Royal Mail had several perception challenges in 2023 when we started working with them including an aging, homogenous workforce and the next generation not joining. So how did we help turn things around and what can other business leaders and their HR teams learn? Ben Watson, blue goose managing director and strategist, explains how we helped reimagine and evolve their EVP.
As an organisation that was founded in 1635, Royal Mail had to change perceptions and present itself as a modern and progressive institution. Research revealed it had an aging, homogenous workforce and that the next generation was not joining. Along with service challenges at the time, Royal Mail also bid farewell to its 360-year-old monopoly on parcel deliveries from Post Office branches, which had been independently operating since 2012.
It’s not that the British stalwart didn’t want to adapt to address essential transformational challenges, such as fierce competition and new work patterns like afternoon deliveries. But it was hindered by its own stagnant internal processes, which were leading to external reputational damage. And that in turn was impacting recruitment and investment opportunities.
Internal cohesion and external brand credibility
When it comes to perception management and establishing a successful Employee Value Proposition (EVP), business leaders often have an external focus. However, managing credibility externally is actually highly dependent on getting internal processes right first.
The journey towards a successful EVP starts with:
- fostering connections internally
- ensuring different organisational facets are on board with unified messaging
- integrating their concerns and priorities into a position that benefits everyone
The initial approach involves tailoring the EVP to resonate with the primary audience – those who may be disaffected or hesitant to join, for example. By amplifying key elements that resonate with potential employees, the organisation can address external challenges more effectively. However, the success of such initiatives relies heavily on internal collaboration.
Joined-up thinking for a successful EVP
One of the common pitfalls in EVP transformations is internal dislocation. While business leaders may champion the cause, other key stakeholders, such as marketing and recruitment heads for instance, might operate in silos. This disjointed approach can lead to the failure of numerous EVP initiatives. To counteract this, it’s important to focus on two crucial levers: ensuring widespread buy-in across the lifecycle stages of attraction, recruitment and onboarding, and achieving alignment among every internal department.
A lack of cohesion within organisations hinders their ability to claim ownership of the employee experience. Without a clear definition and articulation of this experience, they can’t truly acknowledge or possess it. On the flip side, by precisely expressing it, there is a higher likelihood of internal engagement with the offerings. Furthermore, collaboration with stakeholders allows organisations to collectively evaluate and influence the current offerings, enabling them to continuously assess and iterate as deemed necessary for the future.
Networking and stakeholder management become pivotal in this process. While providing support in engaging different departments, the primary function is to deliver a solution that anticipates challenges and provides tangible benefits. The importance of granularity in thinking – understanding who will use the platform, how and why – cannot be overstated.
Articulating an ambitious future vision
Creating a successful EVP involves collaborative efforts, particularly with existing employees who play a crucial role in co-authoring the narrative that defines the unique and distinguishing aspects of the employee experience within a workplace. The EVP should not only reflect the current reality but also encompass ambitious perspectives, articulating the future vision of the organisation as planned by senior leaders and executives.
During its development, the EVP must address:
- areas where improvements are possible
- insights from exit interviews and satisfaction scores
- transparently outline the mutual exchange – emphasising what individuals can contribute versus what they can gain across four key dimensions: culture, purpose, ways of working and benefits.
However, the true essence of an EVP materialises when there is a shared consensus within the organisation regarding its role, placement and functionality.
At Royal Mail, colleagues from various areas such as diversity, equity and inclusion, wellbeing, reward and recognition, and training and development successfully collaborated and aligned their efforts. This collective approach brought benefits to both individuals within the organisation, serving as a guide for numerous initiatives, and the business as a whole.
This collaborative spirit allowed us to embark on a period of exploration to find out what the target age group rated most highly about life at Royal Mail and why they might leave to go somewhere else. The things we identified as most compelling were the sense of a ‘higher purpose’ in the work Royal Mail carries out, the variety on offer in the job roles, and the sense of community a career at Royal Mail helps establish.
From this, we developed the position and promise ‘We Deliver More’, with its supporting heart motif touching on each of these areas, and the still industry-leading benefits package on offer to all Royal Mail employees. We Deliver More was rolled out across the employee lifecycle at Royal Mail with additional alignment for teams heading up Health and Wellbeing, and DEI, creating a joined up employee experience, all pointing to the same central proposition.
The EVP at Royal Mail now reflects a cohesive and connected portrayal of the employee experience, both internally and externally. This stands in contrast to many workplaces where the employee experience may seem fragmented and unintentional. Royal Mail took deliberate steps to steer and shape its employee experience, presenting a unified and intentional image to the world.
Royal Mail’s journey towards revitalisation underscored the critical link between internal cohesion and external credibility. Faced with operational challenges, service setbacks and the departure of its long-standing parcel delivery monopoly, the organisation embarked on an essential transformation. The struggle to adapt was compounded by internal stagnation, impacting its reputation, recruitment and investment opportunities.
Recognising the need for change, Royal Mail prioritised fostering internal connections and streamlining processes to enhance its EVP. The emphasis on joined-up thinking and collaboration across departments became paramount, with a focus on attracting, recruiting and onboarding talent cohesively. The success of this approach hinged on articulating a future vision, aligning diverse stakeholders and addressing areas for improvement through transparent communication.
Royal Mail’s collaborative efforts across areas such as diversity, equity and inclusion, wellbeing, reward and recognition and training have yielded a cohesive EVP. This deliberate strategy has not only benefited individuals within the organisation but has also presented a unified image externally.
*This is an edited version of an article first published in The HR Director
