A strong employer brand without an EVP? Forget it. The Employer Value Proposition, or EVP for short, is the foundation of your employer branding. You can't really do without it. Yet it remains a vague concept for many organisations. What exactly is it, why is it so important and what does a powerful EVP comply with? In this first part of our blog series, we give you the answers.
Quick summary
Strong employer branding stands or falls with your Employer Value Proposition (EVP). The EVP is the promise you make as an employer to your current and potential employees. It answers the question why someone would want to (continue to) work for you and thus forms the core of your employer story. Without a clear EVP, you will lose candidates, as research shows that 72% are more likely to choose an employer with a strong EVP. A good EVP is truly distinctive, largely corresponds to the current situation and lives within your organisation. With a strong EVP, you attract the right people and retain them longer. You can't really do without one!
What is an Employer Value Proposition?
Simply put: the Employer Value Proposition (EVP) is the promise you make as an employer to current and potential employees. The EVP tells what makes you unique and why someone would want to (continue to) work for your organisation. It forms the core of your employer story and employer branding.
Some examples of employers with a strong EVP:
- Patagonia: this outdoor clothing brand focuses on sustainability, environmental activism and a good work-life balance in their EVP. With their pay-off 'People. Planet. Purpose.' you immediately know what they stand for as an employer.
- Lidl: with an attractive package of conditions, growth opportunities and a focus on sustainability, Lidl puts forward forward-looking employer branding. Their motto 'Together we make Lidl' says it all: employees are central and success is only achieved together.
- Etos: with the slogan 'That feels good', they play on emotion, linked to their corporate culture. They even made their EVP tangible with their own product line for employees.
Why you can't do without an EVP
"Without a foundation, no solid house." That's exactly why you need an EVP: it forms the foundation for your entire recruitment marketing. Success in recruitment marketing is not just about clever campaigns or choosing the right channels. Everything starts with your message. What makes you stand out from the crowd. What makes you different from other employers.
If you don’t have a clear EVP and don’t communicate it, you’ll lose candidates. Research clearly demonstrates this. For example, 72 per cent of candidates say they are more likely to consider an employer that has its EVP well established. And it goes further: 82% say that reputation and employer brand are major factors in their decision on whether or not to apply. In other words: without a strong EVP, you’ll lose the battle for talent even before the application process begins.
Wander Wierda – owner of two online media agencies – goes one step further and says during an interview with Werf&: “If you don’t do anything about your EVP now, you won’t exist by 2030. Because by then, your entire workforce will have drained away. And your costs will go through the roof because of self-employed contractors and recruitment fees. So, as a company, you actually have two choices. Either you develop an EVP and invest heavily in your recruitment marketing automation now. Or you won’t be around as a company any longer. Full stop.”
In short: work to do!
Check the boxes: what makes a good EVP
Be truly distinctive
A cosy family business, the organisation where you can develop at lightning speed, work-life balance. These are promises that almost every organisation makes. So this does not make you really special. And that is what is needed. Being liked is not good enough. You have to stand for something. To excel. Your EVP may well cause a bit of a stir and not appeal to some candidates.
Because that's exactly what you want your EVP to do: stick around and attract the people who feel at home with your organisation. Because precisely those people will stay with you for a long time!
Doing what you promise
A strong EVP consists of 80% of today's reality and 20% ambition for the future. If that ratio is skewed and mainly focuses on who you want to be as an employer (but are not yet), you might attract candidates in the short term, but you will lose them in no time. Because candidates will pierce through your bubble of promises if it does not reflect reality.
Lives with your employees
Last but not least: your EVP must be felt by your employees. Management conveys it and acts accordingly and employees recognise themselves in it. If this is not the case, you quickly fall through the cracks. Your EVP can be so strongly worded, but if it is not alive in your organisation, candidates will feel it soon enough. And they will trade you in for another employer.
How to ensure internal support for your EVP? By involving your employees in drafting it! They are the perfect people to question about their motivations. Why do they work for you? What do you do differently from other organisations? What do you excel at and how do they notice it in practice? By engaging with your staff, you create an EVP that not only serves as an external message to potential employees, but also keeps your current people engaged and satisfied. Win-win!
How do you come up with a topper of an EVP?
In part 2 of this blog series, we’ll show you how to build an EVP that really sticks. So keep an eye on our knowledge base and social media channels. That way, you can be sure not to miss this step-by-step guide!
