Employee value proposition

There are practical steps employers can take to develop, introduce, and effectively communicate an employee value proposition to retain and engage with existing staff and attract new talent.

Steps to take to develop an employee value proposition

1. Assess current perceptions

Begin by considering the potential candidates that your business is trying to attract. Ask yourself questions like:

• What would be their perspective of your organisation?
• What would attract them to apply to work for you?
• What would put them off?

Asking yourself these questions and examining how you are currently addressing the components of an employee value proposition will help you evaluate where your organisation is and where you want to go with your proposition. At exit interviews, ask staff why they are leaving your company and if there is something that you could change or introduce that would encourage them to stay.

Identify your target audience when developing your employee value proposition. Know your audience and what they value in an employer. This approach will help you attract the right talent and understand how to communicate effectively with your ideal candidates. A clearly defined employee value proposition will highlight your offering.

2. Identify what makes your organisation unique

Identify key characteristics that make your organisation stand out from your competitors. Consider what you can offer that no one else can.

You can coordinate internal research by asking current staff for their opinion on why they enjoy working for you and suggested areas for improvement such as culture, flexibility, and professional development. You could form staff focus groups and run staff surveys to understand staff views across the organisation.

Examining competitor offerings will help define how you can set yourself apart. External insights, including industry reports, surveys, and recruitment data, can guide you on emerging trends, employee preferences, and expectations.

3. Benchmark

Look for examples of how other companies have successfully developed employee value propositions. Ask questions like:

• What do they offer that makes them attractive to potential recruits?
• What is their company culture?
• What is it like to work there?
• How do they support staff with learning and development and career progression?
• What compensation and benefits do they offer?

You could pick and choose offerings you’ve identified from other employers that you think could work as part of your employee value proposition.

4. Align your employee value proposition with your company values, mission, and goals

Align your employee value proposition with your core business values and organisational culture. This will give your organisation a sense of purpose, cohesion, and direction. When your employee value proposition is aligned to your company values it reinforces its ability to attract and retain employees.

Clearly outline what you want your employee value proposition to achieve and how this is linked to the overall values, mission, and goals of your organisation. Do you want your employee value proposition to reduce employee turnover? Do you want it to help you attract better candidates for job vacancies? Do you want your employee value proposition to boost staff engagement, morale, and productivity?

It may be a combination of these, but if you are clear from the start what your goals are it will be easier to measure the impact of your employee value proposition.

5. Commit to your employee value proposition

If you are going to put the time and effort into developing an employee value proposition, you should ensure you put it into practice and are proud to promote it. Ensure that senior management is bought into it and help to promote your employee value proposition whenever the opportunity arises.

You could set up a staff forum that takes ownership of the employee value proposition. This can help identify what is working and what is not as your offering evolves with the demands and expectations of the jobs market.

6. Make your employee value proposition inclusive

You want your employee value proposition to be fair and inclusive for all.  A good employee value proposition contains different elements so that it appeals to employees of different ages, genders, cultures, and functions. Everyone is different, so you want to create a range of offerings that appeal to people with different needs but also include core offerings that have a broad appeal and uphold the essence of your employee value proposition.

Ensure you don't discriminate with your benefits offering. Employee benefits that increase based on the length of service, eg incremental pay scales and extra holidays, may fall foul of discrimination laws as they favour older workers. See age discrimination.

7. Communicate and market your employee value proposition

Make it easy for people to find your employee value proposition. Clearly outline your employee value proposition on your company website - highlight the benefits and perks you offer and develop a narrative on why your organisation is a great place to work.

Support this with real-life examples of your employee value proposition, eg short videos of why staff enjoy working for your organisation. Host these on your company website perhaps on a dedicated careers or teams web page. You could promote it across your social media channels. You should also include details of your employee value proposition in recruitment materials and use it as a marketing opportunity at local job fairs.

8. Measure the success and seek feedback from staff

Assess the impact of your employee value proposition. Identify key performance indicators to help you measure the impact of your employee value proposition. Collect and analyse data on employee turnover, staff satisfaction, employee performance, productivity, number of candidates applying for vacancies, and offer acceptance rates. Seek staff feedback and look at staff uptake of development and career progression opportunities.

A strong and effective employee value proposition will be reviewed regularly and adjusted accordingly to stay relevant.