Nancy Vitale
Chief People Officer
Omada Health
Episode 384
Beyond Paychecks: Crafting an Employee Value Proposition that Truly Connects
Current chapter: Covering monthly expenses is the number one concern for employees in 2024
Built By PeopleDecember 5, 2024 · 14:22
Thesis
“An authentic and well-articulated Employee Value Proposition (EVP) is fundamental for attracting and retaining talent, requiring alignment with the company's mission and values, and a comprehensive focus on purpose, social connection, financial health, and mind-body wellness.”
Show notes
Every employer has an Employee Value Proposition. Most just haven't articulated it—which means their candidates and employees are articulating it for them, often inaccurately. Nancy Vitale, CPO at Omada Health, has spent her career at companies like Deloitte, Cigna, Genentech, and P&G figuring out the difference between an EVP that attracts and retains and one that merely exists on a careers page.
Her framework is built around four dimensions of wellbeing: purpose, social connection, financial health, and mind-body health. The most compelling EVPs she's seen—Google, Adobe, Genentech—don't just check benefits boxes. They build a coherent story around why this particular organization is the right place for a particular kind of person to do meaningful work. At Omada Health specifically, the mission (defeating chronic disease) provides an authentic "why" that most employers can't manufacture. Her six-component EVP framework operationalizes that mission into daily employee experience.
Her counterintuitive timing advice: don't wait for the labor market to tighten before investing in your EVP. Now—during a softer talent market—is when you build and refine it, because the organizations that will win the next talent competition are the ones that never stopped working on the story. Measure effectiveness through surveys and focus groups with new hires, existing employees, and candidates who chose not to join. The gaps in their answers tell you where the promise and the experience have drifted apart.
- Defining EVP precisely: the intrinsic and extrinsic rewards employees receive in exchange for their contributions—and why the distinction matters
- The four-pillar EVP framework: purpose, social connection, financial health, and mind-body wellbeing
- Aligning EVP with mission and values, not just business strategy—why authentic grounding beats manufactured positioning
- What makes Google, Adobe, and Genentech's EVPs compelling: lessons from organizations that have gotten this right
- Measuring EVP effectiveness: ongoing surveys, sentiment analysis, focus groups with both current and departed employees
- Why now is the time to invest in EVP—not when the labor market heats back up and it's too late
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What you'll take away
- 1Ensure your EVP is genuine and consistently delivers on its promises to build trust and authenticity with employees.
- 2Frame your EVP around four core well-being areas: purpose, social connection, financial health, and mind-body health, aligning them with your company's mission and values.
- 3Regularly measure EVP effectiveness through employee surveys, focus groups, and feedback from both candidates and new hires to ensure continued relevance.
- 4Invest in leadership development and provide growth opportunities for all employees as key components of a strong EVP.
- 5Proactively strengthen your EVP, even in a softer labor market, to fortify your employer brand and prepare for future talent competition.
What most organizations get wrong
- •An EVP should align with a company's higher-level mission, vision, and values, rather than solely with business strategy and goals, to be truly effective.
- •The current 'softer labor market' is an opportune time to focus on and strengthen your EVP, rather than deprioritizing it due to lower attrition rates, in preparation for future talent demands.
In Nancy's words
“It's really the unique rewards that are received and ultimately valued by employees in return for their contributions to their performance and impact really that they deliver to a particular company.”
This quote provides a concise and clear definition of an Employee Value Proposition (EVP).
“A well-articulated EVP is crucial for companies to leverage, as it essentially answers the question, why should you work here and why should you stay here?”
This highlights the core purpose and strategic importance of a strong EVP for both attraction and retention.
“The most compelling ones, in my humble opinion, incorporate the aspects of those 4 key areas I mentioned earlier: purpose, social connection, financial, mind-body health.”
This statement summarizes her foundational framework for building a comprehensive and impactful EVP.
“I think the best way to measure your EVP effectiveness is through ongoing employee surveys and a broader sentiment analysis.”
This provides practical and actionable advice on how to assess the success and relevance of an EVP.
“I would just advise folks that the time is actually ripe and now to be thinking about this, because as soon as the labor market opens back up, organizations are really going to want to ensure that they have a well-articulated employee value proposition, both to attract new candidates in, but also to reinforce that story to their existing workforce of why stay here.”
This offers a forward-thinking, strategic perspective on EVP importance, urging proactivity regardless of current market conditions.
The problems this episode addresses
- •Struggling to articulate a clear and compelling reason for top talent to join and remain at the company.
- •High turnover rates due to a disconnect between perceived company value and actual employee experience.
- •Lack of understanding regarding what truly motivates and retains employees within the workforce.
- •Difficulty in aligning HR offerings and culture with the company's overarching mission and values.
- •Challenges in proactively preparing the organization to compete for talent during shifts in the labor market.
In this episode
Covering monthly expenses is the number one concern for employees in 2024
Built by People
Nancy Vitale is the Chief People Officer at Amada Health
Built By People: Nancy Vitale
A big focus of our time today is around this concept of the employee value proposition
Exploring the Employee Value Proposition
Dave: Omada's employee value proposition is quite compelling
How to Build an Effective Employee Value Proposition
The best way to measure your EVP effectiveness is through ongoing employee surveys
How to Measure the Effectiveness of an EVP
Companies need to ensure they have a well-articulated employee value proposition
Employee Value Proposals
Topics covered
Organizations and entities mentioned
Full transcript
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