Employers can combat pay gaps with an Employer Value Proposition by investigating the wants and needs of their employees and crafting a plan that offers attractive benefits and rewards accordingly.

In order to attract talent, it is important that a business aims to remain relevant with competitors employee value propositions, especially in the current candidate-driven labor market.

An organization’s EVP that aims to attract talent will also go a long way in satisfying current employees.

What IS  an employee value proposition?

An Employee Value Proposition is the set of benefits and rewards that a company offers employees in the entire compensation package.

An effective employee value proposition will often include paid time off, a robust benefits plan, healthy working environment, good work life balance, option to work remotely, and career development opportunities.

Further employee value proposition examples are unlimited vacation time, paid parental leave, caregiver support, retirement plans, and financial bonuses.

Other employee value propositions examples that aid in talent attraction are the company’s mission and core values. This also includes compelling reasons for why a candidate would want to work, and stay, at the company.

An excellent company career page which includes values that are closely related to a candidate’s passion(s) is one way to persuade candidates to choose a company over their competitor(s).

Effectively delivering on a Employee value proposition increases new hire commitment as well as decreases annual employee turnover.

Creating A Good Employee Value Proposition

It goes without saying that compensation is important. However, great talent are no longer working for just a paycheck.

According to Gartner, in addition to monetary compensation, some proposition examples for a strong employee value proposition are work-life balance, stability, location, and respect.

Gaining insight on what fosters a positive work environment and excellent employee experience will allow your company to create a compelling EVP. Doing so will assist in establishing your employer brand, maintain the well-being existing employees, decrease annual employee turnover, and build the employer brand.

Gathering Feedback

In order to attract great talent as well as retaining current employees, a business may elect to generate a survey for both current and prospective employees on what changes they would like to see in the company.

In addition to surveys, focus groups are also another way for a company to gather insight on the wants and needs of their employees.

A company might ask their employees:

• What are the things that you enjoy the most while working here?
• Do you feel properly supported in your career development to accomplish your career objectives?
• Do our company perks and benefits packages satisfy your needs?
• What are other benefits that you would like to see in the company?
• Do you feel satisfied in your role?

Before creating your own employee value proposition, it’s important to identify the wants and needs of employees in order to effectively deliver a strong EVP.

Employee Value Proposition Examples

Attracting talent as well as maintaining happy employees can be accomplished by building a strong EVP. With that said, a strong EVP may include the following:

Career Development Opportunities

Providing employees the opportunity for advancement and a path to develop a company career is a great example of an effective EVP.

Opportunities for growth within the company leads to an employee’s improved sense of well-being, better work performance, less stress, higher job satisfaction, and increased self-esteem.

There are a variety of ways that a company can develop a growth strategy for their employees:

Mentorship programs

Offering the means to connect with an individual who possesses senior knowledge of the role can propel employees growth within the company.

Job shadowing, career counseling, or simply general advice from a seasoned professional can all assist immensely in an employee’s career development.

Job shadowing for roles outside of an employees existing role provides avenues for lateral movement between roles. This allows the employer to provide job opportunities and retain existing talent who are considering a career change.

Additional responsibilities & work promotions

To prevent stagnation, offering additional responsibilities and potentially work promotions for performing employees allows employees to challenge themselves. Instead of pigeonholing employees into any given role, providing opportunities to push personal boundaries and grow within the company will result in increased employee performance and satisfaction.

Continuing Education

When considering personal skills development, encouraging employees to further their education through online courses and academic institutions can be invaluable. Creating opportunities for employees to hone their skills can allow for the employee to:

• Excel further in their current role
• Pivot laterally to fill another role within the company

Tuition reimbursement

A company may also elect to implement a student loan paydown program.

Student loan debt is a source of stress for many employees. Supporting employees in any way to make progress in paying off student loans will help manage their stress levels as well as clearing a path for them towards financial wellness.

Creating advancement and personal growth opportunities results in increased employee engagement and a rise in positive relationships within the company. These ultimately strengthen the employer brand in the process.

Flexible Hours

As the workplace becomes increasingly remote, many employees are seeking a business that offers flexible work hours.

According to the latest global Pulse survey by Slack, out of 10,000 knowledge worker respondents from the U.S., Australia, France, Germany, Japan, and the U.K, 95% want flexible hours.

Out of these respondents, 72% of those who are dissatisfied with the amount of schedule flexibility say that they are likely to look for a new job in the upcoming year.

How a flexible schedule benefits employees:

• Increased efficiency
• Promotes work life balance
• Higher job satisfaction
• Improved engagement

How a flexible schedule benefits employers:

• Increased productivity
• Retain talent
• Meet the increasing employee demand for a flexible schedule

Workplace Inclusivity

Inclusive culture in the workplace is another example of a strong employee value proposition. Research has shown that inclusive workplace are two times as likely to meet and outperform financial goals as well six times more likely to be innovative.

A workplace that allows employees voices to be heard encourages a sense of belonging and community within the company. These are some of the factors that create successful employees.

With that said, fostering an inclusive work environment where employees feel that their input is valued can also lead to improved mental well-being.

Employees who feel accepted for their individuality are 42% less likely to look for a position in another company within the year.

As of 2020, there has been a 66% uptick of users on Glassdoor listing diversity and racial equity in their reviews. Currently, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) plays a big role in policies of many companies as well as their hiring process.

Leave Policy

Another employment value proposition is parental leave policy. Companies that realize the importance of assisting working parents and take steps to create inclusive leave policies and benefits also assist in reducing workplace gender inequality.

Companies that have an inclusive parental leave policy that is readily available for all of their employees raise their DEI outcomes while also strengthening their employer brand.

Furthermore – although less common – is the practice of awarding employees five year sabbatical leave. Offering sabbatical leaves for tenured employees promotes work life balance while also strengthening employee loyalty.

Meaningful Work

When discussing employee value proposition examples, companies that provide employees with exciting projects, challenging work, and “fun stuff” within the role are likely to garner more attention.

According to the Harvard Business Review 9 out of 10 people are willing to earn less money to do more meaningful work.

In the current candidate-driven labor market, great talent have many companies and their employee value propositions to consider.

Many candidates are questioning the objectives of the company, their contributions to society, and corporate social responsibility.

Also, as mentioned, avoiding scenarios where employees feel pigeonholed into a role and providing opportunities for personal growth, advancement within the company, or lateral movement between roles within the organization, can also increase overall employee satisfaction.

First Impressions

Informing prospective employees of the employer brand and the company’s employee value proposition begins long before the contract is signed.

From the company’s career page to the interview process, top talent will be evaluating a company’s employee value proposition and how it measures up with their competitors employee value proposition.

With the above being somewhat “generic” value propositions, it may be prudent for a company to consider unique ways to personalize their employee value proposition according to their industry and brand.

Taking competitors employee value proposition and feedback into consideration will allow a business to make informed decisions when crafting a targeted EVP of their own.

Employer Branding & Communicating Your Company’s EVP

In addition to monetary compensation, talent in the current candidate driven labor market are looking for the building blocks of an enticing employee value proposition. When a job seeker scrutinizes a company, they look for things such as company culture, management style, interview process, perks and benefits, as well as the overall optics of the employer brand.

Not only is it important to create a competitive EVP, it is equally to be able to communicate and market the company’s EVP to current and prospective employees alike.

Combatting Pay Gaps

When examining the entire compensation package that a company offers, an enticing employee value proposition can allow a company to attract candidates while also reducing the compensation premium.

In the past, the idea of investing in creating a excellent employee value proposition may seem counter-productive to the financial bottom-line of a company. However, it is becoming increasingly evident that the opposite is true.

As the labor market becomes increasingly competitive in the post-pandemic remote workplace, employers need to meet candidate demands in order to attract new talent as well as to retain existing talent. Employee satisfaction has a direct correlation to productivity and turnover rates.

Although important, the talent pool of today is no longer looking simply at a salary number, and are placing heavy emphasis on the entire package that an employer offers.

Employers who invest in the well-being of their employees and are hyper-cognizant of their wants and needs have a distinct edge over competitors who don’t.

The Voice of Talent

Procom recently surveyed over 1,000 knowledge workers to gain an informed perspective on the ever-changing workforce and the new priorities facing talent right now. The Voice of Talent includes insights into what full-time and contingent workers expect from employers in 2022.

Access your complimentary copy to discover how to attract talent right now: