Member News

It's hard to believe but this year is the 28th year that Greater Rochester Chamber has conducted our annual Health Benefits Survey! Like all of our HR benchmarking surveys, this survey is only open to Corporate and Partner members for participation once a year. We know how important it is for members to benefit from the comprehensive data available as a result of an average 30 minute time investment.

If you’re still on the fence about the survey, here are the top 5 reasons to participate:

1. The 2026 Greater Rochester Chamber Health Benefits Survey addresses many significant health insurance questions pertaining to Rochester-area employee benefits including: plan offerings, average premium contributions, and management of premium increases, wellness offerings, as well as questions on high deductible plans, dental, vision (new this year!) retiree medical, self-insured plans, and more. View an older version of the survey results here (some data collected may change from year to year).
2. Participants automatically receive the survey results for free.
   One of the many benefits available to Corporate and Partner members is eligibility to participate in this and other HR benchmarking surveys.  Participants automatically receive the results for free upon release.
3. Data is collected from other Rochester-area companies.
   Many other benchmarking surveys rely on the data of large national employers as the baseline for their comparisons and use geographic differentials to determine data for certain cities. Our survey is designed for and collected from Rochester-area employers just like you. Data is aggregated so individual data remains confidential.
4. Learn how your benefits package compares to other Rochester-area companies.
   The survey offers various data breakouts by employer size, industry, and for-profit/non-profit for helpful comparisons.  For example, the average monthly employer and employee premium contributions is broken out by employer size, industry, for profit/not for profit status, plus HDHP/non-HDHP.
5. Benchmarking data validates the value of your benefits package.
   In addition to working with your broker and/or carrier to offer valuable benefits, having reliable benefits benchmarking data along with local compensation data will help give you a competitive advantage.  This is especially important given the challenges companies continue to face with attracting new employees and retaining existing employees.

Are you convinced of the importance of benefits benchmarking? If so, don’t miss the chance to get free data as a member participant! The initial survey deadline is August 7th though we have some flexibility on that. To request the participation email, or for questions on this or other chamber surveys, please contact Cindy Miller at (585) 256-4606 or Kathy Richmond at (585) 256-4618. Not sure if your company is a member or what membership level you are? We can confirm that as well! And those at the Basic and Business Builder tiers can easily upgrade and participate! Contact Kathy to discuss upgrade options.