recommend item.20 questions, 6 min EmployeeCompensation SurveyWhen the answers are about the size of the paycheck rather than the shape of the package.12 questions, 4 min EmployeeEmployee Wellness SurveyWhen the real question is whether people are coping and can reach support.16 questions, 5 min EmployeeEmployee Retention SurveyWhen people say benefits are why they would leave, and you need the rest of the reason.11 questions, 3 min EmployeeJob Security QuestionnaireWhen people want to know how settled their own roles are.15 questions, 4 min EmployeeInduction Feedback FormWhen new hires did not know a benefit existed.11 questions, 3 min

Michael Hodge, survey methodology · Updated 26 September 2026 · How templates are reviewed

Sources (2)
  1. Muehlbacher, A.C., Kaczynski, A., Zweifel, P. and Johnson, F.R. "Experimental measurement of preferences in health and healthcare using best-worst scaling: an overview." Health Economics Review 6 (2016), article 2. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
  2. Internal Revenue Service. "FAQs for government entities regarding cafeteria plans." IRS. irs.gov

Rank your benefits before the renewal

Fourteen questions, about five minutes, and a ranked list of eight benefits at the end. Put your own plan names in and send it.

Use this template