A promise made by the company to its applicants: the Employer Value Proposition remains even more relevant today than ever before. Tímea Mozgirs, Blue Colibri’s International Business Development Manager attended the 2022 Magnetico conference by Business Mark in Bucharest to talk about EVP and digitalization.
What defines the magnetism of an employer brand? What "character traits" does a company have that make it top of the list of preferences for potential employees? Why do people value their employers and what earns them loyalty? How do these aspects change? What is important now and what will be important in the future? How do we prepare for the new generations of employees? How do we attract and retain talent? What processes do we put behind the concept of "mindset matchmaking"?
Employer branding, employee retention and meaningful HR processes were discussed at the 2022 Magnetico event. Blue Colibri’s Tímea Mozgirs talked about Employer Value Proposition—her presentation can be viewed here in English:
After the event, Business Mark reached out to Tímea to discuss some follow up questions about her presentation, digitalization, and employer branding.
Hi, Tímea. It is a pleasure to talk to you again, especially since we were very happy to have you as a speaker at last year’s ‘Magnetico Bucharest’ conference! In your presentation, you have talked about the necessity that the company pays more attention to EVP. Can you please tell us what EVP represents and why is it still relevant in 2023?
Consider it a promise made by the company to the applicant. The Employer Value Proposition represents what your company and culture can offer to employees in exchange for their talent, skills, and experience.
As workers become more selective in their employment and more conscious about their choices when it comes to work, EVP remains even more relevant in 2023 than before.
There are an increasing number of job openings but a shrinking pool of qualified applicants. You need to differentiate yourself from the competition by making an offer that will appeal to both your prospective employee and your current team members and is essentially a good fit for your future.
Some people are afraid of automation and digital transformation, thinking they might be replaced by bots. What can organizations do so that people understand that technology is here to make their lives easier and that it could actually help them become more creative, by getting rid of repetitive tasks?
Indeed, one of the biggest challenges in 2023 will not only be the shrinking talent pool, but a shortage of workers with the appropriate digital skills. To better implement their digitization strategies, businesses must train their staff in the necessary skills. Research suggests that if their employer provided training, 94% of workers would remain with the company for longer, and 70% of workers would consider leaving their current position for one that did.
Organizations need to constantly develop and train people to make them aware of the benefits of these new technologies. If the current task can be solved by digital solutions, they will have to shift their focus and get ready for change.
To support this mentality, an organization must foster a culture of continuous learning, let that be about picking up new skills or learning how to use these new technologies.
To achieve this, it is crucial to keep the lines of communication open so that everyone is aware of upcoming changes, their significance, and how their feedback can shape the organization's future.
Can you please tell us more about the Blue Colibri App?
The Blue Colibri App is an employee platform providing digital solutions in internal communication, administration, education, and engagement, making it simpler than ever to get your message out to the whole team. The primary goal is to centralize all of these tools and resources on a single platform instead of having to rely on multiple channels, and to make everyday processes automated and more accessible. The app can be accessed from any web browser or mobile device without any company email accounts, meaning that even non-desk workers can be reached instantly and better involved in the company culture.
The team behind Blue Colibri has over 15 years of experience in HR, offering not only an application but also professional advice, support, and new features in accordance with our partners' needs and the HR field’s demands.
You mentioned in your presentation at ‘Magnetico’ that some organizations use podcasts or corporate influencers to do digital education. What can we do with workers within our teams that are not so familiar with technology? How can we diminish the gap between these people and millennials and Gen Z who are digitally native?
My advice is that you begin tailoring your offerings to the needs of your people and making those offerings easy for them to access. Workers who aren't as comfortable with technology as their younger coworkers need to be given alternatives. Produce a single piece of content, but modify its distribution channels to best reach your target demographic.
A buddy program can also bridge the gap where you have a good mix of generations. Employees can help each other!
Speaking of age gaps in organizations, I would like to also talk about the politics for diversity, equity and inclusion. How should an organization look in 2023, so that it creates a culture that values employee experience and where employees feel not only financially, but also mentally and emotionally safe?
I believe that it is the responsibility of top management to foster an environment where all employees can feel protected from threats to their physical, mental, and emotional well-being.
People-centric leadership is essential, but so is a company culture that supports strategic goals.
Leaders should set the tone for a safe, predictable, and transparent workplace by displaying the values and actions they seek from their employees. Additionally, leaders need to be receptive to criticism and comments, and it's important to do more than just solicit feedback — leaders must also provide clear, concise responses.
And as in every relationship, communication is key between employees and employers as well. Besides the feedback-based two-way communication that I mentioned above, it is also important to inform employees about everything that might affect them in the company. When things are running smoothly, it’s important to reassure people. When there’s a challenge, make sure to always be the first and most reliable source of information.
We talked about how the organization should look from the inside, but we would also like to talk about how the organization should communicate its values to the outside world. How important Employer Branding is and how can we show our authenticity through digital platforms?
First and foremost, I believe it is important to clarify your values and culture internally before communicating them externally as part of your employer brand and to demonstrate your organization's commitment to authenticity.
Organizational diagnostics provide a baseline understanding of the status quo; from there, a desired culture and set of values are defined; and, using a GAP analysis, continuous improvement is pursued. After these steps you start working on being better, day by day.
To sum up, building an employer brand isn't the first thing to do, but it's still important.
When it comes to employer branding, the most vital quality is authenticity.
A company's values can be best displayed through its procedures, initiatives, and benefits provided to employees. By introducing a digital platform, for instance, all information can be made more accessible and open to all workers and two-way communication can be ensured.
In the next few years, Gen Z will represent the biggest workforce on the market. What are the younger generations looking for when applying to a new job and what can we do to keep them engaged, fulfilled and to retain them in our organization?
When it comes to Gen Z, superficial solutions and benefits will not cut it anymore to attract and retain them. It’s important to understand that while they may appear to have very different needs than previous generations, they actually bring with them brand new skills essential for the growing tendencies of digitization as well as new ways of looking at things. If you plan on introducing digital platforms within your organization, Gen Z can provide excellent support in the company culture.
Gen Z prefers to feel connected to a purpose instead of the work environment.
For this reason it’s important that a company has well-defined objectives and values, and not just on an internal level - take sustainability, for example.
Gen Z should also be included in decision making and have their opinions taken into account.
Since autonomy is so important to them in a job, it's wise to keep providing flexible scheduling options like hybrid or remote work, and to avoid micromanaging employees so they can take initiative, feel trusted and valued. Providing opportunities for learning and professional development is increasingly important for Gen Z as well. It does wonders to retention when there is a clear path ahead of them, full of growth opportunities.
Talking about digitalization, could you please tell us what trends do you believe will make a difference in 2023?
I believe all digital transformation trends will get closer to us as individuals in 2023.
Data analytics and data based decision making will be one of the most significant trends. HR managers can monitor employee performance, pinpoint problem areas, and launch strategic training initiatives with the help of data analytics. More effective and efficient hiring and promotion decisions can also be made with the help of this data. Furthermore, as XaaS ("anything as a service") grows in importance, cloud-based solutions will take on greater significance.
Now, at the start of the year 2023, we can already see the skyrocketing success and relevance of AI tools. ChatGTP, for instance, has the fastest-growing user base right now and it is expected to have surpassed 100 million monthly active users in January.
And finally, in 2023, expectations towards user experiences will increase: it won't be enough to simply provide products or services, businesses will also need to provide significant value to customers.
