Competition is fierce, restructuring and redundancy is on the rise and the economic instability is set to continue. As we see businesses pivot to respond to new opportunities, those that have grown fast over the last three to five years are putting the foundations in place so they can continue to scale. But what else should businesses review to ensure they are future fit?
The answer is simple.
Focus on creating an experience that allows your people to be their best. Build an Employee Value Proposition (EVP) that is aligned to your strategy, and purpose. If you haven’t reviewed your EVP in the last 18 months the chances are it’s not fit for purpose.
Why is an Employee Value Proposition so critical?
Your EVP and your employee journey are both critical to reinforcing your culture and building your brand’s reputation. They are also inextricably linked. It’s what you tell people it’s like to work for your organisation and should be what differentiates you from the competition.
If done well, it can also help your people start to make the connection between what they do and your strategy and purpose.
If yours is working, engagement will be high, different functional areas will be bridged by a shared purpose, and employee turnover will be low. Not to mention the fact that you’ll also likely see innovation and agility alive and well across the organisation.
But, if you need to review yours, where do you start?
Make sure everyone knows what the Employee Value Proposition is designed to do
Your EVP is designed to help you live your purpose and deliver your strategy. To get it right both need to be clearly articulated, and the behaviours you need to see from your people defined.
It’ll help you recruit and attract talent that will be fit for the future and ensure your people understand what success looks like at your organisation.
Define where you want to be in the future and where you are today
If you have your strategy and purpose articulated, define the behaviours you need to see more of as your next step. What will it take to make the EVP you have sold to current and prospective employees a reality within your business? What behaviours will be the cultural norms?
When you know where you want to be, be honest about where you are today and figure out how you’ll bridge the gap.
Align your leaders and managers behind your vision
Leaders and managers need to not only understand the promise you are making to your current and future workforce, but they need to adopt the behaviours you want to see in the future.
Without this you’d likely see people exit the business early in their career with you, or see a significant drop in engagement after six months to a year for new starters. A time when they should be really making their mark.
These three things will certainly set you off in the right direction, but if you need an external perspective to help you consider some of these opportunities get in touch at Victoria.lewis-stephens@unitedcultureco.com.
