Apparently 12 months ago, around 2m hardy souls attempted to alleviate the excesses of the festive season by undertaking Dry January, valiantly going the whole month without an alcoholic drink. Whether they did this for reasons relating to health, charity fundraising or guilt, we can safely assume that this January is inspiring similar feats of sobriety. And perhaps even that immodest number is set to increase in the light of the Government’s new advice on safe alcoholic intake. The UK Chief Medical Officers, in their undoubted wisdom, have reduced the recommended weekly intake to just 14 units for men, down from 21, and now matching that for women.
A good thing then, possibly, probably, yes, very probably. And backed by rigorous scientific research. Undoubtedly.
Possibly the same rigorous scientific research then that sees countries such as Ireland, Australia and New Zealand sticking with 21 units. If even that amount fills you full of horror, consider the US. The equivalent figure is 25. Still not enough? Then head south, to Spain. Spanish scientists recommend to their compatriots that a figure of 35 units per week is safe. No wonder it’s such a popular holiday destination.
So whose scientists are right? Obviously we can but hope it’s our Iberian cousins. However, truth be told this is a challenging area for science. The issue of replicability – the capacity to reproduce original experiments and research when the tests are repeated is a challenging one. In a great article from City AM, Paul Ormerod from Volterra Partners cited a piece in Science magazine which attempted to reproduce the work of 100 psychological experiments. Just 36% were in any statistical way capable of repeat.
The construct of replicability is a fascinating one for the employer branding landscape. Using the same thinking and approach, employers and their employer brand partners will try to replicate propositions, messages and communications across different offices, different languages, different culture and different economies. Just as different nationalities – the Spanish and the Brits – apparently process grog in different ways, we need to be very aware and nuanced in order to ensure global consistencies take in and cater for such employer branding variations and diversity.
So far, so obvious.
Rather than wondering how far we might be wise in replicating an employee value proposition, we need to consider how long we might do so.
Given that an employee value proposition is heavily influenced by competitor activity, organisational direction and strategy and the prevailing economic climate, employers should keep a constant weather eye on their EVP to ensure its continued relevance and differentiation. And that’s on a good day.
However, there are a number of indications suggesting that there has rarely been a more pressing time to consider how your EVP is being processed and consumed.
The last two to three years have been economically benign in the extreme in the UK. GDP growth touched 2.7% in 2014, falling slightly, but only slightly, last year. UK unemployment has been declining for some years and is forecast to fall below 5% in 2016. And the employment rate, as of December, was 73.9%, the highest figure recorded since records began in 1971.
Appropriately for these VUCA times, might there be change in the air?
Without wishing to spoil your breakfast, Societe Generale’s Albert Edwards forecast this month that the Chinese financial crash is about to wipe out some 75% of the value of the UK and US stock markets.
Similar happy tidings this week from RBS, who advised their clients to ‘sell everything’ as they forecast 2016 would be a cataclysmic year with the price of oil going down as low as $16 a barrel. With a nice line in metaphors, RBS also suggested that ‘In a crowded hall, the exit doors are small’.
And the UK consumer, who has benefited from record low interest rates of 0.5% for more than six years, (and, as a result, has often kept the domestic economy afloat) is likely to get some bad news later this year as mortgage payments start to head north.
Overly melodramatic? Probably. However, just try to Google ‘economic crash’. The second suggestion from the search engine after ‘economic crash 2008’ is ‘economic crash 2016’.
So what sort of implication might this have for employer brands and the employee value proposition DNA that predicates them? The talent shortages and falling unemployment of the last 36 months have seen EVPs focusing on progression, confidence, dynamism, development, growth, empowerment and possibility. All hugely aspirational and inspirational qualities. And all entirely in step with the economic times.
But how might such qualities play in three or so months if even half of the tales of woe described by Societe Generale and RBS have played out? Might candidates – if they remain interested in an external move at all – be looking for EVPs which speak more to stability, security, robustness and strength?
Whilst we can but hope that the two finance houses above have called the market wrong or certainly too pessimistically, it is hugely important that employer brand owners take a look at their EVPs in order to ensure that they reflect today’s market and prevailing sentiment, rather than yesterdays.
If the weather is indeed taking a turn for the worse, employees and candidates alike will be well aware of the fact. If they continue to come across EVPs which suggest nothing but optimism and blue skies, they are hardly to be blamed for assuming such employers are living in the recent past – potentially comfortable though that might soon appear to be.
Getting to the heart of your employee mindset 
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