As 2022 fades into the rear-view mirror, 2023 is shaping up to be another year of significant disruption with a brand new set of priorities – many of which will reflect the economic downturn. However, while many industries that rely on shift-based (or ‘deskless’) workers are still facing acute skills shortages, Humanforce believes there will be a renewed effort to engage and retain existing employees – and that will be done in part by re-imagining the employee value proposition (EVP).

The EVP has traditionally formed the backbone of the employer brand; it’s the “hook” that retains your top talent and acts as a magnet to attract candidates to your organisation.

The EVP lies at the heart of the unspoken contract between employer and employee. It’s the promise employers make to their employees. In return for their commitment, loyalty, skills, knowledge and expertise, employees receive meaningful work, a safe work environment, competitive and fair remuneration, and a range of benefits – including the opportunity to further their career with new skills and career paths.

The EVP also forms the core of the employer brand and – much like a unique selling proposition – should help set your organisation apart from all others. This means it’s equally effective for talent attraction and retention.

The time for change is now

As events over the last three years have demonstrated, no business is an island. A complex web of connections and interdependencies mean that organisations cannot operate in a self-contained bubble. That’s why in 2023, more organisations will seek to:

• Create a more human-centric EVP
• Look at the ‘bigger picture’ with a purpose that is anchored to something more meaningful than making a profit – for example, meeting environmental, social and governance (ESG) targets
• Foster authentic, empathetic and adaptive leadership traits

Ask around your network of friends and colleagues and it’s likely that at least one of them has used the pandemic as the spark to reconsider the role of work in their life. As the focus naturally went towards health and family, it follows that EVPs born pre-pandemic will no longer hit the mark.

What’s changed? Just about everything, according to a global 2021 survey conducted by Gartner. In the survey results, 65% of workers said the pandemic had made them rethink the place that work should have in their life, 65% felt the pandemic had shifted their attitude towards the value of aspects outside of work, and 62% said it had made them long for a bigger change in their life.

The power of purpose

These dramatic changes have elevated personal purpose and values as priorities for employees; they are seeking employers that not only reflect those values but also treat employees are people, not just workers. In addition, they want employers that recognise that work is a subset of life, not separate from it.

Pay and benefits are still important, especially in tough economic times, but employees also want jobs that are intrinsically motivating and provide a sense of meaning and purpose, community and camaraderie, and growth and development.

While every individual is motivated by different factors, most deskless workers thrive on human interaction. They chose their profession because they enjoy face-to-face contact with others, and work loses meaning without that contact. Ask any nurse what gets them going every day, and they will likely say it’s the patients they care for. Does their employer tap into those motivations, or erode it? That’s what many will be asking in the new year.

In 2023, employees will be seeking a more human value proposition. They want employers to recognise their value and provide value to them on a human level. This will impact how leaders lead. Those leaders who thrive will be:

• Authentic: They will act with purpose and enable true self-expression for themselves and their teams.
• Empathetic: They will show genuine care, respect and concern for employee well-being.
• Adaptive: They will seek to provide flexibility and offer support that fits the unique needs of team members. For deskless workers, flexibility is not about working from home or hybrid work; they must be physically present to do their work. However, flexibility can be afforded by providing greater autonomy over the shifts worked and empowering employees to balance work with their own personal circumstances.

Gartner calls this ‘human leadership’.

These foundational changes are also forcing employers to better align their over-riding reason for being (or mission), with the issues that resonate most with employees.

Gartner suggests one way to make employees feel more invested in their organisation is by clarifying their position on areas such as social and environmental responsibility, and prioritising ethics and integrity.

ESG issues are now firmly on HR’s agenda. One study by Marsh McLennan found that top employers in terms of employee satisfaction and attractiveness to talent have significantly higher ESG scores than their peers. The same study found that by 2029, the Millennial and Gen Z generations will make up 72% of the world’s workforce. These generations place greater importance on environmental and social concerns than their predecessors do.

Tips for boosting ESG

• Review your company’s supply chain to ensure it is sustainable, diverse, and transparent
• Measure and report on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) metrics
• Engage with charitable organisations – perhaps by offering annual leave for employee volunteering
• Prioritise cybersecurity and employee training around compliance issues
• Be transparent and honest with employees, stakeholders and the general public
• Understand your ESG ratings with in-depth reporting and company analysis on issues such as diversity, climate change action and resilience plans

On all ESG issues, employers must tread a delicate balancing act: take a stance on issues like human rights, social equity or environmental sustainability, for example, and risk upsetting certain groups; or be a more placid observer by not commenting or taking any action at all. The Josh Bersin Company calls HR the “canary in the coal mine” when it comes to anything relating to corporate culture – and ESG issues are no different. Their research states:

“Every new issue that impacts employees – such as diversity and inclusion, fairness in pay, and mental health – reaches HR first, and then becomes visible to CEOs and CFOs. This is also the case with climate change.”

The question is whether or not HR feels up to the task of being that canary, knowing that these issues will likely have a major impact on both the company brand and the employer brand for years to come. For example, Gartner found that 53% of employees want their organisations to take action on issues they care about. Additional research shows that employers prioritising sustainability are more likely to be considered a great place to work, have much higher employee retention rates, and even see higher levels of customer satisfaction and loyalty. In a hyper-competitive market, those metrics are hard important to ignore.

Where to start?

Refreshing the EVP requires a cross-functional, strategic approach. Organisations will often work with an external agency or consultancy to redevelop their EVP, but there are steps you can take before that point. The first stakeholders to consider are your employees.

By not engaging directly with your employees, you run the risk of missing the mark. It’s important to understand the value your organisation currently offers to employees and where improvements could be made. The VoE – or voice of employees – can be obtained through:

• Stay and exit interviews, candidate feedback, as well as metrics relating to absenteeism, time and attendance, engagement, wellness, etc.
• Engagement / pulse survey results, which will help identify areas that need attention. Aim to create a constant feedback loop – to do this in a deskless environment, technology which is compatible with the flow of work for deskless workers (e.g. mobile apps) should be considered.
• Anonymised ways for employees to report their experiences at the organisation, as well as their suggestions on improvements – akin to the traditional ‘suggestion boxes’
• Employee listening sessions to determine which benefits employees value to the most
• Sessions with managers to learn about the different challenges their employees face

In addition, HR should undertake their own due diligence. Market research is important. What are people saying on employer review sites like Glassdoor? What messages are your competitors putting out to the market, especially in their job advertisements or on their careers page?

The EVP is not set in stone; it needs to be constantly assessed and measured against what employees and the wider market want, and then modified accordingly. Given the turmoil that all workplaces have faced over the past three years, a human-centric EVP created with direct input from employees will help set your organisation apart from the competition.

Keen to know more? This article is an excerpt from the latest Humanforce eBook. Our eBook examines five emerging trends that will impact not just how HR delivers value to business, but will also reinvigorate the employee experience in 2023.