What's your employee value proposition?

Want to get the best from your employees? Want to keep them engaged so they don't want to leave? Then it's worth getting to know your employee value proposition. 

Beyond their salary, employees are asking 'what do I get?' and businesses are struggling to answer. Employees expect to be listened to, they expect a fizzing company culture, and they expect to feel valued in their role.

But at a smaller level, employees are constantly looking for a good employee value proposition too. But often the tools that prop up HR processes offer little employee value proposition, and will disengage people.

A recent study from Bersin by Deloitte found that 58% of employees feel traditional annual appraisals are not an effective use of time. Although yet almost 100% of organisations polled insisted on using them. Employees understand how the appraisal benefits the business, but it means very little to them as an individual. 

Give value first

So how do you get people to care & believe in what they're doing, and reach a better employee value proposition? Well, the clue's in the name... you just need to offer them more value.

For an employee survey, that could mean distributing responses to the individuals that completed the questions, as well as the teams. For an appraisal, it could mean asking the employee how often they'd prefer to meet to discuss what they're working on.

When an employee first realises they're a core part of making the process better, they're delighted. They understand that their business is made up of people like them, and that the fairest and most important points are reflected in the fabric of how their organisation works. 

Go digital to get a better employee value proposition

Most employee value delivered in businesses across the past few years has been digital.

Platforms like Slack have disrupted how employees communicate with one another and their seniors, while tools like Google Docs have made it far easier for people to work together. Enterprise technology is no longer stiff and bureaucratic, it's people-centric and cares whether you like using it or not.

As a business, failing to meet new demands of technology is a bit like retaining underperforming workers. Employees naturally understand that the bar has been lowered, so they're less likely to give back.

Do everyone a favour and give employees the user-centric tools they need to learn about how they're doing at work over time & where they could improve. By giving employees the tools they need at work, the onus is on them to engage more with their role and produce better work.

That gives senior leaders and HR better return with less effort, which is a pretty compelling employee value proposition itself.