It seems that everyone has a need to invent their own templating system in Perl. The clever ones quickly realise that they are wasting their time and that there are already a huge number of templating systems to choose from and there is rarely a good reason to add to that number.

If you like Perl in your HTML, then why not look at Mason, Embperl or even Text::Template. Personally I prefer keeping Perl out of my HTML and, instead, using the simplified markup language of the Template Toolkit.

I know it seems like a big leap to switch from your home-grown solution to a new one, but it's really worth making the change. You'll get a far more powerful system that is being used (and therefore tested) by hundreds or thousands of other people. It also means that there is a huge community of potential new employees who already know a lot about your templating system.

I know you asked people not to suggest that you use something else but, to be honest, I really think that's the best advice in this case.