What is an EVP?

It sets out what you expect from employees in terms of behaviour, attitude and skills, and what you give in return by way of benefits, culture and opportunity.

And your EVP needs to work with your CVP (Customer Value Proposition).

It’s the tool that will create the internal capability to deliver on your ambitions for customers.

What can your EVP do?

Let’s look at an example.

IBM Consulting is a business built on the value of an employee’s knowledge. Staying ahead of the game and not just riding trends but setting them is essential.

Stephen Kelly is the CHRO for IBM Consulting and articulates the problem clearly …

With attrition in the technology sector between 12-19%, the costs of losing staff are high. And with AI and Cloud having disrupted the space over the last few years the need to upskill has never been great.

When The Team worked with IBM Consulting the business was facing an immediate requirement – the need to recruit around 13,000 consultants with the capability to talk Cloud with clients.

With average recruitment costs running at around 15% of a consultant’s annual salary, that’s a potential $87m hole to fill.

This is an example of a real tangible measure that an EVP should be designed to attack.

For IBM Consulting, we focused on an EVP that would drive upskilling and attract and reward behaviour that saw consultants reviewing their skills.

We looked at leadership capabilities that accelerated mentoring and promotion. We encouraged lateral movement into emerging roles rather than the traditional focus on hierarchical promotion.

‘Future Skills’ became the mantra that sat behind an EVP that was all about ‘Your Opportunity to Grow.’

Within a year, IBM Consulting had upskilled 8,000 consultants.

Developing an EVP

For us this starts with five questions.

1. Where’s your business headed – what are the headwinds it faces?

2. What is it that your customers expect from your people?

3. What are the changes in behaviour you need to encourage?

4. What is it that the talented people want from a workplace like yours?

5. Who is eating your lunch and why?

Let’s go through each question in turn.

Where’s your business headed – what are the headwinds it faces?

Understanding how your marketplace is changing determines the priorities for the people you need to attract and retain.

For the Portuguese food chain Jerónimo Martins,the shift to a business that was customer first when it came to service, price and a holistic understanding of community meant that they needed to develop an EVP.

This EVP needed to show the business’s true care for people; its focus on developing relationships with communities; its commitment to healthy products over quick returns.

If you have a business imperative like this, it means you’re looking for more than just shop workers – you’re looking for ambassadors.

You’re looking for people who come from the communities that you serve.

What is it that your customers expect from your people?

It’s a question we always ask and it’s one that many businesses fail to gather any insight around: What do your customers expect of your people?

For IBM Consulting we knew that it was knowledge. Their clients want IBMers to stay one step ahead.

That is what informed the EVP we developed for them: focusing on personal growth and knowing this would lead to business growth.

What are the changes in behaviour you need to encourage?

Understanding the gap and the measures is another key start point.

The travel firm Audley pinpointed retention. They realised that any agent employed had to commit to at least an 18-month tenure if the business was to get a return on the investment in recruitment and training.

The problem we identified was a simple one: to attract candidates Audley was appealing to people who loved to travel.

The issue? Within 12-months many of these agents wanted to leave and travel.

We shifted the EVP and Employer Brand to focus more on people who were passionate about the benefits of travel. A subtle shift, but one designed to appeal to a different audience.

What is it that people want from a workplace like yours?

It’s always a good idea to ask candidates what they want from a workplace like yours.

We do this by surveying people who might consider a job in your sector and geography. What is it that is driving them?

We recently asked this question for an energy company looking to recruit in a very specific geography.

Insight and data is often surprising. We were expecting some concern relating to the nature of the business. We were not expecting concerns relating to convenience and location to outstrip this.

Never develop an EVP before understanding what your candidates want.

Who is eating your lunch and why?

Look at your competitors.

What are they saying? What are they offering?

Don’t mirror them with ‘best practice’. That creates a marketplace where everyone is competing at one level: salary.

Instead look for the clear space where you can compete, be it through culture, leadership, promotion opportunities.

And consider the out of sector places where people may be working. If the skillset you’re after is problem solving, then you’ll find these skills in every sector, from technology to teaching.

A good expression of your EVP?

It needs to be as simple as possible. If it is standing on too many pillars then it may look robust, but it’s likely to be hard to articulate and unite a business team behind.

Take a look at Colt.

The expression is clear: Make Your Mark. It says that this is a workplace where you’ll be expected and allowed to make a difference.

Compare that with Jerónimo Martins: We Feed Futures.

This is more focused towards a balance of care and development alongside a more purpose-led message.

Behind both of these employer brand expressions sits a solid EVP.

A give and a get.

Attracting top talent

Spinning off from the EVP are specific talent propositions for the audiences you need to attract and retain.

Maybe your brand needs more young talent. Or perhaps it needs to retain specific skills – just as IBM needed Cloud Consultants. Or, maybe it needs to attract more men or more women.

These specific needs need specific campaigns, and those campaigns need to reflect your EVP and Employer Brand.

Who uses the EVP?

Not just HR. If you’re doing that, then you’ve got it wrong.

The best organisations will have a Head of Employer Brand who is responsible for taking your EVP to the internal market and engaging with all stakeholders.

Finance is one such example.

They are a touchpoint for employees. Finance pay them. Their team set out policy when it comes to things like expenses. And, they work with HR on pension plans and on long term incentives.

Finance teams need to understand the EVP and how it attracts talent, retains talent and drives business performance.

Technology.

Every business is affected by the performance of its technology. Be that point-of-sale devices, customer service UX, or tools for collaborating.

It might be something as simple as accessibility to buildings. The decisions taken by technology can enhance or destroy your EVP.

These stakeholders should be engaged at the start of any EVP project and should be involved in regular annual reviews.

EVP is not just for HR!

Why is the EVP a driver for business value?

An EVP is important for three main reasons: talent acquisition, talent retention and business performance.

Talent acquisition must help you hire the right candidates. In a competitive and globalised labour market, where talent is in high demand, you need to stand out with a unique value proposition and an attractive employer brand.

Talent retention is about holding onto those employees by applying the value proposition to every touchpoint, from reward to learning, policy to promotion.

And business performance comes when your EVP is aligned to your CVP (Customer Value Proposition). You need an EVP that is designed to unlock the employee behaviours that lead to better business performance.

If you want arguments for your senior team, then here they are in reverse order.

An EVP can drive business performance:

· Putting people with the right mindset and the right skills in the right places to maximise value in the marketplace and deliver better returns for shareholders.

· Increase productivity, and innovation, by driving continuous improvement and excellence so that employees achieve their full potential and deliver better services and products to the end customer.

· Maximise headcount. The wage bill will be one of your company’s biggest overheads. Every head needs to be performing well in their role, maximising their time and contributing towards gross profit.

An EVP can help an organisation retain talent:

· Enhance and sustain employee satisfaction, motivation, and loyalty, by providing them with a positive and meaningful work experience that meets their needs and aspirations.

· Reduce employee turnover, which is the rate at which employees leave an organisation, and the associated costs and consequences, such as loss of productivity, knowledge, and customer relationships.

· Build employee advocacy, which is the extent to which employees promote and recommend their organisation as a great place to work, both internally and externally, and thus attract more talent and customers.

An EVP can help an organisation attract talent:

· Differentiate itself from other employers who might offer similar or higher salaries, but not the same level of satisfaction, engagement, and fulfilment.

· Target and appeal to the specific segments of the talent pool that match its culture, values, and goals, and avoid wasting time and resources on unsuitable candidates.

· Attract and recruit passive candidates, who are not actively looking for a job, but might be open to new opportunities if they are presented with an attractive and compelling EVP.

Remember, the EVP is not the employer brand, but you will need it if you are to define and communicate a brand that honestly grows your reputation and image.

In summary

An EVP is not a one-size-fits-all concept.

It’s a unique proposition designed around your customers, your values, and your business goals. The EVP is a part of your CVP: they work together.

An EVP should be seen differently depending on who you are trying to attract. For a young and ambitious professional that might be career progression, learning and development, and recognition. For a new parent it might be work-life balance, stability, and security.

And EVP is not a tool for HR. It’s a tool for the business and should be put into practice by any function providing services to employees.

Keep reviewing it. Keep updating it. Make sure it reflects the changes in society, the changes in your business strategy, and the changing expectations of employees.

Need help with your EVP?

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