An Employee Value Proposition (EVP) is the cornerstone of your company’s employer branding efforts. It's a concise yet compelling message—targeted at job seekers—that articulates the unique benefits and experiences your organization provides its employees.
This messaging should touch on more than just compensation and employee benefits. Rather, a strong EVP highlights what sets your organizational culture and employee experience apart. It covers your mission, values, and workplace aspects that foster belonging and purpose. These intangible elements, alongside the tangible perks (like compensation and benefits), paint an all-encompassing picture of why a job seeker should be excited to join your team.
There is a lot you can potentially include in your Employee Value Proposition. However, that’s not to say you should include everything. You should instead figure out where your organization excels and highlight those key points
Let’s go through some tangible and intangible benefits that define any employee experience and contribute to a compelling EVP.
Tangible benefits are specific offerings that most candidates prioritize in their job search, including:
The following intangible benefits usually take a backseat to tangible benefits but tend to have a greater impact on employee engagement:
StellarTech is a leading innovator in clean energy solutions. We're a passionate team dedicated to building a sustainable future and creating a positive impact on the planet. If you're looking for a competitive salary and benefits package, combined with a supportive and diverse workplace culture, then StellarTech is the place for you!
The concise nature of an Employee Value Proposition can be a double-edged sword. While brevity is important, many organizations sacrifice either authenticity or specificity. This can lead to misleading or generic EVP statements that fail to resonate with the right candidates.
One common pitfall is making exaggerated claims that may sound appealing but aren’t true. Phrases like "We're one big family" might be accurate for a small business, but not so much in a large corporation where different employees have never met each other. Similarly, claiming to value work-life balance without having policies like flexible schedules or generous paid time off undermines the message's credibility.
In other cases, a poorly written EVP uses buzzwords that lack any real substance. Saying you offer "world-class talent experiences" sounds impressive but is ultimately meaningless. What exactly constitutes "world-class" and how does it translate to a positive experience? A vague claim like this fails to create a compelling picture of your workplace.
Effective EVPs move beyond generic claims to highlight specific tangible and intangible benefits. Think of it like a tailored message that doesn’t necessarily resonate with every candidate but rather sparks the interest of the candidates you hope to hire.
The takeaway so far is that creating an Employee Value Proposition is no easy feat. It’s more than just putting 3-5 sentences down on paper—you need to include the right details and use compelling language.
Coming up with the right EVP for your company is a multiple-step process. You need to involve different stakeholders to determine what to include and how to present this information to job seekers.
The EVP you create needs to align with your organization's overall vision. Start by connecting with key leaders (e.g., CEO, owner, and/or founders) to get their perspectives on the company's history, future outlook, mission, and core values.
During these meetings, ask about the type of talent leadership envisions driving the company forward. By incorporating their insights, you can ensure your EVP reflects leadership's strategic goals and resonates with candidates who share the company's aspirations.
Crafting a standout EVP requires understanding the competitor landscape. Take some time to identify the companies you compete with for talent. Then review their online presence, including their career site, employee reviews, and even job postings to gain insights into their employer brand messaging.
After your competitor research is complete, look for common trends. Determine what type of messaging your collective competition is using and consider how you can improve upon it or differentiate from it.
Involving your HR and recruiting teams is essential to developing an accurate EVP. These teams are at the forefront of the employee and candidate experience and can share what exactly talent values and how well your organization does at delivering it.
For instance, HR professionals understand the tangible and intangible benefits that set your organization apart. Meanwhile, recruiters are often aware of what candidates are looking for in their next opportunity. By meeting with both teams, you can bridge the gap and create an EVP that is representative of your employee experience and captures the attention of the people you hope to hire.
There is no better way to learn what’s great about working for your organization than to ask your employees. There are a handful of ways to collect insights from your workforce that can be used to refine your EVP messaging.
Employee surveys
Surveys help you cast a wide net and collect feedback from every employee. Here are some actionable tips for leveraging employee surveys for EVP development:
Gather feedback
Design your survey to capture sentiment on various aspects of the employee experience. Sample questions could include:
Identify strengths
Analyze the survey data to identify areas where your organization excels in terms of employee experience. Hint: AI can instantly identify trends within a large set of survey results.
Guarantee anonymity and drive participation
Ensure your employees that survey responses will remain anonymous to encourage honest feedback. Additionally, promote the survey internally to achieve a high participation rate, and collect a sample size that accurately reflects employee sentiment.
Roundtable discussions
Supplementing employee surveys with roundtable discussions can provide even deeper insights for EVP creation. Group discussions foster a free-flowing exchange of ideas among employees from various departments and experience levels.
In a roundtable setting, employees feel empowered to share their perspectives on the company culture, work environment, and what truly motivates them. This open dialogue can spark unexpected discussions, as one employee responds and builds on the thoughts of another.
By carefully guiding the conversation and actively listening to employee voices, you can gather valuable qualitative data that paints a holistic picture of what makes your organization a great place to work.
One-on-one interviews
To complement the valuable insights collected from surveys and roundtable discussions, incorporate one-on-one interviews with employees during the EVP development process.
These individual conversations provide a safe space for employees to share their experiences and perspectives in greater detail. Unlike group settings, one-on-one interviews allow employees to open up and provide honest insights.
In many ways, the advantage of one-on-one interviews isn’t to determine what to include in your EVP. Rather, you can present the information you’re considering including and ask employees if it aligns with their authentic experience.
The next step in creating your EVP is to work with your marketing team to craft the actual EVP statement. Marketing professionals are experts in translating complex information into clear and impactful messaging that resonates with your target audience—in this case, potential candidates.
Feedback from leadership, employees, recruiting, and HR provides a wealth of raw data about the employee experience at your company. While valuable, condensing all this information into a few sentences can be overwhelming.
Your marketing team can take everyone's thoughts and distill them into a compelling EVP statement that captures the essence of what makes your company a great place to work. This collaborative approach ensures your final EVP is not only authentic but also effectively positions your organization in the job market.
The EVP development process shouldn't be a one-and-done effort. After launching your statement, you’ll need to assess its effectiveness in engaging the right talent.
Monitor key metrics like career site traffic, application rates, and—most of all— the number of qualified candidates who enter the hiring funnel. After all, you want to make sure you’re attracting people whose values and preferences match what your company provides.
You can also include questions about your EVP messaging on your employee and candidate surveys and even just anecdotally ask candidates what compelled them to apply. In general, you want to make sure your statement is getting candidates excited about the idea of joining your team. If it’s not, you’ll need to take a step back and refine your messaging or even recreate your entire EVP.
At Horizon Restaurant Group, we’re dedicated to creating unforgettable guest experiences while fostering an environment where our team members thrive. As a leader in the hospitality industry, we’re passionate about growth—both for our business and our people. If you're driven by delivering exceptional service and looking for opportunities to grow your career through mentorship and inspiring leadership, Horizon Restaurant Group is the perfect place to launch your career!
Ensuring your Employee Value Proposition is visible at every touchpoint of the candidate journey is essential to building a strong employer brand. Today’s candidates are doing their due diligence and researching companies on multiple channels.
That means you need to meet them everywhere their job search takes them and present a consistent EVP. By doing so, you’ll not only showcase what makes your organization unique but also stand out as the best employment option in the crowded job market.
Your career site is the prime real estate for showcasing your employer brand. Your EVP should be prominently displayed above the fold so it immediately captures candidates' attention when they land on the page.
Following this initial hook, supporting employer brand messaging should be woven throughout the rest of the site. As the candidate scrolls down, they should start to form a deeper understanding of what your work environment and employee experience are like. Supporting employer brand messaging should include:
The goal of a career site is to convince curious job seekers to take the critical action of applying. To do so, you need to not only have the right jobs for them but also convince them they’ll be happy and fulfilled if hired.
Similar to your career site, a captivating job description also includes information about the employee experience.
Some organizations choose to place the EVP at the top of the job description, in hopes of sparking the candidate’s interest right away. Others prefer to get into role responsibilities and required qualifications to start and include the EVP later in the description. This ensures candidates understand the core requirements before diving into the company culture and benefits.
The best placement ultimately depends on your preference. Whichever approach you choose, remember to expand on your EVP within the job description itself. Include bullet points outlining perks, benefits, and compensation ranges so you support your primary EVP by giving candidates all the information they seek.
Employer branding content validates and builds on your EVP. It allows you to showcase—in detail—the specific aspects of your employee experience.
Employer branding content comes in a variety of formats, including:
The key is to have a mix of different content and distribute it across every channel where you engage with candidates.
A word on employee-generated content
Encouraging employees to create their own content can add authenticity to your employer brand. After all, they’re the living embodiment of your company culture. Just be sure to have a clear policy outlining what is and isn't appropriate to share so you ensure sensitive company information isn’t accidentally broadcasted to the public.
Connecting with passive candidates is an effective way to overcome sourcing challenges and attract highly qualified talent. To truly stand out in their inboxes, include your EVP in your outreach message.
For emails, you have the space to showcase your complete EVP at the conclusion of the message. This allows you to include everything the candidate needs to know about the opportunity—from role requirements to benefits and perks.
However, brevity is important in recruiting texts so you need to include a condensed version of your EVP. Focus on the aspects you believe are most important to the candidate you’re connecting with (e.g., career growth opportunities for a candidate early in their career). This personalized approach increases the likelihood you spark their interest and get a response.
StyleMakers isn't just about stylish clothing. It's a vibrant community where you can express your personal style and make a difference in the lives of our customers. We prioritize your well-being and express gratitude for a job well done. We're looking for passionate individuals like you to join our team and experience the rewarding world of retail!
Hiring events offer the opportunity to connect with eager job seekers in-person and pitch everything that is great about being part of your team. And naturally, your EVP plays a big role in these events.
Start by prominently displaying your EVP at your booth and any materials you distribute during the event. This encourages job seekers to come to you and keeps your company top of mind when they’re reviewing all their options after the event.
Additionally, be sure to touch on your EVP in the conversations at your booth. Answer any questions the job seeker has about your company and go into detail about why they should be excited to potentially join your team.
Here are a couple of additional tips that will help you maximize your success at hiring events:
Hiring events enable you to connect with candidates face-to-face and showcase your company culture in a more personal way. By using your EVP in these event, you ensure that the most compelling aspects of your employee experience resonate with attendees and leave a lasting impression on those you speak with.
Job seekers are increasingly visiting Glassdoor and LinkedIn to research potential employers and learn if they offer positive employee experiences. This means it’s essential to include your EVP on both profiles.
The "Overview" section on Glassdoor and the "About" section on LinkedIn are prime locations to showcase your EVP. Both provide the opportunity to succinctly highlight why a candidate should move forward with applying.
That being said, there is a lot more you can do on both Glassdoor and LinkedIn. You can also include your broader employer brand messaging. For instance, on Glassdoor, you can include photos, benefits, awards and recognitions, and your organizational values.
And on LinkedIn, you can distribute the employer branding content you and your employees have created. You can share employee stories, company news, and visual content that provides insight into the workplace experience.
By strategically incorporating your EVP and supporting employer branding content across both Glassdoor and LinkedIn, you'll provide compelling information to candidates as they embark on their job search.
Your Employee Value Proposition is not just a statement—it's a promise that sets the tone for the entire candidate and employee experience. When you take the time to include the right details and craft a compelling EVP statement, you attract qualified candidates who not only align with your organizational mission but also value what you offer as an employer. Get in touch to learn how Sense can help you drive your employer branding efforts!
