Mira is an experienced risk manager with a diverse portfolio and years of expertise. She has been headhunted by several firms and partners to join their team. With so many options to choose from, Mira decides to take stock of what’s in it for her.
She picks her top three organizations and lists the elements that are valuable to her. These are compensation, employee benefits, well-being, career opportunities, work environment and organizational culture.
Rating each of the three organizations based on these elements helps her make an informed decision and she decides to go with the second option. They’re offering better compensation and career opportunities. They even have an excellent work environment that suits Mira’s needs.
So, how did Mira come to this conclusion? Why are some elements more important than others when employees decide where they want to work?
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What Is Employee Value Proposition?
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Examples Of Employee Value Proposition
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The Importance Of Employee Value Proposition
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Your Value In The Workplace
What Is Employee Value Proposition?
Compensation or salary isn’t the only thing that nudges us to join an organization. Employment is about more than just what you get paid. It’s about whether you enjoy the work, if there are growth opportunities or if you expect to get along with your coworkers. All of these elements combined are the employee value proposition.
The meaning of employee value proposition is what the employee stands to gain by investing their time, effort and skills into their job. If you’re putting in the work, you expect something in return. This could be money, acknowledgment or opportunities for learning and development. Employee value proposition is what’s in it for you, as an employee. Mira assesses her employee value proposition to make a decision. The option that reaps the highest benefits in return for her hard work is the one she decides to go with.
Here are some highlights to explain the meaning of employee value proposition:
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Employee value proposition components comprises salary or compensation, employee benefits, career progression, organizational culture and work environment
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A high value proposition for employees helps organizations attract top talent and retain current employees, reducing employee turnover
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Creating a healthy, nurturing work environment is possible by offering a high employee value proposition
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Employees are motivated to put their best foot forward if they feel appreciated, acknowledged and rewarded
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It helps organizations streamline their code of conduct, values and mission so that employees can easily identify reasons to work there
Why you choose to work with one organization as opposed to another largely depends on the value proposition. What value will this particular job add to your professional life? Will it give your resume a boost? Will you get paid based on your years of experience, skills and abilities? Are there opportunities for you to grow within the organization? Most of us are confronted by these questions when we’re applying for a job. Determining employee value proposition will help you make better decisions.
Examples Of Employee Value Proposition
If you’ve explored an organization’s ‘About Us’ or ‘Careers’ page, you’ve probably seen a ‘Why Us?’ section. This is where you’ll get an understanding of how the organization views the meaning of employee value proposition. Each organization offers something on the lines of what they can do for you, how they plan to do it and what you can gain from the experience. Consider this example:
Canva’s answer to ‘Why Us?’ is: “Sometimes the chance comes up to be part of something really special. Canva is making design amazingly simple for everyone, and the potential is limitless. We’re empowering people to design anything, and publish anywhere.”
It clearly states that Canva employees have creative freedom to think, create and ideate without restriction. For someone who wants to work in a fast-paced, horizontal work environment, this statement would be a driver to apply.
Some examples of employee value proposition are:
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Efforts toward maintaining a work-life balance with unlimited vacation leave or a ‘work from anywhere’ policy
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Compensation for sick days or mental health leave to help employees recuperate
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Maintaining non-traditional work hours and leave calendars to encourage employees to take charge and feel like they work with, and not for, the organization
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Daily performance reviews and check-ins with seniors to help employees learn on the job without missing out on opportunities
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Supporting employee learning and development to retain talent and help existing employees become their best selves in their role
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Social events and interactions outside of work to build team culture and an exchange of ideas not triggered by organizational needs but simply to foster interpersonal relationships
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Focus on personal growth by prioritizing mental health and establishing initiatives to encourage employees to speak up
Many organizations take it upon themselves to nurture employee development. The modern workplace isn’t all work and no play. Considering the amount of time we spend at work, organizations have to offer more than just the technical support required to do a job. Most organizations will have the employee value proposition written down on their corporate website. Explore and do your research before you decide where you want to work.
The Importance Of Employee Value Proposition
Now that we’ve answered the question “what is employee value proposition?”, let’s discuss why it’s important for organizations and employees.
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Attract Top Talent
If organizations communicate the meaning of employee value proposition well, they’ll attract top talent. You may want to work for an organization that seems to appreciate someone with your caliber or skills. It’s important that your vision aligns with the organization. For instance, if you’re someone who believes in giving back to society, you’ll be keen to work for an organization that invests in social initiatives. This is how organizations can build a relationship with incoming talent. Even onboarding becomes a smooth process when you already know what you’re getting into and why.
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Employee Motivation And Inspiration
If you enjoy working in your organization, it may be because of the value proposition offered to you—whether it’s compensation or benefits like no emails after 6 pm. Organizations can motivate and inspire employees to be their best selves with initiatives like performance-based rewards, creative competitions and opportunities to branch out within the organization. For instance, you may be working as an auditor who enjoys writing. You can work on the office newsletter and explore your skills in that area. This helps you balance your work with some non-work-related activities. It creates a healthy balance for you to thrive.
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Nurture A Healthy Work Environment
Happy employees lead to a happy work environment. Business success isn’t determined solely by revenue, annual numbers or meeting targets. Organizations have to tune into their employees’ feelings, emotions and general well-being. A healthy work environment is one where employees feel secure about their jobs, where they have the courage and confidence to raise their concerns without the fear of repercussions. You may seek a workplace that’s open, honest and collaborative. For this, you should do your research and read up on employee value proposition for particular organizations.
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Drive Growth And Development
Employee growth and development is a key element for organizational goals. Hiring new employees isn’t as easy and definitely costs more. Organizations look toward learning and development to help their employees realize their full potential. If you want to learn on the job, you may seek places that offer employee learning programs and initiatives. This can include cohort-based online learning, on-the-job training and other educational opportunities. It’s important to keep learning and growing to become a well-rounded professional. There’s always room to upskill.
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Build Meaningful Relationships
Interpersonal relationships, teamwork and collaboration are some of the hallmarks of a high-functioning workplace. You have to navigate unique work styles and outlooks if you want to thrive in your role. Understanding different perspectives and making room for unique work styles is what an organization must do for its employees. Meaningful relationships in the workplace lead to better results as you’re willing to work with others to achieve organizational goals.
Employee value proposition is more important today than ever. As we move to a hybrid work culture that’s at least part remote, we focus more on how our organizations help us make this transition. Working as a cohesive unit toward common goals is at the heart of every organization. People make the place and more and more organizations are acknowledging this fact. How your organization helps you become better and what you do for them, in turn, determines your relationship.
Your Value In The Workplace
How you’re valued in the workplace is an important factor in your professional life. Harappa’s Navigating Workplaces course will teach you everything there’s to know about workplace principles, priorities and preferences. Work culture is one of the most important elements of a professional’s life. Learn to navigate difficult relationships and conflicts, solve problems by collaborating with others and identify your ideal workplace with our course. Optimize your work life and adapt to a new office culture.
With frameworks like Culture Fit, you can learn to align your goals and vision with your organization’s. This will evaluate where you want to be and how to get there. It’s important to make informed decisions especially when it comes to your career. Our expert faculty will guide and mentor you to choose the best workplace for you!
Explore Harappa Diaries to learn more about topics such as Employee Engagement, Icebreaker Activities At Workplace, Unique Value Propositions and How To Give Employee Feedback to become a well-rounded professional.