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Why is an Employer Value Proposition or EVP important?
An Employer Value Proposition or EVP defines how you’d like to be seen and experienced by employees and candidates. Our Advisory team has helped many of the world’s leading employers define their EVPs, ensuring their talent-focused activities create a clear and consistent employer brand image among the talent they need to attract, and the employees they want to retain.
The Employer Value Proposition is the core of your employer brand that defines its positioning and strategic direction. An effective Employer Value Proposition should reflect the external demands, your competition, the internal reality and the strategic context of your company. Besides, you also must include the values and principles represented by your company.
A strong employer brand needs a clear Employer Value Proposition
Think of a brand you like. It could be any brand, what is it that makes you like it? Any strong brand, has something in common. They all signal trustworthy and positive associations. Therefore, they are often built through unique and consistent brand communication. As today’s young generation of talent, labeled ‘Generation Z’, are much focused on continuous learning and improvement, you need to be crystal clear in your messaging. Besides, you need to get the message right of what your brand stands for and the benefits your brand promises to deliver.
At Universum, we know that effective customer and consumer brands are founded on a ‘proposition’. This defines the key benefits you will derive from your relationship with the brand. Therefore the same is true of employer brands. The Employer Value Proposition helps to provide a similarly consistent point of reference for everything you say and do. When it comes to promoting a positive brand reputation and experience, EVP and Employer Branding works side by side. They help you to attract, recruit and retain talent within your company.
The roles of Employer Branding and an EVP
If you already have an Employer Branding strategy in place, then why do you need an Employer Value Proposition? It’s easy to think that the term ‘employer brand’ would be enough, but if it’s your job to build a strong employer brand, you generally need a few additional technical terms in your vocabulary to get the job done.
Think of it this way:
You don’t need to be familiar with the terminology of engineering to enjoy driving a high-performance car. However it certainly helps if it is your job to design the engine that powers the experience. Therefore in the spirit of precision engineering, here is our perspective on the key terms an employer brand manager needs to get their head around:
- An Employer Brand – describes people’s perceptions of you as an employer (good, bad or indifferent)
- An Employer Value Proposition (EVP) – defines how you’d like to be perceived as an employer
- Employer Branding – describes the activities an organisation undertakes to communicate this desirable employer brand image
- Employer Brand Management – describes the full spectrum of activities you orchestrate to deliver both, a consistent brand image and experience
How to create an Employer Value Proposition?
So where do you go from here? As global thought leaders in Employer Branding, we at Universum suggest that you avoid focusing on all four terms together, and rather address them individually. This way gives you a more precise understanding of the full spectrum of employer branding. Besides, it helps you to obtain a high-performance result.
Read more about how we help companies define and articulate the qualities that make them special.
Creating an EVP needs a proper foundation. Therefore, it is essential that it is aligned with the strategic context of the company. While you also need to align the internal and external perceptions of the brand. Think of it as a three-legged chair; if you remove one leg, it won’t stand. The very same is true of the EVP.
The core of creating an Employer Value Proposition
At Universum, we believe the critical success factor in attracting, recruiting and retaining talent lies in the magic formula of using a data-driven approach to all your employer branding activities, therefore makes you consider the broader perspectives.
It is important that your company understands, defines and activates an EVP that needs to be:
- True – to what your company stands for and offers
- Credible – to ensure your brand is believable and trustworthy
- Relevant – in that your offering applies to today’s top talent
- Distinctive– so that you differentiate from your competitors
- Aspirational – to allow top talent to see growth, value and purpose as a result of investing in your company
Here’s a top tip:
Don’t try to signal something you are not – that never works. The behaviours from management, leaders and employees impact the experience and shape your company’s brand and image. Employees are your best ambassadors to communicate your Employer Branding and EVP to reach and engage external stakeholders.
Employer Brand Consulting
Do you need to refresh your EVP or are you interested in Employer Brand Consulting?
Given the ever-increasing pace of change in the talent market, leading employers are now reviewing and refreshing their Employer Value Propositions on a more frequent basis. If this is something you’re considering, find out how we can help you create a more compelling and differentiated EVP.
