Last year, 3 percent of respondents say they offer student loan payoff as a benefit; this year, the number crept up only a single point, to 4 percent.

"Employer-provided loan repayment assistance is still relatively new and it can be a high-cost benefit for employers. But this benefit could see future growth given high rates of student loan debt," says Evren Esen, director of SHRM's survey programs. "It is especially attractive to younger workers with highly valued skills."

Reporting on the subject, SHRM's Stephen Miller notes a study from student loan management software company IonTuition gathered student loan input from 412 managers and found most of those managers would support offering student loan payoffs as a benefit. They cited improved employee morale, higher productivity, and better retention and recruiting track records.

Millennials are particularly eager to see more employers offer the benefit.

Other findings from the IonTuition study:

• 90-plus percent of managers say that student loan debt creates stress for employees.

• 80 percent said they believe this financial stress decreases employee productivity.

• 80 percent said they believe offering a student loan repayment program would support talent recruitment.

• 70 percent said they believe that offering such a program would improve employee retention and morale.

• 75 percent think that employees contribute less money to their 401(k) because of their student loans.

• 85 percent say that employees would enjoy the option of making their student loan payments via automatic payroll deductions.

What millennials really want

The survey reaffirmed past studies that have found that, in spite of the hype over trendy workplace perks geared towards young people, millennial workers largely seek the same thing as elder generations: good pay and benefits.

More than half of respondents said that benefits were the most important factor for prospective employees, ahead of company culture, commute and reputation. 

Of course, another way to help indebted employees pay off their loans is simply to compensate them more. But Balaji "Raj" Rajan, CEO of Rolling Meadows, Illinois-based Ceannate Corp., IonTuition's parent company, told BenefitsPRO that a program that specifically targets debt retirement will benefit the employees more than a boost in discretionary income.

In addition, he said, there is a strong likelihood that employer payments towards student loans will become tax-free in the future. Some in Congress are already pushing legislation to that end.

Although a student loan debt program is primary geared towards younger workers, Rajan said that older workers might also welcome such benefits to the workplace.

"It is always possible that employees who don't receive this additional debt repayment benefit may resent the employers' approach," he says, "however, older employees will likely have children getting ready to take out student loans; or they may want to gain additional qualifications themselves."

So perhaps the trend toward offering loan payoffs as a benefit is one just waiting to explode — especially if the battle for top talent, and millennial talent in particular, continues to accelerate.