For years, organizations have relied on large scale anonymous surveys to identify culture issues and measure engagement, loyalty, and experience. Organizations then typically work on wholesale culture initiatives based on quantitative survey results, without truly knowing how individual employees or talent segments feel and what matters most to them. It is time for us to explore why engagement survey results have flatlined globally over the last decade. In this new world of work, we need to be more focused on delivering personalized experiences based on demographic wants, needs and expectations. We are a world that has become accustomed to personalized marketing, news feeds and customer experiences – we now expect it in our workplaces.
For many leaders, there is a perception that an Employee Value Proposition (EVP) is just for recruitment marketing. Indeed, the EVP conveys the unique and compelling reasons that talent would want to join your organization. When crafted effectively, it should have a punchy and memorable manifesto, and key messaging that personally resonates with the unique talent demographics you are looking to attract and hire.
However, an EVP should also be seen as the organization’s commitment to employees; a reason why they should stay and give their best. When an EVP is systematically embedded into the culture, communications, experiences, operations and change management, engagement levels have rapid and dramatic shifts.
Today’s talent, like consumers, is savvier and more social than ever. They are evaluating your culture daily. They share their experiences on social media, recruitment boards, with talent networks, classmates, friends, and family every week. In fact, unless you have an extremely healthy marketing budget, your employer brand and reputation are currently based on what talent is sharing about their personal experiences more than any of your recruitment marketing campaigns. In the age of corporate social responsibility and cancel culture ignoring, the internal EVP alignment can be a high-risk game.
High performance cultures often have clearly identified purpose, vision, values, behaviors, and customer experience commitments and they communicate this message regularly. What you need for employees to “give” to align with expectations and help your organization meet its transformational goals. The Employee Value Proposition is the missing element. It is what employees “get” in return for their passion, efforts, and loyalty. It needs to feel personal, and they need to experience it at work daily.
The employer brand, culture, leadership development, organizational design, diversity and change management strategies cannot live in silos and be effective. They need to work in tandem, in a codified architecture to drive a meaningful business impact.
- Use the EVP research to understand the top 3 things talent want you to improve culture and engagement.
- Use the EVP to train, develop and elevate your manager and leadership effectiveness.
- Use the EVP to steer restructuring, PR, and change management activities.
- Use the EVP to tell stories internally and build pride.
- Change the negative water cooler talk using internal storytelling aligned to the EVP. (Your top talent should have the EVP top of mind when your competitor tries to recruit them.)
- Celebrate company, team and individual successes using the EVP.
Although the idea of defining and properly executing an EVP can seem like a daunting task, in an article from Forbes, they explain that the most effective EVP can be viewed as a psychological contract, that seeks to balance business outcome with employee happiness. Your organization’s value proposition starts with “ensuring [that] the company delivers experiences that employees will talk about in synonyms for happiness”. Making sure that your employees are enjoying their time at work is ultimately what will escalate their experience and overall investment in the organization. With an EVP focused on the elements of a workplace that your employees wish to have — you are increasing their engagement.
This codified approach with your EVP, culture and engagement strategy amplifies results. Blu Ivy has celebrated several clients realizing as much as a 40% increase in engagement and eNPS scores just months after launching.
A study from Gartner found that “Organizations that effectively deliver on their EVP can decrease annual employee turnover by just under 70% and increase new hire commitment by nearly 30%”. Having a concrete EVP will attract new talent and keep your team happy and motivated.
If you are exploring new approaches to amplifying engagement or are ready to build an EVP and Employer Brand, please connect with us. We would be delighted to share our insights, and strategic recommendations to help you build a high–performance culture and magnetic employer brand.
Blu Ivy Group is a global leader in employer branding, organizational culture, and recruitment marketing. We help organizations across the private, public, and not-for-profit sectors build extraordinary employee experiences, magnetic employer brands and high-performance cultures.
From C-Suite to Employer Brand and Talent Acquisition leadership, we partner with our clients to transform their organizations and design the most compelling workplaces of the future.
For inquiries, please contact sparker@bluivygroup.com.
