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Quality over quantity: How the right benefits can help employers in the competition for talent
The competition for talent that intensified across the UK in 2025 is showing no signs of slowing down.
Hiring has certainly steadied in some parts of the UK, and increasing business costs are still driving greater caution across the market.
However, prospective employees are more switched to what matters to them than ever before, and are paying much closer attention to what current and potential employers are offering and delivering on.
Employee expectations are also becoming more driven by the increasingly multigenerational and diverse workforces we are seeing today.
The question that arises, then, is what employers can do to attract, take care of, and retain talent as the competition continues.
This is where not just having employee benefits, but the right ones, becomes paramount.
In our recent conversations with Attivo clients, one theme has been consistent: While having a long list of “benefits” might look appealing, it’s less about what an employer can add, and more about questioning what is already in place – and whether it does what the business needs it to do.
In short, quality over quantity is the true key to success. Employers should ensure the benefits they offer are not only the right fit for the company and its ethos, but for and its wider Employee Value Proposition.
Here are steps employers can take to maximise the impact of their employee benefits:
1. Take stock of the benefits currently in place
Most businesses don’t design their benefits offering from scratch. In fact, they are more likely to be built up over time. For example, some may have been introduced to solve an immediate problem or in response to a competitive landscape, while other may have been carried over as part of a business acquisition.
While those individual decisions probably made sense at the time, it can later accumulate into an overall offering that doesn’t quite join up and, in some cases, is harder to justify internally. It additionally makes it harder for employees to navigate what’s on offer and make a claim when they need to most.
When we work with employers to audit what they’re offering at Attivo, a few things often surface quickly. There are often areas of overlap, gaps that weren’t obvious before, costs that are not necessarily delivering what is expected, and – above all else – benefits that were right at the time, but haven’t evolved with the business or it’s changing workforce.
As a first step, it’s therefore advisable for employers to review what they currently have in place.
2. Assess whether those benefits are still hitting the mark
It’s essential to look at each of your benefits on its own merits, understanding what it’s meant to do, how it’s performing, and whether it still stacks up.
The employers seeing the most optimal outcomes are the ones taking a step back and looking at the whole picture, making sure what they offer is aligned, relevant and built to last, rather than just something that’s grown over time or a “nice to have”.
Employers can then explore at how each benefit aligns with what else is in place (or not) and how they work with each other, before communicating the offering to employees and putting appropriate signposting in place so they know how to access each benefit when needed.
3. Consider welcoming in external support
Two considerable hurdles that make it a struggle for many employers to complete the two steps above are time and resource. Add into the mix that the competition for talent and wider economic challenges won’t be easing anytime soon, even being slightly off track in employee benefits landscape can start to show quite quickly.
This is where external support makes all the difference.
Looking to review your employee benefits?
With specialist insight and hands-on guidance, Attivo helps employers regain control of their benefits offering and make it work harder for their people.
We’ll review what’s in place, identify gaps or inefficiencies and ensure every benefit is aligned to your workforce, your costs and your long‑term goals.
Our advice spans employee benefits, perks, group protection and workplace pensions, giving employers the clarity and confidence to build a package that genuinely supports wellbeing, attracts talent and delivers real value.
Keep an eye out for our upcoming articles
In them, we’ll explore how different parts of a benefits offering fit together, where things tend to come unstuck, and what works well when it’s done properly.
Attivo Financial Ltd (FRN 497130) is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) for the provision of regulated financial advice. Some services we provide, such as employee benefits advice, are not regulated activities and are therefore not covered by the FCA regulatory framework.