Webinar: How to reduce turnover and risk with a strategic Employee Value Proposition (EVP)

When it comes to reducing the cost and risk of employee turnover and streamlining talent acquisition, employers need to prioritise creating a strategic Employee Value Proposition (EVP). That’s according to the three HR and recruitment experts that appeared in our recent webinar.

The war for talent is on, and wellbeing support is top of mind for job seekers. New research from Sonder and Culture Amp, found that 54% of Australian and New Zealand employees said access to wellbeing programs is a key factor when deciding where to work next.

It also revealed that 47% aren’t satisfied with the wellbeing support offered by their current employer.

With a strategic EVP, companies can gain a competitive advantage by offering employees the holistic support, flexibility and benefits top talent are looking for.

Watch the full webinar here, or keep reading to discover how People, Culture and Recruitment experts are developing EVPs to attract and retain staff, with practical tips you can start acting on today.

What today’s top talent wants from employers

New data reveals that nearly three-quarters of employees believe now is a good time to look for a new role. However, high levels of staff turnover aren’t the only recruitment challenges employers are currently facing.

In the post-COVID job market, many industries are seeing high levels of layoffs and redundancies, due to challenging economic conditions, leading to growing job insecurity. Many sectors are struggling to find skilled talent and high-quality applicants, particularly in junior positions.

To successfully attract and retain talent, it’s important to understand what the best employees want from the companies they work for, which currently includes:

Job security: In the past 12 months, redundancies have been on the rise across Australia, with many employees seeking stability and job security from new employers.
Competitive compensation: Rising interest rates and growing cost of living pressures mean that top talent are looking for roles with attractive salary packages to ease financial pressures
Flexibility and work/life balance: In stark contrast to the recent ‘hustle culture’ trend, today’s top talent are increasingly looking for workplaces that prioritise boundaries, flexibility and hybrid working schedules.
Access to holistic health and wellbeing support: Employees are increasingly turning to their employers for access to mental health, wellbeing, and even health and safety support.
Career progression: Top talent are actively seeking out companies that offer learning and development courses and upskilling opportunities.

“Today, the best staff are looking for more than just a salary. People are looking for flexibility, access to wellbeing initiatives and an employer that actually cares about them and can provide learning and development opportunities as well as career progression.”

The importance of a strong EVP

Without a strong EVP, high levels of staff turnover are more likely as team members have less reasons to remain loyal to a company.

An increase in staff turnover risks flow-on effects that impact an entire organisation, from increased hiring costs to decreased productivity and a loss of internal knowledge and experience, not to mention the additional pressure placed on remaining staff.

But designing an EVP that addresses what employees want has a range of benefits, both when it comes to hiring staff and keeping employees engaged for the long-term.

Strategic EVP benefits: talent attraction

It’s no secret that hiring is a major investment of time, money and resources.

Current estimates show that the average cost to recruit an employee in Australia has grown to an average of $23,000 per candidate–an increase of $10,000 from the previous year. Other research shows that the cost of replacing an employee is 1.5x their annual salary.

But with a strong EVP, your company can unlock a range of talent acquisition benefits, including:

Streamlining the task of hiring by positioning your company as an employer of choice
Ensuring your business stands out from other companies that don’t prioritise employee wellbeing.
Making it easy for current employees to vouch for your company culture online through employer branding posts on sites such as LinkedIn.

“When someone is thinking about working at a new company, they’ll go to LinkedIn and Glassdoor to see what current employees say about the company culture. If your staff are talking about your EVP and what company initiatives they love, there’s nothing more genuine or compelling than that.”

Strategic EVP benefits: staff retention

A strong EVP also has a range of benefits for companies looking to keep existing team members engaging, including:

Reducing the chance of staff turnover by prioritising employee wellbeing to improve team-wide morale as well as individual staff engagement levels.
Creating a workplace culture where staff feel valued, appreciated and supported, ensuring team members are excited to come to work.
Providing employees with a sense of purpose by aligning the company’s EVP with the overall organisation’s mission, vision and values.

“To retain really good people, you need to give them a reason to stay and the opportunity to evolve within the organisation. That means offering upskilling opportunities and running initiatives that keep them engaged, rather than moving onto another workplace.”

Why wellbeing is a core component of an effective EVP

With hybrid working arrangements common across many industries, the lines between work and life are more blurred than ever before.

To ensure team members can bring their whole selves to work, companies need to ensure EVPs are designed to support staff in all areas of their lives, from physical health to mental health to welbeing.

When creating the best EVPs, top companies are looking for solutions that offer holistic support to their team members, ensuring support can be accessed 24/7 for more accessible care.

“If you’ve got a sick, crying toddler at home, you’re not going to be able to come to work and perform at your best the next day. It’s why we offer our staff access to Sonder, to ensure they can seek out medical support for themselves and their immediate family day or night. Or simply to chat with a medical professional to gain the peace of mind they need to get a full night’s rest.”

Expert tips for creating and communicating an effective EVP

In our recent webinar, our experts had the following advice when it came to rolling out strong EVPs , and marketing them effectively.

- Focus on personalisation: Every employee is different, meaning the support available to them should be tailored to what they care about. With a broad suite of benefits on offer as well as holistic support that covers all aspects of employee health, wellbeing and safety, companies can ensure their EVP can be personalised to each staff member.
- Communicate your EVP loudly and consistently: While the way you promote your EVP should be tailored to the audience you’re speaking to, it’s important to look for ways to reinforce the same key messages again and again across your website, LinkedIn posts, job ads, and internal staff communications.
- Inspire authentic employer branding: Consider ways you can give your staff a reason to feel proud about working at your company with an EVP that is purpose-driven and gives staff a sense that they’re helping to make the world a better place.

“There is a lot of value in doing something as a company that gives back, particularly with many younger employees who are very socially conscious and values-driven. In many cases, an offsite charity day can hold a lot more value than giving staff a 20% massage discount that they might only use once.”

Keep learning: Your guide to talent attraction and retention using EVPs

Building a winning EVP doesn’t have to cost you significant time, energy, or money. By prioritising the needs of employees – and offering resources and tools they can access 24/7 – you can prevent health and well-being challenges before they arise, and avoid high turnover with better retention.

Ready to learn how to reduce turnover and risk with a compelling EVP? Watch our on-demand webinar to discover:

What are job seekers looking for – and how can you adapt your EVP to streamline your talent acquisition efforts?
How can wellbeing support and a strong EVP help you reduce the cost and risk of employee turnover?
What steps can you take today to start creating and communicating an effective EVP?

Our new guide delves further into the full survey data of Australian and New Zealand employees, with powerful insights, best practice strategies and expert commentary from People and Culture leaders.

Download our ‘Winning The War For Talent’ guide now for practical advice on creating a compelling EVP that enables your people to thrive at work.

About Sonder

Sonder is a technology company that helps organisations improve the wellbeing of their people so they perform at their best. Our mobile app provides immediate, 24/7 support from a team of safety, medical, and mental health professionals – plus onsite help for time-sensitive scenarios. Accredited by the Australian Council on Healthcare Standards (ACHS), our platform gives leaders the insights they need to act on tomorrow’s wellbeing challenges today.