The Employee Value Proposition Impact

Oktober 2015

The Employee Value Proposition

Impact

Developing an Application for Companies

to Measure its Effectiveness

Teknisk- naturvetenskaplig fakultet UTH-enheten Besöksadress: Ångströmlaboratoriet Lägerhyddsvägen 1 Hus 4, Plan 0 Postadress: Box 536 751 21 Uppsala Telefon: 018 – 471 30 03 Telefax: 018 – 471 30 00 Hemsida: http://www.teknat.uu.se/student

The Employee Value Proposition Impact

Johan Thomas

This project has been carried out by request of Universum Communications AB, a global market research company, specialised in the field of employer branding.

Many of Universum’s clients are global

companies with operations in several countries. From an employer branding standpoint, having people hired in different countries, comes with its challenges. On the one hand, most

organisations want to communicate a

consistent employer brand globally and on the other hand an employer brand that is perceived as attractive in one country, might not be attractive in another. Hence, it would be valuable for many global HR directors to have a tool that enables them to assess and compare how well their EVP resonates in different countries.

The aim of this project is to build a demo version of such a tool, in order for Universum to evaluate:

1. Its usefulness for Universum’s clients. 2. If it could be incorporated into Universum’s product offering.

The result was a web-based application that provides a global overview of a company’s EVP. The result is visualised on a world map and each country is colour coded according how well the company’s EVP resonates in the respective countries.

The application gives a strong indication of how relevant and important it is to communicate different company attributes in different countries and provides the user with a holistic view of the result. Hence, the application proved useful in evaluating if Universum’s clients would benefit from such a tool and if such a tool should be incorporated in Universum’s product offering.

I

NTRODUCTION

&

I

NTRODUCING&

U

NIVERSUM&

&

Universum&was&founded&in&1988&in&Stockholm.&The&company&started&as&a&local&student&survey& with&the&ambition&to&improve&communication&between&students&and&employers,&to&help&match& the&right&talent&with&the&right&companies.&Since&then,&Universum&has&grown&to&become&the&global& leader&in&Employer&Branding&with&over&1200&clients&word&wide&and&operations&in&over&40& countries.&& Universum&is&helping&many&of&the&largest&corporations&in&the&world&to&increase&their&employer& attractiveness&among&graduates&and&young&professionals.&For&modern&companies&and& organizations,&human&capital&is&often&their&most&valuable&resource,&and&their&ability&to&attract& and&retain&the&right&talent&is&therefore&imperative&to&their&success,&especially&with&top&talent& having&a&wider&variety&of&choices&than&ever&before&in&where&and&with&whom&they&can&work.& At&its&core,&Universum&is&a&market&research&company.&Their&student&survey,&with&over&500&000& respondents&globally,&focuses&on&two&areas:&How&students&perceive&different&employers&and& which&attributes&they&find&most&attractive&in&employers.&To&be&more&precise,&the&student&survey& gathers&data&on&how&students&in&different&fields&of&study&and&in&different&geographical&locations& perceive&employers&they&are&familiar&with.&Each&employer&is&evaluated&on&the&same&criteria,& which&allows&for&comparison&of&data&across,&for&example,&different&industries&and&nationalities.& The&survey&collects&data&on&which&attributes&the&students&find&most&important&in&choosing&their& future&employer.&& Having&access&to&such&data&is&valuable&for&companies&who&want&to&become&more&attractive&on& the&job&market,&since&the&data&gives&them&a&better&idea&of&how&they&are&perceived&as&an&employer& and&what&attributes&they&need&to&embody&and&reflect&to&increase&their&attractiveness&in&the& demographic&group&from&which&they&want&to&hire.&This&data&is&essentially&Universum’s&product& offering,&packaged&in&different&ways.&& More&information&about&Universum&can&be&found&on&http://universumglobal.com/.&

D

EFINING&

E

MPLOYER&

B

RANDING&AND&

E

MPLOYEE&

V

ALUE&

P

ROPOSITION

&

Since&the&term&“employer&branding”&was&first&used&in&the&early&1990s,&it&has&become&standard& terminology&when&talking&about&an&organization’s&reputation&and&attractiveness&as&an&

employer1_{.&Simon&Barrow,&chairmen&of&People&in&Business,&and&Tim&Ambler,&Senior&Fellow&of&}

compelling&in&order&to&succeed&in&acting&as&a&driver&for&talent&attraction3_{.&&The&EVP&is&often&used&} as&the&basis&for&communication&of&an&organization’s&employer&brand4_.&&

P

ROJECT&

A

IM&AND&

B

ACKGROUND&

&

Many&of&Universum’s&clients&are&global&companies&and&organizations&with&operations&in&several& countries.&From&an&employer&branding&standpoint,&having&people&hired&in&different&countries,& comes&with&its&challenges.&On&the&one&hand,&most&organizations&want&to&communicate&a& consistent&employer&brand&globally&and&on&the&other&hand&an&employer&brand&that&is&perceived& as&attractive&in&the&United&States,&might&not&be&attractive&in&Germany&or&China,&for&example.& Hence,&it&would&be&valuable&for&many&global&HR&directors&to&have&a&tool&that&enables&them&to& assess&and&compare&how&well&their&EVP&resonates&in&different&countries&across&the&globe.&&& The&aim&of&this&project&is&to&build&a&demo&version&of&such&a&tool,&in&order&for&Universum&to& evaluate:& 1.! Its&usefulness&to&Universum’s&clients.& 2.! If&it&could&be&incorporated&into&Universum’s&product&offering.& The&output&will&be&called&a&company’s&“EVP&impact”,&to&reflect&how&well&the&EVP&resonates& globally.&Ideally,&the&application&should&help&our&clients&to&make&more&qualified,&databdriven& decisions&when&managing&their&global&employer&brands.&

M

ETHOD

&

D

ELIMITATION&&&

&

In&order&to&evaluate&how&well&a&company’s&EVP&resonates&in&a&specific&country,&the&application& must&access&data&from&Universum’s&database,&where&all&respondent&data&is&stored.&Since&the& application&is&merely&built&to&test&and&evaluate&a&new&potential&product,&we&decided&to&extract& data&from&one&of&Universum’s&clients,&and&it’s&three&main&competitors,&and&use&that&data&when& building&the&application.&This&would&give&a&good&indication&of&whether&it&would&work&for&other& clients&as&well,&and&greatly&simplify&the&task&of&building&the&application.&If&Universum&would& decide&to&build&a&fullbscale&version&of&the&application,&naturally,&it&would&communicate&with&their& database&directly.&&

M

ODEL&

A

SSUMPTIONS

&

competitors,&since&this&gives&a&better&indication&of&which&company&a&student&is&more&likely&to& choose&as&their&employer.&&

Consequently,&in&order&to&evaluate&the&impact&of&a&company’s&EVP&in&a&way&that&is&useful&for&a& potential&client,&we&should&look&at&the&relative&attractiveness&between&companies&that&are& targeting&similar&groups&of&students&and&take&this&into&account&when&building&the&application.&

U

NDERSTANDING&THE&

D

ATA

&

In&order&to&understand&how&the&application&works&one&needs&to&have&a&basic&understanding&of& Universum’s&data.&The&following&paragraphs&give&a&snapshot&of&the&data&Universum&has&in&its& database.&& In&the&student&survey&there&are&40&attributes&that&reflect&different&characteristics&of&companies& that&are&generally&important&for&students&in&their&choice&of&employer.&These&40&attributes&are& divided&into&four&main&categories,&containing&10&attributes&each.&These&categories&are:&& •! People&and&culture& •! Employer&reputation&and&Image& •! Job&characteristics& •! Remuneration&and&advancement&opportunities&& In&the&first&step&of&the&survey,&the&student&is&asked&to&choose&three&attributes&in&each&of&the&four& categories&that&reflect&what&is&most&important&in&a&future&employer.&In&the&second&step,&the& student&is&asked&to&choose&which&of&the&40&attributes&it&associates&with&a&number&of&different& employers.&In&the&second&step&there&is&no&restriction&on&how&many&of&the&40&attributes&the& student&can&assign&each&company.&& The&student&survey&thus&collects&data&on:& 1.! Employer&attractiveness&b&which&attributes&are&most&important&for&students&in&the& choice&of&their&future&employer.&& 2.! Employer&Perception&b&which&attributes&students&associate&with&different&companies& they&are&familiar&with.& A&screenshot&of&a&student&survey&is&found&in&Appendix&1.&&

D

ESIGNING&THE&

A

PPLICATION

&

employers,&they&can&choose&as&many&as&they&like.&Since&students,&on&average,&selected&more&than& three&attributes&in&each&of&the&four&categories,&the&percentage&values&for&perception&were&higher& than&for&attraction.&In&order&for&the&attributes&to&be&distributed&properly&on&the&1b5&scale,&they& will&consequently&have&to&be&mapped&differently&than&attraction.&In&figure&3&the&percentage& values&for&perception&are&plotted&for&the&same&countries&as&in&figure&2.&& & & & Figure!3.!The!40!attributes!plotted!for!China,!UK!and!Spain.!Each!blue!dot!represents!an!attribute! and!is!plotted!according!to!how!many!percent!of!the!respondents!that!chose!it!as!one!of!their!top! three!attributes.!The!students!could!choose!as!many!attributes!as!they!liked.!! At&first&I&mapped&them&linearly,&as&was&done&with&attraction,&by&dividing&the&range&of&the&plot& into&5&equal&intervals,&each&covering&20%&of&the&scale.&This&did&not,&however,&yield&a&satisfying& result.&Since&most&percentage&values&lay&between&the&41–80&%&marks,&the&majority&of&values& were&assigned&a&3&or&a&4&on&the&scale.&This&is&illustrated&in&table&2.& Table!2.!The!table!illustrates!how!the!percentage!values!for!perception!were!mapped!and! distributed!on!the!1L5!range!scale.!!

Scale! Value! Distribution!of!attributes!

&& ! & & & 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

UK

Normdist* illustration

Q

UANTIFYING'

D

IFFERENTIATION

'

The&level&of&differentiation&for&an&attribute&depends&on&how&much&more&than&its&competitors’,&a& company&is&associated&with&that&specific&attribute.&The&most&convenient&way&of&measuring&this&is& to&map&how&high&their&competitors&score&on&perception,&onto&the&same&1b5&range&scale&and& compare&the&results.&The&mapping&of&the&competitors’&attributes&was&carried&out&in&the&same& way&as&described&in&the&previous&section.&& When&the&company&scores&higher&than&its&competitor,&that&attribute&is&assigned&a&value,&again&on& a&1b5&range&scale.&The&value&is&placed&on&the&scale&in&accordance&with&how&much&higher&the& company&scores&on&that&attribute,&relative&to&its&competitors.&& After&the&value&is&assigned&it&is&multiplied&by&a&factor&that&is&determined&by&how&many&of&the& company’s&attributes&that&are&differentiating.&If&the&client&has&three&or&more&differentiating& attributes,&the&value&is&multiplied&by&a&factor&of&1.&If&two&attributes&are&differentiating&the&score& is&multiplied&by&a&factor&of&0,7&and&if&only&one&attribute&is&differentiating&the&score&is&multiplied& by&a&factor&of&0,3.&Hence,&in&order&to&reach&a&maximum&score&on&differentiation&the&client&has&to& have&at&least&3&differentiating&attributes.&Having&more&that&three&differentiating&attributes&will& not&add&additionally&to&the&client’s&score,&since&a&company’s&employer&brand&will&not&necessarily& benefit&from&additionally&having&more&than&three&differentiating&attributes.&&&

W

EIGHTING'

T

OGETHER'THE'

T

OTAL'

S

CORE

'

Until&this&point,&the&attributes&that&were&chosen&by&the&company&in&the&first&step,&which&reflect& its&EVP,&have&been&measured&on&attraction,&perception&and&differentiation&and&been&assigned&a& value&on&a&1b5&range&scale&for&these&three&categories&respectively.&& Now&the&mean&value&of&the&selected&attributes&is&calculated&within&each&category&respectively&so& that&only&three&values&remain;&the&total&score&for&attraction,&perception&and&differentiation.&& In&the&final&step&these&scores&are&weighted&together&by&a&factor&1/3&to&generate&a&total&score.&& For&the&EVP&Impact&to&give&a&more&professional&appearance,&it&is&displayed&as&the&percentage& value&of&the&highest&possible&score.&In&order&for&the&percentage&values&to&range&from&0b100&%,& the&scale&must&be&converted&to&a&0b4&range&scale.&See&example&conversion&in&table&4.&&& Table!4.!The!table!illustrates!the!conversion!from!a!1L5!range!scale!to!a!0L100%!scale.!!! Total&Score&on&scale&1.5& Total&score&in&percentage& 3.65& 100*((3.65.1)/(5.1))&=&66&%&

I

MPLEMENTING'THE'MODEL'IN'

J

AVA

S

CRIPT

'

In&this&step&the&user&can&hover&the&mouse&over&a&country&to&reveal&its&total&percentage&score.& When&the&user&clicks&on&a&country&two&tables&appear.&& The&first&one&pops&up&in&the&lower&left&corner&of&the&map,&showing&the&individual&scores&for&the& three&categories&attraction,&perception&and&differentiation&respectively.&This&gives&the&user&a& better&idea&of&how&much&each&of&the&categories&affected&the&total&score.&&& In&the&lower&part&of&the&screen&a&second&table&is&also&generated&to&give&the&user&more&detailed& data&on&how&high&each&of&the&attributes&that&the&client&selected&in&the&first&step,&scored&on& attraction,&perception&and&differentiation.&& The&application&can&be&tested&in&your&web&browser&through&the&following&link:&

http://evp-demo.s3.amazonaws.com/mapped.html& &

D

ISCUSSION&

&

D

ISCUSSION&OF&METHOD

&

The&aim&with&the&project&was&to&create&a&tool&that&enabled&HR&Directors&to&assess&and&compare& how&well&their&EVP&resonated&in&different&countries,&with&the&intention&to&test&if&such&a&tool& would&prove&valuable&for&Universum’s&clients&and,&if&so,&could!be&incorporated&into&Universum’s& product&offering.& There&were&a&couple&of&constraints&that&were&given&to&me&by&my&supervisor&before&I&started& developing&the&application.&The&application&should&measure&the&EVP&on&three&factors:& attractiveness,&perception&and&differentiation.&They&should&be&weighted&together&by&a&factor&of& 1/3&respectively&to&generate&the&total&EVP&impact&score.&& With&the&framework&I&had&been&given,&I&decided&to&take&a&pragmatic&approach&in&the&design&of& the&model.&I&focused&on&developing&a&functioning&tool&that&could&be&tested&on&the&data&I&had,& without&being&initially&too&concerned&with&the&result&being&accurate.&After&having&a&functioning& model,&I&ran&different&scenarios&with&different&data&and&compared&the&output&with&Universum’s& data&directly.&By&doing&so&I&identified&which&parts&of&the&model&that&needed&to&be&adjusted&or& calibrated.&Once&the&adjustments&were&made,&the&same&process&was&repeated&again.&This&way& the&application&was&gradually&improved&until&the&results&were&satisfying.& I&decided&together&with&my&supervisor&to&develop&the&tools&as&an&interactive&web&application& since&that&is&what&it&most&likely&will&be&if&it&becomes&a&real&product.&&&

S

IGNIFICANCE&OF&

R

ESULT

&

we&can&recognize&useful&patterns&that&will&serve&us&in&making&more&sound&and&data&driven& decisions.&& Here&it&is&important&to&acknowledge&that&in&order&to&extract&insights&from&the&data,& generalizations&have&to&be&made,&and&sometimes&those&generalizations&undermine&the&relevance& of&the&insights&themselves.&&& The&EVP&impact&does&not&accurately&reflect&how&every&student&perceives&a&company’s&EVP,&but&it& gives&a&strong&indication&of&how&relevant&and&important&it&is&to&communicate&different&company& attributes&in&different&countries.&& With&that&said,&to&get&an&idea&of&the&usefulness&of&the&application,&one&needs&to&take&into& consideration&what&alternatives&companies&have&today,&in&assessing&their&EVPs&on&the&global& market.&In&the&employer&branding&space,&there&is&in&fact&no&other&company&in&the&world&that&can& provide&anywhere&near&as&detailed&data&as&Universum.&& In&order&for&companies&to&make&a&qualified&decision&about&their&global&employer&brands,&they& either&need&to&hire&a&company&to&tailor&a&research&study&for&them,&or&try&at&a&qualified&guess.& Tailoring&a&research&study&of&such&magnitude&would&be&extremely&expensive&and&not&a&realistic& alternative&for&the&overwhelming&majority&of&companies,&which&leaves&us&with&the&second& alternative,&a&qualified&guess.&& Here&the&EVP&impact&will&surely&be&a&lot&more&reliable&as&a&basis&for&making&decisions,&which& suggests&that&the&tool&would,&in&fact,&be&of&valuable,&provided&the&output&is&fairly&accurate.&The& application&output&has&proved&accurate&with&the&data&that&has&been&tested&so&far,&but&the&sample& size&is&still&too&small&to&prove&consistency.&Regardless,&the&application&will&be&valuable&for& Universum&in&assessing&whether&such&a&tool&could&be&of&value&for&their&clients.&&

P

OTENTIAL&

I

MPROVEMENTS&

&

A

PPENDIX&

1&

Student&Survey&

1.! Which'of'the'following'attributes'do'you'perceive'as'most'attractive?'Please'select'a'maximum'of' three'attributes'in'each'category.'(Answer'yes/no)' 2.! Which'of'the'following'attributes'do'you'associate'with'each'employer?'Please'select'as'many'as' applicable.'(Answer'yes/no)' & Which& attributes& do&you& perceive& as&most& attractive?& (Max.&3)& Employer& 1& Employer& 2& Employer& …& People&&&Culture& && && && && Offers&a&friendly&work&environment& yes/no& yes/no& yes/no& yes/no& Has&leaders&who&will&support&my&development& ...& &…& …& …& Will&enable&me&to&have&good&work/life&balance& && && && && Offers&a&creative&and&dynamic&work&environment& && && && && Has&a&culture&that&respects&my&individuality& && && && && Offers&a&comfortable&physical&work&environment& && && && && Offers&interaction&with&international&clients&and&colleagues& && && && && Has&a&culture&that&supports&equality&between&the&sexes& && && && && Has&a&culture&that&is&accepting&towards&[underrepresented]&

minorities& && && && &&

Recruits&only&the&best&talents& && && && &&

& && && && &&

Employer&Reputation&&&Image& && && && &&

High&ethical&standards& && && && &&

High&level&of&Corporate&Social&Responsibility& && && && && Attractive/exciting&products&and&services& && && && &&

Inspiring&top&management& && && && &&

Market&success& && && && &&

Financial&strength& && && && &&

Fastbgrowing&or&entrepreneurial& && && && &&

Innovative&products&and&services& && && && &&

Good&reputation& && && && &&

Prestige& && && && &&

& && && && &&

Job&Characteristics& && && && &&

Challenging&work& && && && &&

A&variety&of&assignments& && && && &&

Opportunities&for&international&travel& && && && && Opportunities&for&relocation&abroad& && && && &&

Secure&employment& && && && &&

Control&over&my&working&hours& && && && &&

Flexible&working&conditions& && && && &&

High&level&of&responsibility& && && && &&

Professional&training&and&development& && && && && An&attractive&geographic&location& && && && &&

& && && && &

Good&possibilities&for&rapid&promotion& && && && &&

Competitive&base&salary& && && && &&

Competitive&benefits& && && && &&

Overtime&pay& && && && &&

Performancebrelated&bonus& && && && &&

Leadership&opportunities& && && && &&

Clear&path&for&advancement& && && && &&

Sponsorship&of&future&education& && && && &&

&