What does... "EPP" actually mean?

Just in time for the elections, an abbreviation is causing havoc in marketing departments and agencies, or more specifically in the HR departments of these companies: EVP. While the big sister CVP has long since trimmed its name to mainstream and simply calls itself The center the EPP (Evangelical People's Party), founded in 1917, remains true to its Reformed Christian orientation and name. Both paths, however, have so far led to continued moderate electoral success. But that is not the point here. With EVP is the Employee Value Proposition, which is currently on everyone's lips.

Money and fame alone do not make happy

In the past, a hefty salary and the prospect of winning a few marble cubes were enough to attract good people. Today, the whole package - the EVP - has to be right if a company wants to attract highly specialized professionals. Of course, there are still people who want to earn a lot of money quickly and win awards, but the species is slowly dying out. Today's workforce demands different incentives from companies. "What's in for me?" they ask themselves, meaning money as one aspect among many (and one that is less important in affluent Switzerland than elsewhere). Rather, what counts today is flexibility in the choice of time, place and workload, as well as the size of the space for developing one's own skills and personality. In order to ensure all of this, a large part of the package is taken up by the corporate culture. This means that values and appreciation by the team and managers are more important than the amount of salary. No easy task, especially for those managers who define their self-image by the latter. And in an industry in which hierarchy and titles are almost as deeply anchored as in the conservative financial industry, living EVP is more difficult to establish than reciting it in a few slides. It's not enough to throw a few rooftop parties and think that's all there is to it. No, an attractive employee value proposition demands everything from a company and its organization. Transparency, flexibility and curiosity. If you don't offer that, you may still have orders, but you won't have employees to fill them. Today, good professionals choose their employers. Which brings us back to politics: The "people" elect the politicians - and not the other way around.

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* Benno Maggi is co-founder and CEO of Partner & Partner. He has been eavesdropping on the industry for over 30 years, discovering words and terms for us that can either be used for small talk, pomposity, excitement, playing Scrabble, or just because.