If a candidate were to ask you, "What is your EVP"? Could you answer them quickly or would you hesitate with your answer? Another question being, would you have any idea what they are referring to?
Let's start by breaking down what an EVP is and why it is important. EVP stands for
'Employee Value Proposition'. The EVP refers to the set of offerings a company provides to the employee in return for their contribution of talent and time to the business. What benefits, both tangible (health benefits, bonus structure, vacation) and intangible (remote work, work-life balance, mentorship) does your company offer their employees? What does working at your company mean to the outside bystander?
When shaping your EVP, ask yourself the following questions:
What do your current employees love most about working at your company?
What makes working for your company different from your competitor or anywhere else?
How do the current benefits you offer stack up to others (tangible and intangible)?
Your EVP is absolutely VITAL in your recruitment process and can often be the determining factor separating your company from the rest. Attracting great candidates is all about showcasing what makes your company the best place to be. Clearly defining your EVP not only shapes your employer brand, but strengthens your ability to stand out from the crowd.
The benefits of defining your EVP will support your business in several ways including:
Re-engaging existing employees: this process should not just be a leadership discussion. Involve your entire staff in this process. Find out what your current team really values in the workplace. This process will not only enable you to better understand what their current needs are, but will empower them to feel apart of making a positive change in the company moving forward.
Create and establish a recruitment marketing message: really understanding why your current employees love working for your organization will help you to craft and highlight what makes your business unique. This supports not only attracting like-minded candidates who value similar offerings, but also attract candidates that will fit in with your existing company culture.
Increase retention rates and improve your business: companies with strong and unique EVP's have much higher engagement rates from employees and often report increased retention.
Creating your ideal EVP can be broken down into 4 easy steps.
1. Ask Your Employees: there is no better way to really understand what your employees needs are than asking them directly. This can be done through in-person focus groups, town halls, 1:1 performance reviews, or during an exit interview. Another option is to gather information anonymously through the use of employee engagement surveys. Samples of the questions you may ask can include:
- What interested you in wanting work here?
- What is the biggest factor contributing to you wanting to stay?
- What benefits do you value the most/least?
- Are there any benefits we don't currently offer that you would like to see?
- How would you describe or change the current company culture?
- What is the most meaningful part of your job?
- Would you encourage others to work here? If not, why?
2. Create Continuity: As a leader, think about your current idea of your EVP and how it aligns with the feedback you received from your employees. Does it match your current team or your ideal candidate? If there is any discrepancy it's time to dig into where the changes need to be made in order for your idea of a great EVP to actually match the existing reality of what is already in place.
3. Establish the Messaging: Once the feedback has been collected and your gaps and discrepancies have been identified, it's time to make the changes, write it down and share it with the world. Add your EVP to your employee handbook, your websites careers page and 'About Us' sections, add it to your job ads and social media pages. Add it anywhere one may look to find out what working at your company is all about. It's time to share with the world what your company offers that no one else does. Your EVP is an integral part of your employer brand.
4. It’s All About Delivery: Simply creating and writing down a great EVP is not enough. Think about that age old saying, "actions speak louder than words". Following through on making the adjustments based on the feedback is going to be imperative to ensure you are really practising what you preach. Continue to engage your employees post implementation and continue to gather feedback on the changes made. Empower your leadership team to understand what what they can do to support these changes and really embed them in your company culture.
Think of your EVP as the name tag your business wears as it shares who you are with the world.
As trusted IT and startup recruitment specialists, Capital Recruiting can help your team find your next best leader. Connect with us today to see how we can help you.
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