Rethinking the deal: Is it time you looked at your EVP?
The concept of Employee Value Proposition is not new by any means. But what is new are the experiences, ideas and requirements of employees and employers in a post-recessionary environment. Sona Hathi looks at why the idea has resurfaced and what it means for internal communication.
Key Points:
- Research has uncovered a variance between the professional ideals of employees and what is actually achievable in their current organization. Engagement in this group is likely to be very low, leading many to reassess what they're willing to give and what they expect in return - the "deal" with their employer.
- When an organization's employees know what their deal is, they're more likely to be engaged and productive - even when the deal could be perceived as less valuable.
- IC must get involved in communicating the EVP in a way that makes it easy for employees to make the connection between the EVP, their everyday jobs, and the strategic objectives of the business.
- The EVP can help attract and retain talent, and can offer certainty, clarity and transparency - all areas in which IC will play a crucial part, and all of which will lead to increase productivity and shareholder return.
The world has changed in the last three years in a way that very few us could have imagined. Today, redundancies are not feared, they're seen as business as usual. Squeezed budgets are another aspect of everyday business life. The workforce of 2011 has no choice but to accept that restructuring can happen at any time, to any organization.
The best EVPs outline the value proposition of the employer-employee relationship, and link inextricably to business strategy and objectives
In the epicenter of the economic crisis, employees lived in fear of the unknown, and many employers felt they'd regained power over their workforce. Engagement scores appeared to be high, but were these employees truly going above and beyond, due to their unwavering loyalty to the business? Or were they simply scared of being told to pack up and go, and face being jobless in an uncertain future?
Research in 2010 by Towers Watson uncovered significant discrepancies between what employees see as important in their preferred working situation and what is actually achievable in their current organization. Its Global Workforce Study showed 86 percent felt that security and stability was important, but only 52 percent thought it achievable. While 62 percent would like to have opportunities to rapidly develop their skills, only 33 percent felt this was currently available to them. Perhaps not surprising, but the findings serve as evidence that people are willing to stay in organizations that aren't fulfilling their most important needs. The chances of these employees going that extra mile for their employer are, quite frankly, slim.
But now that the storm has started to settle, smart employers and their smarter employees are thinking about how they can make this new, post-recessionary environment work for them, rather than against them. They're channeling the uncertainty in a more effective way. They're reassessing and re-valuing what's important to them, what they're willing to give and what they're expecting in return. They're rethinking "the deal". Most likely, it's going to be very different to what it was when heated debates about greedy bankers and global recessions were reserved for economists only.
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This article was originally published in Strategic Communication Manangement.
Have your say
Has your organization got an Employee Value Proposition in place (EVP)? How did you define your EVP? Do you think and EVP is necessary? Share your thoughts...
Recommended resources:
Happy employees equal happy customers at American Express
Essential techniques for employee engagement
Four ways to overcome cultural communication differences
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