How to build and improve your mission-driven EVP

4 min read

Think about your favorite clothing brand. What makes you like it more than all of the other clothing brands on the market? What is it that makes you continue shopping there? Now, take this same concept and apply it to your organization – think about why employees prefer to work for you versus a competitor. That's how you build an Employee Value Proposition (EVP).

In a crowded landscape, improving your EVP helps you not only attract and retain top talent, but continue to stand out from the competition.

When organizations have a clear purpose, embed company values and communicate their mission to employees, they’re more likely to establish a sense of community. The key is communicating your purpose to your people and connecting your employees to your company mission every day.

Let’s dive into the elements of a successful EVP and how one mission-driven organization in particular, Recycle 2 Support (R2S) improves its EVP and connects its people.

Outlining the elements of your EVP

Your EVP is made up of all of the things that make your organization an attractive place to work. When you think about why employees like working at your organization, what comes to mind?

Here are some examples to get you thinking:

One organization that exemplifies how to improve your EVP and connect employees to the company mission with a powerful employee communications strategy is R2S.

Connecting a dispersed workforce

R2S is on a mission to prevent unwanted clothing and household items from ending up in landfills and has been dedicated to the recycling of textiles and household items since 1986.

A key part of R2S improving its EVP meant helping its people better understand the company’s mission, along with the benefits of getting involved in the company’s various charitable causes.  

R2S needed to create a sense of community and belonging in order to continuously connect and communicate with its 350 employees, spread out across 12 locations.

In order to improve employee connections, R2S needed to improve its employee communications strategy – leading to the launch of Rock It, an on-brand engagement platform that keeps the company mission close to home to create a sense of community and pride for working at the organization.

The best part? Rock It is available on any device and at any time for employees who are on-the-go or not typically at a desk. For example, some of R2S’s employees work in the warehouse or in thrift stores, and it’s important that they see the same updates and messages as everyone else, but on their own time.

Extending your EVP through technology

For R2S, improving its EVP goes hand-in-hand with its mission. Externally, R2S focuses on improving recycling education, while internally the organization educates and aligns employees about the good work being done with the various charities it works with, helping reconnect employees to the larger purpose.

To enhance its EVP through its employee experience platform, R2S offers a charity giving option through the platform as a way to increase visibility and awareness and show its continuous support in one centralized location.

This charitable offering shows employees how their contributions are helping the company and making a difference for the better.

Remember, your EVP is what sets you apart from other organizations and helps you stand out from the competition. Just like no two snowflakes are the same, no two organizations are the same – so communicate that to your people.

Empower them to feel excited about coming to work each day and reinforce your company mission to improve employee motivation with the right tools. I’d love to hear what next step you’re taking towards improving your EVP in the comments section below.