A key factor affecting any organization’s ability to attract, hire, and retain talent is the employee value proposition (EVP) – the benefits and experiences the organization offers to help employees succeed and grow.
A company’s EVP functions as the “handshake” between the employer and the employee and informs employees the organization cares about their needs. It also tells candidates what they can expect as part of their employee experience with the organization.
The EVP is the “give and get” of working for an organization and should be expressed in a clear, simple, straightforward, yet powerful way.
Organizations that are empowered with a strong EVP can continue to evolve with changing candidate and employee expectations, competing for stronger talent more effectively and being seen as a great place to work.
As a critical component of an effective employer branding strategy, the EVP helps organizations differentiate themselves and demonstrate what makes working there so rewarding. A true and authentic EVP can do wonders for an organization’s talent acquisition and retention efforts; it can influence a candidate’s decision to apply and an employee’s decision to stay or leave.
According to Gartner research, organizations that effectively deliver on their EVP can reduce employee turnover by nearly 70% and increase new hire commitment by almost 30%.
Cultivating an EVP that accurately reflects employee experiences supports the development of an employer reputation everyone will be excited to talk about. Specific benefits of an authentic EVP include:
Often, organizations struggling with talent acquisition and recruitment marketing also possess a lackluster and poorly-executed employee value proposition. Instead of attracting quality candidates that ultimately become loyal employees and brand champions, they risk developing a poor reputation and miss out on opportunities to compete effectively for talent. In a CareerBuilder survey, 71% of people said they wouldn’t apply to work at a company with bad press and a poor reputation.
To ensure the EVP is an enabler rather than a stumbling block to recruitment and retention success, organizations must routinely evaluate it and make updates as needed. Employee and candidate preferences continuously evolve over time, and so should the EVP.
To keep pace with evolving expectations and employer branding best practices, organizations should take the following steps to revamp their EVP:
Refining the EVP requires first taking stock of what the organization currently offers candidates and employees. After all, it’s nearly impossible to improve without knowing where the organization’s EVP stands.
Therefore, it’s essential to look at the following elements, and ask honest questions about how they are addressed in the current EVP:
By assessing these factors, organizations can determine areas of strength and where improvement is needed. For example, the organization may offer competitive total rewards but struggle to convey company values and culture in a way that sparks excitement among candidates and employees. In that case, the organization should take a closer look at its values and determine what candidates would find attractive about them.
Tip: Looking for a way to create enthusiastic brand champions? Leverage the power of video to strengthen the EVP and inspire both candidates and employees.
Keep in mind that assessing the current employee value proposition also provides an opportunity to affirm what is working. There’s no need to fix what isn’t broken. The idea is to assess the existing EVP, not change it just for the sake of change.
An employee value proposition can only be effective if it is a true representation of the employee experience within the organization. To find out if the EVP is aligned with actual employee experiences and expectations, it’s critical to ask for feedback. Feedback not only helps organizations understand employee views of cultural values, but it also paints an accurate picture of the benefits employees value most.
Organizations can gather valuable insights from employee feedback via the following:
Tip: Becoming an employer of choice requires a solid EVP. Using insights from employee surveys, organizations can project the new EVP across a range of recruitment channels, from job boards to social media and display ads.
Work practices are changing, and so are the benefits and experiences organizations offer to employees. A great example is the impact of the pandemic on employee preferences for increased work flexibility. Organizations that didn’t reference work location in their EVP before may now be more likely to discuss remote or hybrid work opportunities.
Key to refining the EVP is communicating how the organization demonstrates its care for employee wellbeing and engagement. By doing a bit of research, organizations can gain additional insights about what to add or change in the EVP.
A great place to start is researching the job market and looking at what competitors and other organizations are doing. Organizations can also rely on information gleaned in candidate interviews to assess what job seekers are asking about and looking for in a future employer. Examples include:
Once the EVP has been refined to reflect the current organization and reflects the expectations of both candidates and employees, it’s time to share it broadly across multiple channels. Recruitment marketing teams can leverage external communication channels to share the new EVP with prospective applicants.
Additionally, existing employees need a chance to get familiar with the EVP and their role in promoting it as ambassadors. So initiatives for internal communications and promotion of the EVP are encouraged to embrace from the inside out.
By launching internally and externally, there are several ways to promote the EVP, including:
Tip: Taking an omnichannel approach to promoting the EVP gives employers more opportunities to reach active and passive candidates right where they are.
The ultimate goal of the new and improved EVP is more quality candidates and higher employee engagement. Change doesn’t happen overnight, but if there’s no measurable impact after six months or so, it may be time to go back to step one and identify new opportunities for improvement.
It’s not possible to improve what’s not being measured, so it’s essential to keep track of what’s working and what’s not. Even if everything seems to be working as it should, reviewing metrics and assessing the EVP every 6-12 months will help to ensure its effectiveness. Examples of the metrics to track include:
This ensures the EVP is still competitive; if not, companies know where to consider revamping the strategy.
In a fiercely competitive job market that shows no sign of letting up, organizations must be diligent in crafting an employee value proposition that builds interest and excitement among employees and candidates. And since individual needs and preferences are always changing, the EVP can only be effective if it stays current. Making periodic updates to the EVP and highlighting the rewards, benefits, and cultural elements that make the organization unique makes it possible to reach new candidates, engage existing employees, and achieve higher recruitment ROI.
For help getting started, the team at Recruitics is here to help! The Recruitics team can provide strategic employer branding support and customized recruitment marketing solutions to help any organization hire more competitively.
