How to Define Your Employee Value Proposition

Employee Value Proposition (EVP) is an important part of distinguishing yourself from the competition. This not only ensures you are able to attract the best talent to your organization but also increases the chances that you will be successful when pitching new work to clients.

But what is an EVP and how can it help your brand?

What is an employee value proposition?

Employee Value Proposition - or EVP - is a term that can have various meanings but largely encompasses anything that an employer provides as a benefit for employees. When utilized with an appropriate strategy it can be a fantastic and effective way to attract new talent and also keep staff engaged and motivated in the company.

An EVP is an employee-centric way for organizations to create a consistent platform for their employer branding, experience and people management. For it to be effective and act as a valuable talent attraction tool, it's important that HR align their employee value proposition to any existing workforce management strategies.

Why is an EVP important to businesses?

Whether you are working in a particularly competitive environment, whether niche skill sets are in high demand or not, attracting the best talent can be difficult. Candidates with experience under their belt, who can work both independently and as part of a team, are always going to be invaluable additions to any company.

Having an EVP allows you to better market your organization to candidates, telling them clearly and cohesively why they should join the company. Many businesses have a disciplined strategy for how they will communicate their Employee Value Proposition to prospective employees, as well as those already working for them.

This can be done through the careers section of your website, recruitment marketing and social media, but delivers a message to candidates that sets you aside from your key competitors.

What should you include in an EVP?

What will be specifically included in your Employee Value Proposition depends on the type of organization you are, and what you pride yourself on as an employer. Broadly speaking, the contents of an EVP can be broken down into four categories; compensation, career, culture and benefits.

Compensation

This should include anything that tells employees that you're a fair employer, such as the complaints procedure, steps you take to be an equal opportunities and diverse organization, support for new parents, and what you're doing to be more ethical or environmentally friendly if applicable.

Career

Any elements of career progression, as well as how you support professionals in their development, should be a key part of your EVP. How you train and evaluate employees is also important to showcase to prospective candidates.

Culture

Steps employers take to create a positive working environment and unique company culture should be included in your EVP. This will have a massive impact on whether top talent apply for a position with you or stay in the long term. From how you process employee feedback to organizing social events, culture can be crucial in recruitment and retention.

Benefits

Holiday allowance, sick leave, pension schemes, health and childcare support and bonus schemes are all key elements of the employee value proposition you offer. You should also include whether there's any way employees can boost some or all of these over time, for example, after five years’ service they get additional annual leave or a facility for professionals to buy and sell a certain amount of holiday leave.

How do you define your employee value proposition

Defining your EVP strategy is the most important step in ensuring that it is effective. As with any business objective, you want to establish the goals you want to achieve right at the start. These may change or morph over time as the needs of the company does, but it gives HR a strong focus when defining the strategy.

Whether it's reducing recruitment/turnover costs or increasing employee tenure, having a clear goal in place will keep you on track throughout the process. Understanding where you are currently is the most reliable way to create a goal that aligns with the wider objectives of the business. Ask employees for their anonymous feedback about what first attracted them to the company and why they've stayed to get a better picture of where you may be coming up short.

You will also need to have a strong idea of what candidates you are looking to attract. The best way to do this is to draw up a persona of the key traits, motivations and pain points of the target audience you're looking to recruit and retain. This may give you insight into how best to contact potential candidates and communicate your EVP. It's likely they're using LinkedIn but not always, while social media and conferences can be other effective options to find the top talent you're looking for.