A Comprehensive Guide to Crafting an Employee Value Proposition 

As the hiring market continues to recover from the downturn in the early 2020s, many companies are ready to expand their teams. While this is good news, this means that Hiring Managers across Australia need to make their organisation stand out to attract top-tier applicants. Creating a compelling Employee Value Proposition (EVP) is one such way to achieve this.

Not only can it help with hiring, but a solid EVP will also work to retain talent, helping businesses to build teams that feel motivated, valued, and rewarded by their employer.

There are many invaluable reasons to build a strong EVP, and in this guide, we will outline how to craft one that benefits both your organisation and people.

What is an Employee Value Proposition

The first thing to understand about an EVP is what it looks like in your organisation, and what are the desired outcomes of having one.

An EVP is made up of four key components that companies need to identify and communicate to both current and prospective employees.

The components are;

1. Organisation

This speaks to the purpose of your organisation, along with the value that working for your organisation brings to individuals. The company culture is also part of this component.

2. Leadership and Culture

As leadership teams have such a large impact on the rest of the team, this element considers how leaders work with others in the organisation. It also signals to the general company culture that exists, and how employees and departments interact.

3. Role

In this part of the EVP, the role should be clearly outlined, including what could make a role at your organisation more desirable, than a similar one in another company. This is also where the EVP should speak to development opportunities that stand to benefit the employee both personally or professionally. 

4. Benefits

The final component of the EVP, this part should detail the rewards or ‘perks’ of working in the role. This goes beyond competitive pay and should include intangible benefits like remote working opportunities, as well as anything that promotes health or work/life balance.

Crafting the EVP

To put together a compelling EVP, you should start by assessing what you currently have to offer, and how this fits your EVP criteria. This can be done in a few different ways, with the main two being internal desk research, and an employee audit.

The goal of these investigations is to determine what value your company currently offers, and how these align with the measurables of an EVP, along with areas where action should be taken.

Gather data

With internal desk research, the aim is to collect and collate existing data through information gathered from employee feedback, HR policies, and annual reports. These can then be compared against market averages to see where there is room for improvement, and where the business can easily excel against others.

Employee interviews and surveys can be conducted either face-to-face or anonymously to find out; 

• Why they joined your organisation
• Why they have stayed at your organisation
• What do they value in working for your organisation

Similarly, exit interviews should include questions to uncover and understand

• What has made the employee leave
• What could have been done differently in order for them to stay

Using the answers and feedback from these, you should identify what elements of the offerings drive engagement and retention. Along with this, you can see where there are gaps in the value, and implement strategies or programs to fill these.

Develop your EVP

Now that you have this information, you can begin to develop the EVP. This should give current and prospective employees a clear vision of the values that the business embodies, and how that can be seen and felt day-to-day. The elements of the EVP should fit into the categories, and be simple yet comprehensive enough to appeal to a diverse pool of applicants. Remember that although this is to set your organisation apart from the rest of the industry, an EVP is only authentic if it is primarily based on keeping employees happy, not beating competitors.

Put it to the test

Now that you have a preliminary EVP developed that defines your company’s values compared to the rest of the market, it should be tested. This can be done with samples or focus groups of current employees. Conversations should be held with these groups to see if they feel that the EVP is genuinely representative of your organisation and the benefits of working there. 

Be sure to brief the team, and ensure that they understand what an Employee Value Proposition is, in order to ensure a productive conversation about the EVP you have developed. 

If the group cannot confirm that what has been developed is reflected in their work life, then it is not an accurate representation, and should be reconsidered. If the group is satisfied that the EVP presented to them is honest, genuine, and authentic, then it can be approved, refined, and defined for use.

Promote the EVP internally

Now that the EVP has been approved, it can be enacted internally to promote the benefits and drive engagement in company-led initiatives. At this point, the EVP should be incorporated into company life, from internal communications and briefings to recognition schemes, policies, and business plans. A strong EVP should have elements that can be seen throughout the different stages of the employee lifecycle, from induction and onboarding to transitioning to a new role.

Take it external

When the EVP has been promoted and recognised internally, it can be used to identify your organisation to candidates outside of the business. The EVP can be incorporated into job listings, social media posts, your company website, and anywhere where branding is visible. 

For this to be successful, HR, marketing, advertising, and PR departments should work together to ensure consistency in messaging across the board.

Evaluating the EVP

When the employee value proposition has been in place for a considerable length of time, and through a number of hiring processes, it can be evaluated for success. The most accurate way to do this is by analysing hiring data, including the number of applicants a listing has attracted, the diversity of the applicant pool, and the average time taken to fill a role. This can then be compared to data from before the EVP was implemented. Alongside this, current employee satisfaction and retention surveys are another useful measure of both the success of the EVP, and its authenticity in your organisation.

Getting Expert Input

Defining an EVP, creating an EVP strategy, and incorporating EVP into recruitment processes can be a tricky and tedious process, and that’s before it comes to implementing an employee value proposition model.

That’s where Miller Leith’s new Consulting offering comes in. Business owners and managers who are considering external support can utilise our expansive knowledge and skills base to propel EVP development and implementation. Our team members are ready to work with you, to drive your business forward and assist you in providing employees with a positive work environment that attracts and retains talent. 

Contact Miller Leith today to learn more about our Consulting services, and how we can support you to build an effective Employee Value Proposition.