Why is having a clear EVP important for candidate attraction?

What is an Employer Value Proposition (EVP)?

An Employee Value Proposition (EVP) is a document or policy which outlines the unique set of company benefits given to employees. An EVP should define the essence of your company – what makes it stand out, what sets it apart and what it stands for. This typically would include your company values, benefits you offer, employee privileges and your ethos.

An Employer Value Proposition acts as a promise between an employer and potential applicants. Yours should include everything that a candidate could expect to receive in exchange for their talent, skills, and experience. A strong Employer Value Proposition will help you to differentiate your organisation clearly from competitors and will provide potential employees with compelling reasons as to why they should want to work for you. ...According to several sources, many employers still do not currently have a well-developed EVP. 

How important is it to have an Employer Value Proposition (EVP)?

"Only 31% of HR leaders think their employees are satisfied with the EVP, and 65% of candidates report they have actually discontinued a hiring process due to an unattractive EVP" Gartner

The importance of a good Employer Value Proposition has grown, especially as a result of the pandemic. We are now seeing a shift in what employees want and look for in a potential employer. This means you must become more competitive and inventive when trying attract top talent. An EVP is a great way to appeal and respond to the changing needs of candidates.

Louise Lavelle, our Associate Director says,"Candidates have so many options available to them that they do their research and due diligence before deciding which few companies to apply to. The more information and materials we can provide a candidate, the more informed their decision-making. We hope to provide information on the company culture, training, L&D, socials, real life stories and insights from team members, awards, recognitions, DE&I, CSR, charity involvement, sustainability / carbon neutral / recycling initiatives, etc. It is great if a company produces their own documents with this information for us to share with prospective employees, and otherwise we request briefing calls with hiring managers or talent teams to ask about these aspects to then present to our candidates.

When we can build a more complete picture of what working at this company could offer them, the greater their interest and enthusiasm to apply. When all we can send is a website link and a job spec, potential candidates are less inspired to want to work there."

What are the benefits of having an Employer Value Proposition (EVP)?

"Developing a clear and relevant EVP that reflects a positive employee experience delivers a strong return on investment". Linkhumans

An EVP is a powerful tool to attract the right talent to a role- by appealing to specific values, expectations, and goals, employers are able to find those who will help to grow and boost business.

The benefit of refining and developing your Employer Value Proposition would be to make it more accessible to potential candidates is that you are more likely to find someone which aligns with your company values, and who enjoys and engages in their role. The benefit for employees is a work experience aligned with their expectations and preference.

A strong EVP isn’t only helpful in attracting new talent, but also in terms of consumer communication - consumers are more likely to interact with companies with strong values and who treat their employees well

How do I create an Employer Value Proposition (EVP) that stands out?

"A well executed EVP can Improve the commitment of new hires by up to 29% and decrease annual employee turnover by 69 percent". Corporate Leadership Council’s research

Your EVP needs to be all encompassing and live throughout all company branding and marketing collateral. It needs to become part of the fabric of your company, part of the language everyone uses. It should be values-driven and it needs to speak directly to your target audience. Your EVP needs to promote your working environment and the potential rewards on offer (not just financial). It should describe the training and progression opportunities, the culture, and the social environment. It may also include employee testimonials or internal survey results.

Your Employer Value Proposition should be a comprehensive document providing clarity on these elements internally, so that employees involved in the recruitment process are clear on the message. It will also provide guidance on what tools are at their disposal and advise on what the ‘candidate journey’ should look like. 

It also needs to consider the retention phase – how will your company ensure new and existing talent is engaged, motivated, productive, and thus likely to remain loyal for a long period of time?

To make the most of your EVP, promote it through social media campaigns by embedding your core values into the content- selecting the appropriate social media channels is also important in targeting the right audience. Make sure it is clear and visible for anyone who might be looking to see it. 

How to create and implement an Employer Value Proposition (EVP)

"One of the mistakes companies make when creating an EVP is focusing on the leadership of their company, rather than making an employee-focused EVP. For recruiting and retention, your EVP statement must reflect the value to the employee, not the value to company leadership or bottom line". Workology

The best proponents of what it’s like to work in your organisation are of course your employees themselves, so it is wise to get them involved to help shape the process of creating your EVP.

Your staff will have the experience of going through your application process, from the interview to onboarding, so they will know what worked well and what didn’t, what were they convinced about and what created doubt. They’ll have a clear perception of what the ideal candidate journey should look and feel like, and are therefore the perfect tool to use to help shape your document.

The implementation piece is about ensuring the Employer Value Proposition lives through all the business functions and, in particular, that it is woven through the brand and the entire marketing mix with all that collateral promoting consistent key messages.

Crucially, what an applicant sees and feels from the outside prior to applying, should be very similar to what they see and experience when they come to meet you. Those feelings should remain when they accept an offer, come on board, and should remain true across the years they stay with your organisation. In fact, even if they leave, you’d hope they will continue to speak highly of the organisation, given their very positive experience.

During the development phase of the EVP, organisations should also consider whether their Employer Brand and their Consumer Brand are perceived similarly. Consumers out in the marketplace (healthcare professionals and patients) will have a perception of your organisation and the company brand. Conducting research to understand these perceptions is important because they should be relatively well aligned with the perceptions of your employees.

Many big firms have a very positive public persona but offer a poor employee experience. Achieving a consistently positive persona externally and internally can play a significant role in success moving forward.

"76% of employees who experience a strong alignment between what their employer says about itself and their experience of working there are more likely to recommend their employer as a place to work." Ranstad

In summary, here are six key steps to creating a great EVP:

Need some help creating your Employer Value Proposition (EVP)?

Carrot work in partnership with a large number of Pharmaceutical and Life Sciences companies and consultancies, fulfilling their recruitment needs across functional teams within commercial, clinical development, R&D and manufacturing.