How to Create a Great Employee Value Proposition

An employee value proposition – or an EVP – is the structure of benefits on offer for employees that dedicate their time and effort to a company. Every business has an EVP, and each one is different. Some are actively managed while others are neglected, depending on whether employee satisfaction is high on the priority list for the employer.

Factors such as salary, training, career development opportunities, rewards and other benefits like health insurance all form part of an EVP. The proposition is intended to attract the most promising candidates to the company, as well as boost the morale and fulfilment of existing employees in an effort to ensure they stay at the business for longer.

The employee value proposition should reflect all the reasons current employees enjoy working at the business, but it should also be unique. This way, employers can encourage the best talent to choose the company over its competitors and stay there in the long term.

According to Willis Towers Watson, a global advisory, broking and solutions company, businesses that develop effective EVPs are five times more likely to have “highly engaged” employees and twice as likely to report a financial performance above those of their competitors than companies that don’t use an effective EVP.

It makes sense that a business can increase its productivity and profitability by improving its employee retention rate and consistently welcome high-achieving workers into the team. However, an employee value proposition should strike a balance between pleasing the employees and working within the company’s capabilities. If a business spends too much money on providing extra training programmes and expensive health insurance policies, its overall revenue will fall, with catastrophic consequences for the whole enterprise.

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Technical Terms

Companies have used incentives to draw the best talent for a long time, but today there are a few technical terms associated with EVPs. One is ‘inbound recruiting’. This is presenting your business in the best light in order to attract potential employees. You can do this by compiling a fantastic EVP to efficiently convey employee benefits.

In a broader sense, this is a type of ‘recruitment marketing’. This term covers the marketing methods used to hire suitable candidates. It includes digital advertising, employer branding, content marketing and data collection.

EVPs also form part of an ‘employer branding strategy’. To ensure that your company is represented in a way that is conducive to business, you will need to create a watertight EVP and focus on several other approaches. Set goals for future success, outline your ideal candidate and work out how you will find them. Which channels will you need to use to advertise job vacancies or promote your business? Once you’ve implemented these methodologies, measure their results and review the business as a whole to decide where to go next.

Create a Great Employee Value Proposition

Here, we get to the all-important question: how do I create an effective employee value proposition?

Firstly, it’s important to remember that, in the words of workology.com, an EVP is all about “defining the essence of your company – how it is unique and what it stands for”. This means that while it should be sufficiently inspiring to attract qualified candidates, it should also be realistic and accurately reflect the business.

Therefore, the best thing you can do at the start of the EVP optimisation process is ask current employees, clients and external bodies about their perception of your brand. Staff members will be able to confirm or contradict your understanding of the culture of the workplace. On the other hand, clients could highlight inefficiencies in your work practices, while external bodies may be able to offer insight into how you are viewed by the public.

Secondly, find out what your ideal candidates value and what would make them choose your business over competitors’. By this point, you’ll have crafted an accurate picture of your business; next you’ve got to work out how you could improve it. Consider factors that are often overlooked, such as challenging and varied work, ethical principles and a friendly and cooperative workplace culture.

While you’re creating your EVP, make sure it sets you apart from similar businesses and shows the company in the best possible light. There’s no denying that it can be difficult to find the right balance between realistically representing a business and including enough positives to inspire prospective employees. Also, unless you’re targeting a specific demographic, you’ll need to make sure your EVP doesn’t exclude certain groups.

Once you’ve finished compiling the employee value proposition, you should make sure it finds its way to the relevant people. If you’re recruiting, you can do this by being creative and inventive with your recruitment strategies. Work out where your ideal applicants will find your job description with your EVP and use these channels to advertise vacancies.

In other areas of business, you should aim to create a stable brand identity by consistently expressing your EVP through your business operations, employee recognition schemes, branding, public relations and marketing.

When your EVP is recognisable across all aspects of your business, the most important thing you can do is ensure you deliver on your promises. It’s all very well crafting an appealing list of employee benefits to encourage talent into your company, but if these turn out to be empty lies, your workforce will soon turn away, and you could lose customer satisfaction and your reputation.

Finally, regularly review your EVP to make sure it remains relevant and inspiring. Employee requirements and preferences change over time, so you’ll need to make sure you’re reflecting them as best you can.