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Free Resource for HR Leaders

Your employees already knows what they need. The question is do you?

Download our Gold Standard Employee Benefits & PTO Survey Template — 61 research-backed questions across 9 sections, ready to send to your workforce.

98.8

Client Retention Rate

51.8

Lower Turnover Among Platform Users

150

Employer Clients

285

Employees on Platform

WHAT'S INSIDE

9 sections. 61 questions. Everything you need.

The complete template your HR team can deploy in under an hour — built on the same research frameworks used by leading benefits consultancies.

About You

Demographics by generation, role, tenure & life stage

Overall Benefits Satisfaction

Baseline NPS, competitive perception & retention risk

Health & Wellbeing

Medical coverage gaps, HSA/FSA adoption barriers

Financial Wellbeing & Retirement

Retirement readiness, emergency savings, student debt

PTO Usage & Policy

Utilization gaps, carryover anxiety, policy friction

PTO Flexibility & Exchange

Interest in converting unused PTO into financial value

Leave Sharing & Giving

Colleague support appetite &charitable giving intent

Work-Life & Culture

Flexibility needs, caregiving, recognition & loyalty

Benefits Communication

Awareness gaps, enrollment experience & channel preferences

SURVEY PREVIEW

See what your employees will tell you.

A preview of selected questions from each section. The full template includes all 61 questions, HR context notes, and benchmarks.

Section A

About You

Q1: What is your age group?
Q2: What is your employment type?
Q3: How long have you worked at [Organization]?
Q4: Which best describes your role category?
Q5: What is your household / life stage?
Q6: What is your approximate annual base salary range?

Section B

Overall Benefits Satisfaction

Q7: Overall, how satisfied are you with our current benefits package?
Q8: How competitive do you feel our benefits package is compared to other employers in your field?
Q9: How likely are you to stay with [Organization] because of the benefits we offer?
Q10: Have you ever considered leaving [Organization] because a competitor offered better benefits?
Q11: Which benefit categories are MOST important to you right now?
Q12: Which benefits do you feel are CURRENTLY UNDERSERVED or missing from our package?
Q13: If we could add ONE new benefit this year with no cost increase to you, what would have the highest impact on your satisfaction and loyalty?

Section C

Health & Wellbeing Benefits

Q14: How satisfied are you with our current medical insurance options?
Q15: Which aspects of our health coverage concern you most?
Q16: Are you currently enrolled in a Health Savings Account (HSA) or Flexible Spending Account (FSA)?
Q17: If you are NOT enrolled in an HSA or FSA, what is the primary reason?
Q18: Would you increase your HSA/FSA contributions if you could use ADDITIONAL FUNDING SOURCES (e.g., converting unused PTO value into HSA contributions)?
Q19: How satisfied are you with the mental health support options available through [Organization]?
Q20: In the past 12 months, have financial stress or money worries negatively impacted your productivity at work or your overall wellbeing?

Section D

Financial Wellbeing & Retirement

Q21: How confident are you that you are on track to retire with financial security?
Q22: Are you currently contributing to our employer-sponsored retirement plan (401K/403B)?
Q23: What is the PRIMARY reason you are NOT contributing at the match-maximizing level?
Q24: Would you be interested in being able to CONVERT UNUSED PTO into retirement savings contributions (401K/403B) — receiving additional retirement savings without reducing your paycheck?
Q25: Do you have sufficient emergency savings to cover 3 months of essential expenses if you needed it?
Q26: In the past 12 months, have you experienced any of the following financial hardships?
Q27: Would you be interested in having access to EMERGENCY CASH from the value of your accrued, unused PTO — without taking time off and without incurring debt?
Q28: Do you currently carry student loan debt?
Q29: Would you value the ability to use the value of your UNUSED PTO to make student loan or tuition payments (for yourself or a dependent)?

Section E

Paid Time Off — Usage & Policy

Q30: How much PTO did you actually TAKE in the past 12 months?
Q31: How does your actual PTO usage compare to what you INTENDED or NEEDED to take?
Q32: Approximately how many days of UNUSED, ACCRUED PTO do you currently have banked?
Q33: Which of the following best describe why you have NOT taken all of your earned PTO?
Q34: Have you ever taken vacation you didn't actually need because you were at risk of FORFEITING PTO days?
Q35: Which of the following best describes how you FEEL about our current PTO policy?
Q36: How FAIRLY do you feel our PTO policy serves employees across different roles, shifts, and schedules?

Section F

PTO Flexibility & Exchange Options

Q37: Were you aware that some organizations allow employees to CONVERT THE VALUE OF UNUSED PTO into financial options such as retirement contributions, emergency cash, or student loan payments?
Q38: Overall, how INTERESTED would you be in the ability to convert some of your unused, accrued PTO into a financial benefit of your choice — WITHOUT taking time off?
Q39: Which of the following PTO CONVERSION OPTIONS would you be MOST interested in? Rate each one.
Q40: How much of your UNUSED, ACCRUED PTO would you potentially consider converting in a given year, if this option were available?
Q41: If you could convert unused PTO into retirement or emergency savings, how would this affect your FINANCIAL SECURITY and sense of control over your finances?
Q42: If [Organization] offered a PTO conversion benefit, how would it affect your feelings about working here?

Section G

Leave Sharing, Giving & Community

Q43: Are you aware that some organizations allow employees to DONATE their unused PTO hours to a colleague who has exhausted their leave due to a serious illness, family emergency, or hardship?
Q44: If a colleague experienced a serious medical issue or family emergency and exhausted their PTO, would you be willing to DONATE some of your unused PTO hours to support them?
Q45: How important is it to you that [Organization] offers a FORMAL LEAVE SHARING PROGRAM — a structured, IRS-compliant way to donate PTO to colleagues in need?
Q46: Would you be interested in being able to CONVERT SOME OF YOUR UNUSED PTO VALUE into a charitable donation to a cause or organization of your choice?
Q47: Does [Organization]'s support for charitable giving and community impact influence how you feel about working here?
Q48: If [Organization] launched a program that made it easy to donate unused PTO to a charitable cause, how would that make you feel?

Section H

Work-Life, Culture & Total Wellbeing

Q49: How well does your current work schedule allow you to manage your personal and family responsibilities?
Q50: Which flexible work options would improve your work-life balance and overall wellbeing?
Q51: Do you have caregiving responsibilities that impact your ability to use your PTO as intended?
Q52: How well does [Organization] demonstrate that it values and appreciates the contribution you make?
Q53: Which benefits or programs make you feel most VALUED and APPRECIATED by [Organization]?
Q54: Would you describe your experience of [Organization]'s overall care for employee wellbeing as

Section I

Benefits Communication & Experience

Q55: How well do you understand the full benefits package available to you at [Organization]?
Q56: Are there benefits available to you that you are NOT USING primarily because you don't fully understand how they work?
Q57: How do you PREFER to receive information about your benefits?
Q58: How satisfied are you with our annual open enrollment process?
Q59: Did you feel you had enough time and information to make confident benefits decisions during your last open enrollment?
Q60: Is there anything about our benefits program that you feel strongly about — positive or negative — that this survey has not captured?
Q61: On a scale of 1–10, how well does our benefits package, OVERALL, reflect that [Organization] genuinely cares about your financial, physical, and personal wellbeing?

WHY THIS MATTERS

Two growing problems. One survey that surfaces both.

Most HR leaders underestimate how serious the data is. These benchmarks show what your workforce is likely carrying right now.

63%

of Americans live paycheck to paycheck. The average employee carries $3,400 in unused PTO but cannot cover a $400 emergency.Industry research, 2024-2025

76%

of financially stressed employees say it negatively impacts their productivity at work making financial wellness a direct business problem.PwC 2023 Employee Financial Wellness Survey

60%

of full-time employees report financial stress exceeding pandemic-era highs - yet most benefits packages haven't evolved to address it.PwC 2023 Employee Financial Wellness Survey

90%

of employees say they would stay with an employer that offered a PTO flexibility benefit one of the highest stay-intent scores ever recorded.Lighthouse Research, n=1,000

HOW TO USE IT

Five steps. One week. Results that change your strategy.

The HR Implementation Guide included in your download walks you through each step.

Choose your survey platform

SurveyMonkey, Microsoft Forms, or Google Forms all work. The PDF is fully formatted - just re-enter questions into your preferred tool.

Customize with your organization's name

Every [Organization] placeholder is clearly marked. Enable full anonymity - this dramatically increases honest responses.

Time it right

Best window: 6-8 weeks before your benefits planning cycle. Second best: 3-4 weeks after open enrollment closes. Avoid holiday periods.

Drive completion rates

Target 60-75% response rate for statistical significance. Brief managers, send reminder cadence on Day 1 → Day 7 → Day 14 close.

Read the signals that matter

Your HR Implementation Guide includes a complete signal framework - which questions predict the strongest case for PTO Exchange ROI, and what high scores mean in terms of recommended action.

Get the Free Template

98.8

Client Retention Rate

51.8

Lower Turnover Among Platform Users

150

Employer Clients

285

Employees on Platform

SURVEY PREVIEW

See what your employees will tell you.

Q1: What is your age group?

Q2: What is your employment type?

Q3: How long have you worked at [Organization]?

Q4: Which best describes your role category?

Q5: What is your household / life stage?

Q6: What is your approximate annual base salary range?

Q7: Overall, how satisfied are you with our current benefits package?

Q8: How competitive do you feel our benefits package is compared to other employers in your field?

Q9: How likely are you to stay with [Organization] because of the benefits we offer?

Q10: Have you ever considered leaving [Organization] because a competitor offered better benefits?

Q11: Which benefit categories are MOST important to you right now?

Q12: Which benefits do you feel are CURRENTLY UNDERSERVED or missing from our package?

Q13: If we could add ONE new benefit this year with no cost increase to you, what would have the highest impact on your satisfaction and loyalty?

Q14: How satisfied are you with our current medical insurance options?

Q15: Which aspects of our health coverage concern you most?

Q16: Are you currently enrolled in a Health Savings Account (HSA) or Flexible Spending Account (FSA)?

Q17: If you are NOT enrolled in an HSA or FSA, what is the primary reason?

Q18: Would you increase your HSA/FSA contributions if you could use ADDITIONAL FUNDING SOURCES (e.g., converting unused PTO value into HSA contributions)?

Q19: How satisfied are you with the mental health support options available through [Organization]?

Q20: In the past 12 months, have financial stress or money worries negatively impacted your productivity at work or your overall wellbeing?

Q21: How confident are you that you are on track to retire with financial security?

Q22: Are you currently contributing to our employer-sponsored retirement plan (401K/403B)?

Q23: What is the PRIMARY reason you are NOT contributing at the match-maximizing level?

Q24: Would you be interested in being able to CONVERT UNUSED PTO into retirement savings contributions (401K/403B) — receiving additional retirement savings without reducing your paycheck?

Q25: Do you have sufficient emergency savings to cover 3 months of essential expenses if you needed it?

Q26: In the past 12 months, have you experienced any of the following financial hardships?

Q27: Would you be interested in having access to EMERGENCY CASH from the value of your accrued, unused PTO — without taking time off and without incurring debt?

Q28: Do you currently carry student loan debt?

Q29: Would you value the ability to use the value of your UNUSED PTO to make student loan or tuition payments (for yourself or a dependent)?

Q30: How much PTO did you actually TAKE in the past 12 months?

Q31: How does your actual PTO usage compare to what you INTENDED or NEEDED to take?

Q32: Approximately how many days of UNUSED, ACCRUED PTO do you currently have banked?

Q33: Which of the following best describe why you have NOT taken all of your earned PTO?

Q34: Have you ever taken vacation you didn't actually need because you were at risk of FORFEITING PTO days?

Q35: Which of the following best describes how you FEEL about our current PTO policy?

Q36: How FAIRLY do you feel our PTO policy serves employees across different roles, shifts, and schedules?

Q37: Were you aware that some organizations allow employees to CONVERT THE VALUE OF UNUSED PTO into financial options such as retirement contributions, emergency cash, or student loan payments?

Q38: Overall, how INTERESTED would you be in the ability to convert some of your unused, accrued PTO into a financial benefit of your choice — WITHOUT taking time off?

Q39: Which of the following PTO CONVERSION OPTIONS would you be MOST interested in? Rate each one.

Q40: How much of your UNUSED, ACCRUED PTO would you potentially consider converting in a given year, if this option were available?

Q41: If you could convert unused PTO into retirement or emergency savings, how would this affect your FINANCIAL SECURITY and sense of control over your finances?

Q42: If [Organization] offered a PTO conversion benefit, how would it affect your feelings about working here?

Q43: Are you aware that some organizations allow employees to DONATE their unused PTO hours to a colleague who has exhausted their leave due to a serious illness, family emergency, or hardship?

Q44: If a colleague experienced a serious medical issue or family emergency and exhausted their PTO, would you be willing to DONATE some of your unused PTO hours to support them?

Q45: How important is it to you that [Organization] offers a FORMAL LEAVE SHARING PROGRAM — a structured, IRS-compliant way to donate PTO to colleagues in need?

Q46: Would you be interested in being able to CONVERT SOME OF YOUR UNUSED PTO VALUE into a charitable donation to a cause or organization of your choice?

Q47: Does [Organization]'s support for charitable giving and community impact influence how you feel about working here?

Q48: If [Organization] launched a program that made it easy to donate unused PTO to a charitable cause, how would that make you feel?

Q49: How well does your current work schedule allow you to manage your personal and family responsibilities?

Q50: Which flexible work options would improve your work-life balance and overall wellbeing?

Q51: Do you have caregiving responsibilities that impact your ability to use your PTO as intended?

Q52: How well does [Organization] demonstrate that it values and appreciates the contribution you make?

Q53: Which benefits or programs make you feel most VALUED and APPRECIATED by [Organization]?

Q54: Would you describe your experience of [Organization]'s overall care for employee wellbeing as

Q55: How well do you understand the full benefits package available to you at [Organization]?

Q56: Are there benefits available to you that you are NOT USING primarily because you don't fully understand how they work?

Q57: How do you PREFER to receive information about your benefits?

Q58: How satisfied are you with our annual open enrollment process?

Q59: Did you feel you had enough time and information to make confident benefits decisions during your last open enrollment?

Q60: Is there anything about our benefits program that you feel strongly about — positive or negative — that this survey has not captured?