5 minute read
Value Propositions Are Great for Products, Not Careers
Author
Matthew Gilbert
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Consumer products can have value propositions. "No added sugar." "One tap to a ride." "Reduced cost." These work because products deliver discrete, definable experiences. Value, initially, is the same for every consumer.
Careers don't work that way.
Rather than treating value as a proposition to declare, Value Strategy recognizes value as something created in lived experience
The Problem with Packaging Employment
Every experience someone can have is the value proposition in a career. There is no tagline that captures that. No set of pillars will cover all the people, teams, roles and nuances. Every company would have essentially the same value proposition if they were all being honest: "Work here and you have access to all these possible experiences, but nothing is guaranteed." This isn’t a bad thing. It simply means we’re using very outdated tools and thinking for today’s world(s)-of-work.
Traditional EVP treats employment like a product to package and sell. But people don't buy careers the way they buy products. Their reasons for engaging, their contexts, career paths, interests — are all unique to their situation. A single value proposition can't work for an entire diverse audience because value itself isn't universal. It's contextual.
This is why preference data, which dominates talent research, falls short. Preference tells you what people like about what you've already got. It's not predictive. It's not prescriptive. It doesn't help you understand what creates value — only whether people prefer option A or option B from a limited menu.
Value Strategy: A Different Model
Rather than treating value as a proposition to declare, Value Strategy recognizes value as something created in lived experience — contextually, dynamically, individually.
Value Strategy breaks down tangible and intangible areas of work, culture, and life into dimensions that either create value or diminish it, based on different contexts and criteria. It acknowledges that what creates value for a mid-career engineer considering a leadership track differs from what creates value for that same engineer if they're contemplating a technical specialist path. Context shapes value.
This approach requires different research methodology. Decision-dynamics uses research tools in unconventional ways to understand not just what people prefer, but how, why, when, and where people make career and employment decisions. This insight informs value creation strategy, creative development, and how connection — the ultimate competitive advantage — gets built.
From Messaging to Meaning
When similarity is the baseline and we shift from value proposition to value creation, something fundamental changes. Differentiation becomes a result of our approach, not an unmeasurable goal, especially when compared to all the options out there.
Think about how countries market themselves for tourism. They can't promise sunny weather every day. But they can show all the things you might do whether it's sunny or raining. That shift transforms brand marketing from promising to coaching. From selling to helping.
The same applies to employer brand. We can't promise every candidate a perfect career experience, nor should we. We can share the context of, and in, the experiences people are likely to have. We can help them understand the range of value they might create in different contexts, with different choices, at different moments in their career.
This shifts employer brand from a communication tool to a value creation resource.
Value Strategy and Decision-dynamics are proprietary frameworks developed by WorkingTheory to help organizations create value across the roles of Brand.
