Attracting talent is harder than it has ever been. Hiring the right fit for long-term success is going to be how companies win today and tomorrow. What it really comes down to is your Employee Value Proposition (EVP), and how it compares to the competition. Here are a few strategies to help guide you to hire and retain top talent in today’s labor market.
Let’s (Not) do the Workforce Cha-Cha!
The effect: “Workforce Cha-Cha.” Two steps forward and two steps back as businesses, especially franchise brands, can’t hire hourly workers fast enough in what appears to be a talent-saturated market and as people are quitting their jobs at record rates to consider owning their own business or keeping their options open for something better. The great economic bounce back will hinge on how companies decide to leverage the power of their core values, redefine their EVP, and adapt to the demands of the labor market. Nearly four million Americans left their jobs in April, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics — an unprecedented number in the two decades the government has been tracking this data, pushing the quit rate 24% higher than it was before the pandemic. Layoffs, which peaked at 13 million in March 2020, have come down to more typical monthly levels of under two million.
Graph Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics; data as of April 2021.
Well, you might be asking what is an (EVP), and how can it really help me attract and keep talent? Or maybe you already know you have an EVP, but do you know if it is competitive enough—especially when we are seeing sign-on bonuses and incentives for hourly workers like food delivery drivers? For franchise brands, you have the power to not go it alone when owning and operating a proven business model. But attracting talent is harder than it has ever been. Hiring the right fit for long-term success is going to be how companies win today and tomorrow. Keep it simple and be clear about what job seekers will gain on the job and what you expect them to give in return.
Are EVPs still important with what looks like a street fight for talent?
You bet they are. And especially important for franchise brands looking to attract hourly employees as well as potential franchisees. Given the tightness in the labor market across all verticals, it is only going to be more competitive for companies to attract and keep talent. But why? The complexity of the workforce of today is caused by the changing generation, the economic crisis, and the realization people have that they can work remotely, allowing them to spend more time with the people and in places they love. All while hourly employees are benefiting from situational circumstances allowing them to demand higher wages, better benefits, and greater incentives.
What is an EVP anyway?
An EVP is a company’s promise to potential employees about the work experience. It tells a candidate why working with you will be better than other companies, and what’s in it for them in exchange for work completed. The considerations to work are very different than the considerations to buy, and in franchising, considerations to invest. Many companies make the classic mistake to use the consumer value proposition (why buy) and believe it will compel potential employees to work.
Are you asking the right questions?
Employers must ask: why should our employees join, care, and stay? And is this going to knock out our labor competition for talent? Is our employment offering competitive enough? A big mistake we are seeing right now is companies believe offering more money will solve the hiring challenges of today and tomorrow. Short-term gains of hiring bonuses and increased incentives are by their very design short-term.
Make money a non-issue.
Making money a non-issue should be the goal of any employer. The combination of fair pay, good benefits, and redefined social contract of how hours are worked will be how companies retain their talent. What makes a great EVP is only what is truly lived by the current employees. It isn’t what the company says the employee experience is like, but rather, what your current and past employees say the work experience is like.
Here are few questions you can consider to improving your EVP quickly.
1. How are you making money a non-issue for short-term and long-term employees? People all want purpose at work. Once the cash incentives wear off, no amount of money will satisfy them to stay in an unfulfilling job.
2. How can you support employees to define their own work schedule? For hourly workers, can they pick the hours and days they want and do not want to work? For remote workers, can you offer flexible work hours remotely?
3. How are you supporting frontline managers with the pressures of hiring and retaining talent? We know people don’t leave a company; they leave their boss.
4. Are your attraction efforts compelling enough in the labor market?
5. Is your current EVP well-defined, and are you adapting it for today’s labor market demands?
6. How are you recognizing and rewarding employees for a job well done?
2021 will be unmatched.
Employers, employees, and job seekers will all need to sort out what they want in the future. Right now, employees and job seekers may have the stronger hand. It’s the businesses that adapt, innovate, and transform their employee experience that will win, and win big, post-pandemic. 2021 will be a year like no other we have experienced. Franchise brands can win big if they can get their reasons to consider investing and working for their brand right.
The Right Partner.
Hot Dish is unique in that we can take a wholistic approach to increase the overall success of the business by evaluating if the brand is delivering upon the considerations to invest in the brand, to buy from the brand, and to work for the brand. Our connected brand approach ignites success. Are you ready to take back the upper hand in hiring and retaining employees for the long-term? Let’s talk.
Sources:
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/workers-quitting-jobs-economy-benefit/
https://www.restaurantbusinessonline.com/workforce/dominos-paying-hourly-workers-1200-bonuses
https://gridwise.io/food-delivery-companies-are-offering-drivers-huge-incentives
