How Do You Create a Differentiated Employee Value Proposition?

Developing and communicating a distinct Employee Value Proposition (EVP) is the key to attracting the right type of people to your organization. The clearer you are about what sets you apart as an employer, the more likely you are to recruit people who will fit your culture, thrive in your workplace, and drive your business forward.  

Creating a differentiated EVP is no easy task, as can be seen by the sea of sameness in the market. So, here are four critical steps that will help you stand out from the crowd. 

1. Aim for differentiation as an objective

From the start, be clear that you want your outcome to be a differentiated Employee Value Proposition that crystallizes your unique offering to people. Many EVPs make common mistakes, for example: 

• ‘Me too’ – aping the competition for fear of missing out 
• Everything and nothing – trying to be all things to all people 
• So what? – not differentiated, and/or irrelevant to candidates 

Standing out means you want to stand for something. That means you’re going to need to be brave, have the courage of your convictions, and hold the line when you may get challenged and/or dragged into making one of the errors above. 

How can you do this? Focus on business outcomes. Ultimately, you need to recruit and retain the right people (skills, experience, mindset etc) to deliver your corporate strategy. 

The most important asset you have is your people, and they are likely one of your biggest costs (if not the biggest). So, it’s imperative that you hire the best people in the quickest time possible, while keeping your costs as low as they can be. 

According to Gartner, creating and showcasing a differentiated EVP can reduce recruitment costs by 50% and help you reach 50% deeper into the labor market.

2. Understand your target audience(s) 

As with all communication, knowing your audience(s) is essential. This will involve research (quantitative and qualitative) to identify:

• Personas (who are they?) – Putting a picture together of the type of talent you’re looking for. This can be cut by job type, level, generation, etc. While there will inevitably be variances, you’re looking for commonalities (more on this below). Find out more about EVP personas here.  
• Channels (where are they?) – Which channels are your target audiences using to research companies, apply for jobs, and connect with recruiters? Do you have a corporate presence on these channels? If you don’t, you need to consider how to build and maintain one, so you can reach your target market. 
• Desires (what do they want?) – What is it that your audience is looking for from an employer? Again, there will be differences, but there will also be common themes – typically ones such as career progression and development, flexible working, and inclusion. 

While you have different audiences, there will be some overlap of the core attributes they are looking for in an employer. Hone in on these as your source of differentiation. For example, all employees want a healthy, positive culture. Which element of yours you can focus your EVP on to set you apart from the competition?  

3. Do your research

Here, I’m talking about researching how people perceive your company as an employer. The main objectives are to get as complete a picture as possible, and to spot recurring messages. With so many data points available, you should be incorporating at least a few of the below: 

• Candidate experience surveys – If you don’t do these already, you’re missing a trick. They can provide rich insights into why candidates applied for a role with your organization, and how they found your recruitment process. 
• Onboarding/new joiner feedback – Smart organizations get early feedback from new joiners, to find out if their reality meets what you promised. Given that a positive onboarding is a leading indicator of whether a person will stay with you or not, it’s a perfect opportunity to find out what they think about your company. 
• Employee engagement surveys – Whether annual or more regular, these can highlight what your people enjoy most about working for your organization, but also warn you of any areas where you still have work to do – so you don’t include these in your EVP. 
• Internal focus groups – Engagement surveys give you facts, while focus groups provide you with stories, anecdotes, and case studies that reveal the ‘secret sauce’ that your people love about working for you. So, ask them why they joined, why they stay, and what they tell their family and friends about working at your organization. That’s the essence of what makes you unique. 
• Competitor analysis – Simple desktop research can show what your competitors are using for their EVPs, so you can think about how you put clear blue water between you and them. 
• Recruitment agencies (both those you use, and ones you don’t) – Recruiters spend their days talking to candidates and employers. As such, they hear what people are saying about you in the market, and can give you an objective view on your reputation, strengths, and perceived weaknesses relative to others.   
• Market insights – Reports into the market from companies such as Universum can provide valuable context into macro trends, competitor behavior, and candidate preferences – all of which can help you spot opportunities to position your company differently.   
• Glassdoor reviews of your company – Not always nice to read, and some need to be taken with a pinch of salt, but this unfiltered platform is a useful source of what your people really think about you as an employer.  

No matter your scope, from this research a clearer picture should emerge of external and internal perceptions of you as an employer. The trick is to draw out the patterns and weave them into a simple, concise, and differentiated EVP.  

4. Testing, testing 

Any attempt at creating a differentiated Employee Value Proposition should involve rigorous testing. Once you’ve done your research and distilled your insights, go back to those who helped to get their feedback. You want to be testing for:

• Does this EVP set us apart? 
• Is it a genuine reflection of who we are? 
• What else should we be considering? 

Testing is critical to ensure you have an EVP that is authentic, different, and evidenced by your culture. Even once you’ve launched your EVP out into the wild, you should be constantly reviewing the data to see which messages are resonating and which aren’t, and dialing up and down accordingly.

An EVP is a living, breathing, ongoing piece of work that will adapt as your business and culture evolve. Regularly testing that your EVP is surviving contact with reality is essential to ensure it remains distinct and relevant, and to identify any areas you may need to update.  

Differentiated EVPs are a must-have

In the context of a tightening talent market and ongoing economic pressures, creating a differentiated Employee Value Proposition is a must-have, not a nice to have. Only by having a unique EVP can you attract the best people in an efficient way that will fuel the sustainable success of your business.