August 2006 Newsletter
Newsletter August 2006
In this issue:
- Winning the war for talent is first a marketing exercise!
- Come and visit
Winning the war for talent is firstly a marketing exercise!
Several studies and general experience repeatedly underline that organisations that are well on the way to winning the war for talent can demonstrate the following:
- A management style that retains rather than repels talent
- A values culture that matches the values of employees
- Information gathering mechanisms that they act on so they understand why people stay or leave and do something about it
- An understanding of employees' expectations and key needs
- A strategic attraction and retention plan
- A clearly articulated employee value proposition
In this article we will explore the benefits of developing a clearly defined and articulated employee value proposition (EVP).
What is an Employee Value Proposition?
Essentially, it is a corporate brand focused on the employment market. In an employee or potential employee�?Ts mind it is a measurement of the balance between what they will receive from an employer in return for their performance on the job. In other words, it is the "get" versus the "give." If, in the employees' minds they "get" rewards equal to or exceeding what they "give," the organisation will tend to have more satisfied employees and therefore, increased retention.
If, in a potential employee�?Ts mind the �?oget�?� from a particular organisation looks more attractive than the �?oget�?� from a competing organisation with an otherwise very similar career opportunity on offer, that prospective employee will be more inclined to pursue the opportunity with the more attractive �?oget�?� or �?oemployee value proposition�?�.
In other words, much like in the general marketing of corporate products, it�?Ts a message of �?owhat�?Ts in it for them�?�.
How can my organisation develop or maintain a compelling EVP?
Analyse Core Positions
Could the details of an Employee Value Proposition differ from area to area of a company? Certainly! So the first thing you need to do is look at your major target audiences. In healthcare, for example, you could look at Registered Nurses, Radiology and Pharmacy. You need to determine exactly what attracts candidates to each of your core positions. Then, use this valuable information to clearly state what makes your company the obvious choice over the competition. But remember...advantages may differ within a specific discipline. Using healthcare as an example once again, the advantages may be somewhat dissimilar between an Operating Room Nurse and an Emergency Department Nurse.
Get Input from Various Stakeholder Groups
What you, as a HR professional or recruiter, may feel constitutes the selling points may not totally reflect reality. To be effective in understanding the "get" side of the Employee Value Proposition, you will need to conduct discussions with individuals who currently fill these core positions. So canvas widely. Talk to ex-employees, clients, suppliers and your senior management team as well as current employees. It could give you some insights that are a revelation to you and a great help to winning the war for the talent if used in your recruitment advertising.
Develop Focus Groups
If your organisation is in the very early stages of developing an EVP; it may be of great value to go through a more formal process in determining your company's advantages as an employer. This would require setting up focus groups with a mix of participants both internal and external to your organisation. Ideally such groups should be run by an outside consultant who is well-versed in conducting effective events. HR or other company representatives should not be seen to be running these focus groups as employees or other stakeholders need to feel free to make comments. This will ensure your ability to get meaningful information that, if used properly, can lead to more productive recruitment advertising.
How can I leverage my organisation�?Ts EVP?
For most organisations there is one corporate brand but different propositions to different consumer or employment markets. The perceived proposition to customers is generally similar to the perceived proposition to employees but the message will need to be pitched differently. That is, most organisations have one brand but it means subtly different things to different stakeholders and those different meanings or propositions need to be communicated in a targeted way to each targeted stakeholder.
Realistically your organisation doesn�?Tt want everyone to want to be interested in working for them, you just want to attract those who really believe in what your organisation is looking to achieve. They are the ones who will delight your customers, who will go the extra mile and who will be your walking advertising campaigns!
So, to successfully leverage your EVP externally it needs to clearly and honestly articulate�?owhat�?Ts in it for a potential employee�?� to attract the most suitable candidates in the market and therefore reduce some element of commodity from the job decision. Recruitment advertising is no different from consumer or business-to-business advertising. To generate the most action from an ad placement, you must answer the candidate's most important question: "What's in it for me?" And that is precisely what you'll find in the "get" part of the EVP.
Internally, a clearly articulated EVP will engage just the right people - the high performers and will do so more for that group than the lower performers, assisting your organisation to retain those high performers.
Winning the war for talent
In the current competitive recruitment market, a well articulated and communicated employment value proposition is clearly critical to the successful development and execution of an employment marketing strategy to win the war for talent by ensuring that your target candidate market is fully aware of �?owhat�?Ts in it for them�?� in choosing to work for your organisation over a competitor organisation.
The PageUp People HR consulting team is currently working with organisations to develop their EVP and to ensure the clear communication of the EVP in all recruitment marketing channels including the website and employment advertising. If you would be interested in finding out how PageUp People could assist you in this key strategy to win the war for talent, please contact Meray Azar, Marketing Coordintor on (03) 9602 3300.
Come and visit
PageUp at the AHRI HR Week Expo at the Melbourne RACV club. We will be there on the 4th and 5th of September, 2006.