Crafting an Effective Employer Value Proposition

In today's job market, it's not enough to simply offer a paycheck and a few benefits to attract and retain top talent. Organizations need to create an employer value proposition (EVP) that communicates their unique value and benefits to potential and current employees.

An effective EVP can help differentiate your organization from competitors, increase employee engagement and satisfaction, and ultimately, drive business success. But developing an EVP is not always easy. 

In this blog post, we'll explore the steps and key elements to creating a compelling EVP that resonates with your target audience and helps achieve your business goals.

Understanding Employer Value Proposition

Before we dive into creating an EVP, let's make sure we understand what an employer value proposition is and why it matters to your organization.

What is Employer Value Proposition?

Employer branding takes the same principles of marketing and applies them hiring. In marketing, we always talk about the "value proposition." In simple terms, it should answer the question: what do I get out of this?

What's the value prop of using one software over another? What's the value prop of buying a certain pair of shoes and not the competitor? 

For hiring, we're answering the question: what do I get by working here?

The Employer Value Proposition is the unique opportunities your company offers to the people who work there.  

Some easy examples include learning opportunities, flexibility, great pay, etc. But the Employer Value Proposition, or EVP, should take it one step further and really tell the story of the unique experience of working at your company. 

How is your Employer Value Proposition different from your Employer Brand?

While the two definitely overlap (your EVP is a part of your employer brand), the two are not interchangeable. 

Your employer brand is your overall reputation as an employer among a much wider audience. For example, a non-jobseeker can be aware and understand a company's employer brand. But and EVP is the specific offering that prospective candidates will get out of working at your company. 

It's necessary for your employer branding efforts that you have a strong EVP, but your EVP is not your entire employer brand.

Why is Employer Value Proposition Important?

A strong EVP is really key for hiring top quality talent. Not only does it attract the attention of top candidates, but it also can move them from prospective employees to actual ones. 

Think about the process. A great candidate sees your employer branding out there in the world and is interested. They apply for a job at your company. 

You see that they're a fantastic candidate. You offer them a phone screen, an interview, and as they move through the candidate lifecycle, both of your are seeing the potential for a really great fit. 

Then you pull out your well-defined, well-crafted EVP. This candidate can see themselves working at this company. The EVP is exciting for them. It's exactly what they're looking for. 

When you offer them the job, they are more than excited and ready to sign on.

Congrats! You just made a fantastic hire. 

More than that though, you probably just made a hire for the long haul. They know what to expect, they've self-selected to some degree, they're invested in this opportunity. And they could stay with the company for two, three, five, ten years. 

In fact, Businesses that effectively deliver on their EVP can decrease annual employee turnover by just under 70% and increase new hire commitment by nearly 30%

You've just reduced your cost of turnover, and have kept your top talent on board.

Long story short, a strong EVP is necessary for good for hiring —and good business.

Steps to Develop an Effective Employer Value Proposition

So we know a great Employer Value Proposition is important. But where do we start? Here are some simple steps to help you and your team hit the ground running.

1. Conduct Research

As with all employer branding work, you're gonna have to do some research. It's imperative to know who you're trying to reach, so that you can share the right message. You'll need to identify your target audience and gather insights on their needs and preferences. But you also have to know what the message is. 

Instead of guessing what your employer value prop is, conduct a survey with your current employees and discover what has resonated with them. Ask them questions about their experience, their satisfaction with their benefits and compensation, what kind of learning opportunities they've had available to them, and how they perceive the culture. Think about your own experience too — what has been that unique value for you. 

2. Define Your Unique Selling Proposition

Once you've collected the data and sift through employee testimonials, you can begin to see patterns and start to define that unique proposition.

Determine what specifically sets your organization apart from competitors and what value you offer to employees. Think about this: if you had to explain it in just a few words or one phrase, what would that phrase be? 

At xyz company, you'll ______.

If you get stuck, think about these key elements of an effective EVP

• compensation and benefits

• culture and work environment

• learning opportunities and career development

• purpose-driven work

3. Craft a Story

Now that you have that employer value proposition defined, you can begin to craft a story around it. Who would identify with that value prop? How would they work at your company? Paint a picture for them of what it would be like if they were to join the team. Help them imagine it. 

Once you have that compelling message that will resonate with your target audience, it's time to put it out there. Leverage different channels to reach your audience and promote your employer value proposition.

Measuring the Success of Your Employer Value Proposition

As with any employer branding project, it's important to track the success of it. But sometimes it can be hard to know what to track exactly.

Here, we'll talk about how to measure the impact of your employer value proposition and make improvements if you're falling short.

Tracking Metrics

So what are the key metrics you should be tracking in order to evaluate the performance of your employer value proposition? Here are a few to check out:

• More views on your careers page or job posts

• Higher social media engagement — look at general employer branding posts and job-related posts.

• Increase in job applications

• Increase in responses from passive candidates

• Less turnover

Identify a few key metrics that are important to your team, set goals, and check in to see if you're on track. 

Making Improvements

It's important to follow your metrics to see how your EVP is — or isn't — performing. If numbers still seem low, it might be time to make a few tweaks. Collect feedback feedback and data to continually improve your employer value proposition. Don't be afraid to A/B test certain posts, email copy, photos, etc., to see what really resonates with candidates. Just remember to always be authentic with your messaging, even if you're A/B testing. 

It's also super important to check in on your EVP every once in a while. Make a yearly review part of your routine. Employee culture can shift, candidate needs can change, so make sure you're checking in to make sure you're staying up to date on everything. 

By following these steps and incorporating key elements, your organization can create an effective employer value proposition that attracts and retains top talent.

Need help with your employer branding efforts? We got your back. See how the Purpose Jobs employer branding content team can do the heaving lifting for you, so you can get back to hiring.