What is Employee Value Proposition (EVP)?

The Employee Value Proposition (EVP) is the unique value you as an employer offer to your current employees and potential candidates. In short, an EVP could be explained as what you offer your employees that no one else does. An attractive EVP will make you stand out from your competitors in the candidate market - making it easier to attract and recruit the top candidates in your target audience. Having a strong EVP in place is beneficial in convincing candidates to choose your workplace over your competitors' and in increasing internal engagement - making you retain your valuable employees for longer.

But what exactly is an EVP and how can you implement it in your employer branding strategy? In this post, we explain everything you need to know about the Employee Value Proposition and how you can use it to be proactive in your recruitment process.

The definition of the Employee Value Proposition (EVP): "The Employee Value Proposition, or EVP for short, is the unique value you as an employer offer your current employees and potential candidates. In short, an EVP could be explained as what you offer your employees that no one else does. An attractive EVP makes you stand out from the competition in the candidate market - making it easier to attract and recruit the top candidates in your target market."

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What does an EVP consist of?

An Employee Value Proposition consists of several different areas that together create an overall picture of the value offered. In general, an EVP is divided into five categories, each of which specifies what you offer your employees:

Company: e.g. vision, mission, industry and product
Compensation: e.g. salary, commission, pension and allowances
Work: e.g. tasks, working environment, flexibility and safety
Opportunities: e.g. career development, training, reskilling and coaching
Culture: e.g. corporate culture, values, leadership and colleagues.

However, there may also be other categories that are unique to you as an employer. Make sure that what is included in your EVP represents you as a company and includes what is unique about your workplace.

Shows the five EVP categories and examples of what each category can contain.

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Why is an EVP important?

An EVP is essential to attract, recruit and retain valuable employees in growing companies. With the increased competition in the talent market, top candidates today are looking for more than just salary, they want to find workplaces that share their values and where they can develop.

The benefits of a strong EVP:

A strong and competitive EVP facilitates your long-term Employer Branding efforts. By having an attractive EVP in place, you can facilitate future recruitment and attract the candidates that match your company.
An attractive EVP is important to differentiate you from the competition and convince your employees to stay with you and new candidates to apply for your vacancies.
According to a study by Gartner, companies that actually live up to their EVP can reduce annual employee turnover by almost 70%. An EVP is therefore incredibly important for retaining valuable employees.
Gartner also reports that companies that actually live up to their EVP can increase the engagement of their new hires by almost 30%. So, a strong EVP will help your new hires quickly become part of your culture and feel more motivated at the start of their employment.
An effective EVP allows you to get more value back from your employees by making them feel more engaged, which promotes productivity and company culture.

How can an Employee Value Proposition be communicated?

Often the most difficult part of an EVP is not defining the content but rather - "What should an EVP look like?". The answer is that there is not really a right answer, an EVP can be used and communicated in many different ways - both internally and externally.

Internal

Internally, your EVP should focus on the experience of your current employees and the value you offer them for their work. Your internal Employee Value Proposition exists to keep employees engaged, motivated and satisfied.

Communicate and strengthen your EVP internally:

Create an EVP document that gathers everything related to your Employee Value Proposition in one place and is easily accessible to your employees.
Disseminate your EVP via your internal communication channels continuously
Update the intranet with information on your EVP.
Create internal campaigns to highlight elements of your EVP.
Make your EVP part of the onboarding process and always go through it with new employees
Highlight your employees and let them share their experiences related to your EVP, also take the opportunity to continuously ask for feedback to discover any areas of improvement.
Organize activities that promote elements of your EVP, such as training sessions or team activities.
Make your EVP visually visible around the office through, for example, posters or digital screens.
Anchor your EVP with internal leaders and ensure that their communication is in line with your value proposition.

Six examples of how companies can communicate their EVP internally

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External

Externally, your EVP should focus on showing potential candidates in your target group why they should choose you as an employer. By leveraging your EVP in your external communication, you can save time in your recruitment process and attract candidates that match your workplace.

Communicate and strengthen your EVP externally:

Ensure that attractive elements of your EVP are highlighted on your career page so that potential candidates know what you offer and how you differ from the competition.
Include relevant parts of your EVP in all job advertisements published.
Create attractive employer branding materials to use in your marketing campaigns
Take advantage of social media to get your EVP messages across - both through organic posts and targeted campaigns.
Use Employee Branding to reinforce the feel and credibility of your EVP - let your employees tell you what made them choose to work with you and why they stay.
Attend events and fairs where you can meet candidates within your target group and promote your EVP.

Five examples of how companies can communicate their EVP externally

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Employee Value Proposition vs Employer Value Proposition - what is the difference?

When talking about EVP, two different names often come up: Employee Value Proposition and Employer Value Proposition. So what exactly is the difference between these two concepts that share the same acronym? In short, they are two different approaches to the same thing. Employee Value Proposition focuses on the value you as an employee receive, while Employer Value Proposition focuses on what you as an employee are offered.

The Employee Value Proposition focuses on the employee and is used to show employees how the company meets their needs. The Employer Value Proposition focuses on the company and is used to position the company as an attractive employer against its competitors.
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Avoid the mistake of a long EVP process

A common mistake we often see when companies develop their EVP is that the process can easily become lengthy. This increases the risk that the messages or value propositions defined become outdated and do not reflect the workplace once they are communicated to employees and candidates. To avoid making the process of developing an EVP feel big and daunting, we always recommend our clients to work in an insight-based way. By this we mean building your EVP on actual data and insights from your employer branding advertising.

By getting started quickly and testing different messages and value propositions towards your target group and internally, you can quickly gather valuable insights and data about what works or can be improved. Your EVP should be current and kept alive, it is important that the process does not become too long but also that you continuously evaluate your Employee Value Proposition.
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Reach out with your EVP and attract the top candidates

The Employee Value Proposition (EVP) is the unique value you offer as an employer to your employees and potential candidates. Your value proposition can include everything from your vision to your training opportunities, but remember - the most important thing is that your EVP represents you as an employer and includes what is special about your workplace. By having a strong EVP, you can stand out from the competition in the candidate market while reducing turnover by increasing internal engagement.

When communicating your EVP, it is important to do so both internally and externally. Internally, you can for example create a document where you gather everything related to your offer, create a page on your intranet or organize company activities. Externally, you can clearly highlight your EVP on your career site, mention parts of it in your job advertisements and create attractive employer branding campaigns on social media.

By creating a strong Employee Value Proposition, you can strengthen your employer brand and attract more candidates that match your workplace. Want to know more about how we can help you activate your EVP? Book a free consultation with one of our specialists today!