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

Key takeaways

An employee value proposition (EVP) helps you attract, retain, and support your employees. 

• Some core components of an EVP include a benefits package, work-life balance, and growth opportunities. 

• An EVP can provide candidates with insight into your company culture, support current employees, and even increase productivity. 

• You can begin crafting your EVP by reviewing your current offerings, taking input from current and former employees, and aligning it with your company's goals. 

Delve further into what an employee value proposition is and how it can help transform your organization for the better. Join 4,300+ leaders in developing your talent with Coursera for Business. Give your employees the value of developing new skills and personal growth through customizable learning. 

Leaders at 4,300+ companies develop their talent with Coursera

Learn more

What is an employee value proposition? Employee value proposition definition

An employee value proposition (EVP) is 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 top talent into your company and help you retain them. 

Research suggests that a robust employee value proposition can deepen employees' connections to the organization and increase the likelihood that employees will recommend the company to others. 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 EVP may help you sway top job recruits in your favor and improve your organization’s employee retention.

Who creates an employee value proposition?

A compelling employee value proposition requires a team approach. Consider aligning your company's values and vision with data gleaned from the competition and the overall labor market.

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

• 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 and in-house work options

• On-site wellness classes or corporate fitness memberships

• Opportunities for national or international job transfers

Employee value proposition examples

An effective EVP can help attract and retain talent, enhance engagement, and make your company stand out in the market. Check out a few examples to get a better feel for what your EVP might look like. 

• At XYZ Inc., we value our employee health and wellness, which is why we offer corporate fitness memberships, health, dental, and vision insurance, and paid sick leave.

• From day one, we believe in developing the future leaders of our company. We offer learning and development opportunities, an in-house mentorship program, and access to conferences and other professional development events. 

• With options to work remotely, in a hybrid model, or fully in-office, we believe everyone deserves a healthy work-life balance. We’re dedicated to employee well-being, which is why we offer generous paid time off, parental leave, and paid sick time

What are the benefits of an EVP?

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.

How to create 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 with employees and stakeholders.

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 to each audience you're targeting, but be consistent when sharing 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

A useful measurement for determining the effectiveness of your EVP is 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:

Read more: Navigating High Turnover Rates: Strategies for Employee Retention

Create employee value and upskill your team on Coursera

With Coursera for Business, your employees will gain access to content from 350+ leading universities and industry partners, where they can build real-world experience with innovative skills, tools, and technologies while earning globally recognized credentials. Our customizable, scalable learning solutions balance workplace and technical skills training in diverse formats, from video clips to Guided Projects and Professional Certificates.

• Training a smaller team? Explore Coursera for Teams, designed to meet the needs of teams with five to 125 employees.

• Learn how Siemens Improves Employee Retention With Coursera

• Subscribe to our LinkedIn newsletter, The Learning Curve,

Train teams across your organization in the skills that matter most in today’s digital economy with Coursera.