Attract & Retain Top Talent - What is Your Employment Deal? - Stratford Group Ltd.

In today’s competitive job market, having a compelling Employee Value Proposition (EVP) is as crucial as a go-to-market strategy for products or services. An EVP, or your organization's "Fair Deal," encompasses everything from company culture and values to rewards and career growth opportunities, aiming to attract and retain top talent. This post delves into the essence of an EVP, its critical role in attracting, engaging, and retaining employees, and outlines steps to develop, communicate, and continuously improve your EVP. Discover how a well-defined EVP can differentiate your organization, boost employer branding, enhance employee satisfaction, and ultimately, contribute to achieving corporate objectives. 

It’s a fact in today’s job market that attracting and retaining top talent continues to be challenging for organizations that are trying to stay competitive and scale their business. In business objectives, most organizations will invest in developing their go-to-market strategy to attract and retain clients to their products or services but often neglect to apply a similar approach when it comes to developing their Employment Deal (also more commonly referred to as the organization’s Employee Value Proposition or the EVP).

What is an Employee Value Proposition (EVP)?

Simply put, this is your organization’s go-to-market strategy to attract candidates to join your company and for existing employees to want to stay there and be engaged – it is also referred to as the ‘’Fair Deal’’.

More specifically, an EVP identifies and communicates to your employees both tangible and intangible elements - from your company’s values and culture to employee rewards and opportunities for career development and growth.

It introduces the unique benefits and experience an employee receives in exchange for their skills and experience. In doing so, your organization can communicate why it is the right place for people and how they can be successful. A well-defined EVP should answer the following questions:

From an employee’s perspective

• • Why should I work for you?
  • Why should I stay at your company?
  • What’s in it for me?
  • What should I expect from the organization?

From an employer’s perspective:

• • What do we expect from employees?
  • What does success look like in our organization?

Top three reasons for an organization to have a clearly defined EVP

1. Attract top talent! A well-defined EVP can help attract top talent by communicating the organization’s unique value proposition to potential candidates (Candidate Value Proposition). With a clear EVP/CVP, your organization will be able to differentiate itself from competitors, build a strong employer brand, and identify and attract the right candidates who align with your corporate values and with the complementary skills and knowledge required to be successful and add value.

2. Engage employees! Once employees are onboarded, a well-defined and communicated EVP can help keep your employees engaged and motivated. Employees who feel valued, supported, and challenged are more likely to be satisfied with their jobs, more committed to the organization, and consequently more productive to fully contribute to corporate objectives and goals. In addition, a clearly defined EVP can help set performance expectations and provide a sense of purpose for employees, which can lead to greater job satisfaction and engagement.

3. Retain top talent! Finally, a well-defined EVP can help organizations retain their top talent. When employees feel valued and appreciated, they are more likely to stay with an organization long-term. A clearly defined EVP can help employees understand the benefits and rewards they can expect from their employment and growth opportunities, which can increase their loyalty and commitment to the organization.

How to develop an effective EVP?

Defining your EVP starts with considering your organization’s vision, mission, business strategy, objectives, and plans. This sets the foundation to define the required organizational capabilities and desired culture/values to deliver on your business strategy. The development of the Human Capital Strategy will identify the actions required to build the right organizational capabilities and close the related gaps for the organization to be successful as a business.

With this information, you can now develop your EVP/Employment Deal.

Once you have your EVP, what comes next?

Implementing your EVP can be done in four easy steps:

1. Communicate your EVP: Once you have developed your EVP, it’s important to communicate it effectively to current and potential employees. You can do this through job postings, social media, your website, employee referral programs, and other channels.
   
   
2. Align your organization: To ensure your EVP is implemented effectively, you need to make sure it is aligned with the organization’s values and mission. This includes informing and training managers and employees on the EVP and incorporating its elements into key HR programs such as performance management and leadership development.
   
   
3. Measure the effectiveness of your EVP: To ensure your EVP is meeting its goals, you need to regularly measure its effectiveness. This can be done through employee surveys and other feedback mechanisms to understand how well your employees are responding to your EVP.
   
   
4. Continuously improve your EVP: Finally, it’s important to continuously improve your EVP based on feedback from employees, your business strategy, and changes in the job market. This can involve adjustments to compensation and benefits packages, offering new training and development opportunities, or updating your work culture to better align with employee needs.

Having a well-defined Employee Value Proposition is crucial for organizations looking to attract, engage, and retain top talent. By defining and communicating an organization’s unique “Fair Deal” to employees and potential candidates, organizations can differentiate themselves from competitors, build a strong employer brand, and attract employees who are the best fit for their culture and goals. Additionally, by keeping employees engaged and motivated, organizations can improve job satisfaction and productivity and reduce turnover rates.

Is your organization's EVP strong enough to stand out in today's competitive landscape? If you're unsure about the strength of your EVP or looking to enhance it, contact Stratford today. Let's work together to build an EVP that truly resonates with your workforce and sets your company apart. Let’s talk.

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