The world of work has changed faster than the traditional 'deal' offered to employees today. It's time to catch up: the workplace narrative is being rewritten at speed.
We have identified six interconnected pillars that define successful employer propositions in the modern workplace. This article focuses specifically on two critical pillars: employer brand and culture. We examine how organisations can move beyond outdated employer value propositions to create authentic narratives, backed by genuine cultural transformation.
Responding to the expectations of a modern workforce
Technology is reshaping roles, flexibility is now a baseline expectation, generational priorities are pulling in new directions, and the pressure to do more with less is relentless. For many organisations, the old rulebook of what it means to be a modern employer no longer aligns with the reality of work – or with what tomorrow's workforce will demand.
For leaders, this creates both challenge and opportunity: how do you meet today's performance and cost imperatives while building an organisation that people actively choose to join and remain with? Employees are already making different choices. Flexibility is assumed, and well-being, meaningful work, financial security, and visible career progression are now also essential. Where organisations fail to meet those expectations, engagement erodes quickly.
The gap between what employers promise and what employees experience has never been more costly – or more visible. The question for leaders is simple: are you having the right conversation with your people, or repeating an outdated script?
The outdated script is failing
For too long, the employer-employee dialogue has relied on outdated strategies: a polished employee value proposition (EVP), flyers or posters depicting values displayed around the workspace, and a handful of perks designed to check boxes. However, employees are unlikely to buy into narratives without evidence. When promises don't match lived experience, credibility is lost. The results are predictable: disengagement rises, turnover accelerates, and investment in people evaporates.
The numbers are stark. According to Gallup (opens a new window), globally, only 23% of employees describe themselves as engaged at work, despite engaged organisations being 18% more productive and 23% more profitable. In Ireland, 81% of employers acknowledge (opens a new window) responsibility for supporting employee health, but only 20% allocate budget for support and just one in three have a formal wellbeing plan or board-level accountability. The gap between recognition and delivery is widening, and with it the risks of attrition, absenteeism, and underperformance rise in tandem.
Lockton's own 2025 Global Wellbeing Strategy Survey (opens a new window) highlights the same shift. Over 80% of employers rank engagement and experience as a top strategic priority. More than half now see wellbeing as integral to workforce strategy, not a collection of side initiatives. Of employers surveyed, 41% plan to increase wellbeing investment in the next two to three years, with none planning reductions.
A new conversation starts with honesty
The solution is not a refreshed EVP or a more polished campaign, it is an honest and balanced two-way conversation that cuts through complexity and sets clear expectations. A credible employer proposition should answer the following three questions directly:
Who are we as an employer?
What do we genuinely offer and why?
What do we expect in return?
Leading organisations are putting this into practice. Some publish employee charters that set out commitments on flexibility, career growth, and wellbeing – balanced with expectations around contribution and adaptability. Others are testing pay transparency frameworks that expose trade-offs while building trust. Professional services firms are evolving health support into targeted, risk-based approaches that reflect partner and employee realities. These steps don't solve everything, but they signal clarity and credibility – exactly what today's workforce values most.
Culture is the true test
Words only go so far. Proof comes from culture. Today's employees look for alignment between what organisations say and how they behave. This requires leaders who model values, employees feeling safe enough to speak up, and adult-to-adult conversations becoming the norm.
Culture needs structure as much as aspiration. Successful organisations embed culture into operations: manager toolkits that bring the proposition to life in daily practice, decision-rights frameworks that reduce friction on flexibility and workload planning, and governance reviews that assess the success of enacted policies.
Some organisations link executive incentives directly to engagement or progression outcomes. Others conduct cultural audits that test the consistency between stated values and lived employee experience. These mechanisms move culture from aspiration to measurable practice.
Where does your employer proposition stand today?
Every organisation has a deal with its people, and few businesses have adequately tested whether it holds up under pressure. The most effective employers are those willing to face reality, close gaps, and design a proposition that is both durable and credible.
At Lockton, we've distilled what works into a single framework: Lockton Prosper (opens a new window).
The Lockton Prosper framework: a systematic approach to modern employment
The challenges facing today's employers – from engagement gaps to cultural misalignment – require a comprehensive response. Our work with organisations navigating these shifts has enabled us to identify the six interconnected pillars that constitute the Lockton Prosper framework.
The Lockton Prosper framework addresses every dimension of the employee experience: from the foundational employer brand and story that attracts talent, through the practical benefits and rewards that retain them, to the cultural environment and growth opportunities that engage them long-term. Effective ways of working and robust communication systems ensure these elements translate into daily reality rather than remaining aspiration.
Lockton Propser captures the patterns of success we see in organisations that consistently attract and retain talent, and translates them into practical tools that leaders can use to design, test, and deliver a proposition that holds in real life. The aim is simple: a deal grounded in clarity and evidence, lived through culture, and resilient through change.
If you are ready to assess how your proposition stands up, start the conversation with us today by visiting our People Solutions page (opens a new window) or contacting your Lockton consultant.
In forthcoming pieces, we'll explore the remaining four pillars: how forward-thinking organisations are redesigning benefits and recognition systems, reimagining career development for a multi-generational workforce, implementing flexible work models that drive performance, and building communication systems that support rather than overwhelm.
Together, these six pillars create employer propositions designed to withstand today’s pressures and remain relevant in the future.
