How employee engagement drives employer branding

Summary

The transcript discusses the importance of aligning the Employee Value Proposition (EVP) with both promises made and actual delivery, particularly in the Indian context. It emphasizes performance management, supervision, and value-adding performance conversations as key drivers of engagement. The alignment between employer branding and employee engagement is critical, ensuring no dissonance between what is promised and what is delivered. The conversation also highlights the need for managers to have the right capabilities for engagement and the importance of tailored, data-driven interventions to improve disengaged groups within organizations.

Takeaways

• 📊 Performance management is a key driver in the Indian context, as is supervision, emphasizing the role of managers.
• 📈 EVP (Employee Value Proposition) often manifests through delivery, not just promises, so companies must focus on both aspects.
• 🤝 Organizations may make inflated promises to attract talent but struggle to deliver, leading to performance management issues.
• 🗣️ Value-adding performance conversations are crucial to making the EVP come alive for employees.
• 🎯 Employer branding should be considered in both employee engagement and how it aligns with the EVP in the market.
• 🔄 Policies and processes need to be aligned with promises to avoid dissonance and contradictions in the EVP.
• ⏳ Checking alignment between promises and delivery should occur before hiring and shortly after employees join to prevent mismatches.
• 💡 Addressing disengagement requires unique, customized strategies tailored to each organization's needs and data insights.
• 👥 Managers often lack the capabilities to hold effective dialogues, which can lead to disengagement.
• 📉 Using analytics to segment employee subgroups helps identify challenges and design targeted interventions to improve engagement.

Q & A

What is the role of performance management in the Indian context?

Performance management is seen as a key driver in the Indian context, especially in how it aligns with supervision and the role of the manager. The way the Employee Value Proposition (EVP) is delivered plays a crucial role in performance management.

How does supervision influence EVP in organizations?

Supervision, or the role of the manager, significantly impacts how EVP is manifested. While promises made during recruitment are important, it's often the delivery through management and supervision that makes the EVP come alive.

What challenge arises when companies make inflated promises during recruitment?

Companies sometimes make inflated promises to attract talent, but if they are unable to deliver on those promises, it creates a gap between employee expectations and reality, which can lead to disengagement.

Why are value-adding performance conversations important?

Value-adding performance conversations are crucial because they help bring the EVP to life by managing employee expectations, tracking performance, and ensuring alignment between the organization's promises and the employee's experience.

How should organizations align their EVP with their employer branding?

Organizations should ensure that their EVP and employer branding are aligned by checking for consistency between what is promised during recruitment and what is delivered. This alignment helps to prevent dissonance and maintain employee engagement.

When should organizations check for alignment between EVP and employee experience?

Organizations should check for alignment both before employees join, to ensure understanding and expectations are clear, and within two to three months after they arrive, to identify any disconnects between what was promised and what is being delivered.

What is a key strategy for addressing disengaged employee groups?

A key strategy involves using analytics to understand what drives disengagement and then customizing interventions based on this data. The approach should be tailored to the organization's specific needs and challenges.

How can managers improve their performance conversations with employees?

Managers often lack the capabilities to hold effective performance conversations. Training and enabling them to have these dialogues, along with providing continuous support, is essential to improve engagement and performance.

What role does data play in understanding employee engagement?

Data and analytics play a central role in understanding what drives employee engagement or lack of fit. This information helps to design targeted interventions to improve engagement in specific subgroups.

How can organizations support managers in improving employee engagement?

Organizations can support managers by providing training and resources to enhance their dialogue and performance management skills. Continuous support through the journey of conversation improvement is also necessary to drive engagement in the right direction.