As companies compete for talent in an ever-changing world, breathing life into your employee value proposition (EVP) is vital. Let it wither and more than your EVP will suffer.
Companies often say their people are at the heart of their operations. Yet, many of today's employees no longer have their hearts in the companies they work for. Call it what you want - the great resignation, quiet quitting, the great rebalancing, or whatever new buzzwords are percolating on social media - but the reality is clear: today's talent market is entirely employee-driven.
The impact has been felt worldwide as companies struggle to deal with critical business challenges like retaining great people, attracting new talent, and engaging current hires in an evolving work environment. The risk to your business is high too. Our global research shows that 2 in 3 employers are losing business value from a sub-optimal employee experience.
Businesses need to reassess their post-pandemic relationship with employees - and realign if they want to be a preferred employer and achieve maximum business value. And according to our research, many are. WTW's 2023 Dynamics of Work survey results show many companies are currently redesigning their employee experience to promote the transition to the new work culture. This includes closely examining the engine that drives your employee experience: your employee value proposition.
Is your employee value proposition on life support?
An EVP is a clear articulation of the value exchange between a company and its workforce. Every organization needs one. Consider it your North Star - a guidepost of your shared expectations and attributes. Not having one puts you at greater risk as a company.
An EVP is a clear articulation of the value exchange between a company and its workforce. Every organization needs one. Consider it your North Star. Not having one puts you at greater risk.
In its prime, your EVP can be a tremendous force in driving high-performing employee experiences and achieving better people and business outcomes. Unfortunately, organizations often spend considerable effort defining their EVP but little time integrating it within their business. And unless it is fully embedded throughout your employee experience, your EVP quickly starts to atrophy. EVP should not stand for "efforts vanish, poof!"
Your EVP needs to be both well-defined and well-embedded. If your EVP seems to be fading away, it's not too late to regain its strength and ignite a powerful and compelling experience for your employees. Here are some ways to reactivate your EVP and keep it relevant and impactful amid today's business challenges.
1. Connect with the four Ps
Ask yourself to what extent your EVP has been integrated throughout all your touchpoints - people, programs, policies, and processes - and is part of your operational governance. Your EVP needs to be far-reaching within your organization and touch on all these areas to be truly effective. Consider it your compass in ensuring you are keeping up with the times and creating a consistent employee experience for better business results.2. Create shared accountability
How often have you heard someone at work say, "Oh that falls under another team, we're not responsible for that"? When it comes to the EVP, some think it is the responsibility of the Human Resources or Communications team. And while these functions certainly play a key role in enabling the EVP, accountability for the EVP sits across the entire organization - at all levels and throughout all teams and departments. The EVP lives in each and every experience and is deeply embedded in the fabric of an organization's culture and day-to-day interactions with peers, managers and business partners. Senior leadership plays a crucial role in setting the direction, clarifying expectations, and showing the link between the EVP and business success.3. Check in with employees
As with any relationship in life, the last thing you want to do is take it for granted. People and their needs evolve - and we've never seen this more clearly than during the pandemic when priorities shifted drastically, highlighting new ways of working and the prioritization of wellbeing and hybrid work. Gauging the continued relevance of your EVP and fine-tuning it as needed is critical to its survival. This does not necessarily mean wholesale changes; sometimes it is a question of dialing up or down some components of your EVP. Also, keep in mind that changing attitudes and needs might not be apparent on the surface - consider different segments of your workforce and you might be surprised at what you will discover.4. Track your employee value proposition
One of the universal truths in business is that what gets measured, gets done. As a business, set yourself targets, track your EVP efforts, and make it a standing item on leadership agendas as part of your cultural and business priorities. You can set yourself apart from the pack by also sharing progress (and setbacks) with employees. One organization built the EVP into its annual report, highlighting it as a business imperative to drive financial performance. Another organization created an EVP dashboard measuring it against a multi-year plan and value drivers that are high-performing employee experience differentiators: Inspiration, Trust, Growth and Drive.5. Tell your story
Keeping your EVP fresh and strong is not just about integrating, assessing and fine-tuning. It is also about creating and constantly sharing an authentic, people-centric narrative about the many facets of your EVP, not just about hybrid work arrangements. Don't be shy about your EVP - weave it into your storytelling, whether it's business outcomes, environment, social, governance (ESG), diversity, equity and inclusion, people priorities, and more. Promote it to attract, inspire and engage talent throughout the year and keep the dialogue going.Shattering common EVP myths
Whether you are refreshing your EVP or developing it for the first time, don't fall prey to these common EVP myths:
Once launched, the EVP lives organically. False. The employee experience occurs organically as it is the sum of all the touchpoints and moments that matter between employees and their employers. Your EVP, on the other hand, is done with intent and is actively managed - and when organizations take intentional steps to focus on the employee experience, they achieve better people and business outcomes.
EVP is merely a brand exercise. Nope, your EVP is more than a poster. It is a strategic business tool that, when properly integrated, helps deliver on your objectives and contribute to enhancing the employee experience.
EVP is just another project. Your EVP is not a standalone project. It needs to be embedded as part of a broader, interconnected framework that includes your purpose, business strategy, employee life cycle, brand, culture, and values - all working in concert.
Everyone gets it. If only that were true. Not everyone fully understands the full scope and potential of your EVP. Make sure your leaders and people managers have a full grasp of your employee value proposition and can speak to it with their teams and potential recruits. The more your leaders are well-versed in this area, the stronger your company will be.
Your EVP survival kit
There are many actions you can take to design and maintain a healthy EVP. They include a proper EVP governance charter and framework with clear goals and accountabilities, a sustainable activation plan, a dedicated listening strategy, a storytelling and content marketing strategy to share the EVP through the eyes and actions of your employees, a quick EVP health checklist, a periodic dashboard and people report, and much more.
Creating an employee value proposition is not a tick-the-box exercise. When properly nurtured and cared for, your EVP can become a powerful and vibrant tool in getting - and staying - ahead in the race for talent.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.