By Jason Rowe, courtesy of SBAM Approved Partner ASE
ASE recently published the results to its biennial Policies and Practices Survey. Survey results are broken into six major categories and are based on three employer sizes in both the National and Michigan (a subset of the national report) editions. Nearly 100 Michigan employers participated in the 2022 edition, and 189 questions were answered regarding human resource policies and employment practices.
The majority of respondents, 78.6%, have an employment size of 499 employees or less. Most fall into the combined services sector (42.9%), followed closely by the manufacturing sector (45.9%). One-fifth (20.4%) report having union employees, and about 38% of respondents have a revenue size of under $25 million.
The survey covers a variety of topics in the area of sick/personal day plans, miscellaneous benefits, pay practices, working conditions, recruitment, training and development, and employee/community relations. Below are highlights from the 2022 Michigan survey.
Survey Highlights – Michigan:
In many instances, survey participants were able to provide actual data (e.g., average paid time off awarded, number of paid sick days, etc.). This provides a more accurate look at workplace policies.
- Vacation continues to be more popular than utilizing a general Paid Time Off (PTO) plan, with the average professional, supervisory and management employee earning 9.7 days for the first year of service, 14.7 days at five years of service, and 17.9 days at ten years of service.
- The average number of paid holidays given to employees each year (including floating holidays) continues to be about 10.
- 30% of employers pay for up to two pays per year for an employee to volunteer in the community.
- The top three training opportunities offered are leadership, supervisory, and coaching.
- Employers that offer tuition reimbursement most typically reimburse $5,000 or more for nonunion employees.
- Three out of four employers have a formal compensation program, with the most popular method being market pricing.
- For employers who provide cell phones, it’s most typical for the organization to pay the entire cost.
It’s imperative for employers to offer competitive benefits and policies as they struggle to find and retain employees. This data is crucial to knowing what other employers are offering in Michigan and nationally.