Your employment value proposition

By John Rainone

Put yourself in the shoes of an ambitious top candidate for a key position in your firm who is in high demand in the industry. With an impressive history of success in his (or her) field, the candidate is in an advantageous position, and knows it.

In a job interview, the candidate puts you on the spot. "Let me be blunt," the candidate says. "I could work for any of your competitors. Why should I work for you?"

Would you be prepared to respond to this challenge? Most candidates are unlikely to express their thoughts quite so frankly, but you can bet that the "Why should I work for you?" question is foremost in their thoughts. The more talented and competent the individual, the more likely he or she will truly have their pick of employers. And, more than likely, this is the type of recruit that your firm needs most.

Just as every manager should have an "elevator speech," a pithy description of his or her firm and its value-add, at the ready for chance meetings with prospects, so should they have a similar pitch for recruits. This pitch should highlight your firm's Employment Value Proposition (EVP).

The EVP consists of the elements that people value in their place of employment. There are many things that go into an EVP. Among the most important are:

• The organization's reputation and track record
• Compensation, benefits, and rewards
• Career development and advancement opportunities
• Ability to have a healthy work/life balance
• The quality of, and capabilities of, management and staff

Knowing which elements are most important to your target pool of recruits is essential to developing your EVP. You may be surprised to know that compensation is not the top priority for most recruits. That may be because they assume that any offer will include a salary at least in line with the market's norms. According to a March 2004 Robert Half survey, the top three reasons talented employees leave are limited opportunities for advancement, unhappiness with management, and lack of recognition. Inadequate salary and benefits comes in fourth. Still, compensation is, obviously, a key factor, and in order to compete for top talent, you will need to offer them at least the going rate in your area.

To some degree, the recruit's current career path will have a bearing on their priorities. Younger employees, for instance, may be more concerned with training and educational opportunities than an older hand who is joining the organization at an upper level. Determining what your target group is seeking can be done by conducting surveys or focus groups involving employees and job seekers, or by asking recruits about their priorities at every interview.

Make a list of the top five-to-10 elements that employees (and prospective employees) deem important. How well does your firm meet these elements? Surveys and focus groups of employees are good tools to find this out.

Now, it's time for a little competitive intelligence. How do your competitors stack up on these elements? You can find out through networking with industry peers and by visiting competitors' web sites.

The next step is to determine your firm's EVP strengths and weaknesses. Are your competitors beating you in addressing the elements that go into the EVP? Decide what you need to improve in order to be more competitive in the fight for talent.

Let's look at key elements of the EVP in this light:

Firm reputation
If your company has kept a low profile in the industry, you should consider enhancing your marketing efforts to help boost your reputation. Employees, like consumers, put a value on a reputable brand. A focused public relations program to boost publicity, having a booth at job fairs, and making sure you have a presence at industry events can all help build your brand in the eyes of potential recruits.

Compensation
Your firm should examine its salary and benefits packages annually to make sure what you are offering recruits is competitive.

Career development
Enhancing your training programs can make a big difference. For instance, you could begin a formal mentoring program where promising newer hires are paired up with experienced professionals who can offer advice learned from the school of hard knocks. Mentoring programs are relatively inexpensive to implement, too. If your firm is too small or too new to match top salaries elsewhere, this is one way to make up for that shortcoming.

Work/life balance
Offering flex-time and telecommuting are good ways to enhance employees' work/life balance. Additionally, allowing employees a reasonable amount of time off to care for sick children or attend to other family obligations goes a long way in boosting this element. This is another area where firms can make up for an inability to pay top dollar.

Quality of management and staff
If your firm has specialists in a hot or up-and-coming field or discipline, this can be an attractive selling point to a recruit. Everyone wants to boost their skills in areas that will thrive in the future.

So, answering that "why should I work here?" question comes down to expressing your firm's strengths in these critical EVP areas. Take a good look at what your firm has to offer, and make your pitch!

What do you think? Let us know.

John Rainone is a Project Operations Manager with MorganSullivan. He can be reached at (508) 393-4933 ext. 12.

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