Being an employer of choice can help you attract the best kind of candidates and turn them into loyal team members, and in the current market that’s got to be a business goal!
But, it isn’t something that happens by accident and there is one key strategy that will help you drive your approach – a rock solid, values focused Employee Value Proposition (EVP).
So, firstly what is an employer of choice, why is it important to be one and how can a well-crafted and thought through EVP help you achieve it? That’s what we are going to discuss right now.
What Is An Employer Of Choice?
When it comes to employment, there are many choices that a candidate can make. The most important choice is probably which company they will work for. Lots of things can drive that decision, but one thing will put your organisation at the front of the list before any others.
That is, being recognised as an Employer of Choice via your EVP.
An employer of choice is a business that has a reputation for being a preferred place to work. Basically, it means people want to work for your organisation as they perceive it to be a highly desirable employment opportunity.
A business can earn this title for many reasons, but the main ones that stand out in an EVP are having a positive workplace culture, offering attractive compensation and benefits, providing opportunities for career development, and displaying values of diversity, inclusion and a focus on employee wellbeing.
Why Is It Important?
Why is it important to be an employer of choice and have an enticing EVP? Well, put quite simply, it will make it easier for you to attract and retain top talent, helping your business thrive in any market.
Because your employees are fully focused on your business and not looking for other opportunities, they will be motivated and productive in their work. They will have your business’s best interests at heart, and because they also usually share your company values, they will work in alignment with your company mission.
Being an employer of choice does not only serve you on an employment front. A positive employer reputation will set you apart from your competitors. It can also be a key differentiator when potential clients, partners or investors are considering working with you.
Key Strategies To Creating a Rockstar EVP to Become An Employer Of Choice
Becoming an employer of choice should be your ultimate goal but the roadmap to get you there will be defined by your EVP. Here are some key strategies you can use in your EVP to position yourself in this space:
Work/Life Balance
This is the elusive balance that every worker is looking for! Achieving it is not simply about correctly splitting your time between home and the office. True balance is about far more than that.
Flexibility is a really important aspect of your EVP. Allowing your team to work from home is definitely part of it, but you’ll also want to consider flexibility in working hours and working location. Then, there could be the option for job sharing and flexitime.
Basically, it is about allowing your employees to have job control. That is, providing the autonomy to recognise an agreed output and empowering your people to focus on that, rather than clock watching the specific hours worked in a set location. And because you have this fantastic reputation as an employer of choice, your employees are not likely to abuse this privilege.
Defined Business Values
Values can help to shape your organisational culture and are an important inclusion in your EVP. When your employees understand, embrace and most importantly share your set of values, it fosters a sense of belonging and unity. A strong, shared culture can improve teamwork, morale, and overall job satisfaction.
Those values also serve as a compass for decision making, helping leaders and team members to make choices that align with the company’s core principles. A consistency in decision making can lead to better business practices – another reason that people will consider you to be an employer of choice. And you’ll attract customers who share the same values.
Valuable Employee Benefits
It makes sense that you need to offer competitive remuneration to be considered an employer of choice. But you don’t want to stop there when it comes to your EVP. Attractive employee benefits can help to support your company values and enhance your overall workplace culture and EVP.
Yes, you can offer traditional benefits like insurance, enhanced KiwiSaver contributions and performance bonuses, however, to really enhance your EVP it doesn’t need to cost the earth. Why not embrace and take advantage of new and relatively inexpensive trends like:
- Digital recognition platforms where your team can interact with each other, you can celebrate key milestones and identify top performers.
- Gamification which allows fun activities or training modules where employees can score points, participate in competitions and top leader boards.
- Peer-to-peer recognition where colleagues and teammates can recognise each other, rather than managers simply handing out rewards.
Defined Career Pathways
Part of being happy in your work is knowing that there is a chance for progression or new challenges. Seeing potential for growth within a business from the outset via an EVP could also be extremely important to a potential team member when they’re making their employer decision . Clearly defining the career pathways within your organisation helps people recognise where they could move to next.
Offering internal advancement opportunities can only help the reputation of your business. It demonstrates that you value your existing team members because you are willing to promote from within.
As part of the pathway definition, you should also include the training and development opportunities for your employees to obtain the necessary skills or knowledge to progress along the pathway.
Support The Important Things
Your people are the lifeblood of your business and clearly showing this within your EVP will pay dividends in attracting high calibre team members. You can demonstrate that you acknowledge and understand their value by supporting the things that are important to them:
- Wellbeing programmes show that you value good mental health and help your team members maintain a positive mindset.
- Advocating for diversity and inclusive workplace practices demonstrates that every team member is valued equally.
- Your local community will support your business, so show your social responsibility by supporting your community through involvement, participation and support.
- We only have one planet, so adopting sustainable business practices where possible will help to show you care.
Become An Employer Of Choice
Is it time to give your business brand a boost and really become an employer of choice? Then, you’ll want to make sure you are backed by a skilled and knowledgeable HR team.
That means you need the Spice Gals on your side. If you wannabe an employer of choice with a strong and attractive EVP, then we can definitely help you make that happen. Chat with us to find out how we can help you create a team culture that attracts and retains THE best talent around.