The talent acquisition landscape is constantly changing, from the hiring competition you face to the expectations candidates have for employers. Recruiters today are working in a highly competitive market — while hiring has slowed, there are fewer available job seekers with the in-demand skills you’re looking for. 42% of hiring managers say their company has open positions it can’t fill.
You need a compelling employee value proposition (EVP) to attract, hire, and retain those best-fit candidates.
The employee value proposition is a vital component of an effective recruiting strategy. It helps bring in applicants who identify with your company culture and values. EVPs also give potential candidates a preview of the employee experience they can expect if they work at your organization. Delivering on your EVP can even improve employee retention by 69%.
Keep reading for a quick guide to creating your company’s employee value proposition, and then get inspired by a few EVP examples from top organizations.
What Is an Employee Value Proposition?
Your employee value proposition summarizes the unique benefits your company offers its employees. The EVP is a core component of building a positive employer brand, a way to highlight what makes working for your organization unique. A compelling employer brand also helps make your EVP more effective, strengthening how your company’s values, culture, and employee experience are perceived.
When done well, the EVP helps attract potential employees who identify with your company culture, increasing the chances of hiring the best person for every role. The EVP can even dissuade applicants who are unlikely to thrive at your organization. According to Harvard Business Review, your EVP should consist of four factors:
- Your material offerings, including work location, equipment, schedules, subsidies and benefits, and perks
- Professional development opportunities, e.g., career paths, training, role mobility including promotions, and other growth opportunities
- How your company fosters connection and community, e.g., employee recognition programs, mentorships, or your process for aligned goal-setting
- Your organization’s meaning and purpose, its vision or reason for existing, which resonates with peoples’ own values
Recruitment and hiring are not fast or inexpensive processes. Drawn-out recruiting processes and bad hiring decisions make them even slower and more expensive. An EVP helps attract candidates who feel excited about your company's work and how they can contribute.
“The lack of candidates with the skills needed for the most in-demand jobs—from healthcare and finance to hospitality and skilled trades—will put increased pressure on employers to fine-tune their recruiting, retention, and employee engagement strategies and programs in the year ahead.”
- Richard Wahlquist, chief executive officer at the American Staffing Association via the HR Daily Advisor
How to Create Your EVP and Bring It to Life in Recruitment
Your EVP isn’t just a quick summary of why job seekers should apply. It represents what matters most to your company and how it treats its employees. The EVP should speak to company values while describing the most appealing benefits of being an employee — what gets employees most excited about working there.
Every organization, no matter its size or industry, can develop a unique value proposition that resonates with its ideal candidate. Your human resources team, including talent acquisition pros, can work together to ensure your EVP is accurate and aligned.
Follow these steps to write your own EVP.
1. Understand What Makes Your Org Unique
Take a deep dive into your company culture to identify its defining characteristics. Is it fueled by creativity and collaboration? Full of dynamic, fast-paced go-getters? Whatever the case, your description will grab the attention of your ideal candidates.
Next, take stock of the compensation and benefits employees are offered, including additional perks like training programs and company activities. Then, detail the growth opportunities available to your people, like continuing education or mentorship programs.
Don’t be modest — try to think of anything your company offers that might appeal to applicants. That could be anything from an open-door communication policy that encourages employees to reach out to any member of leadership or quarterly company-organized volunteer days.
2. Ask Your Employees
We often recommend asking your workforce for feedback to inform and improve your people strategies and processes for obvious reasons, and your EVP is no different. You benefit from their unique insight and stronger employee engagement when you put their feedback into action.
Send out employee surveys to get their opinions quickly and, optionally, anonymously. Ask them what motivates them, what is best about working at your company, and what could be improved. You can also interview employees or conduct focus groups to get feedback via discussion. In some cases, you might even reach out to former employees for a well-rounded perspective.
3. Research the Competition
Look to your competitors to see where your company is at an advantage. Your organization might offer a hybrid schedule while your competitor requires employees to work in the office. With employees showing a strong preference for workplace flexibility, spotlighting the hybrid work environment can draw in applicants and increase your chances of hiring success.
4. Craft Your Core Message
Now it’s time to define your core message —what makes it so special to work at your company. Are your employees motivated by contributing to a good cause? Are they encouraged to exercise their creativity? Maybe your company is excellent at providing work-life balance.
Whatever your core message, align your EVP with your company mission and values. You should also consider tailoring your EVP to the different stages of the employee lifecycle. What motivates someone just starting their career is likely different from someone nearing retirement.
At the end of this step, you should have a clear, concise EVP statement that communicates what’s most important to your company and how you motivate your people.
5. Plan Your Strategy for Communicating the EVP
With your value proposition defined, you can now put it into action in both internally and externally — in your recruitment and talent acquisition strategy as well as in your company culture. For example, if your EVP asserts that your company’s work environment is fast-paced and high-energy, your hiring process should be efficient and engaging, and your employees should be well-supported by managers who remove roadblocks and regularly check in on their projects.
You can communicate your EVP by including it in job descriptions, on your careers page, on social media, and in internal communications. If you’re using talent acquisition software, it’s easy to maintain your EVP across all channels. You can design a branded careers page, manage all of your job postings, and communicate with candidates all from one connected system. With these strategies, your HR team can ensure your EVP reaches the right audience and makes a lasting impression.
6. Measure the Results and Adjust as Needed
Your EVP is a living document that should grow and adapt alongside your company. You can ensure it stays up-to-date and effective by tracking key metrics like time-to-hire, quality of hire, and employee retention rates. That tells you if your EVP is attracting best-fit candidates and contributing to better hiring decisions.
You should also repeat Step 2 often, gathering ongoing employee feedback through surveys, focus groups, and exit interviews. That helps ensure your EVP remains relevant to employees’ needs and expectations. Stay on top of how your business changes, too — the use of new technology, shifts in company culture, and demand for different skill sets are just events that can impact your EVP.
Revisit and update your EVP regularly to ensure it continues to resonate with the talent your organization needs to be successful.
5 Examples of Compelling Employee Value Propositions
A strong EVP goes beyond just listing benefits. It tells a story about what makes your company unique and how it empowers employees. Here are some real-world examples to spark inspiration:
- Zappos: "Deliver Happiness. Purpose. Passion. Growth."
Zappos focuses on creating happiness for both their customers and their employees. Its EVP emphasizes purpose, passion, and growth opportunities within the company culture.
- Patagonia: "Build the best product, cause no unnecessary harm, use business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis."
Patagonia is known for its commitment to environmental activism. Its EVP reflects this mission and attracts employees who share the same passion.
- HubSpot: "Grow with us. We help businesses grow, and we help our employees grow, too."
HubSpot emphasizes professional development alongside company growth. Its EVP speaks to job seekers who value continuous learning and career advancement.
- Slack: "Where work feels like you."
Slack's EVP is concise and memorable. It highlights a work environment that's comfortable and familiar and fosters collaboration —much like its product.
- Airbnb: "Belong Anywhere. We connect people, places, and experiences that make the world feel more like home."
Airbnb's EVP reflects its mission of building a global community. It appeals to those who are motivated by building connections.
Measure and Maintain EVP With Talent Acquisition Software
The employee value proposition is meant to strengthen your talent acquisition strategy and set your company apart. But how do you know if it’s having the effect you intend?
You need talent acquisition software to see the impact of your EVP. With ClearCompany’s Talent Acquisition platform, you can easily weave your EVP into your processes and analyze the results. Get these features with the combined power of our Applicant Tracking System and Onboarding software:
- Easily brand your Career Site and showcase your company culture.
- Manage job postings for several logos from a central location and maintain brand consistency.
- Simplify HR workflows for fast, efficient processes and an excellent candidate experience.
- Seamlessly onboard new hires with no paperwork necessary — just set up your employee portal where they can sign and store documents, get acquainted with team video introductions, and dive into your company history.
- Access advanced analytics and reporting to track key talent acquisition and recruitment metrics effortlessly.
Bake your EVP into every part of talent acquisition with ClearCompany Talent Acquisition. Sign up for your personalized demo now.
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