The difference between EVP and EX

We love abbreviations in the world of HR (pun intended). EVP and EX are two of them. EVP stands for Employee Value Proposition, EX means Employee Experience. They are both about the employee so you often see them used simultaneously and interchangeably. They are different however, so it's important to understand the difference, how they are connected and what you can do about them.

Disclaimer: Please note I don't say HR solely owns either the employee value proposition nor the employee experience. I do say HR is the primary driver of both of them.

Employee Value Proposition

Let’s first start with the EVP – the employee value proposition. Definitions differ, but literally it's the value you propose to your employees. In other words: the employee value proposition is the promise you make as an employer to your employees.

Consider this a holiday brochure: you are promised white beaches, palm trees, blue ocean, delicious food, a friendly culture. Organizations are proud of their EVP and they should be.

We usually see the EVP connected to the employer brand and used frequently in the recruitment process. Organizations often display their EVP on their careers page. Here are some examples:

Nike: To inspire greatness inside and outside of work, we offer employees competitive health, financial, security, and work-life benefits. And that’s only the beginning.

Keywords: Accomplish more together; Have a positive impact; Make it even better; Have a good idea and be bold; Be the best person you can be.?

Deloitte: What impact will you make? At Deloitte, your ideas create impact. The individual contribution you make will matter to businesses, people and society, and will spark real-world change. And, every day, you’ll become an ever-greater force for meaningful and positive progress.

Keywords: Be the true you; Never stop growing; Passion for purpose.

ING: We look for self-starting responsibility junkies with a talent for taking it on and making it happen. Who get a kick out of helping others succeed. And who have a knack for always being a step ahead.

Keywords: Open culture; Getting it done; Innovative mindset; Freedom to be yourself.

?Each EVP includes promises made to current and future employees. The EVP describes the ambition for the employer they want to be.

?The EVP is what the company wants to be known for.

?Employee Experience

The definition of Employee Experience is “the interaction between the employee and an organization encompassing the human, physical, digital and organizational work environment”. In other words: this is the result of what people experience working for the organization.

Each work environment impacts a specific part of the employee experience. The human environment is about the experience of the human behind the employee: values, wellbeing, purpose. The organizational environment is what you experience in your role as employee: learning, rewards, internal communication, ways of working. The physical environment is where you work: the building, facilities and nowadays your home office equipment. The digital environment is the software and hardware you use to do your job.

Consider this the experience you have during your holiday: the beaches are very white but crowded, there are less palm trees than expected, the ocean is terrific, the food is indeed delicious and people are friendly.

The employee experience cannot be put into words like the EVP as it differs per employee, or groups of employees. Organizations obviously can analyze their employee experience to understand how people think about the organization.

The employee experience is how it's like to work for the company.

How they are connected

EVP and EX are a balancing act. When you make great promises in your EVP, but the EX is bad, people will likely not stay for long. When you have a terrific EX but a weak EVP, people will probably not join in the first place.

As an example: When the EVP says employees can bring their whole self, have full flexibility and work in a culture of trust, whereas the experience is that everyone needs to work in a suit, 5 days in the office and all decisions are made by the top management, the EVP and EX are obviously not in line, resulting in a bad experience.

How do you design your EVP and your EX?

Creating your EVP and EX requires involving your employees. How you involve them is different.

For your EVP, you ask your employees why they joined and why they stay. The answers show what you are known for (why people join) and the company you are (why people stay), most likely in more generic terms like 'it's the people', or 'the impact we make' or 'development opportunities'. These insights shape your employee value proposition, combined with the ambition for what the organizations wants to be known for.

For your EX, you ask employees for their experiences. You ask them what their first day was like, what they think about the work environment and how their development conversations are. It's a lot more specific and in the moment. These answers provide insights in what goes well and what you can do to improve.

In short: the Employee Value Proposition is the promise organizations make to employees, the Employee Experience is how it's like to work there.