The Employee Value Proposition (EVP) is a key measure of engagement that leaders need to understand. I wrote about it briefly last year in an article on The Great Resignation. This article will provide a lot more information on EVP and how to optimize it.
EVP is a measure of the appeal of working for your organization. The measure exists in the minds of the employees, and each employee has a unique perspective of the EVP.
Impact of EVP
The impact of EVP is huge. Companies with high EVP are like magnets for people. They can attract the best people, and people tend to stay with the organization.
Employee Value Proposition is a measure of the total experience
The EVP that an employee will feel is the sum of all experiences with the organization. The value starts long before the employee is even hired. It includes the reputation the company has in the community. It takes into account what friends and family think about the organization. It is impacted by how the future employee is approached by the company. The measure continues to accrue until long after the employee leaves the organization.
Most impact is during orientation
The EVP becomes evident during the interview process. The questions that are asked and how the employee responds impact the measure. Once the employee is hired, then the most significant impact on EVP is the orientation process. This is where most organizations fall short. They shunt the new employee off with a low-level trainer and a stack of procedures. The hiring manager should personally conduct the onboarding process. This is where the new employee first learns about the culture of the organization.
Describe how your organization’s culture is superior to the competition
If you cannot clearly articulate how the culture in your company is better than the alternatives, then you will likely lose out on that employee. A prospective employee will usually go with the organization that is most impressive in terms of culture.
Bigger problem
A bigger problem with EVP is that the employee heard all kinds of impressive things about the culture during the interview. Unfortunately, when the employee arrives at the job, things do not look that way. Any difference between what was communicated in the interview and actual experiences will be a killer. This situation is why so many newly hired people quit during the first week.
How employees feel about their treatment
EVP is a direct result of the totality of how employees feel about their treatment by peers, supervisors, and especially leaders. It is a reflection of the culture of the organization.
Conclusion
It is critical to attend to new employees when they are first involved with the company. Your culture must reflect what was advertised or you are in trouble. Once an employee is dissatisfied with the EVP it is very difficult to bounce back.
Bob Whipple, MBA, CPTD, is a consultant, trainer, speaker, and author in the areas of leadership and trust. He is the author of: The Trust Factor: Advanced Leadership for Professionals, Understanding E-Body Language: Building Trust Online, and Leading with Trust is Like Sailing Downwind. Bob has many years as a senior executive with a Fortune 500 Company and with non-profit organizations