Understanding the Employee Value Proposition (EVP)

• Compensation and benefits: salary, bonuses, health insurance, retirement planning and any other financial benefit offered. 
• Work-life balance: helping to illustrate a flexible working arrangement, leave and a supportive work environment. 
• Career development: opportunities for training and development, mentoring and personal advancement. 
• Culture and values: the company's mission statement, vision, ambitions and values. These coupled with the overall positive workplace culture. 

An EVP should be tailored to the target audience you are seeking for example, looking to attract millennials you might focus on the benefits of flexible work arrangements and travel opportunities. Looking to attract experienced professionals might mean a greater focus on benefits such as inferred authority, agility, mentoring and additional advancement opportunities. 

A well-crafted EVP, paired with a mature recruitment drive will help attract and retain the talent you are seeking and help to create an engaged workforce. 

Here are my top 5 suggested models to consider for your EVP: 

• Start by understanding your target audience - who are you aiming to attract and retain? What are their expected needs and wants? 
• Ensure your EVP reflects your organisation and is clear and concise.  Your EVP should be easy to understand and for all current and future employees. 
• Be compelling: your EVP should be designed to make current employees want to work for your company and entice new people to join.
• Don’t be afraid to tailor the EVP to your company and personnel goals. It should reflect your company's unique culture and values. 
• Be consistent: your EVP should be communicated throughout your company, from your website to your employee onboarding materials and used to build loyalty and transparency for both employer and employees. 

Having understood its importance and the value to be gained, how do you begin to consider development of an EVP strategic approach? 

Here are a few steps to consider when developing your EVP strategy today: 

1. Understand your current and target audience and their views of your organisation.  
2. Ensure your EVP process tells a story of emotional responsibility for each employee. 
3. Who are you trying to attract and retain? What are their needs and wants? What are their priorities when considering joining or staying? 
4. Identify your unique selling points and qualify materially what makes your company different from its competitors. What are the benefits of working for your company if not monetary? 
5. Your EVP should reflect and document your organisations unique culture and values but it also needs to be based on a promise that you can keep. 
6. Your EVP should be easy to understand. It should be short, possibly with a catchy statement that sums up the value of working with you. 
7. Be compelling to make employees want to work for your company. Highlight the benefits of working for your organisation and why it is a great place to work. 
8. Be consistent. Your EVP should be communicated via your website to your employee onboarding materials. It should be a consistent message that is reinforced in all of your communications. 
9. Review and update your EVP regularly. As your organisation changes, so too should your EVP. 

Here some of my additional tips for developing an EVP strategy where data is available or an employee survey has been completed: 

• Use data to inform your decision-making. Gather data from your employees, customers and other stakeholders to understand what they value in a workplace. 
• Get input from a variety of stakeholders. Involve employees, managers and other key stakeholders in the development of your EVP. This will help to ensure that your EVP is aligned with the needs of your entire workforce. 
• Test and measure your EVP. Once you have developed your EVP test it with potential employees and see how they respond. This will help you to determine if your EVP is effective in attracting and retaining top talent. 

Finally, create a visual journey and with a multi-channel delivery focus to ensure it’s visible: 

• Tangible benefits 
• Intangible benefits 
• Company culture and values 
• Target audience