Many employers have begun to think about employer value propositions (EVPs) as a transaction, as if an EVP is a contract between an employee and an employer or a “deal” expressing what an employer expects from candidates and what candidates receive in return. But, although it’s an easy way to think about the concept, it doesn’t tell the whole story.

At PeopleScout, we define employer value proposition and employer brand as the following:

• Employer brand: Your employer brand is the perception and lived experiences of what it’s like to work for your organization.
• Employer value proposition: Your employer value proposition, or EVP, captures the essence of your uniqueness as an employer and the give and get between you and your employees.

However, when you look at an EVP simply as a “deal,” you leave out the uniqueness – the human side of equation. That’s because candidates are unique individuals who assess prospective employers based on what’s important to them at that moment. For instance, for one candidate, that could mean finding a workplace that’s like a family to make them feel safe and secure. Alternatively, another candidate at another point in their life could thrive in a fast-paced environment where they’re always staring down a new challenge.

Furthermore, candidates now have unrivaled access to information online and are more mobile. Plus, they’re also accustomed to consumer brand interactions that are personalized, anticipate their needs, and demonstrate cultural values that benefit individuals, communities and the environment. At the same time, candidate expectations are changing in line with our expectations of consumer brands: We want a job to pay the bills, but also one that provides us with a fulfilling experience. As a result, an EVP must address the complex emotional needs of candidates in order to strike a chord – and, notably, the need to align meaning and purpose is becoming the most crucial differentiator. 

So, at PeopleScout, we’ve developed what we call the “Purpose, Passion and Mindset” model. This approach enables employers to draw in the candidates who will succeed and provides flexibility for individuals as their needs and desires change throughout the course of their employment. In this article, we’ll explain how this model works in relation to both candidates and employers, as well as how you can use it to find and hire the best talent for your organization.  

Purpose 

Purpose is a candidate’s alignment with and willingness to contribute to the vision and values of an organization. In fact, one study reported by McKinsey found that, out of 100 variables, employees reported that seeing purpose and value in their work was their most motivating factor – even more so than compensation.

Therefore, from an employer perspective, the idea of purpose should be simple to understand and to define: Why does your business exist? Why did it start? What is the vision for the future? Who are the people you need to deliver on that purpose? These are foundational for an employer, but they should also be effectively communicated in employer branding materials; on career sites; and through the employer’s website, social media and other channels.

Conversely, from a candidate or employee perspective, purpose is more fluid. If you ask a candidate where they derive purpose, you may hear answers about five-year goals or work/life balance. And, depending on the circumstances of a candidate’s life, they may be living to work or working to live. Perhaps they’re focused on career growth and looking for a challenge. Or, they may be balancing personal and family obligations with work. In any case, the way a candidate answers that question will provide insight into the type of employer and culture that the candidate is looking for. Therefore, as an employer, you need to understand how your purpose aligns with what candidates want and need – and you need to effectively communicate that to candidates. What are the values that drive your approach to business and your culture?

Sometimes, an employer’s view of purpose and a candidate’s view of purpose can overlap in clear and obvious ways. For example, a healthcare organization dedicated to providing the best patient care would be an obvious fit for a nurse who derives purpose from providing the best care for their patients. However, it isn’t always so simple. Talent acquisition leaders need to understand the gaps that exist between employer purpose and candidate purpose. And, it can be far too easy to fall into the trap of only focusing on an employer’s purpose and not recognizing the needs of candidates. Rather, employers should focus on how a job can help a candidate achieve their goals and find purpose in their lives.

Passion 

Passion is easy to understand on a human level: What gets you out of bed every day? Do you like solving problems? Connecting with people? Helping others achieve goals? Are you passionate about being creative? Telling stories? Creating a perfect product? Helping a team run seamlessly?

Passion is a candidate’s enthusiasm, enjoyment and commitment to mastering the requirements of a role. When an employee is passionate about a role, they are engaged. According to Gallup, 85% of workers are not engaged in their current roles. And, Dale Carnegie Training reports that organizations with engaged workers outperform their peers by 202%. Even so, most employers don’t have a method to effectively understand what a candidate is passionate about.

However, for an employer, passion comes down to the non-negotiables – the pillars of an organization or the three to five things that help a business fulfill its purpose. When thinking about these pillars, many employers talk about “a sense of restless innovation” or “continuous personal development.” But, instead, talent leaders should think of passion as something that allows an employer to connect with candidates and employees around what the candidate or employee is personally passionate about – whether that’s coming to work for the social interaction with customers; creating a culture of belonging; or working with people who treat each other with respect. Or, at the other end of the spectrum, developing new skills and having an influence.

Bringing these two elements together and aligning the employer and candidate passion tells a candidate that what they can bring to the table will be valued here. So, don’t be tempted to talk about your EVP in terms that are filled with business jargon or seem to be on an epic scale. Instead, speak in human terms about the things that are important to you as a business and help candidates connect your value set with their own.

Mindset 

There are two types of mindset: fixed mindset and growth mindset:

• Fixed mindset is the belief that one’s talents are innate gifts and not malleable.
• Growth mindset is the belief that one’s talents can be developed through education and effort.

When we talk about mindset from a candidate’s perspective, it’s about a candidate’s belief about themselves and their basic qualities. These beliefs are rarely measured by employers. 

Meanwhile, as an employer, you can create an environment that fosters one or the other. An employer that fosters a growth mindset is one that invests in its employees, providing development opportunities and stretch assignments. The employer doesn’t just allow people to learn and grow and move within the organization; rather, it’s a culture where employee growth and development is a defined goal. 

Granted, it can be tempting to think of mindset as a factor that comes to life in the execution of an EVP – as something that is put into place after an EVP has been defined and employer branding materials have been created. But, you can’t foster a growth mindset if it’s the last thing on a checklist.

Instead, employers should approach the concept of mindset as the core of their culture; it should be a thread woven through your EVP. By going back to the concept of EVP as a “deal,” employers that create an environment that fosters a growth mindset will attract candidates who want to learn, grow and contribute more to the organization during their time there.

And, by focusing on purpose, passion and a growth mindset, employers can build an employer value proposition and employer brand for the future. Because when employers take their EVP beyond the transaction and “deal” to focus on the core of the unique human relationship between employee and employer, they’ll be able to attract the right workers to achieve the mission and purpose of the employer – all while providing a sense of purpose for employees. 

In the new world of work, the global pandemic disrupted the world of talent acquisition: Sourcing, interviewing and onboarding went virtual; talent acquisition departments faced tough reductions in budget and personnel while being asked to do more with less. As a result, recruiting and hiring are the biggest concerns employers have for the coming year, according to a survey by XpertHr, as two-thirds of HR professionals expect it to be somewhat or very challenging in 2021.

Meanwhile, there are also plenty of other hurdles that can make it more difficult to find and attract talent right now. For instance, some fear exposure to COVID-19 – either from an on-site interview or in any role that requires them to leave their home. At the same time, others may be putting off their job search until the job market improves or are looking for better compensation in their next role.

So, how do you improve your talent acquisition process? Unfortunately, there’s no “one size fits all” solution when it comes to tackling the challenges presented by the pandemic. Employers across different industries and geographies face different challenges, and the type of role also leads to varied challenges. However, in this article, we provide actionable ideas and strategies that you can implement now to help you improve your talent acquisition process in the new world of work.

New World of Work Benefits & Compensation

There’s a lot of uncertainty in today’s talent landscape, but for employers, one factor remains constant: Without competitive compensation and benefits, job-seekers will look elsewhere. This is especially important in traditionally lower-wage industries that include a lot of face time with customers, like leisure and hospitality.

For employers, the difficulty in filling those roles means the possibility of having to navigate the challenges of today’s new world of work without key team members to rely on. Fortunately, that’s a risk that can often be mitigated by offering compensation that aligns with – or even exceeds – the overall market rate. This trend is particularly present in the food and beverage and manufacturing industries.

In an article with Marketplace, Spiro Pappadopoulos, CEO of Schlow Restaurant Group, said, “There is a complete lack of applicants for jobs that we have open, and have had open for a considerable amount of time … And, when we were faced with nobody wanting to come back to their job, we realized we had to do something to get more competitive.”

To attract talent, the company raised hourly pay by around $5 for entry-level jobs. It’s also offering more benefits, flexible schedules and signing bonuses – and it’s not alone.

The median hourly wage for non-medical essential jobs – such as grocery workers, delivery drivers and cleaners – has already risen nearly 2%. Starbucks, for example, issued a temporary pay bump of $3 more per hour for some workers. Similarly, grocery chain Kroger recently offered one-time bonuses of $400 for full-time workers and $200 for part-time workers.

Along with providing an extra incentive for people to apply, offering a pay raise or bonus can also show candidates that your company puts its employees first – which can help build a positive workplace culture. What’s more, some local governments have also introduced legislation that would require employers to provide hazard pay to essential workers, while others created funds to help eligible employers offer hazard pay for workers in “life-sustaining” fields, like healthcare or food manufacturing. In the United States, the CARES Act also offered qualified employers “emergency retention credits” of up to $10,000 per employee to help businesses retain their most vital workers.

There’s no doubt that these measures were well-deserved and vital for talent attraction and retention, and each of these factors may influence current pay rates in your local market.

Early Retirement & Engaging the Next Generation of Talent in the New World of Work

The health risks presented by the pandemic have been clear, and the elderly are among the most susceptible to negative health outcomes. As a result, some workers are taking early retirement. In fact, in the New York City metropolitan area alone, 300,000 people expect to apply for Social Security, according to the United States Census Bureau.

Furthermore, many retirees work part-time jobs in retail, hospitality and other public-facing industries hit hard by the pandemic. And, as you might expect, these workers are less likely to return to these jobs as the health risks may outweigh the benefits of returning. Unfortunately, the shock of losing so many valuable and experienced workers only exacerbates recruiting challenges for employers. To help fill the gaps, employers’ recruitment strategies should focus on the next generation of leaders and talent entering the workforce.

To that end, Millennials will soon make up the majority of the global workforce and many are mid-career experienced professionals ready for leadership. On the other hand, Generation Z is just entering the workforce. Of course, all generations express different working styles and preferences, and these generations are no different. So, it’s worth bearing in mind what the next generations at your workplace want from their employers.

Top Employer Requirements for Millennial & Generation Z:

Job-seekers in these generations expect:

• Regular meetings with managers; in fact, employees who have such meetings are three times as likely to be engaged workers
• Ethical company behavior in all of its activities
• The company to have an ambition and purpose beyond simply making money
• A diverse senior management team
• Flexible working options
• A high-trust culture
• A great company culture and workplace environment
• To be treated as individuals, not as a number on the payroll

Screen Candidates In, Not Out

In the current talent landscape, your organization can’t afford to screen out candidates solely based on experience or because they lack all of the desired hard skills. This is particularly true for niche and highly specialized roles in which workers were more likely to remain in their jobs through the pandemic. For these types of positions, many employers now struggle to find qualified candidates.

To compete, employers should look for candidates with transferrable skills. This means that, rather than assessing candidates for potential and dismissing those who don’t have the requisite experience and hard skills that you may require, employers should look for job candidates who have key soft skills. These are the types of skills that may not always come naturally to some candidates, but that are valuable in the workplace, for example:

• Communication – both verbal and written
• Time management
• Teamwork
• Problem-solving
• Emotional intelligence
• Conflict management and resolution
• Personal productivity and discipline
• Trainability
• Learning agility

Assessment techniques like the whole person model can help you better view a candidate’s full range of skills and abilities to determine which candidates may be a good fit for a role regardless of experience. Moreover, soft skills – like learning agility and trainability – are especially important for roles in which your candidates might not have much relevant experience, but in which they need to learn new things at a rapid pace.

Bringing it All Together with Your Employer Brand

The challenges presented in the new world of work have changed what candidates look for in employers across all industries. This means that, regardless of the strength of your employer brand prior to the pandemic, nearly all employers need to shift their employer branding messaging to stay competitive.

Additionally, to attract employees in the current talent market, you need to communicate changes you’ve implemented regarding workplace safety, compensation, benefits and remote work policies to let candidates know upfront what they can expect from your organization. Likewise, make sure you reassure candidates that their health and safety are a priority by specifying what new procedures your business has initiated to minimize the risk of exposure to COVID-19, such as social distancing rules, staggered shifts, reduced customer capacity, face mask policies and enhanced cleaning procedures.

Another way to help you recruit during the Great Rehire is to be completely transparent about your interview process. Can the entire interview process happen remotely, or will candidates be required to interview in person at some point? For on-site interviews, in particular, explain how you’re maintaining a safe interview environment, such as socially distanced interviews, avoiding handshakes, symptom questionnaires, temperature checks and so on.

Meanwhile, keep in mind that we live in a social world. As such, before applying to work for you, 70% of candidates will check out employer review platforms – such as Glassdoor, Indeed and LinkedIn – along with other social media networks to see what employees past and present have said about your company. So, make sure your organization’s reputation is managed properly.

You might also consider enlisting your current employees to act as brand ambassadors. In this way, employees can help refer candidates and spread the word about your organization to other professionals in their network. 

Hiring during a pandemic is enough of a challenge; so, your talent acquisition process in the new world of work has to be on point if you want to get ahead of your competition. With these recruiting strategies in mind, you can set yourself up to attract more candidates, make the right hires and get back to business as soon as possible.