Employer Value Propositions (EVPs) are the unique set of benefits and values that a person receives for their time, skills, capabilities, and experience. In essence, EVPs are what an organisation offers to its employees and what it expects in return.
How Important Are EVPs?
It’s really important to define EVPs and learn to communicate them effectively to prospective employees. After all, they are the reason someone may wish to work at a company.
Offering a great EVPs is essential for a number of reasons:
EVPs Help Attract Top Talent
Compelling EVP can help to attract high-quality candidates. If a company can clearly articulate the unique benefits it offers, it’s more likely to appeal to talented individuals who are seeking those specific attributes in an employer.
EVPs Also Retain Great Employees
An attractive EVP not only helps to bring people into the company but also plays a key role in keeping them there. If employees are happy that they’re receiving significant value from their employment beyond just a salary – whether that’s in the form of professional development opportunities, a great company culture, or impressive benefits – they’re more likely to stay with the company. Never underestimate the value of engaged employees.
EVPs Help Differentiate from Competitors
In a competitive job market, a unique and compelling EVP can help a company to stand out among other employers. By offering a distinctive combination of benefits and opportunities, a company can differentiate itself from its competitors and become an employer of choice for top talent.
Great EVPs Build Positive Employer Brands
Great EVPs contributes to a strong employer brand, as it helps to shape perceptions of what it’s like to work at the company. This, in turn, can enhance the company’s reputation, making it more attractive to potential candidates. Organisations with great employer brands are more likely to attract candidates directly, rather than relying on external recruitment agencies. This can significantly reduce hiring costs.
In conclusion, offering a great EVP is integral to attracting, retaining, and engaging top talent. It helps a company differentiate itself from competitors, build a positive employer brand, and reduce hiring costs. It’s therefore a key component of an effective talent management strategy.
How To Create The Employer Value Propositions That Will Attract Employees?
Defining an Employer Value Proposition (EVP) requires insight into what the company offers and what potential employees might find attractive.
It’s helpful to try and understand what your current and prospective employees value most. This can be done through employee surveys, focus groups, and one-on-one interviews.
It’s also very helpful to assess the competition. Once you know what they’re offering, it’s then just a case of finding ways to create something that other employers who want the same people can’t offer.
Make Sure Compensation Is Competitive
This includes salary, bonuses, and other financial benefits. While it’s important, remember that it’s only one part of the EVP, and not always the most important one for everyone. However, it is best to make sure remuneration is in-line with what other companies offer for the same skills. Ideally beat the competition if you can – money talks.
Offer Great Employee Benefits
Benefits are a sweet addition to any remuneration package. They can also be good for business in terms of employee morale. Things like health insurance, pension schemes, vacation days, maternity and paternity leave, and other perks like meals, gym memberships or childcare services. Benefits don’t have to be big, small things like an early dart Friday can be a nice perk that employees generally appreciate.
Promote Career Development
Not everyone wants to climb the ladder, but it is best to offer opportunities for personal and professional growth can be a big draw. This could be in the form of training programs, mentorship, or showing a commitment to promoting from within. Even offering people the chance to learn new skills that can enhance their personal life can add real value to an EVP.
Create A Great Work Environment
This is about the physical workspace. It doesn’t matter if people need to be in an office, laboratory, workshop, on different sites or even working remotely. It’s very important to make sure staff have the tools and resources to perform and thrive in their roles. Outlining what the working environment looks like – and making improvements if required – will only help a recruitment marketing campaign.
Nurture Positive Company Culture and Values
What is the company’s mission? Making sure the ethos and values are clear helps employees rally around. Company culture is a difficult thing to define, but it’s something that can be a positive force when it comes to talent acquisition. Making sure there is a great company culture is key. Employers need to – at least – make sure they offer a safe and comfortable place to work and a great work-life balance.
How To Define EVPs
EVPs are a dynamic component of any organisation that requires ongoing attention. Therefore, defining EVPs is not a one-off process; it should be revisited and updated as companies grow, the employment market changes, or employees’ preferences change over time.
Also, defining things on paper is easy. However, EVPs need to be embedded in every part of the employee experience and be reflected in the company’s policies, processes, and behaviours. Everything needs to be authentic, unique, compelling, and aligned with the actual employee experience at your company.
Consider what is unique about the company or the employee experience? This could be anything from exceptional training opportunities, a commitment to sustainability, innovative products or services, a distinctive culture, or a track record of promoting from within. Work out what can set the company apart from the competition and make sure this translates over to the employee experience.
Once you’ve come up with what sets a company apart, everything should be translated to an EVP statement. This should be concise, compelling, and accurately reflect what it’s like to work for the company. The statement should articulate the unique offerings of the company and how they benefit employees.
Remember, employer value propositions must be more than just words. When it comes to defining EVPs, they need to be embedded in every part of the employee experience and be reflected in the company’s policies, processes, and behaviours. If the EVP promises a supportive, inclusive culture, for example, this should be evident in the day to day employee experience.
How Can A Recruitment Specialist Help A Company With Employer Value Propositions?
As recruitment specialists, we have industry expertise, insights and resources that can help companies define and communicate EVPs effectively.
We can help with market research to understand the current trends, candidate expectations, and competitive offerings. This information is crucial in defining an EVP that is both attractive to potential candidates and unique in the marketplace.
It’s also possible for us to develop and implement tools like surveys, interviews, and focus groups to gather feedback from current employees. This feedback can provide valuable insights into what employees value most about the company and identify areas for improvement.
The next step is to work with business leaders to craft EVPs that is genuine, compelling, aligned with the company’s vision and values, and commercially viable. Once everything is defined, we can then develop a strategic plan to communicate it effectively and guide the integration of EVPs into all aspects of the recruitment process, from job postings and interview questions to candidate communications and onboarding materials.
By helping our clients to define and promote compelling EVPs, we have been able to significantly enhance a company’s ability to attract, engage, and retain top talent. If you would like support in anything we have mentioned in this blog post, just get in touch to discuss how we could help?