What is an Employee Value Proposition?

BI WORLDWIDE hosted an educational event called ‘Moments to Inspire’ in London to discuss the thought leadership behind the employee value proposition. Attended by HR professionals, guest speakers Dr Brad Shuck and Phil Williams presented the key moments that truly impact an employee’s life cycle and shared studies on what really drives the employee experience...

What is your Employee Value Proposition?

An employee value proposition is your unique selling point to why others want to work for you. It is the working culture you desire aligned with a strategic approach that keeps your mission, vision and values at heart to further drive your workforce towards business goals.

Associate Professor at the University of Louisville, Dr Brad Shuck said: “EVP is the ‘why’ of engagement, the ‘why’ of employee moments. Engagement is the maintenance, intensity, and direction of effort and energy we give to something. It is, at its core so much about the emotional experience.”

Dr Brad Shuck, explained creating an employee value proposition is a continuous process and it does not happen in one day - the changes may feel sudden, but it must be built gradually. Culture is intentional and can never be accidental. Culture drives results, engagement, turnover, emotional labour, and creativity.

Engaged employees are 87% less likely to leave an organisation, but Dr Brad Shuck states recent findings showed only 40% of employees were still engaged after six months within their organisation. No company wants a high turnover rate or the detriment to costs with low productivity that are associated with this.

Why is this important?

Employees can become your biggest net promoters with each incremental percentage of engaged employees predicted 0.6% growth in sales.  Additionally, companies who have a formalised EVP have been seen to outperform those who do not by 22% in the current stock market.

Additionally, if potential employees are inspired by your brand and positioning - two in three employees are willing to accept a lower salary. Alongside this we see better recruiting prospects and a 50% decrease in costs per hire. Further promoting the need of a strong and authentic employee value proposition to represent your employer brand perception.

How do you do it?

Phil Williams, BI WORLDWIDE EMEA’s Global Relationship Director said: "In order to achieve an outstanding Employee Value Proposition, businesses need to consider keeping employees engaged throughout the whole employee life-cycle, making every moment count.”  

At BI WORLDWIDE, we believe there are five crucial employee moments which help you implement a successful Employee Value Proposition strategy for your business.

Decision Day – why choose your organisation?
Show prospective employees the heart of your business. Getting to know your mission, values, culture and plan for the future will help them see how they'd fit into the bigger picture. 

First Day – what first impression do you want to make?
First impressions are important. Creating a welcoming onboarding process authentic to the company’s working culture is vital to the employee experience. 

Every Day – how do you create inspiring moments every day?
Know how your people work, understand what they want from you as organisation. Drive and empower their journey, make them fearless and encourage them to explore and experiment new skills in a safe nurturing environment. Keep the purpose for jobs and actions transparent to give your team meaning.

Achievement Day – what reward do you offer to those who are truly engaged?
A thank you recognition takes two seconds out of your day but brings a memorable moment to your employee. Additionally, service anniversaries recognise those who have been committed to your company for long periods of time. Employees who receive timely and multiple recognitions are happier, engaged and committed to delivering exceptional performance.

Referral Day – It’s not what you know, it’s who you know!
Success in Employee Value Proposition is hearing and seeing you’ve created a net promoter for your business. Employees hold such a strong relationship to your brand they can be your biggest net promoters - This can be during their life cycle or even post exiting the company. When an employee quits or moves along towards new ventures yet still promotes others to your organisation.