The importance of EVP

Firstly, what is an EVP and why should your company have one?

“An Employee Value Proposition is the promise you make as an employer to your employees in return for their commitment. This promise entails the sum of all the benefits and rewards employees receive from the organization they work for.” (Source: AIHR).

The truth is an effective EVP is not just about what you are selling during the hiring process. A well-rounded EVP reflects the true candidate experience (their experience during the interview process) AND the employee experience (what it’s like when they actually start working at your company).

Given the high cost of attracting and hiring employees, it’s critically important for companies to take a hard look at the way they present themselves during the hiring process.?It really is a candidate’s market at the moment and candidates are like kids in a sweet shop with so many choices to choose from.

Candidates want to look beyond their salary and ensure the role they are taking up is the right fit for them in terms of, for example, CSR, flexibility, work-life balance, team-work, professional growth, hybrid working solutions, etc.

It is the responsibility of your hiring team to convey the employee experience during the interview process in an authentic and honest way.?The candidate thereby gets a position that fits their expectations, and the company gets an employee that will embrace their work environment.

By communicating a clients’ Employee Value Proposition, including their rewards, benefits or opportunities such as like work-life balance or professional development, during the initial screening period, PE Global can attract more suitable candidates who are a better company fit for your company.?It also helps us to recruit more passive candidates, better resonate with niche candidates and refine our clients’ recruiting objectives.

When developing an EVP your company needs to build them around attributes that genuinely attract, engage and retain the talent you want i.e. benefits, culture, ways of working, training, leadership/management opportunities.

In the past 2 years alone, we have all seen a shift in the traditional way of working and employee/employer working habits have evolved and will continue to change.?Since the pandemic, we all know that working from home can work, and for the most part, the majority of employees have expressed a desire to continue working from home to some degree.

Leadership and Management styles will need to evolve going forward and organisations will require highly effective managers to lead onsite and remote teams.

On a final note, retention is another term we will be hearing more about.?Over the next 3-5 years employee retention will be critical to a company’s success and will take prevalence to the recruitment of new staff.

So what do you need to consider going forward in order to retain employees?

• Flexibility – hybrid working models, reduced hours, 4 day working week – will they work for all industries and companies?
• A communication plan – Town hall meetings presenting how your company is performing
• Employee wellness
• Company Culture – culture is built on trust, engagement, value of employees, behaviours, company principles and employer brand
• Employee brand – the face your company presents externally to potential employees
• Training and development opportunities
• The Human Workplace – it will be important to acknowledge achievements especially where employees are working remotely.

In conclusion, companies need to carefully think about the ‘Why’ before they start communicating about the ‘What’ and the ‘How’ in order to attract and retain new employees who you would hope will eventually become your best possible ambassadors for your Employer Brand!

Credit to Emma O'Keeffe .