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Engaging employers with an effective 'Value Proposition'
Editorial by Christian Saint Cyr
National Director / Canadian Job Development Network
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Last week, I moderated the BC Labour Market Conference and one of my guests was Brent Polington, Franchise Owner with Express Employment Professionals. In providing suggestions about better engaging employers, Pollington said job seekers need to appreciate the challenges employers face.
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Job seekers need to understand their 'value proposition' or the value they bring to an employer that makes them a better candidate than any other the employer might be considering.
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According to Pollington, the average job seeker doesn't understand the basic math and science of running a business.
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"The business needs to be profitable and if the business isn't profitable, the job doesn't exist," he said.
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He believes that most job seekers approach job search seeing the personal benefits of the job to themselves but not framing the opportunity around what they can do for the employer. This speaks volumes in how people write resumes, cover letters and how they conduct themselves in an interview.
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To accomplish this end, a job seeker needs to look at a job posting, consider how the responsibilities fit with the success of the organization and what they can do to personally contribute to each of these responsibilities.
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When Polllington presents candidates to potential employers, he's talking about the value each person will bring to the operation.
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He argues that each person needs to generate at least 300 per cent of their salary for the organization to justify their position.
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Certainly, with a salesperson, this might be possible but how can a administrator or a receptionist generate money for the organization?
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Pollington notes that an executive assistant makes their manager more productive, freeing up time to grow the business. The receptionist is what he calls the "ambassador of first impressions" that give people the confidence to do business with the company.
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He even agues that janitors are working to create an atmosphere that garners respect, confidence and a productive workspace.
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If we were to put a career development lens on this idea, how are individual staff members growing the bottom line? Certainly, managers and directors are applying for contracts and attracting clients which demonstrates the success of the organization.
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Job developers and other employer engagement professionals are expected to assist a certain number of individuals in achieving employment or a work placement. For many programs, they are literally compensated based on the number of people who achieve employment outcomes.
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What about case managers, facilitators and resource room advisors?
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For career development organizations that win a contract to provide career services for a particular period of time, the math might be different, but the value proposition is the same.
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Client outcomes are the currency. Whether it's employment outcomes, client starts, workshops completed, resumes developed, interventions or attendance, these are the benchmarks of success and future contracts.
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Managers help achieve this with the best use of resources such as staff, services and interventions. Job developers achieve this through the placement of individuals and developing strong relationships with employers. Case managers or employment counsellors achieve this through supportive engagement and an effective action plan. Facilitators achieve this by developing learning outcomes that have the greatest impact on client outcomes.
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Resource room advisors achieve this by not only effectively using their literal resources but also speaking to how the organization can best assist individuals in achieving career success. One positive interaction with a resource room advisor can generate multiple points of client success, while a poor resource room visit can lose multiple client opportunities every month.
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It's not as though every position generates dollars and it can be confusing as to whether someone is personally generating 300 per cent of their salary, but when everyone is working together to achieve organizational goals this is working as it should.
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This is the basic math and science of job search that Pollington thinks job seekers are missing. When preparing a cover letter, completing a job application or participating in an interview, to have statements that discuss contribution to this broader goal.
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For instance, instead of generic statements such as, "experienced in using the full suite of Microsoft Office applications," to state: "Utilized Microsoft Excel to keep detailed records of customer interactions and Outlook to reach out to customers who haven't purchased within the past six months."
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Job seekers should start with anything they can find about the mission of the organization. This can include values, objectives and mission statements. To carefully read the 'About Us' and 'Careers Section' of a company's website and speak to those objectives.
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And while Mission Statements can be very generic, coupling this with the basic goals of any other organization in their sector can be valuable.
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For instance, a company might write 'costumer care' is their foremost value and if they are working in the insurance sector a statement might look like: "I believe that taking care of customers is the key driver of long term business relationships. If I really know my customers and remember their details, I can make insurance recommendations that are not only going to well-serve them but ensure we are not missing out on any product they can benefit from."
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This advise of the 'value proposition' helps us understand the danger of the 'I' proposition. Job seekers regularly use phases starting with "I want...," "I need...," I won't...," and "I can't..."
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To be clear, I believe a job seeker should have clear expectations and should negotiate the best opportunity possible, but job search and interviewing are well before this and they need to speak the employer's language.
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It's hard to avoid the word, 'I' but it does open the opportunity to ask clarifying questions and then speak to how they can make a contribution.
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While much of this Job Development Pulse has focused on how your clients or students can best present themselves, I believe this is just as valuable for job developers.
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This is why I place such a priority on 'discovery' and why the sales sector does as well. By asking probative questions about the challenges of the business, problems with recruitment and their goals for the future, a job developer can make suggestions on potential clients and other supports that will solve those problems.
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This is why I so often draw correlations to sales and job development. Sales people are selling products and services. Job developers are selling candidates. In both cases they are problem solvers. If we don't understand the problem, we can't suggest the solution. At least we can't suggest the solution in terms employers will understand. That's OUR value proposition.
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We’ll be discussing the importance of a value proposition at our #MotivatingMondays meeting of the Canadian Job Development Network, Monday June 9th at 8:30am Pacific; 9:30am Mountain; 10:30am Central; 11:30am Eastern; 12:30pm Atlantic and at 1pm in Newfoundland.
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On the morning of Monday June 9th 'Click this Link' to join the session LIVE.
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