Employee Value Proposition (EVP): Balancing Cognitive Dissonance

According to the American Psychological Association, cognitive dissonance is “an unpleasant psychological state resulting from inconsistency between two or more elements in a cognitive system.” Why does cognitive dissonance matter? What does it have to do with Employee Value Propositions (EVPs)? In this article I will briefly explain.

Let’s dive in

Pawar and Charak (2015) define an Employee Value Proposition (EVP) as a “one of a kind arrangement of benefits an employee gets consequently for the skills, capabilities and experience they convey to an organization.” In the infographic below you can see a basic example of topics a company may highlight in its EVP: collaboration, modern workplace and charity. This builds anticipation of what employees can expect from that company. However, sometimes the reality of a company’s EVP is misaligned with expectations it has set. This can be due to a number of reasons, including:

• Lack of collaboration – for example, the marketing department or even an outsourced company may be responsible for ‘employment branding’ and involve little to no collaboration with the human resources department
• Lack of management – a gap between the expectations and reality of an EVP may have been identified but the company has been unable to effectively manage and execute the solution(s) to address it
• Lack of organisational alignment – despite both productive collaboration and good management, the EVP might just not reflect the organisational culture and strategy and is therefore not a good fit.

Mind the gap

There is a difference between an inward- and outward-facing EVP (or Employer Brand) but the concept is consistent. A good EVP avoids the cognitive dissonance created by a difference (or perceived difference) in an company’s espoused thoughts, beliefs, or attitudes and its behavioural actions and decisions. Here are a few workforce risks it can cause:

• Attracting the wrong talent,
• Increased employee turnover, and;
• Counter-productive (negative) employer branding.

Although employees may not quit their job or even complain about a misaligned EVP, as Wicklund and Brehm (2013) showed with cognitive dissonance and leadership, this can disrupt organisational performance, decline individual involvement and reduce motivation.

The balance

As I’ve put in the headline, there is a balance. Why? Companies should have an aspirational EVP. That is, somewhere they wish the organisation to be (within reason) and backed by clear intent, progressive actions and clear communication. It is also important to note that EVPs won’t apply to every employee and job within a company equally. Some jobs may have technical, location or other limitations which prevent them from taking full advantage of an EVP. That's to say, it is a tricky balance and organisations will do themselves favours by maintaining as much consistency and authenticity in their EVP as possible.

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About?Justin Crawford

Justin believes in giving every employee purpose. He does that by helping companies translate business strategy into workforce strategies that drive aligned organisational behaviour.

With over 12 years' of international experience in the consulting, education, not-for-profit, government, consumer products, and banking and financial services industries, he is a proven partner for senior executives. Contact him today for Business Management, Transformation or Human Capital consulting.