When it comes to hiring new talent for your company, having a strong employee value proposition (EVP) can help attract and retain more qualified talent. An EVP is everything that makes your company unique, why workers enjoy working for your company and why people would choose to apply to work at your company. An EVP is what makes your employees value coming to work every day, what makes them proud, and what makes them stay and grow. A strong EVP and workforce go hand-in-hand, and not having a strong EVP can lead to high turnover and an unqualified workforce.
A true EVP must come from the employees themselves. A company can say it offers this and that to their employees, but if the employee value proposition doesn’t resonate with the employees that work there, it can’t be true. For a strong EVP, employees must truly feel valued by their employer, that their work is meaningful and the benefits and compensation they receive are adequate for the work they perform.
An effective EVP can lead to a strong employer brand, which can be used to showcase why working at a particular company is better than working anywhere else. Giving employees a sense of pride through employer brand is another way to improve your EVP.
LISTEN TO YOUR EMPLOYEES
In order to find your employee value proposition, you must hear what your employees have to say about your company, its culture, the benefits of working there and what motivates them to stay. If any of these aspects of your company are negative, it will likely be difficult to retain quality workers or hire more. You must conduct thorough analysis of every level of employee at your company, from the bottom the top. Everyone’s opinion and thoughts are valued and must be heard in order to achieve a full and thorough review. This needs to be a deep dive, get to the heart of your company and hear the truth about how employees feel about not just working there, but giving a piece of their lives to the company.
Potential questions to ask could be:
- What makes the company different or special to work for?
- Describe the company in one word.
- What would you say is the biggest contribution you make to the company?
- Do you feel you are offered a work/life balance?
- How would you describe the culture at the company?
FIND THE PILLARS
The EVP should be founded on three main pillars, or legs, that hold it up. In order for it to work, it should have at least three key principles that all work together in holding up the final EVP statement. If a potential EVP statement works with only two of the three pillars, it could not be able to stand as a true employee value proposition.
BRING IT TO LIFE
Bring the EVP to life by crafting a statement and set of promises that you can surely deliver on. This must be true to the core of the company and fit all that the employees stand for and believe in working there. Shout it out! Share the EVP as much as you can, since this is what drives the heart and soul of your company. All your employees should be well versed in your company’s EVP so that they can share your company culture with potential new hires.
DOING IT RIGHT
The Heineken EVP and employer brand site showcase the company in such an intriguing way; their message is that you can be whatever you want within the company. On this interactive site, a brand ambassador walks around dreamlike hallways and climbs the proverbial ladder that signifies career growth and flexibility. At the end, this theme of flexibility and growth is once again firmly established when the ambassador says, “You’ll ask, ‘Where will we go?’ We’ll say, ‘We don’t know; you show us.’” This is then followed by the main EVP messaging: GO PLACES. The Heineken EVP leads you through a journey that explains what you may not already know about the company and affirms that you will fit in because you can quite literally be anyone and anywhere while working there.
A well-crafted and deeply thought out EVP statement and platform is a highly beneficial way to keep your employees engaged, progress the culture of your company, and attract the best talent available. Without a strong EVP, you could risk losing your top employees and missing out on growing a strong employee base.
Know of any other examples of strong employee value propositions? Share in the comments or let us know on Twitter!
