A Fit-For-Purpose EVP

As every HR department and hiring manager knows, attracting and retaining talent are becoming increasingly more challenging in the current highly competitive labour market. Finding top talent has never been harder.

In 2021, McKinsey reported that 87% of companies say they already are or soon will experience a skills gap . And, in a global environment where employees’ disposable income won’t return to pre-pandemic levels for another couple of years, organisations need to go back to the EVP drawing board to identify and improve how to bring in and keep talent.

What is an Employee Value Proposition (EVP)?

The Employee Value Proposition is the overall deal between the business and their employees which includes what an organisation can offer in terms of characteristics, benefits, and ways of working. It simply refers to the appeal of working for that organisation. This appeal does not always have to come from the tangible offerings that you compile regarding elements such as pay, financial benefits and leave.

The intangible element of your EVP is anything that drives engagement for your employees.

An EVP that is strategically crafted and well-maintained drives the right recruitment message and talent retention strategy. Research has shown that:

The trap that businesses get caught in:

Historically when it came to EVP, businesses followed a simple approach - inquire what individuals desire and strive to fulfil this. As easy as this might seem, this strategy does face a couple of concerns. Firstly, most businesses are either constrained or becoming more sustainable in what they offer financially to employees. Secondly, posing this to employees often limits their thinking and focus on tangible benefits when we know that the intangible elements can elicit more of a long-lasting and impactful effect when it comes to fulfilment, job satisfaction and organisational commitment. Thirdly, this approach makes it easy for other competing businesses to replicate and outbid for talent.

Since the Coronavirus pandemic, non-financial factors have become even more important to employees. Along with the expectations that employees had of their employers, employees’ motivations changed . We know that at the end of the day employees, primarily want to feel valued.

And there is more to making employees feel valued than money. ?