What Makes a Good Employee Value Proposition (EVP)?
Nothing says "out of touch" more than an organisation that doesn’t understand why people want to work for it.
While some of us would love to believe that people want to join a workplace because they have a passion for the industry, most people really only care about what’s in it for them.
And that’s fair.
I’ve seen many companies fail to recognise the importance of their employee value proposition (EVP), and have seen high-quality talent leave as a result.
Which begs the question: what actually goes into making a good employee value proposition?
What Is an Employee Value Proposition (EVP)?
An employee value proposition (EVP) is a distinct set of benefits and values an employer offers to influence potential employees into joining their organisation. It is essentially a part of your employer branding, and will be the main contributing factor in retaining and attracting talent in a competitive job market.
Why is Having an EVP Important?
It’s simple: a strong and truly beneficial EVP will help keep your top performers happy and drastically reduce your turnover rates. It’s also an incredibly important part of your recruitment process.
Examples of Employee Value Propositions
To help you wrap your head around what makes an effective employee value proposition, we’ve curated examples from three different companies that seriously know their stuff.
“We're building a culture at HubSpot where amazing people (like you) can do their best work. If you're ready to grow your career and help millions of organizations grow better, you've come to the right place.”
HubSpot
HubSpot is a leading customer relationship management (CRM) platform for scaling businesses. Its main mission is to not just help companies grow, but to help them grow better.
Their focus on growth is not just something they want their customers to do, but also their employees (practice what you preach!). This sense of betterment can be found throughout their culture, and is set in stone in their “HubSpot Culture Code”. This 120+ slide presentation goes into detail on their values, including how knowledge and ideas are encouraged to be shared by everyone, and how inclusivity can help everyone grow.
Hubspot also complements its culture with the following perks:
Flexible working hours
Unlimited time off
Global Week of Rest
Remote work
Five-Year Sabbatical (After five years, you get a four-week paid sabbatical, with the equivalent of $5K US bonus).
Employee Assistance Program (including mental health)
Generous paid leave to new parents
Egg-freezing benefits to help give women more support
Leadership development courses
Fitness reimbursement
Nutrition consultations
Workshops on mindfulness, stress management, and more
Employee Stock Purchase
Tuition reimbursement
Employee Resource Groups
Ongoing learning opportunities
That’s right, you did just read the words “egg-freezing benefits”. And that just goes to show how committed HubSpot are to personal growth, both personally and professionally.
“From health to financial well-being, we continually invest in our employees to help them achieve greatness — both at and outside of work. Our goal at NIKE is to enable and support our teammates to realize their full potential.”
Nike
Nike’s employee value proposition is centred around investing in its team. As one of the world's largest suppliers of athletic shoes and apparel, it isn’t a surprise that fitness is also a huge part of that investment. As their co-founder, Bill Bowerman, once said, “If you have a body, you are an athlete.”
This sentiment trickles down into the company’s benefits and culture with them offering perks such as:
Relocation and travel benefits
Fitness opportunities and discounts
Access to world-class sports facilities
Nike product discount
Competitive pay and robust retirement plans
Paid time off, paid holidays and summer hours
Various educational programs
Life insurance and health care packages
Matches charity donations
Volunteer time to support charitable causes
Employee Assistance Plan (including family members)
Nike knows exactly who they want to represent their company, so it makes complete sense for them to appeal to those who are into their health and fitness.
“Join the team that's changing how the world works.”
ServiceNow
ServiceNow is a software company that develops cloud computing solutions that help companies define, manage, automate, and improve their offerings. They want the world to work better for everyone, especially their employees.
Notice the heavy focus on change and teamwork, which can be seen in their perks:
Unlimited paid time off
Stock options and stock purchase plans
Wellness days
Flexible work from home arrangements
Bike to Work Scheme
Great insurance plans
Free lunch or snacks
Commuter supportTuit
ion reimbursement
Annual bonus
Childcare vouchers
These perks and their commitment to improving how the world works (both literally and metaphorically) are why ServiceNow received the #1 spot on Glassdoor’s 2022 Best Places to Work in the UK.
As you can see from these examples, a good EVP encompasses exactly what people want in a healthy job environment – great perks and a distinctive culture that is in line with their interests and values.
Developing Your Own EVP
Now that we’ve got a good idea of some attractive perks and company cultures, let’s look at how you can create your own unique employee value proposition.
Step 1: Research & Surveys
No EVP should be created without canvassing opinions first.
And trust me when I say that your employees will all have unique ideas and opinions as to what constitutes a great place to work.
Of course, the best way to get this info is through employee EVP surveys which ask questions such as:
What exactly attracted you about working here?
What makes working for us unique?
Why have you decided to stay?
What has made you consider leaving?
Are there any other perks you would like to see here?
How do you feel our culture could be more inclusive?
Surveys such as these won’t immediately give you your EVP on a silver platter (as amazing as that would be). In fact, these answers should give you a clear idea of what matters most to your employees as a whole, and can push you in the right direction.
They can even help you uncover your organisation’s personality and tell you more about its unique qualities, benefits and traits. You can add to this by getting an outsider’s perspective, such as speaking to your customers or even your suppliers.
Step 2: Collate and Create!
Once you’ve got everything you need research-wise, you can start to develop a written and visual articulation of what it means to work at your organisation.
Think about your key values, overall business objectives, your industry itself and how these can all tie into your EVP. Then think about how you can communicate this to your employees. You can either go through the typical tagline and elevator pitch approach (brevity is the soul of etc), or maybe you can go down the HubSpot route of a 128-slide presentation.
For many organisations, this type of document is known as an internal brand or employee branding.
Step 3: Test & Amend
Your EVP won’t pop out of the oven fully cooked. You’re going to need to test them to see if you’ve followed the recipe closely.
Use surveys, workshops or company-wide meetings to get feedback from the people who really matter – your employees. Not only does it make them feel a part of the process, but it also helps you find out what elements of the EVP need to be ‘toned up’ or ‘toned down’.
If possible, try and get opinions from external potential employees too.
Step 4: Launch!
You’ve got your EVP and it’s raring to go. The next step is communicating it across your entire organisation.
Utilise any and all channels you have to spread the message and make sure it lands. You know your organisation inside and out, so make sure you tailor the messaging for each department and team.
Step 5: Measure
Last but certainly not least is measuring how your new EVP affects your organisation. Create a measurement plan to monitor your retention rates, engagement, employee satisfaction and your recruitment success.
Set yourself some KPIs - such as reducing turnover rates - and track against them over a 6-to-12-month period. Keep a close eye on the performance, as it will no doubt help you when it comes to refining your employee value proposition in the not-too-distant future.
Employee Value Proposition Development Consultancy
The process of defining or redefining your EVPs is no easy task. It requires full cooperation from everyone involved in your organisation, be they employees, customers or even your suppliers.
Getting it wrong can be disastrous, so success is all in the planning.
With my learning and development consultancy, I can help you enhance your employee value proposition by refining your leadership learning and talent development offerings.
Through careful assessment of your processes, systems, and employee opportunities, I can provide you with detailed reports on what could be modernised or changed.
This can all be done through focus groups, one-on-one interviews, and a whole range of data collection or discovery approaches. This will give me everything I need to learn about the needs of your company and what employees are demanding in regards to development.
By updating your employee value proposition and understanding what your employees are motivated and engaged by, you can help unify everyone towards your organisations’ aspirations, vision and purpose.
So, if you feel like your organisation’s current EVP isn’t attracting or retaining the right type of talent, book a consultation with me today.
I can work with your HR and talent teams to help them select and communicate the right benefits available to your employees. Specifically, through leadership development training, high-potential identification, coaching and mentoring, soft skill development succession planning, and procuring the right suppliers to help your company meet your employee’s needs.
Written by Michael
Michael Mauro is the founder of a forward-thinking organisation specialising in leadership, HR and employee development. With over a decade of global experience, Michael has become a leading voice on topics such as culture, inclusion, wellbeing, and the future of leadership.
