What is Employee Value Proposition or EVP?

What is Employee Value Proposition or EVP?

By Tim Dare, Managing Director

EVP or Employee Value Proposition is something that all companies and organisations have but may not have identified exactly what theirs is.  It is the core of your employment, the character of your organisation and why it is so unique.  The EVP is a “set of attributes that employees and potential employees perceive as the value they gain through employment with the organisation” Source Gartner

As an Executive Search Consultant, when taking an initial brief for a senior level role, I will always ask my client “What sets you apart from other companies?”  This isn’t just about what salary they are offering, but also the benefits, company culture, career opportunities, coaching, and work-life balance.   Understanding why an individual would choose to work at your company is a crucial part of being able to attract and retain great talent.

What do you offer?

You may, as an employer, already offer benefits that you haven’t considered part of your EVP.  For example, supporting families of employees through paid parental leave, private medical care for all family members, and onsite amenities for children.  Access to healthy lifestyle with nearby fitness centre membership, in-house Doctor, counselling services or cycle to work schemes can also be enticing.  Do you offer “giving back to the community schemes” by matching charity donations or allowing volunteer hours for employees?  Perhaps you are now offering flexible working as a permanent solution to employees work-life balance, which continues to be attractive to many. Bloomsbury as well as a number of other top publishers, including Penguin Random House (PRH), Hachette and Oxford University Press (OUP), have reinforced their flexible working arrangements to further support staff alongside more comprehensive employee assistance programmes.  At Bloomsbury for example, their core hours are set from 10am to 3pm to allow for flexible start and finish times, while its ‘Flexible Fridays’ scheme allows a lunchtime finish at the end of the week, provided extra hours are worked on Monday to Thursday.

In fact, showing how your company invests in employee growth with personal and professional development programmes (degrees or even organised cookery classes) can be crucial to helping entice or retain top talent.

Company Culture

By setting out and agreeing your EVP, you are also highlighting your company culture.  What is it like to work there? Is it a creative, diverse and supportive workplace where associates feel a sense of belonging and respect?

Just by showing that every voice counts in your company, that you have a global reach, that you encourage career progression or that you focus on sustainability could be the unique attribute that separates you from your competitors.

An EVP doesn’t have to be a long list, however.   Chose the length that is right for your company.  It could be a few bullet points at the end of an advert or job description, or you may decide to devote a whole page on your company website.

In Conclusion

Living up to your EVP will transform your current employees into the best ambassadors for your company’s brand, which must be a good thing all round!

At Mosaic we can promote your company’s Employee Value Proposition as another tool to attract the best candidates.  We would welcome a confidential conversation to talk about how we can help you with your senior level roles.   Use our contact page here, we’d love to hear from you.