There’s little doubt about it. Work has changed and continues to do so. Our relationship with our employer, specifically, and employment, itself, has been evolving and Covid and the various lockdowns have acted as accelerants.
Today, we have a less formal, less tangible, less structured, less physical relationship with work. We might be working remotely or flexibly, flexitime, hybrid or part time. We don’t have to be present at work to be present. We might be located in a different location, a different country, even a different time zone to our employer.
We might be working on fixed term contracts. We might have side hustles. We might be indulging in some quiet quitting.
We have less blind loyalty to our employer. Work has dropped down our priority pecking order. Family, relationships, mental health, physical health, personal space are now competing for prominence with our employer. We are far less prepared to sacrifice any of the former for the latter.
We have far less of a parent child relationship with our employer. If not a marriage of equals, we want to work on our own terms, at our own time, at our own convenience. We want work to work better. We want it to work to our schedule, rather than that of our employers.
The landscape has fundamentally shifted. Even in the current patchy labour market, candidates are more demanding, more discerning, more questioning. They’ll certainly answer questions about what and how they can contribute to an employer. But they’re increasingly asking what an employer can do for them. How might it develop, nurture and grow them. How might it enhance their future career? What skills can they develop? Where will their contribution take them – either here or elsewhere?
“When we surveyed our colleagues recently, as part of our engagement survey, one of the important issues raised was on careers and opportunities for development. It’s prompted us to expand our work on reward to be more holistic in approach and think about the links to OD and reward”. Julie Griggs, Director of People and Partnering, The Open University.
And employers have not, generally, been slow to pick up on this. The more far-sighted among them have been re-shaping the office environment. They want this to become an experience. They want to reward those employees who are usually present within the office and incentivise those whose visits are far less often. They want offices to be more immersive, more intuitive, more productive, more collaborative. They want people to come into work because of the offices not despite them.
Fundamentally however, we have spent, in some cases, careers trying to shape our lives around our work. Compromising family time, outside interests, our mental health, our physical fitness. Today, there’s a real sea change taking place. It’s not without its exceptions, clearly, but people increasingly want to shape their work around their lives.
If an Employee Value Proposition has traditionally been constructed around what an individual might be empowered to do for an organisation, this is changing. Those employees want to reset that relationship. They want to hear what an employer can do to help shape the individual, both within work and outside of it.
Think about it in terms of – ‘It’s about what I am and what I will be, rather than what I do’.
The professional challenge you’re offering me ticks all the right boxes, but I want to understand how you engage with the real and the whole me. Me, the partner, me, the parent, me, the carer, me, the kayaker, me, the traveller, me, the individual. My job title does not define me.
How you help me facilitate my volunteering work. How you help me contribute to the community around me. How you help me walk the walk from a sustainability perspective. How you encourage me to bring my daughter in to work. To take my parent for a medical check-up.
To achieve my potential, not just as an employee, but as a human being.
“For me, EVP has to reflect what the business is right now rather than where they want to be. The idea that the people they recruit will help shift the dial on business culture and what they have to offer the individual employee doesn’t seem to work.
The responsibility should be on the company to make the changes they need to become an employer of choice, to then attract the type of employee they are looking for. The flip side is that anyone joining a business where the company is yet to make those changes feels short-changed or mis-sold and is rapidly looking for the door”. Matthew Dean, Talent Acquisition Project Manager, Sonderwell.
The employer landscape has shifted towards being more employee-centric, but the experience posited here is still far from the reality in many organisations that have yet to make this cultural transition. These organisations might present an EVP that reflects the current experience within the company, even if it doesn’t align with what most candidates are seeking today, while also expressing some aspiration for improvement. This honesty is essential. An employer brand must be authentic and genuinely reflect the organisation; otherwise, it will fail candidates, leading to high turnover and reputational damage. Although the landscape has undergone an unprecedented shift since COVID-19, particularly with Generation Y coming of age, many organisations still cling to outdated mentalities. The only way to truly empower leaders to change is by demonstrating the impact on the bottom line. Some executives are blaming revenue downturns on virtual and hybrid work arrangements, without considering how the organisation’s appeal as an employer directly influences its appeal to customers. There is still a long journey ahead”. Adele Swift, Talent Attraction and Recruitment Manager, Toolstation.
If the essence of the EVP is beginning to shift, what does this mean for the way it is curated and shaped?
“It’s about being clear about the give and the get. Employers are still going to want skills, commitment, values and dedication. But they need to understand that the more they treat people as rounded individuals, the more rounded the skills they’ll get back in return. You put employees in a tight box, a confined space, then they’ll struggle to flourish as professionals and as people”. Andy Hendon, Global EB Consultant (Formerly of Syneos Health & KPMG).
For me, the better the questions, the better the emerging EVPs. Questions more relevant to today’s landscape. Questions that allow for personalisation, differentiation, richness, nuance and distinction. Questions that enable employees to tell their own stories – stories which frame themselves three dimensionally. Which allow them to outline how their work enables them professionally and personally. Work that gets the best out of them – as professionals, as colleagues, just as much as partners and parents.
“Personalisation is key for in the HR landscape, both with my reward specialist hat on, but also how we personalise the experience of work and, looking inwardly, how we personalise the user interaction with people functions”. Julie Griggs.
“I don’t see why creating flexible working policies or having more robust development plans for employees should be so daunting for any business. Make the changes and give employees what they want. Then measure performance based on realistic goals per individual, not manage them by being able to physically see them at their desk in an office”. Matthew Dean.
We might ask them the extent to which working for an employer has grown them, inspired them. How working for their organisation enables balance. The extent to which they have to compromise on their priorities. The sense of pride they derive across all facets of their lives. The extent to which being able to adopt a more all-rounded perspective enhances their working contribution. How the people around them at home view their employer. How they consider themselves to be better human beings as a result of their time at this organisation.
Is my employer more interested in what I can do, rather than the individual I am and am going to be?
“I think it’s interesting in terms of how this will continue to shift. What will work look like? The influence of AI on the content of roles. What will we be asking people to do in future?” Julie Griggs.
Our relationship with employment and employers continues to shift. Organisations need to be aware of this in terms of how they manage, engage and communicate with their people. Do they consider the individual or the sum of their contributions?
Do they fully grasp the person behind their people? And if so, are they going to develop EVPs that reflect this?
Getting to the heart of your employee mindset 