The success of any organization is attributed to its people. Every employee is a unique individual with their own set of skills, motivations, and aspirations. That’s why it’s important for companies to not only attract top talent but also retain them by offering something more than just a paycheck. This is where an Employee Value Proposition (EVP) comes in. An EVP is a promise that a company makes to its employees in exchange for their contributions.

Developing an EVP is not just about creating a fancy statement for candidate marketing; it’s about creating a culture that aligns with the values of the employees. – Blu Ivy Group

Developing an EVP involves a process of defining what makes your organization unique and desirable to employees. It is important to involve employees, external talent, and leadership in the process to ensure that the EVP reflects the values, culture, and goals of the organization as well as the preferences and motivations of external talent. Here are some steps to consider when developing an EVP:

1. Research and analysis: Conduct research to identify the current state of your organization’s employee experience. Analyze employee feedback, exit interviews, and engagement surveys to understand the strengths and weaknesses of your current employee value proposition. Conducting surveys and focus groups can help you gain insight into employee values, aspirations, and expectations. It’s also important to understand the external perceptions of your company and evaluate the competitive landscape so you can identify how to uniquely position your culture to attract talent. Consider analyzing external review sites such as Glassdoor, Indeed or LinkedIn Insights. During the research phase, try to uncover:

• What employees value most about working here
• Potential threats to our culture we need to address.
• What kind of candidates do we want to attract and what is important to them in selecting an employer?
• How can we differentiate our culture from our competitors in the sector?

2. Define your talent segments: Develop a deep understanding of the talent segments you want to attract to your organization. This may be based on location or job roles. You’ll need to understand their preferences and motivations so that you are able to customize your EVP to speak to the unique preferences of each talent profile.

3. Craft your EVP message: Develop a clear and concise message that communicates your organization’s unique selling points to potential and current employees. The message should be tailored to each employee segment and reflect the culture and values of the organization.

4. Launch: We recommend three approaches to launching your EVP internally.

First, ensure buy-in from senior leaders and managers by running an EVP workshop, brand activation and experience workshops. You’ll want to get your leaders thinking about ways they can change the way they communicate and lead their teams on a day-to-day basis.

The second phase of the launch is to think of ways to support employees to engage with the EVP. Company wide launches, videos, photography events celebrating a new employee focused brand is a fantastic way to drive immediate pride and engagement.

A third way to engage employees is through storytelling. As humans our recall of personal stories is far greater than memorizing corporate statements. Include employees in contests, blogs, content marketing that feature their personal experiences that are aligned to your EVP storyline. Share stories of employees who have exemplified your EVP and identify culture ambassadors who can take on more active roles in your employment brand.

5. Continuously evaluate and refine your EVP: Your EVP should evolve and grow with your company culture. Regularly evaluate your EVP to ensure that it’s still relevant and effective, and refine it as needed to reflect changes in your organization.

The EVP is fundamental to designing a high-performance culture and preferred place to work. An Employee Value Proposition is at its best, when used as a framework to enable leaders and employees to connect on shared stories, and continuously recognizes what matters most for both the company and the individual. If you have questions or need any support with building, activating or refining your employer brand, we’re here to help.

Blog Authors

Alex Meers
Director Employer Brand and Culture

Thomas Reneau
Director Employer Brand and Culture

About Us

Blu Ivy Group is a global leader in employer branding, organizational culture, and recruitment marketing. We help organizations across the private, public, and not-for-profit sectors build extraordinary employee experiences, magnetic employer brands, and high-performance cultures.

From C-Suite to Employer Brand and Talent Acquisition leadership, we partner with our clients to transform their organizations and design the most compelling workplaces of the future.

For inquiries, please contact sparker@bluivygroup.com.