How to design an Employee Value Proposition that works | Brunswick Group
Perspectives

Defining your Employee Value Proposition

“How can we identify, attract, retain and develop talent today...to ensure continued excellence tomorrow?”

Talent acquisition and retention are at the top of the CEO’s agenda. In PwC’s 2016 Global CEO survey, 75% of CEOs said a skilled, educated and adaptable workforce was a priority. But at the same time, 73% were concerned about the availability of key skills.

Today’s workers must be more agile and adaptable than ever before. Able to meet the needs of the business and its customers now. Ready to adopt new ways of working to reinvent themselves for a digital age. All driven by a shared ambition to play a positive role in society.

An organization's Employee Value Proposition (EVP) is the real experience of working for that organization. An organization's employer brand is the honest targeted and compelling articulation of the EVP to current and prospective employees.

Together, the EVP and employer brand provide a compelling reason for the ‘right’ employees to join you. To stay with you. To develop themselves with you. And to deliver new levels of value for your business, your customers, and everyone who deals with you.

5 things you should consider when defining your EVP

Many EVPs focus only on one dimension of the relationship between employer and employees – the ‘deal’. In other words, what can we as the employer expect from you the employee? And what can you expect in return. We believe the EVP should be multi-dimensional, and should include the following: 

  • DAILY - Is my work for this organisation interesting? Am I doing ‘good things’ for customers’? Do I respect my boss and colleagues? Do I have their respect? Is my workplace safe – physically and mentally?

  • DRIVERS - How does this organisation influence me to ‘do the right things’? Leadership behaviors? Communication? Recognition? Measurement? Systems and processes?

  • DIVERSITY - How does this organisation allow me to ‘come as I am and do what I love’? Do they recognize my uniqueness and the value that brings? Are they open-minded to my and others’ perspectives?

  • DIRECTION - What does this organisation stand for? What’s its worthwhile purpose? Its important place in society? What’s its strategy? How do I play a part in delivering it? Are its values consistent with my own?

  • DEAL - What does this organisation expect of me? What can I expect in return? Pay and benefits? Short- and long-term incentive plans? Career progression? Flexible working?

Every organization already has an EVP

But in many cases, these are not planned or intentional. Instead they have evolved over time to become ‘the way we do things here’. We believe your EVP should intentionally attract the type of employees you need to succeed.