Tagged with Employee Value Proposition …

May 17 2012
6 Comments
Business, Human Resources, Management, Marketing

Aligning the Customer and Employee Value Proposition

Many companies are working hard to create a world-class customer experience and employee experience i.e. ensuring that they offer a compelling, clear value proposition for its customers and employees. At the same time, it is also critical to make sure that these two value propositions themselves are in alignment. For instance, if the customer value proposition is “on the spot resolution of problems”, then the employee value proposition cannot espouse a process-driven culture. After all, a culture of empowerment is more important to support that particular customer value proposition.

It is interesting to think about the fact that Marketing departments don’t really control how employees understand the brand or display the brand values or deliver the customer value proposition. And yet, company brand and reputation are typically drivers of talent attraction. Similarly, the HR departments don’t exercise much control over company brand, customer perceptions etc. And yet, employees are the key factor in delivering the customer value proposition.

More than anywhere else, I think this is particularly relevant in service sector industries like say financial services, hospitality, healthcare, professional services, retail etc. In these industries, every employee is a representative of the company brand. And every employee creates or destroys brand value at each customer interaction point. Companies need to think about how they can get HR and Marketing teams to work together to design and deliver an integrated value proposition to their employees and customers. Have you come across companies who are doing this effectively?

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Jan 14 2012
1 Comment
Business, Employee Engagement, Enterprise 2.0, Human Resources, Leadership, Management, Social Media, Technology

Change & Communications Study Report: Implications For Asia Pacific

Towers Watson (my employer) recently released a report on The 2011/12 Change & Communication ROI Study report. It has great insights about what could organizations do to build Clarity, Confidence and Community in their organizations through effective communications and change management. While I leave you to enjoy the full report, I found some of the charts interesting as they showed geographical breakdowns including Asia-Pacific level data.

In terms of ensuring that employees are business literate and have a good view of organizational performance, there seems to be little variation across the geographical regions. Even so, Asia-Pacific sits at the bottom of the pack on these important issues related to providing clarity and building a sense of connection.

The second issue I spotted was related to Employee Value Proposition (EVP). Given the nature of the talent race in Asia, I think it’s quite a hot issues these days. And interestingly, a higher percentage of Asia-Pacific companies report that they have a clearly defined EVP. However, when it comes to having a segmented EVP approach (e.g. for high performers, high potentials etc.), these companies fare a bit badly. Also, the bigger question is how effectively is the EVP winning mind-share in the talent market.

And as social media powers the new world of communications, there is a fair distance that companies in Asia-Pacific have to go. Only about 30% of the organizations report that they have a documented social media policy in place, the corresponding number for the USA is 77%! Moreover, only a handful of Asia-Pacific companies report that they have the right tools to measure the effectiveness of social media. So, first there is an adoption issue and then, if measurement is not effective, then establishing a clear business case for social media will be a challenge for companies. As for me, I am more interested in finding out how Asia Pacific companies are leveraging these channels for building an open, transparent and collaborative workplace.

All graphs and data credits to Towers Watson
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Jul 14 2011
8 Comments
Business, Employee Engagement, Human Resources, Management

Employee Value Proposition – Think Delivery, Not Just Design & Communications

I have been thinking about one of the hottest trends in HR circles – Employee Value Proposition. The origin of Value Proposition perhaps is in strategy and marketing. Kaplan & Norton, who introduced the world to Balanced Scorecards, said – “Strategy is based on a differentiated value proposition. Satisfying customers is the source of sustainable value creation.” Which leads us to another commonly used term Customer Value Proposition. Wikipedia defines it as – “a Customer Value Proposition consists of the sum-total of benefits which a vendor promises a customer will receive in return for the customer’s associated payment.” Essentially, we are talking about a the “delivery of a promise” in return for something that’s valuable to the customer (usually money payment, search costs etc.). The “promise” itself isn’t sufficient, the delivery is critical to the value proposition.

Employee Value Proposition (EVP) can also be understood in a similar way. It is the sum-total of benefits and experiences a company promises an employee in return for the employee’s time and efforts. The EVP can include compensation, benefits, learning & development opportunities and the overall workplace experience. Usually, companies would define their EVP through some combination of these. So, that’s the promise. But, the crucial challenge for HR, leaders and managers is to deliver on the EVP.

Many a times, I see HR professionals in a rush to define the EVP and communicate it to the world. We want to create a message, come up with great tag-lines, brand the communications and throw it out. Advertisements, posters, billboards, social media – you can do it all and still achieve nothing. A badly execution EVP strategy can never solve talent attraction and retention problems. To be effective in the EVP initiative, it is equally or more important to think about whether existing systems, policies, culture, management style and processes support the delivery of the EVP. If not, then we need to think about what changes are required. Your Employer Brand could fail miserably if the brand doesn’t deliver on the promises. And in this day and age, sentiments are often vented quite openly on public channels.

So, if your EVP promises “a culture that thrives on teamwork, leveraging collaboration to solve X challenges”, but employees join the organisation only to find silos, then its a failure. Or if you promise “performance based pay and best-in-class benefits”, but pay is driven by tenure and benefits are just about average when compared to other organizations, employees will feel disenchanted. The list of examples can be endless.

So, the first step is to look within, not outside. Look within and ensure that the delivery mechanisms are in place. If you get it right, you will just end up creating engaged employees, who also act as advocates for the Employer Brand. It’s as much about the delivery, as it is about the those feel-good, slick communications.

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Jan 23 2011
4 Comments
Business, Employee Engagement, Human Resources, Management

The Impact of A Flexible Benefits System on Employee Engagement

A couple of years back, I had written about “the market for employee benefits”. I was fully convinced that it will help foster a better understanding of the employee benefits plan and drive better satisfaction as a result of the ability to customize the plan to suit individual needs and lifestyles.

I was at a conference last week, where I was a part of a panel discussion. One of the questions posed to me was “How does having a flexible benefits system affect the engagement levels of employees?”

Typically, research shows that pay / benefits do not feature as a top driver of engagement – they affect engagement, but other factors assume higher priority when it comes to engagement. However, pay / benefits are critical drivers of talent attraction and retention. But, I do feel that a flexible benefits system, as opposed to a traditional benefits plan, would also affect engagement.

In a flexi-benefits programs, the role of employees evolves. From being passive recipients of a standardized, mundane plan, employees become active decision-makers in a flexi-benefits system. It helps to build that sense of autonomy, of empowerment, of ownership. And that does have a positive rub-off effect on engagement, attraction and retention. Overall, I feel that a flexi-benefits system is a great way to differentiate your employee value proposition and compete better in the marketplace for talent.

Have you implemented a flexi-benefits system? What has been your experience?

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Oct 20 2010
3 Comments
Business, Employee Engagement, Human Resources, Leadership, Management

Delivering the Employee Value Proposition

A lot of companies are working hard to define and articulate their Employee Value Proposition or EVP. The EVP is essentially a statement of how the “total work experience” at the company is superior to others. It is the “deal” that you get in return for the skills, capabilities, experiences and time you bring to the workplace. We are just not talking about the “price” the organization pays, but the holistic “offer”  or “deal” that must be offered to attract, engage and retain talent. EVP is a function of multiple things – pay, benefits, company image, career prospects, training opportunities, work-life balance, social experiences or team, purpose of the organization, autonomy, challenge and several other aspects of the role. And each of these variables are emphasized to different extents in different organizations to define a relevant and practical EVP.

Given the immense focus on defining and articulating the EVP, organizations should not be losing sight of an important aspect - implementing or delivering the EVP.  Perhaps, it is much more critical. That is where it will be seen if your brand promise has been delivered or not. The HR team and leaders do play a critical role in articulating, reinforcing and marketing the EVP. But, the key agents who deliver the “deal” are the people managers. They are the ones who take the EVP to the employees in the form of a one-to-one individualized discussion. They will ultimately make or break the EVP promise.

So, if your EVP subtly communicates “median pay levels, but strong work-life balance”, and your managers are not sensitive to help their teams balance their work & personal lives, there is a deviation from the promise. Or, your EVP talks about “multi-disciplinary learning”, but managers nominate their team members for training for their existing job functions only, the deal is broken. There could be a disconnect if your EVP stresses on “a work environment with a daily celebration of success”, but recognition is limited to the Annual Chairman’s Award. The list can go on.

It is critical to align managers to the “what”, “why” and “how” of your EVP. They need to be educated on how to put it into practice and individualize it for their team-members. Remember, they have not been doing this all their lives. In fact, several view the EVP as a sum of pay and benefits alone. We need to support them to make the transition to this more holistic approach.

What are you doing in your organization to ensure that the promise of your EVP is delivered to the employees? How are you translating words into actions?

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