Is Your Employee Value Proposition Attractive?

In recent years the Workforce Solutions industry has undergone a seismic shift. While most of this change has been for the better, there is still much improvement to be made in how organisations attract, develop and retain talent.

In recent years the Workforce Solutions industry has undertaken a seismic shift. While most of this change has been for the better, there is still much improvement to be made in how organizations attract, develop and retain talent. As the Global Segment Head for Financial Services at Pontoon, I have been fortunate to collaborate with some of the world’s largest and most recognizable financial institutions. In the coming weeks, I’ll be sharing insights on where we predict the industry is going next and how we can prepare.

Does your Employee Value Proposition Attract the Champions?

Financial Services companies are feeling the pressure now more than ever in attracting and retaining the right talent. With digital transformation becoming more prevalent as a business driver across the sector a pull for the top tech professionals is critical, and skillsets evolve on a much quicker cycle than previously.

In today’s candidate market, attracting workers is a challenge unlike any we have seen before. Regardless of employee or contingent, desired talent holds the upper hand while they are in short supply and demand remains high.

For the last several years the talent transformation across Financial Services has seen large financial clients having to compete for top talent with startups, all the way up to the tech giants of Silicon Valley. 

At Pontoon, our largest financial clients filled over 70% of their 2018 assignments in the IT labour category

The industry as a whole has some work to do to revamp its brand to attract talent away from the excitement in Silicon Valley and to the new financial hubs like Shanghai, Frankfurt, Dublin and Charlotte.

80% of what makes an employer brand can be linked to the behavior of a sector or a company – Finextra

A different way of attracting talent

Organizations can reach 50% deeper into the labor market when candidates view an EVP as attractive – Gartner

A company’s employee value proposition needs to be the differentiator that sets a company apart to get the best available talent in the door and keep them from being recruited away. EVP has evolved from the basic “come work for us and get a paycheck” to offering inclusiveness to join a movement, making a real impact on real issues and the ability to grow both professionally and personally. For Financial Services companies, attracting talent to use cutting edge banking-specific technologies could lure talent away from the tech giants that everyone is trying to get into. Talent that is interested in applying technologies like blockchain, quantum computing and instant payment technologies to the banking world would be the types of candidates that your EVP should be tailored for. The EVP is used to show passive candidates that there are better opportunities out there or used to sway active candidates at decision time. These ideas are packaged up and delivered to prospective talent to instill that this is an organization they should be a part of.

Full time is easy, now how about contingent talent?

The employer brand and EVP are often only thought of as a way to attract full time employees leaving contingent workers out in the cold. This thinking must change with so many contractors converting to full-time but also create a sense of organizational inclusion for all types of workers from the beginning. Talent is talent at the end of the day and organizations need full-timers just as much as they need contingent labor to make up their workforce mix. Certainly, these two different groups of workers look for different things out of their work, but the employer brand should encompass the needs and desires of all labor types regardless of how they will be employed.

Working for a company, not just a job

With the job market being 90% candidate driven (TalentLyft) – skilled professionals are constantly being tempted to see if the grass really is greener on the other side. EVPs are designed to do just that for prospective employees. Aside from a bump in pay or more paid time off, employers need to entice talent to come work at a highly regarded company that is socially responsible, offer promising growth opportunities and have a bright future ahead.

84% of job seekers mentioned the reputation of a company as an employer is important for when they are in the decision of applying for a job – TalentNow

Having an employer brand that is current, positive and people-centric will help to attract those hard-to-find skilled professionals that are being recruited by all the big-name competitors looking for the exact same talent.  

The financial sector has some major work to do in order to compete with the laid back, free food and fun atmospheres of Silicon Valley culture, but with some simple and correct steps, financial companies can take advantage of the current talent market and build a long-standing EVP that is fit for future. 

In recent years the Workforce Solutions industry has undergone a seismic shift. While most of this change has been for the better, there is still much improvement to be made in how organisations attract, develop and retain talent.