Employee Engagement 101: Employer Value Proposition

The greatest challenge for all leaders is to attract, engage and retain outstanding team members who embrace and demonstrate the values and behaviours of their business.

Developing long term relationships with clients happens almost effortlessly when truly great people are enthused, empowered and energised by the company culture. This leads to escalating levels of revenue and profit, the upward trajectory of growth gains unstoppable momentum, and naturally you have success.

In order to enable this success you will need a well embedded and strategically deployed Employer Value Proposition (EVP).

Carefully woven through the internal infrastructure and external personae of a business, an EVP represents the core source and foundation of the expansion of the business model and brand equity. The fundamentals of an EVP are centered on:

• establishing the culture and unique experience of working within and using your company,
• addressing that crucial prospective employee demand, “Why should I work for your company, and not one of your competitors?”
• being used in relation to the balance of the rewards and benefits that are received by your colleagues in return for their extraordinary and uplifting performance in your workplace.

The vital essence of a compelling EVP is to attract, retain and develop best in class talent who will create outstanding customer experiences and key stakeholder returns.

Your EVP allow the shared principles of your corporate values, consumer brand and your employee rewards and experience proposition, to work together seamlessly.

The external perception of your business as defined by your marketing, social media and web presence, advertising and PR must also be accurately reflected within the behaviours and values of your internal culture; identical; the same; a total mirror image.

Ask yourself these key questions: –

Why do people join our business? Why do they stay? Why do they leave? What are our USP’s? Does our culture reflect our strategic aims? Is our culture inspiring and envied? Are we unique; can we be unique?

By addressing the answers you will create the definition, construction and implementation of your distinct EVP to create an enviable culture admired by clients, candidates and your competitors.

Whilst commencing this strategy you must consistently communicate the difference externally across a broad range of media and importantly through your internal brand ambassadors. This can only be achieved through passion for your brand. It begins and ends with demonstrating that you value your people, importantly through asking for their opinions and creative thoughts and actively listening to them!

With a clear and resolute vision for the future you will be able to share the message consistently across a variety of platforms whilst giving encouragement and constructive feedback to your people regularly. Identify and celebrate the good stuff and always avoid the blame culture.

Give your team discretion and autonomy over their tasks and resources. Learn to trust and delegate to the people around you who have the ability to assume ownership and who have demonstrated the capacity to handle the responsibility,

and always make sure that you ask multiple and considered questions before passing advice.

But of course if you truly wish to empower your colleagues you must reward them appropriately.

After all, if you fail to provide suitable remuneration, rewards and benefits, learning & development opportunities, clear career progression paths and an open and transparent culture where people feel free to express themselves fully, how can you really expect them to up their game and assume additional responsibilities and ownership?

You can only ask your people to innovate and assume an entrepreneurial position if you communicate the key differentials, goals and vision of your business consistently and radiate a tactile and caring approach both internally and externally.

An Employer Value Proposition is not a trendy cliché. It is a major on-going initiative which requires a focused analysis of every nuance of your business model to develop a proposition which promotes the unique and exciting elements of your brand compelling both valued colleagues to stay and clients to come back and use your services over and over.

Use your EVP to inspire and lead by example.

If you would like to find out more about LoveWorkLife Consulting, please contact Paul on 07960 550756, email paul@loveworklife.com or visit www.loveworklife.com.