Employee Value Proposition (EVP) refers to the rewards and benefits received by employees in return for their performance at the workplace. It is one of the most important factors to consider for any company looking to attract and retain top talent.
What is an Employee Value Proposition (EVP)?
Simply put, an employee value proposition (EVP) is the value that employees gain in return for working at your organisation.
This can include financial compensation, benefits as well as perks like work-life balance and career development assistance. Your EVP is key for retaining the best talent in your company, and it is critical for attracting the candidates you need.
An EVP must be unique, relevant and compelling in order for it to be an effective driver of talent attraction, engagement and retention.
A strategic employee value proposition is proven to help organisations more successfully recruit and compete for top talent. In fact, according to Corporate Leadership Council, organisations with managed EVPs are able to effectively source from more than 60 percent of the labour market.
So if you want to considerably raise your recruiting results and gain a human resource (HR) edge over your competitors, start by determining your organisation’s unique employee value proposition.
The way we recruit has changed. Over the past decade, candidates have been steadily becoming more and more powerful in the job search. Ever since attracting best talent became harder than ever, consistent and efficient communication of employee value proposition has become extremely important.
Many recruiters and other HR professionals now have planned strategies for communicating their EVP with potential candidates.
Basically, an EVP is the perceived value of working at your company to both your existing and potential employees, based on the benefits and culture you have to offer.
An exemplary EVP can set you apart from all your competitors, enabling them to attract new talent and retain top employees.
According to the Corporate Leadership Council, EVPs viewed as unattractive require 21% higher compensation premiums to hire employees than organisations with attractive value propositions.
Image: Pikwizard
Factors that influence your Employee Value Proposition
Defining an EVP is about assessing the essence of your company – what makes it special and what exactly it stands for. It should cover all the core reasons that people are proud and motivated to work there, such as the fun workplace or distinct company culture.
A strong EVP is the key to your organisation retaining its top performers and attracting the best external talent at the same time.
Employee value proposition is a broad concept but can be broken down into five main components:
Financial compensation
This is about your employees’ satisfaction with their salary and additional financial rewards such as bonuses and promotions. Does your team feel paid often enough? Do they feel treated fair enough?
Employment benefits
This covers a wide range of work benefits such as paid time off (holidays, vacation and sick days), online life insurance and accident insurance as well as health, dental, retirement, tuition, disability benefits.
Career development
This explores how you can contribute to the development and growth of your employee’s career, through opportunities for training and education, sponsored air trips to industry gatherings, etc.
Work environment
This is about deliberately understanding the different factors that constitute a positive work environment. This includes everything from customised office space design to regular team building exercises for building camaraderie to providing professional mental health experts for your team.
Company culture
A great company culture is built on maintaining positive relationships between colleagues, juniors and seniors and is characterised by a sense of trust, collaboration, team spirit and support. For example, this article lists 9 powerful signs of a positive company culture.
How to create a great employee value proposition
Define your ideal candidate
Think of the representation of the ideal candidate that you are trying to attract, hire and retain. List down all the characteristics, skills, and traits that you would your perfect hire to possess.
In order to successfully define your ideal candidate, it is not enough to simply imagine a person that would be a perfect fit for your job and what remarkable attributes you are looking for in them. It is also crucial to imagine a person who would fit best into your company culture.
Define each main component
The second step in defining your company’s employee value proposition is specifying each of its main components with your ideal candidate in your mind. Here is a short list of questions you can use to define each main component of your employee value proposition:
- What compensation package would attract them to apply for the job?
- What career advancement opportunities are they looking for?
- What work environment would they thrive in?
- Is our kind of company culture great for them to perform in?
Do your research
The third step in defining your company’s employee value proposition is finding solid answers to the above listed questions. In order to do that, you will have to do a little research. Start by conducting employee surveys with your current employees, along the lines of:
- What do you currently offer to your employees in exchange for their labour?
- What do they appreciate the most?
- In what other ways could you motivate them?
Also make sure to include passive job seekers in your employee value proposition research. These are the people who qualify as ideal candidates but are not actively looking for a new job though they would be willing to accept a better offer.
You should aim to figure out what a better job offer means to them. Remember, a better offer doesn’t necessarily mean a bigger salary. It can be flexible working time, education support, career growth opportunities, cool projects, etc.
A better offer doesn’t necessarily mean a bigger salary.
Customisation is the key
It is not enough to do your research though. In order to make good use of your employee value proposition, customisation is the key. If you want to attract the right talent for your company, you need to segment and personalise your employee value proposition for your target audience.
For example, if you are looking to fill a position that requires someone in their 30’s based on the necessary experience, then they are likely to be parents so you should highlight your child care services.
Summary
An employee value proposition (EVP) is about capturing the spirit of your organisation – what it stands for and what sets it apart from the rest. A strong employee value proposition is one of the most effective HR management tools there is.
