Crafting a Compelling Employee Value Proposition (EVP) for Company Success

American businesswoman Mary Kay Ash once said, "A company is only as good as the people it keeps." Learning how to craft, share, and measure an employee value proposition (EVP) may help you sway top job recruits in your favor and improve your organization’s employee retention. 

Research suggests that having a robust employee value proposition can deepen employees' connections to the organization and increase the number of employees likely to recommend the company to others. Additionally, research from Gartner demonstrates that companies that live up to their employee value proposition can decrease turnover by 69 percent and enjoy a boost of new hire commitments of up to 30 percent [1].

Delve further into what employee value proposition is and how it can help transform your organization for the better.

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What is an employee value proposition?

An employee value proposition refers to a short statement that tells prospective and current employees what they can expect from your company in terms of value. Since value means different things to different people, it's essential to craft your statement in a way that many will find attractive so you have a large, well-qualified talent pool to choose from. What you offer in an EVP can help you bring good employees into your company and help you keep them. 

Who creates an employee value proposition?

A compelling employee value proposition requires a team approach, with strategic collaborators who have in-depth knowledge of your company and can align company value and vision with data gleaned from the competition and the overall labor market to help inform your employee value proposition. 

Whether you're creating or recreating your EVP, people you might want on your team include your:

• Head recruiter

• Human resource manager

• Marketing manager

• Department heads

Critical components of a strong EVP 

A strong EVP contains a blend of standard employee offerings and some specific to your company. Standard offerings for employees might include:

• A good pay and benefits package (paid leave, medical/dental insurance, pension)

• A positive company culture

• Learning and development opportunities

• In-house job promotions

• Stock options

Some unique offerings attractive to prospective and current employees might include:

• Company discounts on products or services

• Free employee product or service samples

• Flexible remote/in-house work options

• On-site wellness classes or corporate fitness memberships

• Opportunities for national or international job transfers

What are the benefits of an EVP?

If crafted well, an EVP can help your company stand out from your competitors and perform its primary function: attracting and keeping top job candidates. But, a strong EVP can offer many more benefits, which might include:

• Providing job candidates with a glimpse into your company culture

• Increased employee engagement

• Greater employee trust

• Higher profits resulting from increased productivity

• Money savings due to lower recruitment and hiring expenses

• A more positive company brand

What are some challenges of EVP development?

Although an EVP offers an array of benefits, creating one can also present a few challenges. Common challenges of EVP development include:

Embellishment versus facts: Some CEOs may tend to embellish when presenting a company image through an EVP. Instead of describing the company you want to have, make sure to represent your company as it stands currently. 

Bottom-up versus top-down format: Some company heads create EVPs based on what they think employees want. To understand what employees really look for in a company, get feedback from former and current employees. 

4 steps for creating an employee value proposition

When creating an EVP, it helps to have a strategy. Consider four simple steps: Think about the positive aspects of your company, do your research, draft your EVP statement, and share it.

1. Take stock of your company. 

Before you draft your EVP statement, sit down with your team and brainstorm all the aspects of your company that a prospective or current employee might find positive. Examples could include:

• The compensation and benefits you offer

• Your employee development program

• Your mission statement

• Your company culture

• Any unique perks you think employees might value

2. Conduct and analyze research. 

Both internal and external research can help with your EVP development. Consider conducting interviews with past employees, gathering in-company focus groups, and asking job candidates to provide post-interview feedback. 

Questions you might ask any of these individuals could include:

• Why (do or did) you want to (work for or consider working for) this company?

• What kinds of benefits most attract you to any company?

• How important is company culture or work environment when you consider a job offer?

Assess the answers you receive and note those that occur most often. These are the attributes your former, current, or prospective employees find valuable. 

3. Develop your EVP. 

When drafting your statement, use clear, understandable language. Keep your message brief but inspiring, similar to an elevator pitch for a company rather than an individual. Tailor your message for each audience you're targeting, but be consistent when sharing information about your company's mission, values, and culture. To create a robust and compelling statement, keep a few key strategies in mind:

• It should align with your company's goals and mission.

• It should come across as authentic.

• It should appeal to the reader.

4. Share your EVP.

Once you have a strong employee value proposition, share it widely to attract and retain top talent. Ideas to consider for sharing your EVP include:

• Posting a video version of your message to your website's career page starring current employees who exemplify your EVP

• Incorporating your EVP into career fair presentations and job descriptions

• Discussing your EVP when interviewing job candidates

• Launching your EVP through company contests or promotions

• Having brand ambassadors share your EVP on their social media pages

How to measure the effectiveness of your EVP

After you've created and shared your EVP, a few metrics can help you determine its effectiveness. Consider using metrics for measuring employee satisfaction. For example, you might use the employee net promoter score, a one-question survey that measures the inclination of an employee to recommend your company to others as a good workplace. You may want to make this survey anonymous to get an honest measurement. 

Also, consider measuring your employee retention rate. This rate measures the percentage of employees staying with your company over a designated period. As an example, to find this rate over one calendar year, you would use the following formula:

Your next steps on Coursera

Having a well-crafted employee value proposition and knowing how to share it can help you attract the employees you want. Understanding how to measure the effectiveness of your EVP and adjusting your approach as needed to ensure it remains effective may help you keep those employees. 

To discover more ways to increase employee satisfaction, consider a course on Coursera. Offered by the University of Michigan, Reigniting Employee Engagement provides a variety of tools and strategies for improving employee involvement and enthusiasm in the workplace.  

To learn more about building a strong and resilient company brand, consider taking Brand Management: Strategies for a Strong Brand. Offered by professionals at the Coursera Instructor Network, this course covers various topics designed to boost brand management skills and enhance company success.