New research says having an employer value proposition (EVP) is gaining in importance to organisations*.
Aon’s Benefits and Trends Survey 2019 shows that 51 per cent of employers plan to develop their ‘employee experience’, or EVP – a significant increase on the 16 per cent of last year. Overwhelmingly, employers say that an EVP has a positive impact on employee engagement, retention and recruitment, with 65 per cent, 63 per cent and 70 per cent agreeing respectively.
Almost a quarter of employers (24.5 per cent) currently have an EVP in place, yet surprisingly almost a third of those do not communicate it to employees. The Survey, now in its ninth year, is formed from the responses of over 200 employers of all sizes, from less than 100 employees to many thousands, who work across a broad range of sectors, with 74 per cent of them working internationally. This year, a number of new questions were introduced, including those about an EVP, as well as how employers approach benefits strategy on a global basis.
The survey showed that almost three-quarters of respondents have employees in more than one country; it is striking that 72 per cent of them have a single benefits strategy, or are working towards one. However, the use of technology to deliver benefits seems to be lagging behind, as only 13.5 per cent say they have a single global benefits platform. Over a quarter (26 per cent) are working towards this objective, but 60 per cent have no plans to do so.
Richard Morgan, principal at Aon, said,
Our experience during 2018 was that many organisations have become more joined up in designing and managing their benefits in the context of an overall EVP. For example, wellbeing, and particularly mental health, are key to the overall employee experience for many organisations, so it’s important to align benefits to support mental health strategies as well as to communicate them effectively to employees. When it comes to communications, it is likely that employers don’t feel this is successful. They say the biggest challenge they have with benefits is communication, yet most have an annual communications budget of less than £5k.
Richard Morgan continued,
Fascinating too, is that 77per cent of the survey respondents benchmark benefits with their peers. On top of this, there’s also a great deal of employer interest in benchmarking their whole approach and strategy through Aon’s Benefits Score, which takes into account the overall business, people and communication strategies alongside employee demographics analysis.
Employers often use internal and external pay and benefits benchmarking as a core part of their strategy to help decision making. However, this is an important part of an EVP which employers are seeing as increasingly effective to meet the unique needs of both the business and its employees.
Are you interested in employee experience and rewards? We recommend the Employee Engagement Summit 2019 and Reward strategies to Deliver Business Objectives.
Aphrodite is a creative writer and editor specialising in publishing and communications. She is passionate about undertaking projects in diverse sectors. She has written and edited copy for media as varied as social enterprise, art, fashion and education. She is at her most happy owning a project from its very conception, focusing on the client and project research in the first instance, and working closely with CEOs and Directors throughout the consultation process. Much of her work has focused on rebranding; messaging and tone of voice is one of her expertise, as is a distinctively unique writing style in my most of her creative projects. Her work is always driven by the versatility of language to galvanise image and to change perception, as it is by inspiring and being inspired by the wondrous diversity of people with whom paths she crosses cross!
Aphrodite has had a variety of high profile industry clients as a freelancer, and previously worked for a number of years as an Editor and Journalist for Prospects.ac.uk.
Aphrodite is also a professional painter.
