If your benefits package still looks like it did when Blockbuster Video was a go-to on Friday night, it’s not just “a little outdated.” It’s prehistoric. We’re talking fossils and cave drawings. And while you’re busy bragging about your ping pong table and soda machine in the break room, real talent is quietly slipping out the back door in search of companies that actually get it.
You’re not just competing for resumes anymore. You’re fighting for attention, loyalty, and retention in a market that moves faster than a caffeine-charged squirrel. And your old-school benefits plan? It’s not keeping up.
Here’s how to tell if your employee benefits belong behind museum glass, and what to do before you lose your best people to a company that figured this out five years ago.
1. Your Benefits Strategy Is “Whatever’s Cheapest”
If the only thing guiding your benefits decisions is what saves you the most money on your
Benefits” line item, congratulations. You’ve just told your employees their health and happiness are worth less than a monthly Netflix subscription.
Cutting corners on healthcare coverage might look smart on a spreadsheet, but it’s a total disaster in real life. Today’s employees want coverage that works. That means telemedicine that doesn’t take eight weeks to schedule, real mental health support, and a doctor’s network that includes more than “some guy with an office under the overpass who only works Thursdays.”
Stop thinking “what’s the cheapest?” and start asking, “what actually helps my team thrive?” Or better still, “what’s the best value?” We know you don’t have an unlimited budget and costs matter. There’s a way to stay fiscally responsible while also ensuring you provide benefits your employees use, appreciate, and stick around for. That shift alone can save you from a talent drain that’ll cost you way more than premiums ever could.
2. You Think a Dusty Old EAP Covers Mental Health
Look, we’re not saying Employee Assistance Programs are useless. We’re saying relying solely on an EAP is like putting a sticker over a check engine light and calling it maintenance.
The modern workplace is stressful. Anxiety, burnout, and depression are not fringe issues anymore. They’re front and center, and if your mental health benefits are a 1-800 number buried on page 47 of a PDF nobody reads, your team is struggling in silence.
Employees want real therapy, real tools, and real support. Not vague brochures and HR saying “we’ve got resources.” Normalize therapy, offer digital mental health platforms, and talk about it loudly. It’s 2025. Stop being weird about mental health.
3. Your Benefits Guide is longer than a J.R.R. Tolkien Novel
If your benefits guide could double as a doorstop or double feature at a book club, you’re doing it wrong. Nobody’s reading that thing. And even if they tried, they’d need a translator, a lawyer, and three espresso shots just to survive section one.
Today’s workforce doesn’t want jargon. They want clarity. Bullet points. Bite-sized answers. Quick videos. Simple FAQs. And most importantly, they want to understand what they’re getting.
Confused employees either pick the wrong plan, underuse the good stuff, or blame you when it all goes sideways. Don’t just communicate your benefits. Market them. Make your people feel smart and empowered, not lost in a maze of deductible gibberish.
4. You’re Not Allowing Them to Customize
If everyone at your company has the same benefits, you’re serving pepperoni pizza to a crowd of vegans, gluten-free folks, and picky eaters.
If your benefits package is “one size fits all,” then guess what? It fits nobody.
A 22-year-old with student debt and a 42-year-old with twins don’t need the same things. Meanwhile, businesses are serving up benefits like a sandwich shop that only sells bread. What about fertility benefits, student loan assistance, elder care, pet insurance, or paid paternity leave? People want choice. People want to be seen.
The fix? Flexibility. Lifestyle Spending Accounts. Voluntary add-ons. Give people the power to customize what matters to them. You don’t even have to spend more. Just spend smarter. Employee benefits packages that allow your staff to decide what best fits their life get you the best return on your investment.
5. You’re Ignoring Pre-Tax Benefits
This one’s a facepalm. If you’re not offering pre-tax accounts like HSAs, FSAs, or Dependent Care FSAs, you’re leaving money on the table. Not just for your employees, but for you, too.
These accounts let people stretch their paycheck, plan for medical expenses, and save money before the taxman gets a bite. And employers save on payroll taxes in the process.
The only reason not to offer them is because you think it’s complicated. It’s not. Get someone who knows what they’re doing, plug it in, and suddenly you’re a hero offering tax-smart solutions that cost peanuts and deliver big-time.
6. Your Strategy’s So Old, It Probably Has a Myspace Page
If your benefits package hasn’t been reviewed in years, why would you think it’s effective for today’s employees?
Just because no one’s complained doesn’t mean it’s working. They might not even know what they’re missing. Or worse, they might be silently checking job boards between Zoom calls.
Savvy companies do regular audits. They look at what’s being used, what’s being ignored, what’s confusing, and what’s breaking hearts. Then they fix it. That’s how you build a package that evolves with your team.
Your broker should be leading this conversation. If they’re not, it’s time to find one who isn’t napping on the job.
7. Your Open Enrollment Is a Hot Mess
If your team dreads open enrollment like it’s a root canal, you’ve got a serious trust problem. This process should be smooth, digital, and even… enjoyable (we said what we said).
We’re talking timelines, email sequences, explainer videos, and platforms where people can actually enroll without feeling tempted to throw their laptops. No more paper forms. No more last-minute chaos. And no more “figure it out yourself” vibes.
Your HR team deserves better. (Even if your HR team = you.) Your employees deserve better. You deserve better.
Outdated Benefits are a Culture Killer
You can have killer branding, a mission statement that reads like poetry, and a Slack full of hilarious GIFs. But if your benefits package screams “we stopped caring in 2010,” your culture is running on fumes.
The truth is simple. People don’t stick around at companies that treat their health and financial stability like afterthoughts. They leave. Quietly, and sometimes all at once.
The good news? You don’t need to blow everything up overnight. You just need to stop pretending your current plan is “fine” and start asking better questions. What’s working? What’s not? What do people actually want?
And if your broker isn’t steering that conversation like a pro, it’s time to find an employee benefits insurance broker who will.
Time to Evolve
At The Benefit Doctor, we don’t do bandaids, PDFs from 2005, or “whatever’s cheapest.” We help companies like yours ditch the dinosaur benefits and build packages that attract and retain modern talent.
Tired of losing people to companies with cooler offerings and smarter perks? We’ve got the cure for Stone Age benefits packages and museum-ready health insurance.