Every HR team wants to be able to offer solutions other than pay to retain and attract talent. Particularly at a time when talent acquisition and retention are a priority across Australia. Yet research from PwC shows that 48% of employers don’t intend to take action and update their employee value proposition1. This is despite the fact that, according to Gartner, only 31% of HR leaders believe their current employees are satisfied with their EVP2.
In this article we explore the key factors driving switched on HR teams to revisit their EVP. Plus we discuss practical steps you can take to ensure your EVP is fit for purpose in a changed workplace.
What is ‘valuable’ to employees in the new normal?
It’s easy to think of an EVP as a set and forget task. Once you have one, the job is done. But with more people looking for an employer of choice and thinking of work in a more holistic way, your EVP must move with the times.
Changing mindsets have elevated the role of an EVP
A recent survey by KPMG of over 400 Australian business leaders found that 69% of respondents nominated talent as their biggest challenge for 20223. To put into context just how urgent this issue is - in the January 2020 report talent came in 10th while in 2019, business leaders placed it 15th in their priority list.
At the same time employees are rethinking their working lives. Research by Gartner shows that 82% of employees say it’s important for their organisation to see them as a person, not just an employee, yet only 45% of employees believe their organisation actually sees them this way4.
This new mindset has elevated the role of the EVP and principles of branding are now making their way into the EVP realm. To compete for talent in such a hypercompetitive market, your culture, EVP and employer brand all need to work together.
“It's no longer enough for organisations to attract and retain talent with compensation alone. Employers need to embrace personalised employee offerings and rethink their employee value proposition (EVP) for the market as well as across all levels of the organisation.”5
Three practical tips to get your EVP up to speed
When most HR teams are overworked and under resourced, looking at some ‘quick wins’ is a useful way to add value without adding to workload:
- Know your competition - Step into the shoes of your employees or target recruits. Who else are they looking at? What’s the appeal? How do salaries compare? What is the benefits package on offer?
- Stand out in what you’re known for - If you’re a technology company, make sure the online experience for employees and new hires is flawless. If your organisation is in the health care sector, take a look at your employee benefits and check you’re offering the full suite of health benefits to your workforce.
- Lean on external experts - From employee benefits to change consultants, a premium provider will be happy to talk to you about where to next, and the options and opportunities for your organisation. Some may even offer a free assessment so you can understand exactly what needs to get done and how you’ll get there.
“An EVP cannot be a static document. In an agile market, you need to constantly measure, adapt and evolve it to ensure relevance for current and future employees by continually tweaking and redesigning it. As part of this, it is important to engage in regular market analysis to ensure you maintain a clear point of difference as to why current and prospective employees should work for you rather than competitors.”6
As a premium provider of employees benefits to many organisations across Australia, Maxxia have seen the difference salary packaging can make to the overall financial position of employees. Not only can take up of salary packaging boost net household income for employees, a best-practice program supported by effective communication can also strengthen your employee value proposition as a whole.
Maxxia can offer your organisation a complimentary benefits assessment to measure the effectiveness of your current employee benefits offer. We can also put a dollar figure to the potential savings and efficiencies from running the program and compare overall performance with best practice for your industry.
1. PwC, The Future of Work report: What workers want
5. Mercer, Jobs and remuneration insights 2021/22 report
6. PwC, The Future of Work report: What workers want
