The Power of an Employee Value Proposition

How can retail brands create a better customer experience and drive revenue through an employee value proposition? In VMSD, our Director of Strategy, Alexa Jewell Schaefer, shares our latest insights.

There’s no denying, a great customer experience (CX) drives revenue growth in the retail world. But who gets the credit for the great experience and upward sales? Mostly it has been the corporate level where you have savvy marketing, sales, product (and if you’re really savvy) CX teams and metrics give credit to leaders. But what about those employees that are customer-facing? Those who interact with consumers day-in and day-out?

Customer-facing employees play a critical role in the CX. As consumers ourselves this may seem like a no-brainer: a single interaction with an employee can make or break our experience, regardless of whether we are in store, on the phone, or virtual chat. Moreover, depending on how we viewed the experience, good or bad, it can completely alter our perception of the brand as a whole. This is still hard for some brand leaders to grasp. A recent study found that executives talk about customers 10x times more often in earning calls than employees. And when they do, execs perceive customers to be comparable to opportunities and employees to risk.

What if we told you there is plenty of research out there that supports the connection between positive employee experience (EX) and CX? That happy employees make for happy customers. You might think, “great, let’s make a better EX by increasing perks of the job and offering a better benefits package, and we’re all set, right?” Wrong. Heavy employee discounts, higher hourly wages, or flexible schedules don’t cut it anymore. Company perks like these are considered table stakes today. Not to mention, they are easy for others to emulate, putting your employer brand in the sea of same for top talent. Employees have all sorts of reasons for working where they do. Whether it’s to build up their resume, work for a brand they already love, or know they are putting efforts towards a greater cause, employees want to feel purpose and connected to their work.

This mode of thinking shouldn’t sound unfamiliar to brands. Consumers today choose brands for these sorts of reason too; lowest price, best quality, brand loyalty, and sometimes a brand’s values or environmental impact. The difference is, brands have grown accustomed to creating strong value propositions for their customers to drive business and profits, but what about a value proposition to win with employees? With this in mind, let’s examine how retail brands can deliver better CX and drive revenue by homing in on their employee value proposition (EVP).

Read the full article in VMSD.