Recent KPMG data shows that almost 80 percent of business leaders are concerned about the mounting challenge of talent attraction and retention. To combat this challenge, leaders should leverage employee value proposition (EVP) as a tool to drive attraction and retention.
Designing an authentic EVP that is focused on the needs, wants and concerns of employees is critical. Too often organisations use EVP to describe their aspiration rather than day-to-day reality. This is detrimental as it damages the psychological contract between employee and employer.
An effective EVP provides insight into what employees value most and ensures the organisation delivers. This can create immense value – but only if leaders are willing to invest the time and effort in listening, and acting on what they hear.
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Contact our team today to get started on an employee value proposition that drives attraction and retention. Our Employee Listening Pilot provides a cost-effective way to understand current EVP strengths and improvement opportunities and prioritise further investments.
The benefits of a strong EVP
EVPs are increasingly becoming a key element of talent attraction and retention strategies. An authentic EVP can help to attract high quality talent, retain current employees and give organisations a distinct competitive edge. When employees feel trusted, respected and heard, they can focus their time and energy on delivering great results for the business.
Organisations with strong EVPs can reduce the compensation premium by 50 percent and decrease turnover by 69 percent.1
1. Gartner®, Employee Value Proposition (EVP) | HR Insights, accessed 6 November 2023
Developing a strong EVP strategy
When investing in an employee value proposition, we recommend a 70:20:10 model: 70 percent of effort should go towards understanding employee needs, desires and experiences; 20 percent towards improving the value delivery and experience; and 10 percent on communicating the EVP itself.
Employers need to learn to recognise the needs, wants and experiences of their employees and respond to them. Designing personas (based on qualitative and quantitative data) can help employers create employee segmentation. This will provide insights into what employees are really asking for, guiding a more tailored EVP creation.
A common mistake employers make is crafting aspirational EVPs rather than realistic ones. Understanding and responding to what matters to employees requires investing the time, effort and capital it takes to deliver on the EVP promise. Journey mapping can help employers identify and bridge the gap between where their organisation needs to be and where it currently is and to better address employee needs.
Rather than falling back onto generic EVP themes, employers need to create authentic, distinctive EVPs that speak directly to priority talent segments. The communication of the EVP – telling the story – becomes easier once employers understand their employee segments’ priorities and experiences.
Six critical dimensions of a ‘good’ EVP
Designing a thoughtful EVP - KPMG can help
We bring global insights and proven experience in talent attraction and retention. Our unique approach brings together workforce expertise and proven marketing tools to yield new insights into what employees want and their experiences.
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Related insights
FAQs
An employee value proposition (EVP) is a holistic articulation of what an organisation offers its employees and conversely, what the organisation expects from its employees.
The most important thing is to be authentic and realistic. Organisations should match their value offerings with the actual needs and desires of employees – then these wants and needs can guide the way in which the EVP is communicated.
An effective EVP can deliver significant benefits including enhanced employee engagement. Gartner estimates that a strong EVP can reduce the compensation premium by 50% and decrease turnover by 69%.2 KPMG research points to other significant benefits:3
- Engaged employees are 12% more productive than their less engaged counterparts
- Companies with happy employees outperform competitors by 20%
- Less than 1 in 5 employees believe that their employer delivers on the EVP promise
2. Gartner®, Employee Value Proposition (EVP) | HR Insights, accessed 6 November 2023
3. KPMG Nunwood, Power to the people: 2019 UK Customer Experience Excellence analysis (PDF 2.6MB), June 2019