Employee Value Proposition (EVP)

Employee Value Proposition (EVP) is usually defined as a set of monetary and non-monetary benefits provided by an organization to its employees, in return for the skills, capabilities, and experience they bring and the contributions they make to the organization. However, this definition is rather outdated. The modern definition of Employee Value Proposition is that it is an ecosystem of support, recognition, and values that an employer provides to employees to achieve their highest potential at work. The key difference here is that EVP should not be looked at as a two-way transaction, but as a comprehensive set of employer offerings that boost employee engagement and bring out the best in employees. An effective EVP helps organizations and recruitment professionals in establishing a strong employer brand.

Other Definitions of Employee Value Proposition (EVP)

• Minchington (2005) defines an Employee Value Proposition (EVP) as a set of associations and offerings provided by an organization in return for the skills, capabilities and experiences an employee brings to the organization.
• Pawar and Charak (2015) define the employee value proposition as the one of a kind arrangement of benefits an employee gets consequently for the skills, capabilities, and experience they convey to an organization.

Elements of an Employee Value Proposition

A strong Employee Value Proposition consists of various elements. Together, these attributes determine how both your employees and candidates will perceive your organization as an employer. Gartner distinguishes the following five key elements of an Employee Value Proposition:

• Compensation: This attribute, also referred to as compensation and benefits, includes your employees’ satisfaction with their salary, but also additional rewards such as bonuses and aspects such as your evaluation system. Fair and performance-based compensation is one of the 7 HR best practices. Interestingly, compensation may not be equally important to everyone. There are generational differences in the workforce, with the younger generations valuing for instance development more than the older generations.
• Work-life balance: This is about benefits. Think about everything from paid time off and holidays to flextime options and retirement plans. When it comes to the kind of benefits employees value most, flexible hours, the opportunity to work from home, vacation time and paid parental leave all rank highly. There’s no magic, one-size-fits-all kind of benefits recipe, however. New parents probably value different benefits than graduates, so try to customize where possible.
• Stability : Stability as in career stability, opportunities for your employees to further their career, develop themselves and employee training. Naturally, this is where your learning and development efforts come into play as well as possible mentoring/coaching initiatives you’ve developed within the organization.
• Location: This component is about much more than the simple location of your office. You could think of it as location in the broadest sense of the word: a positive work environment, a certain level of autonomy, work-life balance, etc. In fact, the location element has a lot to do with the employee experience which relates to three environments: technology, physical space and culture (more about culture just below).
• Respect: Respect is about positive relationships, support, and team spirit, among other things. More than just respect, it’s about your company culture, what are your organization’s core values and beliefs.

source: Gartner

Importance of Employee Value Proposition (EVP)

Since attracting best talent is harder than ever, consistent and efficient communication of Employee Value Proposition (EVP) has become extremely important. Many recruiters and other HR Professionals now have planned strategies for communicating their EVP and Employer Brand with current and potential future candidates.

Relatively new methods for easier and more efficient delivery of these employer messages is called Inbound Recruiting, and the whole concept of using marketing methodologies to recruit and hire is called Recruitment Marketing. Recruitment Marketing methodologies are usually done through Recruitment Marketing tools and software that make this whole process easier and more productive. With these tools, it is easier to communicate Employee Value Proposition with candidates through engaging career site, automated email campaigns, social recruiting and many other channels. This way, recruiters can encourage Candidate Engagement and improve overall Candidate Experience.

Creating An Employee Value Proposition (EVP)

• Understand existing perceptions: Building a company culture to present in your EVP doesn’t come solely from business leaders but from your team members living and breathing your business values. From your people, you will develop your ideal company culture from your vision to reality. To develop a strong, realistic EVP, you must first understand what perceptions your existing staff and potential employees have about your company brand and culture. For example:
  • Why are potential employees attracted to the company?
  • Why do existing employees think the company is unique?
  • What do they value most about working there?
  • Why do they stay?
  • Why do they leave?

This information can be gathered through employee surveys, focus groups and exit interviews, as well as through feedback from former employees and job applicants.

• Determine key selling points: Establish a cross-functional team to review the research and determine the aspects of your business that people value the most. Building out your employer brand and defining this clearly within your EVP will give a clear sense of what your business embodies and how this might fit into a potential employee’s values. Use this information to draft an EVP, ensuring the following questions are considered.
  • Does it align with your strategic objectives?
  • Does it differentiate your company?
  • Does it paint a realistic picture of what it’s like to work for your company?
  • Is it inspirational?
  • Is it simple but broad enough to appeal to different groups?

Test your EVP with existing employees and a sample group from the external market to see if it adequately articulates why an individual would want to work for your company.

• Communicate the message: Once your EVP has been defined, find creative and relevant ways to communicate it to the people you are trying to attract. Start by conveying it through all hiring channels such as company websites, advertising, and the interview process so that prospective talent can determine if they would make a good fit for yourbusiness. Consistently communicating a compelling EVP through branding, public relations, and marketing will also help the passive labor market form a positive perception of the value of working for your company.
• Ensure alignment: Existing employees are your most powerful source of advertising and play a key role in helping to attract talent. To cultivate brand ambassadors, your employees must see consistency in the image you sell externally and in the day-to-day reality of working for your company. Incorporate the EVP into the company’s induction plans, reward and recognition schemes, internal communications, policies, and business plans, so that it is reflected in the way your company conducts its daily operations. Review your EVP annually to ensure that it continues to reflect the changing employee experience.

See Also

Employee
Employability
Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
Employee Attitude Survey
Employee Benefits
Employee Development
Employee Engagement
Employee Selection
Employee Stock Options
Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP)
Employee Turnover
Employee Value