Improving Employee Recruitment and Retention by Focusing on Vision Benefits
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Summary: Employee recruitment and retention remains a challenge for many U.S. employers. Discover how vision benefits can help you solve both and build a thriving workforce.

If you gathered a large group of HR professionals in a room and asked each of them to name their biggest challenges, you'd likely hear the words "retention", "recruitment", or "staffing" mentioned a lot. And for good reason.

While the tidal wave of the great resignation has receded, the evidence of its impact remains all around us. Holding on to your current employees and attracting new ones requires standing out from a very large crowd, and vision benefits are one way successful employers are doing just that. Read on to find out how.

Surveying the current staffing landscape

Employee turnover remains a significant challenge for U.S. companies with more than half of employees either seeking a new job or closely monitoring the job market.¹ To make matters worse, it costs as much as four times an employee's salary to replace them.² For perspective, it could cost as much as $300,000 to replace an employee salaried at $75,000. That means it's not only hurting company productivity and performance due to the time it takes to find and onboard a new recruit, you're taking a big hit in the pocketbook as well.

Speaking of new recruits, it's no small feat attracting and landing them in today's fiercely competitive environment. You need to stand out to prospective employees, and that means having something unique to offer. This is where vision benefits can give you an edge over business rivals vying for a candidate's signature.

Vision benefits are no longer a 'nice to have' for employees

Today's employees demand excellent vision benefits. According to the 2025 VSP^® Vision Care Workplace Vision Health Report, 93% of employees say vision benefits are important.³ If you're not offering them, or they aren't on par with what your top candidates want, they'll go somewhere else to get them. And that doesn't just pertain to job candidates—it applies to your current employees as well.

77% of employees surveyed said they'd be willing to take a job that offers better vision benefits.³ Healthy vision provides a pathway to greater potential and a better quality of life—and employees are fully aware of it. But it's not just how clearly people see, it's how comfortable their eyes are and how clearer vision results in better overall well-being.

Offering great vision benefits is a major draw in your efforts to attract top talent and keep the current talent in your workforce. But how do you use them to attract, engage, and delight employees? Let's explore each:

Attract: Selling the sizzle with the perfect vision package

Effectively using vision care as a differentiator when marketing your company to top prospects requires a benefits package that checks the boxes of what they're looking for, while also highlighting aspects they didn't know they couldn't live without. According to 2025 survey findings, employees have the following features on their vision care wish list:³

• Faster and more convenient access to care — People's lives aren't slowing down. They need a vision plan that makes life easier with a variety of nearby eye care options and benefits that are simple to use, manage, and understand.
• Better selection of plan options — Better one or better two may work in the exam room but it doesn't cut it when it comes to plan options. People want a wide variety of choices they can select from to build their ideal vision plan.
• Higher-quality doctors and facilities — Look for vision carriers that require their eye care providers to meet strict quality standards like those set forth by the National Committee of Quality Assurance (NCQA).
• More innovative product offerings — A vision carrier with innovative offerings can help you stand out by offering employees unique options like selecting upgrades at the exam, covering eyewear for people without a prescription, and coordinating benefits between vision and major medical.
• Increased customization — No two employees are the same and their vision benefits should cater to that with flexibility and ability to customize based on what they find most valuable.
• Lower costs — A key point with lower costs is looking at the entire pricing package. Some carriers promote lower premiums, only to tack on higher out-of-pockets at the exam, leaving members with a bad case of sticker shock at check out. Look for a carrier with transparent, up-front pricing who also offers low out-of-pocket costs.
• A larger network size — A larger network means more eye care options in more places. With so many employees working remotely, nationwide access is more important than ever.

Partnering with a vision carrier that offers all these must-haves is step one. Getting your employees to sign up and experience them is step two…and every step thereafter.

Engage: Get them using their benefits to keep them in your workforce

If you've ever bought someone an amazing gift only to see it sitting unopened six months later, you've felt the pain employers feel when they treat their workforce to outstanding benefits that go unused. One in three employees in the U.S. don't use their vision benefits.³ Why? A good portion believe they don't need to get an eye exam because they have good vision.³

However, an eye exam goes far beyond reading the smallest line on the chart. Eye exams play a critical role in total health, helping to detect signs of more than 270 health conditions.⁴ Increasing awareness among employees living with these conditions helps lead to earlier treatment, resulting in lower healthcare costs, less time off, higher performance, and greater overall satisfaction at work.³ And when job satisfaction is higher, employees are not only less likely to leave, but more likely to champion your company on popular job sites like LinkedIn and Glassdoor.

So, what are the secrets to enrollment and utilization success? Fortunately, they're not secrets at all. Following are a few proven methods for getting more people into their benefits, so they get more out of their benefits:

• Educate: In the 2025 VSP Workplace Vision Health Report, employees admitted to receiving bad information about eye health or vision care from social media, websites, and Artificial Intelligence tools.³ Younger workers in particular are more likely to have received bad advice from these sources³. To get employees using their benefits and practicing preventive eye care, it's essential to improve knowledge, overcome misconceptions, and open their eyes to the added value people often overlook—such as the physical and mental health benefits.
• Communicate: 85% of employers say they don't communicate about benefits enough³. In fact, approximately two-thirds communicate about them twice a year or less³. Getting your message heard, let alone having it sink in with your audience takes more than two communications per year. Keep the communication faucet turned on year-round, dripping out advantages, facts, reminders, and teasers about vision benefits and upcoming open enrollment periods.
• Incentivize: Incentives can be an effective way to ensure employees use their vision benefits. Paid time off for exams, matching HSA or FSA contributions, and gift cards or coupons for eye exams, glasses, or contact lenses are just a few ways employers are getting creative with their utilization tactics.

Delight: Keep more employees by keeping them happier with their benefits

Just because you're providing vision benefits, don't assume your workforce is satisfied with them. Based on recent findings, 8/10 employees aren't totally satisfied with their current vision benefits.³ Check in early and often to see how things are going, what's working well, and what's not.

Surveys are a great tool to get a snapshot of employee sentiment. And, even if it turns out they're not fully satisfied, they'll appreciate that you care enough to ask—and that you value their feedback. When employees feel appreciated or valued, job satisfaction goes up, and when job satisfaction goes up, so does employee retention.⁶

Better vision carriers also offer you more flexibility with your plans, so if it does turn out your employees aren't happy with—or aren't using—a certain aspect of their benefits, you can pivot your benefits strategy to improve things.

It's also wise to keep tabs on your utilization reports. While surveys are extremely helpful, low participation can sometimes prevent them from telling the whole story. Monitor your reports to see how your workforce is engaging with their vision benefits. If the numbers are low, find out why.

A closing point on culture

Company culture is a huge driver of employee recruitment and retention. A poor workplace culture hinders employee satisfaction and productivity while increasing the likelihood of turnover. A strong culture on the other hand keeps employees invigorated and happy with their role, and loyal to their employer.⁵ Providing vision benefits contributes to a strong company culture by showing your employees you care about them and their families.

Offering excellent vision care benefits plays an integral role in keeping your current employees on board and bringing new talent into the ranks. Using them to attract, engage, and delight both groups can help you to stand apart as an employer they're proud to support for years to come.

Get more insights directly from employees and HR pros

Get more data-driven insights from employees and HR professionals nationwide on vision care's impact on recruitment and retention, as well as the state of eye health in the workplace. Download the 2025 VSP Workplace Vision Health Report today.

Get the Insights!

1. Tatel, Corey, and Ben Wigert. "42% of Employee Turnover Is Preventable but Often Ignored." Forbes. July 10, 2024. https://www.gallup.com/workplace/646538/employee-turnover-preventable-often-ignored.aspx.

2. Navarra, Katie. "The Real Costs of Recruitment." SHRM, April 11, 2022. Link.

3. 2025 Workplace Vision Health Report: Supporting Better Eye Health for Today’s Workforce. Workplace Intelligence Study on behalf of VSP^® Vision Care

4. Full Picture of Eye Health, American Optometric Association, 2020

5. "Why Workplace Culture Matters." Harvard.Edu. Harvard University, February 24, 2025. https://professional.dce.harvard.edu/blog/why-workplace-culture-matters/#What-is-Positive-Workplace-Culture.

6. "Improving Employee Retention and Reducing Turnover." SHRM.Org. SHRM, September 11, 2024. https://www.shrm.org/topics-tools/tools/toolkits/managing-employee-retention.