You don't embark on an EVP journey only to let it gather dust in a drawer. You want to take it on the road! The job market - and especially your most important target groups - need to know what you stand for. Time to translate the EVP into campaigns! How do you do that cleverly? Read the tips and tricks in this blog, plus advice from Maarten Reeders - independent employer branding strategist and photographer.
No strong employer brand without EVP
In the first blog in the EVP blog series, we discussed it in detail: you need a powerful EVP to win the war for talent. In fact, your EVP forms the basis of your entire employer branding. Without an authentic employer promise, you won't stand out and stick around. And then candidates won't choose you.
To achieve an EPP that matches who you are and what your target group values, you start by creating support within your organisation. Listening to your employees and involving them in the EVP process is the key to success. It is also essential to find out what your current image is, what the pull factors are for your target group and to check how your competitors are positioning themselves. With all this gathered information, you can come up with a strong EVP. More tips & tricks for drawing up your EVP? You will find them in this step-by-step plan.
From EVP to campaigns that touch
You created your EVP for a reason. Now you want to get your distinctive story across the stage. You do that with employer branding campaigns. We asked Maarten Reeders, independent employer branding strategist, how you make this translation: "As a creative, I find this one of the most enjoyable parts of the EVP process. You will now develop a strategy and come up with a creative concept that matches your EVP and your target group. This forms the framework for your employer branding communications. An umbrella under which you can hang all kinds of things. At the same time, you will determine the channels through which you want to tell this story - taking into account where your target group is active - and create content. You can do this with your marketing colleagues, but do not hesitate to call in the expertise of a creative agency. Visual content combined with strong text works well and creates a tone-of-voice and tone-of-image that suits those you want to reach and activate. Pay attention not only to target groups, but also to generational differences."
Consistency vs. variety
Next, it is important to create uniformity and recognition. One social post or a nice story on your work-at-home site is not enough to move a candidate. In the current job market, it often takes 15 to 20 touchpoints with your employer brand to really gain traction, and a certain consistency and recognisability are important here. This applies to both your message and the layout of your communication.
Repetition is a must, but how do you also keep enough variety in your campaigns? "It is indeed good to repeat your message more often, but you can vary it. In the way you tell it, but also in the imagery you use. If you tell employee stories, for example, you can vary this with photo, video, blogs and podcasts. And create new footage regularly to make sure it does not become outdated and continues to give a realistic picture of you as an employer. For example, you prefer not to show employees who no longer work for your organisation," Maarten said.
Your employees as ambassadors
The success of your employer branding campaigns stands or falls with the involvement of your own staff. Maarten explains: "Your own employees can spread your message like the best of them. If they do not like or share your posts and do not put in a good word for you in their network, your campaigns will have much less effect. But: don't push your staff too hard. It has to come from within them. A good way to turn your staff into ambassadors is to involve them right from the start of the EVP journey, or even reward them for their help. Engage with them, ask for their feedback, keep them informed of progress. You will see that they will then identify much better with the EPP and be willing to spread the word."
Differentiate among diverse audiences
Quite simply, your EVP answers the (justified) question of current and potential employees - what's in it for me? But in some cases, that question cannot be answered with the same message for everyone. Just look at Enexis: their technical executives have different priorities and needs than their business consultants.
"Can you answer that question from the CFO, the marketer and the truck driver with one EVP? As an attractive employer, do you make an impact with the same answer for all those different people in your organisation?" - Arjan Elbers in a Frankwatching article
In such a case, feel free to differentiate your EVP according to different target groups. Do you have clear target groups within your organisation? Then draw up a Target Group Value Proposition (TVP). This is based on your EVP, but focused on that specific group. Is there a vacancy that occurs very often? Then it pays to draw up a Job Value Proposition (JVP) in which you answer the question: why would a service engineer/carer/teacher be happy with this job with us?
Don't forget: your candidate journey and onboarding
Translating an EVP to campaigns is a logical step - that's why you started that whole EVP journey in the first place! What is regularly forgotten though: the translation to the candidate journey and onboarding. To avoid failure in the recruitment process or a quick outflow, you want your applicants and new employees to feel that the EVP is not only a promise, but also reality.
Is the warm atmosphere and commitment of colleagues one of your spearheads? Then reflect that directly in your process, for example by:
- Introduce applicants to colleagues during the selection process;
- Always provide personalised and targeted feedback;
- In pre- or onboarding, organise a team outing to give new colleagues a warm welcome.
In short, that EVP should be incorporated throughout the candidate journey. From the first post they see to the first months in service. Because even if you've got it right on the front end, if future colleagues don't feel your story in that first, fledgling period when you get to know each other, a collaboration is often short-lived - if it comes to that at all.
The role of recruitment tech
How can you use technology well in this process? Marchen's answer: "Start measuring what works. Which expressions resonate well with your target audience? Do they like watching a video or would they rather read an interview with an employee? By analysing campaign data like video viewing time and CTR and website statistics like session duration and bounce rate, you can fine-tune your communication to your target audience. With heatmapping, you can even gain insight into how visitors behave on your work-at-home site. This kind of analysis is very valuable and can be set up well with recruitment marketing automation software. With this tooling, you also carry out your employer branding campaigns yourself - without it taking much time."
In addition, AI offers all kinds of possibilities to support you in the creative process, for instance by writing texts and generating images. How does Maarten look at this? "Authenticity is so incredibly important in your employer branding and an AI-generated image is simply not real enough at the moment. People see and feel that. The same goes for texts. So definitely don't hesitate to bring in specialists for various fields - think video editors, copywriters and photographers - when creating campaigns. They are the real creatives. Of course, AI can contribute during content creation, for example for a quick post or in case of a limited budget, but try to focus on human, authentic content - that's how you will achieve the most."
Inspiring examples
Woonwaard
Woonwaard - a housing association in Alkmaar and Dijk & Waard - knows how to touch candidates with their catchy payoff Home starts with you. This positioning fits perfectly with their mission ('Everyone a home, now and in the future'), is distinctive and clearly shows appreciation for employees. They make a home for everyone possible. This concept was then translated into various communications, implemented in the work-at-home site and an internal activation campaign was launched to increase pride and commitment among staff. A great example of how to go from a good EVP to strong labour market communication!
A.S. Watson
Many employers working on their EVP and employer branding look to sources of inspiration such as A.S Watson, the parent company of Kruidvat and Trekpleister, among others. Maarten says: "They have very cool campaigns that respond very strongly to the needs of their young target group. Their 'apply-with-your-bestie' campaign turned out to be a hit. Precisely because it responds to the desire to work with your friends. And applying for a job - still a lot less exciting."
Trekpleister is also advancing its employer brand considerably. With the proposition 'Working at Trekpleister - it makes you happy!', they focus on their culture where personal contact and attention for each other are paramount. By portraying moments of happiness, they make this concrete in their campaigns. They are also now active on TikTok, as this is the online gathering place for their youthful target group. In addition, the EVP has been extended to preboarding and new colleagues are explained about working at Trekpleister in 15 minutes via a special tool, so that they show up on their first working day with a smile.
From paper to practice: make your EVP work
An EVP is only valuable when it lives in everything you do - from your campaigns to the first working day of a new colleague. This requires creativity, consistency and commitment from your own people. By not only drawing up your EVP but also consistently translating it, you build step by step an employer brand that touches candidates and makes employees proud. This will make recruiting easier - now and in the future.
