3 Ways To Develop Your Employee Value Proposition – Réncái Group
Introduction
This weeks brilliant basics blog looks at 3 simple ways that you can begin to develop your employee value proposition (EVP). We begin by looking at what an EVP is, why it is important and what benefits you may see, along with a brief summary of the common mistakes that we come across. The blog closes with 3 simple steps that you can take to begin developing your own EVP.
Following on from the summer we’ve seen a spike in the number of our clients investing into their employee value proposition. But what actually is an EVP and why is it important?
Good news: you already have an EVP!
Every single organisation has an EVP – whether it is effective is another question
Put simply, your EVP is what you offer employees in return for their knowledge and skills – a close contact of mine Eleanor Nickerson compared it to a seesaw effect. On the right you have your EVP, on the left you have your employees – it’s a balancing act.
Why is it important and what are the some of the benefits?
Firstly, it clearly communicates to your teams exactly what you offer as an employer. We’re not just talking about pay and benefits, but everything that is part of your employee experience. Think about how many new initiatives you invest into and launch over a 12 month period, how can you expect your employees to remember everything? Your EVP gives clear guidance to employees on what you offer and ensures that nothing goes under the radar.
It also allows you to sense check where you’re at. Are you offering enough to help you to retain your key talent? Alternatively, are you offering too much and wasting money on initiatives that you simple do not need.
As with most of your people projects, an EVP gives you a clear opportunity to retain staff but is also there as a consistent reference point should you wish to understand why employees may be leaving or even staying. For example, if you’re retaining average performers and losing your best talent, what does this tell you about your EVP? You’re probably offering an employee experience that meets the needs and demands of the wrong talent.
Common mistakes to avoid
It goes without saying but it is really important to make your EVP bespoke to your business. Just because an initiative has worked in one of your previous businesses or someone within your network has recommended something, does not mean it will work for you. To overcome this, try to capture your business requirements and then find solutions – also pro-actively understanding a potential ROI will save you time and money in the long term.
Most businesses have a default EVP for their full business, which is fine. BUT if you have teams with niche skillsets, you may wish to consider developing an EVP just for them. For example, two of our local Manchester clients have software development teams – both have seen attrition spikes since the start of 2019. We’d recommend developing a bespoke EVP just for this team, to ensure that their needs are being met and to also increase the chances of retention – again an ROI can be forecasted for this.
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3 tips on how to begin developing your own
STEP 1: Analyse
Remember – your EVP already exists!
Understand what you have in place at the moment. Breaking this down into the following areas can help:
- Pay and benefits
- Training and development
- Career plans and skills development
- Leadership styles
- Wellbeing support
- Opportunities for feedback
- CSR
- Other opportunities as part of your business (e.g. extra-curricular activities)
STEP 2: What could you add?
Again, be conscious that just because something worked in another business does not mean it will land in yours. Understand your requirements, learn about how the solution could add value and attach a forecasted ROI – this will help you to get new projects signed off. Using the same bullet points as above will help you to cover all areas.
STEP 3: Communicate, develop and continuously improve
How are you going to communicate your EVP to your team? Do you have an internal intranet, newsletter, HR system where you can log your EVP? Make sure you have a centralised area for employees to access this information quickly and simply.
To be honest, I’d be surprised if that much changes. The most significant thing will be that your full business will now have an understanding of exactly what you offer, in return for their skills and knowledge. In the best case scenario you may see an uplift in people making the most of what is available to them – which justifies any costs you may have incurred.
Finally, always look to continuously improve. If parts of your EVP are not adding value then you can remove them – as long as you clearly communicate WHY this is no longer a priority. Equally, you may find opportunities to improve your EVP – again, clearly communicate what the purpose of your new project is and the benefits to your team. I’ve personally seen a lot of companies investing into wellbeing initiatives recently, such as health checks and financial support. Both are great initiatives but make sure people know about them!
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Conclusion
Just to be crystal clear, your EVP already exists and probably already adds a lot of value. Which on one hand is great as it isn’t going to create a huge workload for you. Equally, it may leave you feeling as though not a lot has changed.
Asking for regular feedback through engagement surveys will help you to understand what is working and what could be better.
Always keen to hear people’s thoughts and experiences so please leave a comment below.
Harry Wright
Employee Engagement & Client Delivery Consultant
Rencai Group
