Is it time to go back to basics with your Employee Benefits package?

Is it time to go back to basics

You bet it is.

The War for Talent isn’t easing up anytime soon. Employers across the UK are battling for the best people, yet many are overlooking one of their biggest competitive advantages, their Employee Benefits package.

It’s easy to get distracted by trendy workplace initiatives, but two questions come to mind:

Are your benefits actually working for your employees?

Are they meaningful, sustainable, and competitive enough to attract and retain the right talent?

For businesses, especially SMEs and smaller employers, now is the time to go back to basics and make sure your benefits strategy is fit-for-purpose in today’s rapidly evolving workplace.

What’s changed

That’s easy…we have!

We have a multigenerational and generationally diverse workforce. The workplace has evolved, people have vastly different needs and expectations when it comes to Employee Benefits:

• Gen Z & Younger Millennials prioritise mental health, financial education, and career development. Flexible working is a must, not a nice-to-have.
• Older Millennials & Gen X juggle work, young children, and sometimes elder care, they value childcare support, robust healthcare, and ways to protect their income in the event they’re unable to work.
• Boomers are focused on retirement planning, Private Healthcare, and general financial security, ensuring they can move into later life with confidence.

We must be flexible, we’re all different.

Differing expectations, needs, requirements. What works for one, won’t work for another. It is for this reason that employers can no longer afford to take a one-size-fits-all approach. Benefits must be adaptable, enabling employees to choose what truly matters to them at different life stages.

Going back to basics

It’s about mindset, taking an opportunity to reset. You know, at home we don’t want to be paying too much for our Utilities, we shop around, we take steps to ensure we have a good deal – certainty. The same must be said for how employers look at the Employee Benefits package.

Whole of workforce planning for Employee Benefits is a must-do. If we take an example across “insured”, “non-insured” and “wellbeing” benefits, they must be appropriate and fit-for-purpose.

Insured Employee Benefits

• Group Life Assurance – does it provide meaningful financial protection for employees’ families?
• Group Income Protection – with long-term sickness rising, do employees have financial security if they can’t work?
• Group Critical Illness Cover – more employees are being diagnosed with serious conditions—how well are they protected?
• Healthcare – NHS waiting times are at record highs. Consideration around what Healthcare benefits are in place or should be considered is key. Whether it’s PMI, Cash Plans, Modular approaches to support diagnostics, Cancer, Physio that can be a game-changer in recruitment and engagement.

So what does this mean in practice – Audit your current policies. Are they structured correctly? Do they cover what your workforce actually needs today? Are you paying too much?

Having spoken to many, a lot had plans which were not correctly structured, poorly worded policy documents, paying far too much and ultimately were not doing what they should be doing.

Workplace Wellbeing programmes – partnering with Wren Sterling to provide you expert workplace wellbeing programmes.

• Mental Health support – is your Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) actually being used? Do employees know about it?
• Financial Wellbeing – rising living costs are hitting employees hard—do they have access to financial education and debt support?
• Flexible & Hybrid work – are you offering real flexibility, or just paying lip service?

It staggers me that this area continues to be under resourced.

Many employers don’t realise they have embedded EAPs within their Insured Benefits, others with no benefits don’t have an EAP or access to counselling for when their people need it most.

Financial Wellbeing is critical and not only supports the Workplace Pension and retirement needs for employees but provides key education for the whole workforce.

Non-Insured Benefits

• Enhanced Parental Leave – Supporting working parents can set you apart.
• Sabbaticals & Career breaks – More employees value extended leave for personal development or family time.
• Green Benefits – Cycle-to-work schemes, EV salary sacrifice, and sustainable commuting options are growing in popularity.

Enhanced Parental Leaves are on the rise, but few employers are considering non-traditional paid time off.

When it comes to being “greener”, ESG plays a massive role in how employers are adopting these benefits.

Does this matter to smaller employers

Without doubt, yes, and often overlooked by many. Larger businesses typically have more HR resource and deeper pockets for benefits, but SMEs  and Owner Managed businesses often have more to gain from a well-designed employee benefits package. Here’s why:

• Competing for talent – a well-thought-out employee benefits package can level the playing field, helping SMEs attract talent without having to outspend big businesses on salaries.
• Employee retention – smaller teams mean every hire counts. Losing key talent can have a far bigger impact on business performance than in a large corporate.
• Cost-effective impact – smart, tailored benefits don’t have to be expensive—but they do need to be meaningful. It’s about quality, not just quantity.

It’s a fact, the market is changing for smaller businesses. Access to more competitive benefits, options available are a game-changer, but the best employers aren’t those who throw in the most benefits.

In my experience, the best employers are the ones who listen to their employees and provide what truly matters.

Now is the time to go back to basics. Review what’s in place, ensure it’s fit-for-purpose, make it flexible, inclusive, and competitive – oh, and Employee Benefits should never be a box-ticking exercise.

So, is your employee benefits package still doing its job? If you’re not sure, it’s time to find out.

Get in touch with a member of our employee benefits team via our website here, alternatively, you can email us at enquiries@blackmountainhr.com