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A new survey has revealed that Australian organisations are somewhat dropping the ball when it comes to employee value proposition (EVP).
A March 2024 Gartner survey of more than 1,300 employees found that only 21 per cent of employees said their organisation communicates about their EVP enough, while just 33 per cent reported that their organisation is consistently delivering on it.
These stats reflect the disconnect between organisational higher-ups – who are pouring resources into their EVP – and their employees who aren’t seeing the various upgrades to EVP.
“Organisations are pouring resources into their EVP – increasing salaries, promoting people, and offering better benefits – but employees are not seeing these upgrades,” said Keyia Burton, senior principal of advisory in the Gartner HR practice,
“Communication is the biggest barrier for HR leaders when it comes to EVPs. Our survey found that 75 per cent of HR leaders admitted they are not doing a great job of communicating their EVP internally.”
Another statistic showed that 16 per cent of employees reported knowing what makes up their organisation’s EVP. Gartner expressed that HR leaders must use all lines of communication to ensure that workers understand their organisation’s EVP.
The survey indicates that for each additional channel through which employees learn about their EVP, they are 24 per cent more likely to agree that their organisation delivers on its EVP promises.
“It is important that HR leaders are thoughtful about which channels they are using and when. EVP communication should occur at all stages of the employee life cycle, starting from the interview process all the way through the alumni experience,” said Burton.
Supervisors or managers are often day-to-day touchpoints for employees, but communication about EVPs often doesn’t arise in these conversations. According to Gartner, unfortunately, managers today are already overburdened and don’t necessarily have the capacity or the knowledge to communicate about and help deliver on EVP to their direct reports.
“A great way to ease the burden for managers is to encourage them to signal EVP during their existing touchpoints with employees. This could be during a team meeting, a mentoring session, or during development conversations,” said Burton.
“By discussing EVP in their existing touchpoints, managers are creating connective tissue for employees to be able to connect things that they are doing in their day-to-day back to the organisation’s EVP promises.”
“Employees are wondering if their employer is taking their feedback seriously. HR must show that they are responsive and intend to act on any hiccups or missteps that happen throughout the employee experience.”
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An employee is a person who has signed a contract with a company to provide services in exchange for pay or benefits. Employees vary from other employees like contractors in that their employer has the legal authority to set their working conditions, hours, and working practises.
Kace O'Neill
Kace O'Neill is a Graduate Journalist for HR Leader. Kace studied Media Communications and Maori studies at the University of Otago, he has a passion for sports and storytelling.
