Rohan Shah, co-founder and managing director of Reuben Sinclair, tells the audience at AB Thinks Live that it’s time to update their employee value proposition (EVP).
Employee engagement has stagnated. The Great Resignation. ‘Quiet quitting’. Headline-worthy buzz phrases backed up by a survey by McKinsey that tells us 40% of employees are considering leaving their jobs in the next three to six months.
“The pandemic has led a lot of people to re-evaluate what they want from a job,” Rohan Shah says.
“What they’re looking for from their employer today has shifted. Their workplace environment has changed and so have their personal priorities.”
And yet organisations are still rolling out the same old EVPs, still focussing on the old guard and pulling those tired levers marked ‘salary’, ‘job title’, and ‘career advancement’ to inspire their workforce.
The result: just 31% of employees are actually satisfied with the current EVPs that their employer has to offer.
You’re now communicating with five groups
Rohan says that the people who are still satisfied with their existing EVPs are the traditionalists. Motivated by a salary and a job title, they experience ‘work’ and ‘life’ as two wildly separate entities.
That’s all fine and, in truth, organisations love to hire them because they’re predictable and easier to attract and retain. But the number of traditionalists is dwindling. According to that McKinsey survey, they’re now one of five personas in the workplace.
The others – do-it-yourselfers, caregivers, idealists and relaxers – are moving in. They want ‘radical flexibility’, a job with meaning, a renewed sense of purpose, wellbeing support, career progression and a decent salary.
No longer is a £5k salary increase enough. The idealists want meaningful work. And clear boundaries so work doesn’t interfere with personal priorities. The do-it-yourselfers “want to carry out their personal priorities while working”. And everyone wants strong compensation for health and wellbeing.
“Employees want to be seen as people, not just workers,” says Rohan.
“They no longer want a work-life balance but a work-life blend. And value is more than a benefits package; people want person-first understanding.”
These are the pillars of your new EVP. It’s time to evolve.
