The world has moved on from the transactional ‘I work, you pay’- people now expect a more transformational value exchange.
Definition and merit
A People Value Proposition (PVP) is the upgrade of an Employee Value Proposition (EVP) and talked about in leadership and HR circles. It hits the mark for business as it represents the latest thinking on what really matters to people when working with an organisation.
What is it exactly?
A PVP is a promise or an expectation that an organisation makes to its stakeholders (including employees and customers) in terms of experience and treatment with the organisation when you work and interact with it. A value proposition is developed by the organisation for its people in exchange for their capabilities, contributions and commitment.
There are various components that make up a PVP including the tangible pay, benefits and working environment typically expected AND importantly, the less well understood components such as purpose, belonging, inclusion, recognition, wellbeing, flexibility, growth and development to name many.
A PVP is a promise or an expectation that an organisation makes to its stakeholders
The world has moved on from the transactional ‘I work, you pay’- people now expect a more transformational value exchange.
How we view life, work and society, is changing.
Why is this gaining greater traction now?
How we view life, work and society, is changing. As humans we search for meaning in our lives. The world has moved on from the transactional “I work, you pay” scenarios and people want and expect a more transformational value exchange. This has been greatly influenced by fundamental societal shifts including the breakdown in family, faith and trust, replaced by new alternatives instead, often found in a good PVP, like purpose, connection or belonging as example.
Books like the latest “Transformation economy” * also advocate for organisations to realise that guiding people to achieve their aspirations (whether as a customer or an employee) is the next big economic boom and we see this in emerging economic markets springing up in “lasting personal change”.
So as the VUCA** world’s pace and shift of change continues, organisations need to design ecosystems where people’s wants and expectations are considered as part of the course and organisations become infrastructures that create value that people actually find fulfilling. In so doing, organisations gain their discretionary engagement and effort that in turn, drives the right competitive edge that Simon Sinek would approve of. In his book the “Infinite game” *** Sinek suggests we stop trying to win the short-term victories and play for the long term. The argument is then that if you don’t consider a PVP in its fullest form, you risk your business endeavours lasting.
Summary
Many organisations now already recognise a considered PVP as a key differentiator, particularly in tight labour and economic markets and when working well, they deliver progress and sustainable growth for an organisation in a balanced and holistic way.
So how does this work in practice?
At BDO we started a few years ago, building on what we knew were good foundations and as a result, incorporated enormous amounts of learning that have had an unassuming and long-lasting effect. We began with a cross functional team and set this up with the purpose of supporting our proposition and engagement at work.
We looked at what MAGIC* we bring to our people’s experience - standing for Meaning, Autonomy, Growth, Impact and Connectivity and considered why we all came to work. We collected qualitative data on the barriers to good experience which was important to make informed decisions for our people. We reviewed our employee survey and engagement pulse surveys and came up with areas to work on and put these into an action plan with a planning board and a tracker.
As some examples of the work and it’s impact, we created new teams to look at specific areas, a “ways of working” team and worked on accountability and system changes. All of which are operating still today in one form or another. We focussed on the significance of community and connection at work and trialled various initiatives to help manage ourselves as well as our work itself better. As a result with our directors, we worked up a better routine and cascade for internal communications, we tightened up on meetings, improved processes and provided further outlets for employee voice.
These initiatives are seen as normal standards now and are used regularly. We are having more conversations on inclusion with leaders and streams. We created a focussed wellbeing team with regular activities taken up by a good number of staff. We looked at the whole recruitment, work experience and induction experiences and have seen great improvements in what we do from the results of everyone surveyed. We launched an L & D framework and four completely new career pathways. These further support collaboration, connection and communication as well as growth with bespoke training development experiences, getting excellent ratings. All those instigated programmes are now being repeated and new programmes agreed in principle.
Where are BDO doing now?
The to do list and the process of improvement is ongoing. BDO will focus now on continuing this journey. Some of our streams (functions) are taking supportive changes forward themselves e.g. Audit trialling new grouping in huddles.
We are committed to celebrating and communicating the changes better along the way, showing the impact on people in the firm and outside. As well as providing a dedicated page on the intranet that will cover all things PVP, we will flesh out our proposition more, develop this in house with our engagement team and focus on actions that strengthen and support good value exchange.
It is exciting to realise that the timing is perfect to ramp up our offer again with the new BDO Global PVP statement and mandate this year; we can use this timing and lever and develop even better together for everyone.
This is the right moment for BDO to build on its momentum - working together to strengthen our people value proposition and deliver even greater value for everyone.
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* “Transformation economy” by B Joseph Pine II – a recent release and a follow up to the author’s bestselling leadership book “The Experience Economy”
** VUCA stands for Volatile, Uncertain, Chaotic and Ambiguous
*** The MAGIC engagement model originates from the global consultancy firm DecisionWise, led by Dr Tracy M. Maylett, a well‑established employee engagement and organisational effectiveness consultancy operating internationally.
**** “The Infinite game” by Simon Sinek describes how business is in a finite game with no fixed rules, no endpoint and constantly changing players. Problems arise when leaders use a finite mindset. He suggests organisations should exist to pursue a purpose bigger than profit.
This publication has been carefully prepared, but it has been written in general terms and should be seen as containing broad statements only. It cannot be relied upon to cover specific situations without obtaining professional advice. BDO is the brand name of the BDO network and for each of the BDO member firms.
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