Create an excellent employee value proposition

Published: July 8, 2024 | by Natasha K. A. Wiebusch, Brightmine Marketing Content Manager

Transforming your employee value proposition to maximize the employee experience may be the key to talent success.

According to Qualtrics, employees whose company’s mission, vision and values align with their own are 45% more likely to recommend the company as a great place to work. On the flexibility front, Gartner’s CHRO EVP Guide reported radical flexibility resulted in 18% increase high performers. That’s the good news…

The bad news is that, today, most employees aren’t seeing results of a great employee value proposition. Research shows employee engagement hasn’t recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic. Only 33% of US employees and 10% of UK employees felt engaged in 2023, according to Gallup’s 2024 State of the Global Workplace report. And, employees now feel less connected to their employers’ mission and values.

To attract and retain talent, employers must create an excellent employee value proposition.

What is an employee value proposition?

An employee value proposition (EVP) is a system composed of everything of value that you agree to provide employees in exchange for their work. Importantly, an EVP acts as a guide for your employee experience.

An EVP plays a central role in building your employer brand. It helps you communicate the value of working for the organization to employees and candidates. It also helps you stand out by going well beyond compensation and benefits. A compelling EVP will communicate the company’s culture, mission, values and the unique benefits of working there.

Common Elements

Every organization will have a unique EVP that reflects its employer brand. However, EVPs should always include both tangible elements and intangible elements. The following table provides some examples:

Tangible	Intangible
Compensation	Career opportunities
Benefits	Work environment
Paid time off (PTO)	Culture
Flexible work	Purpose

Employee value proposition models

Employee value proposition models represent different approaches to creating an EVP. They help frame an EVP by establishing factors a company should address. In recent years, these models have transformed to become more employee-centric. The following are key models to be aware of:

What employee value position is not

An employee value proposition strategy plays a broad role in HR practices. Its outcomes range from talent attraction and retention to employee engagement, culture and performance. This can sometimes make it hard to know where employee value proposition starts and ends.

Employee value proposition vs. employer brand

An employee value proposition and employer brand, though similar, are unique terms with distinct meanings. An employee value proposition represents the value and relationship the you can provide an employee. The employer brand, on the other hand is the public reputation your organization has as an employer.

Your efforts to provide a strong employee value proposition play a central role in building the employer brand. It helps communicate the value of working for the organization to potential employees, the employer brand’s primary audience.

Employee value proposition vs. total rewards

Another term closely related to employee value proposition is total rewards. The main difference between employee value proposition and total rewards is that employee value proposition is a broader term that encompasses total rewards. A total rewards strategy often makes up a large portion of a company’s employee value proposition. It addresses compensation, benefits, career opportunities, and sometimes more.

Another difference between these two terms is their focus. While employee value proposition focuses on the value of the relationship with an employee, total rewards focuses on the rewards the company offers.

The benefits of an excellent employee value proposition

Effective employee value propositions provide many important benefits to organizations, including the following:

Supports recruitment and retention

According to Gartner‘s EVP research, organizations that effectively leverage their EVP can decrease employee turnover by 69%. Why? Because effective EVPs help organizations differentiate themselves from the competition by highlighting their unique values — not just their compensation.

Specifically, an EVP showcases a company’s mission and values, which have become significantly more important to job seekers in recent years. In fact, according to research by Qualtrics:

• 52% of employees overall (and 68% of Gen Z) would take pay cuts to work for an organization with values aligned with their own.
• 39% of employees (and 51% of Gen Z) would likely leave if the organization did business with customers, partners or suppliers that have values the employee considers “detrimental.”

An EVP can also highlight a company’s commitment to career development, which is a top priority for today’s talent.

Increases employee engagement

An EVP helps increase employee engagement by creating an employee experience that meets individual employee needs. Effective EVPs will recognize employees’ unique personal experiences and provide the support they need in and outside of work. For example, an EVP that prioritizes work-life balance for all employees may emphasize flexibility and well-being benefits.

EVPs also communicate the organization’s purpose. When the organization’s purpose aligns with an employee’s individual sense of purpose, they’re much more likely to be engaged.

Improves performance

Alex Edmans, a professor of finance at the London Business School, found that the 100 Best Companies to Work for in America delivered stock returns that were on average 2-3% higher per year than their peers. According to Edmans, the study showed that treating employees better — offering competitive compensation, career opportunities, well-being benefits and more — makes successful employees.

Other research on key components of an EVP reach the same conclusion. For example:

• Flexibility: Employers that offered radical flexibility saw an 18% increase in high performers, according to Gartner.
• Well-being: Research by the University of Oxford found that companies with high levels of well-being generally outperformed the market.
• Career development: Gallup found that organizations that strategically invested in employee development were 11% more profitable.

Developing an excellent employee value proposition

The following steps can help you create an effective employee value proposition:

1. Define EVP for your organization

The first step in building your EVP is to define what EVP is to your organization. This will typically involve choosing components for your EVP. Defining EVP for your organization is key, as it will guide your efforts and priorities.

Here, it’s important to review EVP models to help frame the organization’s approach. You’ll also want to consider your organization’s unique traits, values and purpose. This will ensure your approach truly reflects your organization’s unique identity.

2. Get a baseline of your current EVP

Next, implement strategies to understand where the organization’s EVP currently stands. First, you’ll need to take inventory of your organization’s compensation, benefits, approach to career development, culture and more.

One great resource of information about your EVP is your existing employees. Your employees can give you insight into whether your EVP aligns with their values and needs. It can also help you understand what their perceptions are of the EVP. You can gain these insights by creating targeted employee surveys and including questions about the EVP in exit interviews.

3. Set goals

Once you understand your current EVP, you can set goals. Goals will be unique to every organization. They should reflect what you want your ultimate people outcomes to be.

When setting goals, consider key performance indicators such as:

• Employee engagement rate.
• Recruitment success.
• Retention rate.
• Net promoter scores (NPS).
• Employee productivity rates.

4. Create your employee value proposition

Equipped with your goals, you can now create your EVP. Generally, EVPs materialize in a statement that addresses each of the components of your EVP. For example, if you’ve based yours on the iEVP Model, your EVP should speak to:

• Material offerings.
• Opportunities to develop and grow.
• Connection and community.
• Meaning and purpose.

EVPs are unique to each organization. They should accurately reflect its mission, values, purpose and objectives. To be effective, EVPs must also be genuine. That is, they should include statements and promises that the company is confident it can deliver on.

5. Gain buy-in

Gaining internal buy-in is key to an EVP’s success. Once you’ve created your EVP, circulate it to internal stakeholders to gain feedback. Stakeholders will include leaders in HR team members, the C-suite and managers. Also consider circulating it to employee resource groups and employees to increase employee voice.

6. Communicate

A strong EVP is both and internal and external facing document. Use your EVP to guide the organization’s messaging to candidates and internal employees. And, consider communicating the EVP through the following channels:

• The career page.
• The employee benefits page.
• Job descriptions.
• Offer letters.
• Recruitment marketing materials.

It will also be beneficial to share the EVP message during onboarding and at other key points in the employee journey.

7. Stay agile

Your EVP may need to change as the organization experiences changes in the labor market, industry or your leadership. To keep up with these changes, review your EVP regularly alongside your stakeholders. Continue to obtain regular feedback from employees through employee opinion surveys and through interviews with exiting employees.

Employee value proposition examples

Though your EVP should be unique to your organization, it’s never a bad idea to look to leading employers for some inspiration. The following links offer examples of great EVP:

• Microsoft: Empowering our employees.
• Apple: Join us, be you.
• Chevron: The Chevron Way.
• Patagonia: People. Planet. Purpose.
• American Express: Winning as a team by backing each other.

Conclusion

An excellent employee value proposition is critical to any people strategy. It sets you apart as an employer and creates a compelling reason for employees to stay. By clearly articulating your organization’s value, you can build an employee value proposition that ushers in a better, more human era for your employees.

Are you on a mission to attract and retain top talent? We can help.