Employer branding and employee value proposition are familiar terminologies in our business environments, so do we really need Employee Experience to add to the mix?
Often new terms can just seem like another word for a similar concept, however Employee Experience is holistic. It incorporates all previous concepts, bringing them together in a seamless vision. Employer branding is concerned with how potential and current employees see their organisation in terms of what it’s like to work for.
The employee value proposition, while similar, focuses more on the value an organisation has to offer potential and current employees, rather than the perception through a brand. Employee Experience can be best described as the emotional connection between an individual and an organisation, from the first interaction with the company, right through to post-employment.
At its heart is how a company’s brand and values connect emotionally with an individual, from an employee perspective. This shouldn’t be seen as separate to how an organisation’s customers emotionally connect with the brand and values, and ultimately we should be centred on how humans interact and how it makes them feel.
Employer branding and employee value proposition are therefore integral to Employee Experience, but are not seen as separate strategies – rather a critical component of building an effective Employee Experience. The benefit of viewing it this way is that it ensures it’s aligned throughout the whole experience right through to the relationship a company has with its alumni, incorporating all the interactions.
Considering the emotional connection of an employee during recruitment, onboarding, performance management, learning and development, promotion, reward and benefits, change management, through to off-boarding, should all be interconnected and not stand-alone strategies; they all impact that emotional connection. The employee doesn’t separate out their experience so why do we?
With that in mind, one of the most important interactions between an employee and the organisation is actually the very first time an individual hears about a company. This is often not when they are job searching and come across your advert for a role, but actually what they might hear from someone they know, what they see in the media, or what they find when they are researching companies that align with their purpose and values.
At FDM Group, we are very proud of our recent award as Employer of the Year at the Information Age Women in IT awards. Of course, it’s always nice to be recognised with an award but what makes this special is that it’s so meaningful to the work we do. We are passionate about creating an inclusive and diverse workforce which allows opportunities for everyone.
The challenges within the technology industry to attract talented women is well documented. We have worked hard to ensure women are attracted to our workplace. We collaborate with schools and universities to raise awareness of the breadth of roles in technology so girls and women understand the opportunities in
this field which they might not have considered before.
We are proud of a median gender pay gap of zero percent of the UK average of 18.4 percent. Our commitment to improving gender diversity in technology
can be felt throughout all our interactions with our people and so winning this recent award has real value and meaning to us. Ultimately, it’s a core part of our Employee Experience and we hope it translates in the first interaction anyone has with FDM.
We are also proud to be partnering with the UK Employee Experience Awards this year. Winning an award that is meaningful to your organisation can truly benefit your Employee Experience.