Employee value proposition (EVP): the ultimate guide

In a highly competitive employment marketplace, creating the right employee value proposition can help you recruit top talent. It will encourage current employees to stay with your company. In this way, you can retain your investment in their recruitment and training.

We’ll look at what defines an employee value proposition, why it’s essential for corporate growth, and how you can best create and implement one that continues to serve your company over time.

What is the employee value proposition?

Let’s start with a simple employee value proposition definition: An EVP can be described as all the value that a company brings to its employees. It goes beyond benefits like hybrid work arrangements and includes long-term investments like career training. It might also mean perks such as gym memberships or social support like employee counseling services.

Why is an EVP important for your business?

A solid employee value proposition is essential for attracting, developing, and retaining talent. Companies often focus on how to cater to clients or expand their customer bases. Major businesses spend billions on PR firms and branding experts – all to distinguish their offerings and identity in the outside world. They hope that this effort will catapult them above the competition.

Certainly, branding and public image are important considerations for improving your bottom line. However, they do not address one of the most crucial factors for corporate success.

Building an employee value proposition turns your company’s focus inward. It helps you to find the right people, and to provide them with an environment where they can flourish and grow. It allows you to navigate a path forward in which your employees grow with your business.

What’s the difference between EVP and employer brand?

Branding is the image and identity that your company shows the world. It’s expressed in advertisements, packaging, and even campaigns to demonstrate corporate social responsibility. It’s meant to make you instantly recognizable to clients, customers, or competitors.

On the other hand, an employee value proposition draws people into your company culture. It energizes, engages, and motivates your workforce. A well-executed EVP drives employees to give the best of themselves by empowering them with a strong sense of loyalty and ownership.

What’s the difference between EVP and company culture?

The company culture should be part of the employee value proposition, but the two concepts are not interchangeable.

In some ways, the company’s culture is like its internal brand. Employees should recognize it as the “face” of their employer, and be able to identify how it manifests itself in the EVP. For example, if the company culture claims to value education, the employee value proposition should include regular training opportunities or perks like tuition reimbursement.

What are the 5 pillars/key components of EVP?

Compensation

Generally defined as “money,” this can mean an hourly wage or annual salary. It sometimes incorporates holiday bonuses or a profit distribution plan.

Benefits

This pillar is related to compensation. However, benefits are often perks without absolute monetary value.

Employer-subsidized health insurance and retirement plans are probably the two most essential benefits. Other often-sought benefits include:

• Paid time off and family leave
• Disability insurance
• Expense accounts and company cars
• Remote work arrangements
• Employee stock purchasing plans
• Tuition reimbursement
• Employee discounts
• Corporate language training

Note: An employee value proposition is not the same as a benefits package. An EVP also incorporates elements of company culture and branding. It includes the workplace environment, as well.

Career

Opportunities for career development and advancement rank high among factors that make employees feel valued. Often, these can mean employer-sponsored continuing education programs.

For instance, a recent study showed that learning a new language was among the top three life aspirations for employees. Incorporating corporate language training into your employee benefits package could yield a big return on investment for your company.

Offering mentorships and other types of career training can help your employees ascend the corporate ladder. Having a transparent promotion process and promoting from within also shows your company’s long-term loyalty to its employees.

Fostering career development is a sign of respect. It tells employees that you see them as more than just cogs in a machine. It shows them that you value them as individuals, for the particular skills and talents they bring to the table.

When the workplace lacks fundamental respect, your staff could become more receptive to employment offers elsewhere. This isn’t always about money or benefits. An employee might accept a lower wage for a trade-off – such as on-site child care, flexible working hours, or better health care coverage. Similarly, an employee might give up a generous salary for a different job with better promotion prospects.

Work environment

A productive work environment has many components. In addition to providing your employees with the tools and the training they need to successfully and efficiently perform their job duties, it should be free of abuse and negative overtones. Company policies should clearly define the standards of acceptable behavior, as well as the consequences for infringing upon the rights of employees.

Beyond interpersonal interactions, the work environment can also mean elements like physical safety and comfort. Low noise, a comfortable ambient temperature, good air circulation, cleanliness, and low risk of injury are all important factors in maintaining a work environment that makes employees feel valued. Fun perks, such as free snacks or “bring your dog to work” days, could also play a role in creating a work environment that boosts employee morale.

Culture

The company culture is a reflection of its owners’ priorities and beliefs. Corporate values might include education, environmental responsibility, inclusiveness, tolerance, integrity, and healthy competition. Corporate-sponsored activities – like food drives, achievement-based contests, family picnics, or diversity days – should reflect the intangibles that the company values most. Some companies might provide volunteering incentives for employees. Others might choose to develop forums, such as Slack channels, in which employees can interact and develop deeper camaraderie.

How to create and improve an employee value proposition in 5 steps

Practical steps must be taken to give an EVP meaning and make it effective. We’ll go through these steps one by one. We’ll cover everything from the conception of the employee value proposition to the process of maintaining and improving it. This way, your company’s EVP won’t be stagnant but remain a dynamic part of your company’s success.

Step 1: Define your company’s uniqueness as an employer

When you were writing your initial business plan, you probably put some thought into what your company could offer the world. Whether you sell products or services, how well you distinguish yourself from your competitors can be a key to your company’s success.

In the same way, your company is always competing with other companies in the same space for talented employees. Your company’s ability to recruit and retain the best-qualified workers hinges partly on how well you stand out from other employers. With comparable compensation and benefits, you’ll need to dig deep to find the intangibles that would tip the balance. It might be an extraordinary respect for work-life balance or a commitment to environmental protection.

Your unique qualities as an employer may not appeal to every potential employee. Even so, defining your company’s uniqueness will go a long way toward finding a good fit for both you and your employees.

Step 2: Gather information from employees in all career phases

The needs of current employees will change throughout their careers. Depending on their roles and years of experience, employees might require additional training or career options.

Behind the scenes of the workplace, employees are also in different places in their personal and family lives at any given time. Even two workers in the same role with the same amount of work experience might have different needs. One worker might be starting a family while caring for an elderly parent; the other might be pursuing a degree outside of work hours. They might not want or need the same benefits.

This is why it’s essential to talk with employees and understand their specific needs. Some of them may be members of social groups with particular concerns. Others may be facing economic hardship. Still, others may have grown disillusioned with management or become disengaged from their coworkers. Whatever the case, management must have a thorough understanding of employees’ needs and concerns to formulate an effective EVP.

As you’re gathering this information, it would also be useful to collect suggestions for how the company could meet these needs. Be realistic yet respectful in your response to any requests. If it’s unclear how you might meet a certain need, let the employees know you’re currently exploring it, and make sure to follow up regularly on the status of it.

Step 3: Create an EVP that represents your company’s culture

As you develop your EVP, try to address your employees’ concerns in practical ways that authentically reflect your company culture. Again, not every EVP will have universal appeal. A workable employee value proposition should benefit employees and employers equally, attracting and keeping employees who best match your company culture.

For instance, a recurrent theme in the information-gathering process might be employee desire for all-remote work. However, you might need to make some compromises. For example, if one of the tenets of your company culture is the importance of in-person collaborations, you might only offer work-from-home two days a week. Ultimately, both the employees and the employer need to remain true to themselves, while still working together to create the most attractive employee value proposition for your current and future workforce.

To maintain transparency throughout this process, consider creating an advisory board comprised equally of employees and management. Keep EVP committee meetings open to the company as a whole, so any interested parties can attend discussions. Regularly ask for input from all employees, using tools such as anonymous surveys and suggestion boxes to avoid the appearance of bias. Keep all employees informed of milestones, deadlines, and implementation plans.

Step 4: Roll out your EVP

Your company can roll out the EVP either gradually, as it’s developed, or wait until it’s fully formed. Again, keeping clear lines of communication is essential to a successful roll-out. Make sure you have provisions in place to handle any questions, concerns, or complaints.

Step 5: Regularly re-evaluate your EVP

While it’s important to implement the EVP uniformly, across all teams, make it clear from the beginning that the EVP is not set in stone. Reassure your employees that their feedback about the EVP will be collected at set intervals, and adjustments will be made. After all, both the business world and the real world are constantly changing. The EVP must evolve to meet new challenges and remain relevant.

In summary, the best way to implement a successful EVP involves consulting with employees, gathering information, clearly communicating the parameters of the EVP, and periodically re-evaluating and tweaking it.

Employee value proposition examples

Some of the world’s best-known companies build their EVPs on a firm foundation of corporate branding and company culture.

What is Google’s employee value proposition?

Google headlines their career page with multiple taglines: “Build for everyone; Create for everyone; Design for everyone; Code for everyone.” Their emphasis is on diversity, inclusiveness, individuality, and community. They use a friendly tone to narrate their “How we hire” explanation. The overall impression is that transparency, thoughtfulness, and clarity take center stage in the Google workplace.

What is Apple’s employee value proposition?

With cinematic flair, Apple starts its careers page with the simple imperative, “Join us. Be you.” Community and individuality are simultaneously emphasized. Individual contributions are seen as creating the greater whole, with both the company and the employee contributing equally to each other. The site is playful, with mentions of inspiration and “creating something magical.” A sobering splash of company culture emphasizes values like inclusion and racial justice.

What is Nike’s employee value proposition?

As a company world-famous for producing athletic footwear, Nike unsurprisingly emphasizes motion and teamwork. Its careers page exhorts future staff members to “Move the world.” A “Find your fit” tool helps prospective employees discover the best job matches. These labels meld well with their branding.

The careers page statement blends employee opportunities with Nike’s iconic role in the sports world. It emphasizes unity, creativity, dynamism, and a commitment to continuous improvement.

Final thoughts

Like a company mission statement, an employee value proposition can be an effective tool when created with sincerity, transparency, and authenticity. It benefits your company and your employees the most when it’s implemented with clear communication and respect.