What is an EVP?

An EVP is often confused with an employer brand. An employer brand communicates to the greater public who you are as a company, the way you do business, as well as what it is like to work with you. An EVP is a smaller part of your bigger employer brand. It targets current and potential employees and the unique benefits you specifically offer them. Essentially it says, ‘this is what you get for the skills and talent you bring’.

The components of a strong Employee Value Proposition are heavily drawn from your company values, mission and culture. But it can also speak to the opportunities for professional learning, as well as the types of employee recognition and benefits you provide, such as flexibility.

When considering what makes a good EVP, the candidate should be able to accurately determine whether the way you operate as a company aligns with the way they like to work, as well as with their future career aspirations.

Why Your EVP is So Important

There are a number of reasons why your EVP is a core player in your recruitment process. If shaped in the right way, it will accurately communicate what it’s like is to work with you, naturally attracting only those candidates who feel they’re well-aligned.

It is also a savvy way to differentiate yourself from your competitors, showcasing the unique qualities and working conditions you possess.

Lastly, you will reap retention rewards. Recent Gartner research shows organisations that deliver on their EVP promise can reduce annual employee turnover by just under 70%, while also increasing new hire commitment by close to 20%.

How to Define Your EVP

Defining your EVP is more than a marketing exercise – it requires genuine reflection on what you offer. This involves seeking feedback from multiple sources, reviewing that data and then carefully crafting your message.

As it is an important and involved process, engaging the services of a professional Technology and Digital recruitment agency can be of real benefit, like us here at Emanate Technology. With deep industry and candidate insights, we’re well placed to help you expertly define what makes your company so unique. This is what the process can look like:

Gather feedback

The first step on the road to shaping your EVP is to get an understanding of what your current employees enjoy about working with you, and why they stay.

Consider questions such as:

• What attracts potential employees to the company?
• What do existing employees value about working with you?
• What do they feel is unique about you?
• Why do they stay?
• Why do employees leave?
• Is there anything that would have made them stay?

You can obtain this information through face-to-face and anonymous employee surveys, feedback from previous job applicants and through exit interviews. Your recruitment agency can help you uncover intel from candidates who have applied to your roles.

Review the data

What you find from the above will help you understand the tangible and intangible benefits staff appreciate the most. It could be your hybrid working model, the opportunity to regularly upskill, your commitment to building strong team relationships or clear development pathways.

In collating this data, you should then be able to spot your unique selling points, as well as the company values employees feel are most important. This can form the basis for building your EVP.

Construct and test the message

We recommend distilling your EVP into a clear succinct message that easily shows top talent what your employees love about your organisation and why they should consider working with you.

Here are a few examples of some wonderfully written EVPs:

• Google: “Build for everyone.”
• SAP: “Bring Everything You Are. Become Everything You Want.”
• Merck: “Invest. Impact. Inspire. A continuous cycle of invention, making an impact and using that to inspire internally and externally.”

After you come up with a few options, consider whether they:

• Align with your company’s core values, vision and mission
• Help you stand out from others in the same field
• Offer a realistic view of working at your organisation
• Are appealing and inspiring

You might like to consider testing your EVP with existing employees and/or an external focus group. Ask them if it accurately captures why someone would consider working with you.

Sell it

Once you have your EVP, consistently embed it throughout the company. This includes externally through your recruitment materials and company channels (website, social and professional networking profiles), as well as internally (onboarding, company communications, and incorporating it into strategic planning and reward/recognition programs).

But perhaps the most powerful conveyer of your EVP is your current employees. Getting your employees to articulate what makes working at your company so special holds great power, sometimes more than the words you say in an interview. You can showcase your EVP in action through employee video testimonials, or blog or LinkedIn pieces.

Rely on the Experts to Help Build Your EVP

The four steps above should give you a solid guide for crafting your EVP, but if you would like some extra support in this undertaking, please let us know.

As Technology and Digital recruitment specialists working throughout Australia, we have many years’ experience sourcing and placing elite candidates with their ideal company. And in doing so, many have shared with us the unique qualities that made them choose one business over another. We would be glad to leverage these valuable insights to help you create the right EVP that will attract and retain top talent.