Your employee value proposition (EVP) needs to evolve with a changing world

Employees’ core expectations about work are changing. Many are now searching for a caring corporate culture that prioritises their mental and physical health while providing work-life balance and career paths – sustainably.

To attract and retain talent, it is critical to ensure your EVP reflects a changing world. 

The importance of keeping your employee value proposition (EVP) relevant

For an employee value proposition to be effective, it must meet the real-world experiences of your employees. Our world has changed, in parts irrevocably, so to be truly compelling, your EVP must reflect and meet those changes.

EVPs are an integral part of any total employee benefits and rewards strategy, which are based on an implicit psychological contract that defines the employer-employee relationship.

The ‘commodities’ in exchange, for much of the 20th century, were pay, benefits, and job security in return for a lifetime of commitment from employees. The ‘loyalty contract’ was common.

Things are different now. The pandemic has fundamentally reset employees’ priorities, and they are wanting more than extrinsic motivators and financial incentives. In order for your employee value proposition to remain relevant – attracting and retaining talent – the ‘value’ part of your EVP must evolve with, and reflect, what your employees prize.

A fundamental change in human values is underpinning a structural shift in the labour market. Organisations now have a moment of profound opportunity to pick up the tools of empathy honed during the pandemic – and carve a new way of partnering that is more relatable, and ultimately more sustainable.
Kate Bravery

Global Leader of Advisory Solutions & Insights, Mercer

Employees’ work-related needs and desires vary based on their:

  • Gender
  • Generation 
  • Job level 
  • Caregiving status

What do your employees value in 2023? And how do you begin reviewing and evolving your EVP?

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Employee value proposition must haves

A growing body of research — including Mercer’s — shows that while pay and benefits are important, employees now want jobs that:

  • Enable flexibility, work-life balance, and their chosen lifestyle
  • Prioritise their physical and mental wellbeing
  • Are intrinsically motivating
  • Provide a sense of meaning and purpose
  • Connect them to a community
  • Have career paths and opportunities for growth and development

What employees want now is the ‘lifestyle contract’. 

Future-proof your employee value proposition

Work-centrality is declining as employee core values shift, so organisations need to evaluate their employees’ experiences, EVPs, total rewards strategies, and benefits packages against the world in which we now live.

Four steps to evaluate the appeal of your current employee value proposition and identify the future needs of your workforce:

EVPs are an essential part of workforce reward and incentive solutions

To compete, organisation must offer the right rewards, benefits and employee experience.

Designing competitive pay structures and policies that align to business strategies allows organisations to retain top talent and establish their brand in the market – an effective benefits programme goes a long way towards improving the employee experience and can be seen as a differentiator in the war for talent. As we continue to work in new, virtual ways and as jobs in many organisations continue to evolve, there is a renewed opportunity to invent market-leading total reward strategies to drive performance.

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