What You Need to Know About Employee Value Propositions (EVP)

The need to have a ‘brand’ is pervasive, whether you’re talking about a company’s brand in pop culture, a worker’s personal brand in the workforce, or an employer’s brand in the talent marketplace. Establishing a clear brand makes it easy to communicate what you or your company stands for and how you operate day-to-day.

One way to communicate your brand as an employer to potential and existing staffers is through your employee value proposition (EVP). This simple yet powerful statement lets workers know what they stand to gain by working with your organization over other companies, which is critical in today’s crowded hiring environment. 

If your talent management strategy is missing this tool, don’t fret. We’ve broken down what’s included in a solid EVP should include, how to build one for your company, and ways to track its impact. Let’s get started!

What is an Employee Value Proposition (EVP)?

An employee value proposition (EVP) is a set of benefits and rewards an employer offers its employees. It includes tangible and intangible elements intended to attract, motivate, engage, and retain top talent in the organization. An EVP helps improve the employee experience and creates a positive work culture. It can also help recruit new talent since it gives potential employees an idea of what working at the company will look like.

The Key Elements of an Employee Value Proposition

There are several different elements that make up your employee value proposition, from tangible rewards like your benefits package to intangible things like your work environment. Including the following components in your EVP helps address the needs and expectations of your workforce and new hires.

Compensation

Compensation is a vital element of an employee value proposition, as it provides employees with financial rewards and incentives for their work. Compensation can come in the form of salaries, bonuses, commissions, and other forms of payment based on performance. You’ll want to ensure your compensation strategies are competitive enough to attract top talent and retain existing employees.

Benefits

Many companies offer benefits beyond traditional salary and bonus packages to further incentivize employees. These include health insurance, vacation time,parental leave, flexible work hours, mental health support, and more. Benefits make a company more attractive to potential hires and improve the employee experience and enhance their wellbeing.

Career Development

Career development opportunities help staff develop their skills and knowledge, further their career path, and grow within the organization. Companies that invest in such employee development are attractive to workers because they offer them the chance to build new skills and advance their careers.

Work Environment

Work environment can directly impact the employee’s experience and overall job happiness. An ideal in-person, hybrid, or remote work environment is both physically and mentally a safe and comfortable space that fosters respect and appreciation.

Even within a remote work setting, it’s important to provide effective processes and tools to encourage collaboration and open communication, like Slack or regular Zoom meetings. You can also offer support and resources to employees, like home office reimbursements or new work laptops.

Company Culture

Company culture is the set of shared beliefs, values, and behaviors that define a company’s identity and shape its overall atmosphere and attitude toward employees. A positive culture can lead to higher morale, increased employee satisfaction, better engagement, and more productivity. 

Examples of Employee Value Propositions

The advantages and culture employees experience differs between companies, so no two EVPs will look alike. What good EVPs have in common is that they are clear, succinct and accurate. Here are a few examples of that capture that essence:

1. Our organization offers flexible work arrangements, a supportive team culture, and opportunities for career growth and development to all employees, recognizing the unique talents and contributions of each individual.
2. We believe in fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace where all employees feel valued and empowered to reach their full potential. Our organization offers competitive compensation and benefits, as well as ongoing training and development opportunities.
3. As one of our team members, you will have access to cutting-edge technology and tools, as well as a collaborative work environment where innovation and creativity are encouraged. We also offer a comprehensive benefits package and work-life wellness initiatives.
4. Joining us means becoming part of a passionate and dedicated team committed to making a positive impact on the world. Our employees enjoy a supportive and collaborative culture, competitive compensation and benefits, and opportunities for personal and professional growth.

Since there’s no one-size-fits-all statement, each company benefits from creating their own. Let’s dig into how you can do just that!

How to to Create, Share, and Track Your EVP

A well-built employee value proposition adds immense value to a company by attracting top-quality candidates. Since EVPs focus on what employees need and want from their job, they help new talent understand the organization they’re joining and current employees thrive where they are. Here are steps you can take to develop, disseminate and assess your EVP. 

Assess Current Offerings Against Your Competition

To see where you currently stand in the market, consider conducting a comprehensive analysis of how your offerings measure up against industry standards and local labor market dynamics. It is essential to look at employee benefits, salaries, job security, work-life balance, training and development opportunities, flexibility in working hours, culture, and values.

You can collect external data for this from competitors’ job listings and industry research. Ensure you consider how macro factors will impact your EVP, such as potential skill shortages and surpluses, as well as social and economic trends, to maximize your position in the market.

Gather Feedback from Employees

Understanding employee needs is essential to developing an effective EVP strategy. For example, discovering what employees need from their jobs beyond financial rewards  — such as meaningful work or flexible working hours — will help organizations create an EVP that resonates with the workforce. 

You can gather feedback by conducting employee pulse surveys, focus groups, and interviews. This will provide valuable insight into the current employee experience to craft an EVP that better meets their needs and motivates them to stay with the company for years.

Use Unique Selling Points (Without Exaggerating)

One way to make an employee value proposition more attractive is through unique selling points (USPs). USPs are aspects of a company or an organization that makes it stand out from its competition and appeal to potential employees.

It’s important to identify these points accurately and use them strategically to create compelling EVP messages that differentiate your company from the rest. Some organizations, for example, might focus on their workplace culture and environmental quality, while others may highlight their commitment to sustainability.

However, it’s important not to mislead potential hires about your work culture or core values. This can end up having the opposite of your desired effect, saddling you with unsatisfied employees and retention woes.

Define Each Element of Your EVP

All of that internal and external input will help you to shape and articulate each aspect of your EVP. It’s important to note you might have slightly different EVPs, depending on where employees are in their career. Those looking for an entry-level position, for example, might be wooed by the career growth opportunities and employee perks you offer, more established professionals might be enticed by your approaches to work-life wellness, childcare, or salary.

Leverage Ideal Promotional Channels

Promote your EVP on career pages, job boards, recruitment events, and through word-of-mouth referrals or partnerships. To reach potential job seekers, you can also use other digital channels that fuel social proof, like Glassdoor, or social media platforms, like Linkedin.

To keep your messaging up-to-date and consistent across all promotional channels, consider tracking all messaging internally so you know the last time each channel is updated. You could also create an in-house career site that outlines your company values, flexible hours, or other initiatives that have created successful employees. This way, you can ensure potential hires see your EVP’s latest version and thoroughly understand what you offer.

Measure the Success of Your New EVP

You can use various metrics to measure the success of your new and improved employee value proposition. A successful EVP strategy can impact employee engagement, turnover, absenteeism, productivity, job satisfaction, and more. You will want to devise key performance indicators (KPIs) you track to evaluate the impact of your new EVP. 

For example, for short-term goals, such as talent acquisition, relevant KPIs could be: tracking the number of qualified potential candidates you get, how many offers are accepted, and the cost and duration of the hiring process. For long-term goals like increased retention, relevant KPIs could be employee engagement and satisfaction levels. 

Building an EVP Grounded in Work-life Wellness

A successful EVP reflects the lifestyle and needs of your employees, both those you have now and those that will join. One of the top needs of workers today is work-life wellness. When you build an EVP through a work-life wellness lens, you actively promote health in your workplace and create a better future for all team members.

Whether through gym memberships or meditation retreats, there are many ways to infuse the work-life wellness journey into your business and positively impact the lives of your staff. And we can help you create a strong employee value proposition that reduces employee turnover and increases wellbeing.

Speak to a Wellbeing Specialist today to learn more about how we can help!

References

• How Wellness Benefits Support Recruiting Efforts. (July 19, 2021). Namely. Retrieved March 2, 2023 from https://blog.namely.com/wellness-benefits-support-recruiting. 
• The Ultimate Guide to Company Culture [2022 Edition]. Quantum Workplace. Retrieved on March 1, 2023 from https://www.quantumworkplace.com/future-of-work/workplace-culture. 
• What is Employer Branding Today? (2023). Frontify. Retrieved March 1, 2023 from https://www.frontify.com/en/blog/what-is-employer-branding-today/.  
• What’s the Point of a Personal Brand? (February 17, 2022). HBR. Retrieved on March 1, 2023 from https://hbr.org/2022/02/whats-the-point-of-a-personal-brand.