As much as customer experience and a clear customer value proposition differentiates an organisation, the Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in a growing acknowledgment that a well-defined employee value proposition (EVP) needs to be at the core of organisational strategy if businesses hope to attract the right talent, keep their people engaged and increase retention.
Despite South Africa’s high unemployment rate – 32.7% in the fourth quarter of 2022 and an even more alarming 45.3% amongst the youth – the country has not been immune from the global ‘Great Resignation’ trend. In South Africa, the trend has a local nuance, largely restricted to professional and specialist roles that continue to be relatively scarce.
More flexibility
In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic a significant proportion of employee resignations have been made up of individuals who re-evaluated their lives and their careers during the first year of the pandemic and subsequent lockdowns and resigned in search of a better work-life balance, more
flexibility in their work lives, career development and a healthier organisational culture.
Prior to the pandemic, most organisations were consumed by how their external brand was reflected and paid little attention to their employer brand. Post the pandemic, the Great Resignation trend has highlighted the need for organisations to take their employer brand and EVP more seriously.
The lure of a good salary is no longer enough: increasingly, potential employees want to be assured that the company they are considering working for cares about them as a unique individual and will invest in both their personal and professional development.
Freelancing
Another trend that has become more apparent post the pandemic is the realisation by organisations that their employees no longer need to reside within their geographic borders.
