The ultimate guide to employee value propositions (EVPs)

What is an employee value proposition?

An employee value proposition, or EVP, is the outline of exactly what you as an organisation can offer any employee who comes to work for you. 

A decent employee value proposition model should include more than just the salary, being sure to cover the benefits and perks offered, along with information on career advancement, work-life balance, office culture, organisation structure and your company’s core mission and values.

Why do you need an employee value proposition?

An employee value proposition is crucial if you want to grow as a business and make the right hires. It puts a concise ‘face’ on your business for any potential employees, which can help in the following ways:

Attract top talent

When looking for new hires, you want to show people how great of a place your organisation is to work in – a strong employee value proposition can do this. Positioning yourself as a company that has a lot to give any potential employee will make any offer you extend hard to turn down.

Increase employee engagement

Remember, employee value propositions aren’t just about finding new staff, but keeping the existing ones happy as well. Maybe some of your team members aren’t aware of the benefits they’re entitled to, or didn’t know about advancement opportunities open to them? Creating an employee value proposition can quickly convey this information to them and in turn help increase your employee engagement. This can also help to…

Drive retention and loyalty

Engaged employees who are fully aware of the benefits they can get, what the long-term company mission is and what their future at the company could look like, are far more likely to stick around. An employee value proposition can therefore do wonders when it comes to building loyalty and improving staff retention.

What to include in your employee value proposition

It’s important to include the right, and relevant, information in your EVP. You need to make sure all the main positives of being an employee at your company are in there, without including anything superfluous or unnecessary! Start with some of these pointers.

Compensation and benefits

It sounds basic, but you’d be surprised how many companies forget to include this kind of crucial information in their employee value proposition. Obviously it’s hard to include salary information without a specific role in mind, but you should still mention that you pay above the market rate, or a similar positive that will get people’s attention.

Your employee benefits package should also make a substantial contribution to your employee value proposition. It’s the first thing potential hires will look at after the salary, so be sure to highlight the best benefits you offer.

Career development opportunities

You want to attract ambitious, career-driven people to your organisation. These are the ones who are constantly looking to prove themselves and out-do your competitors. However, they’re also the ones looking to progress in their professional lives and will want to join a place where career advancement, new challenges and promotions are available to them.

Include these avenues in your employee value proposition to attract the right sort of workforce.

Company culture

Company culture can be difficult to quantify and communicate, but it’s essential in your employee value proposition model to give people a feel for what it’s like working for your organisation.

Do you regularly have company days out, or host yoga sessions in your office as part of your wellbeing initiatives? Make sure this is included in the employee value proposition so people can see how great it is working with you.

Work-life balance

Work-life balance is something that employees are starting to value more and more. By giving examples of good work-life balance initiatives in your employee value proposition, such as early finishes on Fridays or flexible hours for childcare needs, you’re demonstrating your commitment to making your team feel understood and cared for at work.

How to craft an effective employee value proposition

We’ve explained why creating an employee value proposition is so important, and what you should include in it, so now let’s talk about the steps you can take to build your own EVP.

Define your employer brand

Start by defining exactly what your brand as an employer is. Make sure it encompasses your organisation’s goals, company culture, and expectation of your employees. When this brand has been agreed and defined, you can start to grow your employee value proposition from it.

Identify key EVP elements

Now that you understand the different aspects of an employee value proposition and what to include in one, it’s also worth thinking about what will be the ‘key’ elements that you want to head up your EVP. 

Of everything you offer as an employer, what is the most impressive? What’s sure to set you apart from and above your competition? Whether it’s your wealth of employee benefits, your dedication to your people's wellbeing, your incredible company culture, or something else entirely, be sure to mention this first.

Craft compelling messaging

Your employee value proposition needs to grab people’s attention instantly. That’s why it’s so important to use engaging language to pull in whoever’s reading it. This compelling messaging needs to cut through and convey your key points instantly while also setting the right ‘tone’ for your business. Try to avoid overly technical language or business waffle. Get straight to the point and use language that everyone can understand.

Tailor your EVP to different audiences

If you’re trying to attract a varied workforce you might want to create different employee value propositions for different audiences, changing what key elements are highlighted in each one.

Graduates looking for their first job will be interested in career progression, learning opportunities and a social life in the office. On the other hand, people applying for more senior positions may be looking for benefits such as maternity leave and health insurance. Think about the audience you’re creating your proposition for and highlight different benefits accordingly.

Integrate your EVP across channels

Your employee value proposition should celebrate your company and why it is such a great place to work, so why wouldn’t you promote it wherever you can?

Rather than having it sitting in some hard-to-find corner of your website, share it across your various channels. Perhaps there’s a way you can promote it on your social channels, or in your newsletter? You never know who might come across it and be compelled to apply for that role you’re trying to fill.

Strong employee value proposition examples

We recently worked with Charles Tyrwhitt to help them increase engagement with their employees. As a global retailer, the company were hoping to connect with their dispersed and multi-generational workforce to help with employee retention.

With our help they were able to bring in several new initiatives, including a reward and recognition platform, and improve communication around wellbeing by recognising a monthly wellbeing topic such as mental health awareness.

These initiatives helped to supercharge their employee value proposition, conveying the many benefits of working for Charles Tyrwhitt to their dispersed workforce. It even contributed to the company significantly improving its Best Companies score.

Get started crafting the perfect EVP to attract, retain, engage and appreciation your people by talking to one of our employee experience experts today.