How to Create a Compelling Employee Value Proposition (EVP) for 2023

Trends such as the Great Resignation and Quiet Quitting have dominated discussions about the workplace in 2022. These effects in the workforce show us a couple of things about the state of employer-employee relationships: 

1. Employees are no longer willing to accept certain types of treatment from employers
2. The employee value proposition (EVP) at many companies is not strong enough to keep professionals engaged

What is to blame for this situation, and why has the employee value proposition of organizations lost its luster? 

Without an understanding of the factors creating these dynamics, employers will be in the dark about how to address these issues and will inevitably come up with insufficient solutions. If your organization is struggling to stem the tide of resignations, motivate existing staff, or attract new talent, 2023 will be a defining year to right the ship. 

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The employee engagement killers

The major disruptions to everyday life and subsequent stresses professionals faced over the past two years from the pandemic were significant contributors to the wave of resignations as well as employees opting to put in the minimum effort required of them at work. 

Analysts say that this was just a pent-up desire to leave a job that people acted on once the critical phases of the pandemic passed. However, you would be mistaken if you thought that was the whole story. To truly understand the dynamics contributing to these troubling trends, you must look at the period before the pandemic began. 

Burnout was increasing among professionals in the years leading up to the pandemic. The Mayo Clinic defines burnout as a “state of emotional or physical exhaustion that also involves a sense of reduced accomplishment and loss of personal identity.” 

Common features of many workplaces created the perfect conditions to enable burnout to set in and fester among employees. Some of these features include unclear requirements, unrealistic expectations, lack of personal control, and big consequences for failure. With an ill-defined employee value proposition, burnout and resignations can become commonplace.

Another issue that was developing well before the start of the pandemic was a generational shift in professionals’ approach to their life and career. This idea is far from new, given the number of discussions about the “Millennial work ethic” since they started to enter the workforce about 20 years ago. The reason that this issue persists is largely due to how employers have responded - or haven’t responded - which has somewhat eroded their position as employers and by extension, their employee value proposition. 

What was perceived by older generations as laziness or entitlement was really a revolutionary new way of thinking about work and the role it played in their life. Loyalty was no longer a given if employers were offering the status quo in terms of benefits, compensation, and career development opportunities. 

Traditional workplace rules and structures were discarded in favor of more flexibility, collaboration, and transparency from management. Younger generations have also wanted their employer to share their values and to pursue a career with purpose. These desires won’t necessarily be met with a weekly happy hour or a gym in the office if employees do not feel fulfilled or respected by their employer. 

What employees expect is for the company’s values to be put into practice, and every employee needs to be held accountable for that vision. Flexibility to get their work done when and where they see fit is another feature that younger generations in the workforce tend to value. Focusing on these types of actions and approaches to work will boost engagement and convince professionals to stick with their employers. 

According to Great Place to Work, employees are 5.4 times more likely to want to stay a long time at their company when they believe they are working in an equitable, inclusive environment. This is incredibly important to younger employees. 

Without the right policies to address employees’ needs, voluntary departures are likely to continue - even with a looming recession - and talent acquisition efforts may suffer. Employers can address this by re-examining their company’s employee value proposition to ensure that it is competitive with the marketplace, substantial enough to keep employees engaged, and reflective of the company’s values. 

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What is your company’s employee value proposition?

Many companies have a professed employee value proposition. It specifies what professionals get from working at an organization. Put another way, it looks at what an employer has to offer in exchange for an employee’s labor. It answers “why” an employee chooses to work at a particular company. 

Historically, this has included the benefits, stock options or other financial rewards, and professional development opportunities that make an employee excited to work for a particular employer over another. 

An example of a strong employee value proposition in practice may be gifting frozen meals or branded baby towels when you have a child in addition to the parental leave benefit you receive. Or an employer goes above and beyond on Take Your Daughter or Son to Work Day by offering a full day of enrichment activities that teach them about your industry. 

These may seem like small gestures, but it goes a long way in demonstrating the company’s values (i.e. walking the talk) and strengthening employee relations.

If your company’s employee value proposition is not explicitly stated, now is the time to get it in writing and share it with your employees. An effective employee value proposition can reduce turnover by about 70% annually and increase new hire commitments by nearly 30%. 

Getting a Headstart with Technology

Taking steps to create or update your company’s employee value proposition requires contributions from all levels of the organization. It starts with finding out what employees like about working at your company through surveys and focus groups, for example. It also requires an examination of the company culture, or how employees behave, what they believe, and the overall day-to-day experience of working there. 

These concepts are closely related and help ensure that your company fosters the right type of environment. This is important because positive company cultures tend to have more engaged employees who buy into the organization’s purpose and clearly see their role in achieving the corporate mission. 

Understanding what prospective employees are looking for in a company can also help HR teams develop an employer brand that is influenced by a strong employee value proposition that will attract top talent in the future. As the Academy to Innovate HR (AIHR) explains, the employee value proposition “is the core of your Employer Brand and should characterize the substance of your organization and why it is unique.” 

During the talent acquisition process, the employee value proposition should be prominently featured in job listings and on the career portal so that there are no questions about the benefits of working at your company. An applicant tracking system (ATS) can help talent acquisition teams create a career page quickly and prominently showcase the company’s employee value proposition. Manatal’s guide to talent acquisition outlines the value of a compelling employee value proposition and how to make it stand out in job listings. Showing the value of working at your company on the career portal through a variety of content types (e.g. videos, photos, and graphics) can get the point across very effectively. 

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Redefining the employee value proposition

What is clear from this past year is that existing standards and assumptions around the company’s employee value proposition need to be updated. As Gartner VP Carolina Valencia points out, “The reality is that three shifts in the work environment have eroded the impact of the traditional EVP: Employees are people, not just workers; work is a subset of life, not separate from it; and value comes through feelings, not just features.” 

What has been communicated in a transactional sense by employers needs to move beyond this mindset. When thinking about the employee value proposition, companies can adopt language that conveys their thinking about the whole person. Gartner refers to this as a “human deal” that provides an “exceptional life experience and is focused on the feelings and features that match employee needs.” With companies devoting so much of their lives to work, employees today expect more care and concern for their overall well-being and professional development.

This doesn’t mean that you have to do away with all your perks and benefits. Instead, consider how it will improve the experiences of employees. The introductions of hybrid or fully-remote work arrangements are great examples of flexible working policies that show respect for individual autonomy and acknowledgment that employees can go about their job in the way they see fit and still get their work done.

In 2023, the most compelling employee value propositions will help companies retain their best talent and obtain hires who are committed to the organization’s mission. These will be unique to the organization, authentic to the brand identity, and valued by all employees, instead of a copy of competitors’ offerings. It will also focus on enriching each person who works at the organization rather than providing them with flashy bells and whistles. 

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