Are you working in a branded company?

Why do people work? Majority of the workforce would answer this question with; ‘to make money’. As a human being in this heavily competitive job market, we need money to satisfy our basic needs and wants.

 

Sri Lankan Labor force

Since the year 2013, in Sri Lanka, all persons of age 15 years and above are considered as the working age population. Sri Lanka’s 15 years and over population rounds up to 17,133,659, and as per the table below, out of that, 49.9% is part of the labor force.

                                                                                       (Department of Census and statistics, 2021, III)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

 From this 49.9%, 57.3% of the labor is working in either the public or private sector as company workers.

                                                                                          (Department of Census and statistics, 2021, 18)

 As a number it is almost 4.6 MN. Do you think that all these employees are completely satisfied with their jobs? Unfortunately no, most individuals lack job satisfaction.

Why do employees lack job satisfaction?

Because most of the companies practice bad human resource management systems and policies.

Human resource management can be defined as "a strategic, integrated and coherent approach to the employment, development and well-being of the people working in an organization." (Boxall and Purcell, 2003, 1)

A company’s workforce is one of the most valuable resources any company holds since this element manages all other resources, including money, materials, machine and method to meet the organization objectives. On the other hand, employees are the foundation of every successful business. Most companies, after a critical HR planning session, spend thousands of money on the hiring process, solely focusing on acquiring the right candidates, but utterly failing to retain these employees for a considerable period of time. Employee turnover rates end up high and total effort and investment turn out to be a waste. This is why every company needs to practice a good human resource management policy in the competitive era like the 21st century.

Employee Value Proposition

The employee value proposition describes what an organization stands for, requires and offers as an employer. (CIPD, 2022)

Components of Employee Value Proposition (Zojceska, 2018)

01. Compensation

If the company provides a competitive compensation/remuneration package, an employee is motivated to come to work and use their skills and competencies to help achieve the organization objectives. On the other hand, pay rises and bonuses increase their motivation and job satisfaction. Satisfied employees are more likely to perform well and stick with the company.

 

02. Benefits

One of the main benefits a company can offer to its employees is annual leave. According to the shop and office act, after the completion of a one-year service period, an employee may be entitled to 21 days of leave. (14 – Annual and 07-Casual). Apart from this, 14 days can be obtained as medical leave and pregnant mothers are offered 84 days of maternity leave. In a crisis situation like Sri Lanka faces currently, medical costs are high. If the company has a policy to claim that medical cost it would be considered as a great initiative. Additionally, insurance policies and overtime payments are the other benefits that employers can provide. Welfare facilities also come under this category.

 

03. Environment

A company should build an environment where an employee has a clear understanding of their role and responsibilities within the organization. A good work-life balance should also be encouraged and companies can support this by offering time off, flexible working times and remote working. Employee recognition must be prioritized in the workplace as this triggers a sense of belonging to the workers. They can be appreciated through employee appreciation events, years of service awards, etc.

 

04. Career

Employee career stability and their development/progress can be categorized under this component. Industry related training, workshops, group discussions, brainstorming sessions, experience sharing sessions and E learning sessions can improve and refresh employee’s capabilities, abilities and knowledge. A highly skilled employee would love to accept the challenges coming from a volatile environment. Throughout their career, evaluation and feedback is highly valuable for employees as this helps them identify both their strengths and weaknesses and allows them to work on themselves to perform better.

 

05. Culture

To create a good culture there should not be any kind of discrimination in the workplace. The company atmosphere should be calm, without an unwanted pressure to work. Building trust is important and everyone must focus on collaboration and team spirit. All employees, collectively, should understand the company’s goals, and for this, a company should have a clear vision and mission. A company must also strive to maintain a supportive environment to ensure that all employees reach their full potential together, performing at their level best.

 

EVP is a great tool for retaining quality talent within the company. On the other hand, if the company has a great EVP, it will most likely be able to attract a high number of highly skilled candidates. So if you are working for a company which satisfies all the above mentioned elements, it means that you are working for a branded company.

To get a further understanding on EVP please watch the below video.

                                                                                                                             (Michael Page UK, 2022)

 

References

Boxall, P F. and Purcell, J. (2003) Strategy and Human Resource Management. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan

CIPD. (2022) Employer brand. [online] Available at :  https://www.cipd.co.uk/knowledge/fundamentals/people/recruitment/brand-factsheet#gref [Accessed 06.03.2023]

Department of Census and statistics. (2021), Sri Lanka Labour Force Survey Annual Report - 2021 [online] Department of Census and Statistics. Available at : http://www.statistics.gov.lk/Resource/en/LabourForce/Annual_Reports/LFS2021.pdf [Accessed 06.03.2023]

Department of Census and statistics. (2021), Sri Lanka Labour Force Survey Annual Report - 2021 [online] Department of Census and Statistics. Available at : http://www.statistics.gov.lk/Resource/en/LabourForce/Annual_Reports/LFS2021.pdf [Accessed 06.03.2023]

Michael Page UK. (2022) Employer Value Proposition: Why it matters and how to improve yours. [online video] Available at : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4XN_kfaSvo&t=190s [Accessed 07.03.2023]

Zojceska, A. (2018) Employee Value Proposition: Magnet for Attracting Candidates. [online] Available at : https://www.talentlyft.com/en/blog/article/105/employee-value-proposition-magnet-for-attracting-candidates [Accessed 06.03.2023]