Over the last 12 months, we’ve worked with in excess of 300 different companies, successfully recruiting senior leaders or high potential leadership hires. In almost every instance, discussions turn to the shifting paradigm of employee expectations, fuelling a need for many companies to invest in their Employee Value Proposition (EVP).
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The definition of EVP as the package and benefits you offer your employees in return for their specific skills doesn’t go far enough today. Companies which focus purely on an attractive financial package could be at risk, by inadvertently creating negative behaviours associated with monetary rewards. Those that are winning in the EVP stakes have realised that employees want much more, and are adapting accordingly.
What do employees want?
Whether it’s to work fewer hours…
• 61% of respondents to a recent Monster survey stated they would trade a financial loss for more time off.
Or to work more flexibly…
• 84% of parents that responded to the 2018 Global Talent Trends Survey said they needed greater freedom to balance increasingly complex family lives.
It appears that the culture of being chained to a desk is over.
Similarly, as employees recognise that the future of work will mean having an increased number of roles over their lifetime and become more “portfolio driven”, the opportunity to learn new skills and gain new experiences is essential. Millennials are catching on to this early in their careers, and whilst it’s fuelling an increase in online skills courses, it is also helping them to accelerate their learning and career progression.
What are employers doing?
Forward-thinking companies are creating opportunities for their employees to do something meaningful. Leicester based conveyancing company, My Home Move, realised early on that it needed a strong employee proposition to cope with rapid growth (800 staff hired in less than five years) and a competitive market.
To meet the demand of scaling up, My Home Move has evaluated every stage of its employee journey and focused on a number of initiatives, including:
• Providing industry leading training and development to invest in the future of the sector
• Creating flexible working programmes which include home working
• Having a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programme which includes its own charitable trust, related to the company’s purpose
My Home Move’s Petra Clarke-Bannier, HR Change Manager, directly relates the EVP to achieving hiring targets and increasing engagement. This was recognised at the HR Excellence Awards in 2018, where My Home Move won the Talent Management Strategy Award.
Newly formed global roofing leader, BMI Group, faced with the challenge of attracting highly skilled digital workers in an area where competition is fierce, is investing in building a brand new digital and tech hub. BMI is working on its EVP and recognises that, with each new hire, there is the opportunity to shape the behaviours and culture which will help the business succeed. The CIO, Shreyas Mysore, is developing an infrastructure which will allow employees to work from “any location and on any device”, but also creates as many opportunities as possible for teams to come together, share ideas and collaborate, as they all start to build BMI’s cultural DNA.
We all know that the most profitable companies have happy and engaged staff, so being prepared to invest in the EVP evidently pays off. Consider listening to what’s important to your employees and create opportunities, benefits and a positive culture where everyone thrives. In turn you’ll find you won’t have employees, but fans.
Kathryn Gallan and AJ Marsh recruit leadership positions at executive search company, Berwick Partners. As part of Berwick Partners’ “best team” approach, they utilise their knowledge of the digital and retail sectors to advise clients on the best talent in the market.
