Creating a Desirable Employee Value Proposition (EVP)

As the U.S. economy grows, more people are returning to work and moving to better jobs. The labor market remains tight for all industries and across all skill levels indicating that companies are having difficulty finding the right talent across a wide range of occupations. A survey from the National Federation of Independent Businesses found that 52 percent of businesses were unable to fill jobs. The good news is that 28% of businesses reported raising compensation in order to give bargaining power to talented workers. But, is this enough to attract new hires?

The highly competitive job market is now pushing businesses to turn to Employee Value Proposition (EVP) for attracting top talent. Besides attracting talent, EVP can help organizations engage and retain employees. Here, we take a look at what is EVP and how to create a culture where employees thrive.

It isn’t news that candidates don’t all want the same opportunities, rewards, culture, and people. They differ in their level of experience and in the kind of compensation and rewards they value. Organizations should be able to appeal to each of these segments to differentiate themselves from their competitors.

“What’s in it for me?”

According to LinkedIn 2017 Global Recruiting Trends report, the deciding factors for candidates remain to be career advancement opportunities (both financially and intellectually) and challenging work. The answer is clear: candidates value career advancement and stimulating work culture over a greater benefits package. Delivering on these needs will help organizations engage and retain talent in a highly competitive job market.

As any good leader knows, focusing on the talent dimension as a key part of the corporate brand is an effective approach to reach out to new employees.

We all know that EVP is the unique set of benefits an employee offers to their employees in return for their time, skills, attributes, experience, and performance in the workplace.

Too often, EVPs are confused for compensations and benefits. A unique, relevant, and compelling EVP is the perfect amalgamation of tangible rewards received by employees (such as compensation and benefits) and intangible rewards (such as company culture, flextime, meaningful opportunities, etc.). At the core of EVPs are five key metrics:

Benefits: This core component of EVP comprises of paid time off, health, dental, retirement, and disability benefits, and life and accident insurance.

Career: This core component of EVP comprises of career stability, training and development, and evaluation and feedback, etc.

Company Culture: This core component of EVP comprises of meaningful workplace relationships characterized by collaboration, trust and, support.

Compensation: This core component of EVP comprises of salary as well as rewards such as bonuses and promotions.

So, how do you define your company’s EVP? The HR Digest has designed a simple 3-step guide for defining your company’s EVP. It will help you highlight your Employee Value Proposition in your recruiting strategy.

Step #1 Develop Your Employee Persona

According to LinkedIn 2017 Global Recruiting Trends report, the deciding factors for candidates remain to be career advancement opportunities (both financially and intellectually) and challenging work.

In order to best understand what your potential employee values, it’s important to define their persona. An employee persona represents your ideal candidate for each job position you’re trying to fill. This persona is defined by the skills, experience, and attributes that make up the ideal person for the job.

Step #2 Define Your Employee Value Proposition

The next step is an obvious one. You need to define your organization’s EVP by specifying each key component with your employee persona in mind. Ask yourself:

• What kind of compensation package would attract the ideal candidate?
• Is the work challenging?
• Does the organization provide opportunities for achievement and recognition?
• How flexible is the work environment?
• What about company culture?

Step #3 Do Your Research

To move forward, you’ll need to offer convincing answers to each of the questions from step #2. To do so, you’ll first need to evaluate what your competitors are offering. Once you have the answer to this question, you can find out what you currently offer to your employees in exchange for their time, skills, experience, and performance in their job. Usually, you can get this information from your company’s star performances. Find out what motivates them to do a good job each day at work.

As we’ve pointed out before, the answer to these questions may vary from one candidate to another. Some job seekers value flextime, learning, and cool projects. While others may value bonuses, benefits, and work-life balance.

It’s pointless if you fail to highlight your unique EVP for them to see it. Use various communication channels to promote the unique rewards and benefits you offer at your organization. EVP promotional content comes in the form of employee testimonials, company videos, and company and team blogs. Promotional channels for EVP include social networks, talent networking events, employee referrals, and career sites.

Here is the fun part: If you have truly succeeded in creating a culture where employees thrive and feel valued, those employees turn into company ambassadors. You can even rely on a referral bonus or incentive system to nudge your employees to share your EVP on social media and other platforms where you can attract top talent. If you follow this four-step formula for defining your company’s Employee Proposition Value (EVP), you’ll gain a clear understanding of what type of content and channel are most appealing to your employee persona.

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