During the month of May, we were hard at work formalising DotActiv’s EVP. Now you might be wondering: ‘What is an EVP?’ Or if you know what it is, you might be wondering: ‘Why does it take that long to come up with one statement?’ These are the questions we uncover in this article.
What is an EVP?
An EVP or Employee Value Proposition represents the relationship between an employer and an employee. It indicates what the employer expects of the employee, but more so, what the employee can expect from the employer/company. It is often presented in the form of a statement and is an important element of employer branding. It also includes communicating what differentiates the company from others as well as the essence of the company.
A company's EVP should be authentic. It should represent the current values of the workplace and should not be seen as a ‘nice statement to stencil on a wall,’ but rather a reality that is lived and experienced by its employees. An EVP should not be aspirational (something you strive for) like with a vision and/or mission, but rather inspirational (a reality that is lived and has the ability to inspire).
The EVP especially carries its value while recruiting and retaining talent, as this transparency lets prospective employees see what the company has to offer from the beginning rather than making 'empty promises'.
What is DotActiv’s EVP?
After a month of research and brainstorming where we also asked for feedback from our employees (read more about that below), DotActiv has created their first and official EVP statement. It states:
“A company where our people are our pride and we believe everyone has the potential to be a leader. We’re a team that supports one another, celebrates each other, and encourages everyone to grow.”
It is important to note that an EVP goes wider than just a statement.
At the end of the day, the Employee Value Proposition is a construct that consists of several components which ultimately describe what benefits a company has to offer to its employees in return for their skills and experience. Examples of these benefits are financial benefits (e.g. bonus), career development opportunities (e.g. training), work environment and company culture (e.g. working from home) and employee benefits (e.g. leave).
How did we come up with this EVP statement?
As its name implies, the employee plays a crucial role when formalising an EVP statement. That’s why we made a conscious effort to include our employees during this process. In the end, we wanted the statement to be a true reflection of how life would be as a DotActiv employee.
Below is the process that we followed to develop DotActiv’s first EVP statement:
Research. Research. Research.
For us to have created DotActiv’s EVP, we first had to do research to ensure we understood the concept of an EVP and how to create one. After reading several articles and brainstorming, we came up with a plan of action.
Reaching out to our employees
Based on our research, we created a survey to ensure we asked the right questions and got the feedback we needed to create an EVP statement. We need to give a shoutout to our team because we received 58 responses (which is more than half our workforce) within one week.
These surveys were anonymous and we, therefore, encouraged participants to be as truthful as possible, since a crucial element of an EVP is to be authentic.
Reading our employees feedback
Once all the responses were in, we had to analyse the feedback and boy did we learn a lot. In addition to formalising DotActiv’s EVP, we approached this as an opportunity to help us see the company through our employees’ eyes and gain insight into our strengths, but also to see what our areas of improvement are as an employer. Yes, we had some great feedback and some not so great feedback, but it allowed us to come to certain realisations that we might not have had before.
We would like to personally address our staff by thanking them for providing truthful answers. By being truthful, it allows us to grow. Each and every answer was read and although we can’t address all suggestions overnight with one statement, we will strive to address the necessary issues with time.
Finding the golden thread
While analysing the feedback, we had to identify the main themes that stood out from the responses. Now, a lot of the questions were open-ended so these themes were not predetermined. However, it was interesting to see how different employees had similar outlooks and experiences, essentially still tying us all together.
We found a few themes, but some that stood out was that we love our people and our company culture. The sense of family is what sets us apart. These themes were the main contributors to formalising our EVP Statement.
Creating the first draft and sending it for feedback
Taking the above into consideration, we created the first draft of our EVP statement.
Thereafter, we randomly selected employees to whom we sent the first draft statement. We tried to select a representative sample of the company. That included choosing employees from different positions, employees based at our head offices versus being based at clients’ head offices, and selecting staff with varying years of service.
By the end of the process, the majority had voted that they completely resonate with the statement and that they experience what is conveyed through the statement within DotActiv.
Getting the stamp of approval and formalising DotActiv’s EVP Statement
After receiving feedback from our representative sample, we now had to ensure we got the final stamp of approval from those who steered the ship and represented their teams on a managerial level - the cross-functional management team. After we sent the exact same statement to our cross-functional management team, they also agreed with the statement and were happy to give it the final approval.
Now it was set. DotActiv has finally created and formalised its Employee Value Proposition.
Our last step was to inform the rest of the company and make it public which we did by publishing the article you’re busy reading right now!
Conclusion
Having an Employee Value Proposition is important for any company as it creates a formal connection between the employer and employee, improves any employee recruitment process, and allows for better employee retention rates.
We are proud of our EVP statement and believe that it is a step in the right direction, to be strategically aligned with our company mission, vision and values.
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