Keeping employees in this day and age is turning out to be more difficult than most companies expect. Between the great resignation and quiet quitting, there has been a turnover and upheaval in the business world. The great resignation saw individuals quitting due to toxic work environments, bad bosses, greater opportunities, and more money, which meant replacing an employee. With quiet quitting, people are coming into work, doing the bare minimum, and trying to skate by without being noticed. If you are from one of the older generations, this concept isn’t new, we just called it coasting in your job.
In business, the term value proposition is a known concept. It is about identifying the audience’s needs, stating how the product or service solves this problem, and then communicating that with the audience. The idea is when you hit their pain point, they will know you can solve their problem.
You often hear the concept of the value proposition for a customer. But have you thought about the employee value proposition or for your future employees?
I’ve heard time and again that you don’t need to spend time on the vision and mission statement, that they are nice components to have but aren’t necessary. This is further from the truth. The vision, mission, and core values of a company are the building blocks of a strong company culture. It is the narrative you create for your team members and customers. When you create a strong narrative for your team and stakeholders, you create a higher level of engagement and increase the employee value proposition.
How do you create an employee value proposition? Here are 5 things you can do:
- Make sure you have a strong vision and mission statement. Know why you do what you do and where you want to be. Know your target audience and how you serve them.
- Establish your core values. These should not be niceties on the wall but the way the organization behaves.
- Your values define your organizational culture, but decide how those values will play out in the every day of your organization.
- Make a list of what you have to offer as a company. Why would someone choose to work for you versus your competitor?
- Looking at all of that information, create your value proposition or market-dominating position for potential employees. You should market to potential employees as you market to customers.
The idea in creating a value proposition for employees is to try to hire individuals who align with your vision, mission, and values, and are a great fit for your company. When they are a good fit, or “good hire,” they typically will stay around longer. This is true whether you are just starting out or you have a fast-growing company.
Set up your company with the right foundations to hire team members who will stick around and be a productive member of your team for years to come.
I strategically help business owners develop their leadership competencies, implement ways to be more strategic to increase revenue, develop workflows that affect the bottom line, and create work-life integration so they live a life they love.
Own a business? Sign up for your own First Steps Appointment where we can talk about the first steps to creating a strategy based around the pain points of your business. Sign up here.
Stephanie German is a business strategist, adjunct professor, and speaker. She holds a master’s degree in organizational leadership and loves giving back to her community in a variety of ways. When she’s not coaching clients or writing about leadership, Stephanie is usually headed to the mountains or the beach with her family, drinking savory wine, or working on the latest project with her husband. Stephanie’s greatest desires are to raise up the next generation of leaders while raising her own children to be strong, independent, and brave. She lives in Fresno, California with her husband Blake and her three spunky daughters, Cara, Kinsey, and Peyton. She is the best-selling author of So Your Boss Can’t Lead?