Winning hearts from onboarding to offboarding 

Employees form perceptions about your organization long before they walk through the door. From a casual glance at a LinkedIn post to a deep dive into a company's employee benefits, these early impressions shape the decision-making process of job seekers. However, the true challenge begins once they decide to apply. How can an organization ensure that the culture and values that it promotes are not just empty words but lived experiences that resonate through the hiring process, to the employees last day, and every moment in-between.  

This is where your Employee Value Proposition (EVP) becomes crucial. An EVP that is intricately woven into your organization’s values, culture, mindsets, and behaviors enables a consistent experience for employees, transforming your organization into a magnet for top talent. This is the foundation for creating breakthrough relationships. 

But how do you embed your EVP into every interaction, from recruitment to retirement? The answer lies in creating a two-way dialogue by leveraging technology purpose-built for personalized listening and communication which creates a seamless, engaging, and authentic employee experience. 

Why does this matter? Because highly engaged employees perform better, giving their organizations that all-important competitive advantage.  

Peoples Outcomes

 

Business Outcomes

 

Let's explore how digital tools, employee listening and customized communication strategies can help employers create breakthrough relationships with their people. 

1. From the first contact…Every day, potential new hires check out your organization online. Does your career site accurately reflect your EVP? Do you showcase what rewards and benefits are available and explain what makes your offering unique? Does the recruitment experience connect your culture to the DEI and ESG initiatives that are increasingly important to job seekers? 


2. …To that first interview

Technology can help employers bring their EVP to life during the interview and onboarding processes. A centralized digital resource can also provide quick links to training resources designed to prepare the interviewers with the skills to eliminate hidden biases, ensuring a fair and equitable selection process for all candidates.

Once the right candidate has been hired, it’s vital to make onboarding feel like a seamless extension of the recruitment process. Inconsistency comes with risks.  For example, imagine a high-tech company onboarding a new employee with only paper documents. Something like that would make the new hire question whether they made the right decision to join the organization, as it would seem at odds with the innovative environment they expected.

3. …To  driving success through empowered employees 

Once employees are fully onboarded and making an impact, a successful EVP will facilitate their growth so they feel empowered to innovate and achieve their potential. 

Employees can grow through using online learning and development platforms. Plus, skills databases allow employers to deploy and reward employees who significantly contribute to the organization’s success, thereby aligning personal growth with business objectives. 

To maintain continuous growth and performance, high-performing organizations empower managers to listen more effectively and then act as change agents. Modern manager portals provide them with a one-start-shop where they can see personalized performance measures of their direct reports and access resources to support employee discussions. These tools enable them to manage, motivate and keep their people more effectively. Managers also receive survey results, translated into insights that they can instantly act on to engage employees and further adjust their development paths.

4. …To career progression 

When your employees develop, they create revenue growth: the two are intrinsically linked. Employee growth is anchored in a robust career framework that clearly outlines the career paths that are available for your employees to advance within the organization. 

 A digital platform can enable an employee's career progression; a personalized career framework can show the competency gaps an employee has for different roles and include links to learning and development resources that help them close those gaps. By communicating this to your employees, you will create lightbulb moments for progression, when people realize they have just the skill your organization is missing.  

 Incorporating your organization's unique voice in communications about career progression and pay transparency is a strategic way to integrate your EVP. This approach not only shows the way forward for employees; it also aligns it with the organization's core values and goals.

5. …To their next move 

The experience employees have when they leave will set the tone for their ongoing relationship with your company. It determines whether they will depart as an advocate of your company or a critic. It’s an opportunity to leave the door open for talented people to return later in their career.  

Listening is vital throughout an employee’s journey, but it’s particularly crucial to understand why they have decided to leave. Exit surveys or interviews can identify if there are gaps or conflicts between your desired EVP or culture and employees’ lived experience, giving you data to act upon to drive better alignment with and delivery of your EVP. 

Once they have left, think about how to keep communication channels open. Are your transition communications clear and concise? Are there alumni groups or retiree networks that former employees can tap into, where they could continue to benefit from organizational resources? For retirees, maintaining a relationship with your call center staff may be essential to manage their retirement benefits effectively. 

Closing thoughts  

If your EVP mindsets and behaviors are aligned, the digital experience over the entire employee lifecycle should remain consistent. From attracting and recruiting candidates with personalized experiences that reflect your organization's beliefs and values, to supporting growth and career progression through robust digital tools and clear communication, your EVP plays a central role.  

Ensuring a positive departure experience can turn former employees into lifelong advocates for your brand, from before their first day until long after their last day of employment. That close relationship will benefit both employees and your organization’s bottom line.