In the past few years, the world of talent has rotated around the proverbial sun that is Employee Value Propositions (EVPs). HR, TA and EB specialists have put it at the top of their priority lists, and for good reason - invest in EVP development and articulation, and your organisation will reap the rewards. According to Gartner, organisations with a great EVP reach 50% deeper into the labour market, increase new hire commitment by almost 30%, and decrease annual employee turnover by 69%. The catch? Your EVP has to be attractive to candidates, and you have to deliver effectively on the promises you’re making.

Because EVP is the cool kid on the block, every consultant and their dog will say they can deliver one for you, promising high returns for low costs. If you want an effective EVP that delivers fantastic talent results, make sure you’re partnering with the right professionals.

To choose the right partner, it’s critical to understand the process they’ll undertake to uncover and articulate your EVP - and how and when you’ll see results. Here are the four steps that will bring your EVP from average to superstar status.

1. Frame the rationale, context and goals

Employer branding is a business solution to a business problem. An EVP isn’t just a nice-to-have - it should provide a strategic remedy for your priority areas. Before investing in EVP services, ask yourself (and your key stakeholders): what are the opportunities we’re trying to seize during this process? What are the issues we’d like to address? What does success look like for us?

Here are some points to consider:

• Are you trying to engage and retain your current people? Why?
• Are you trying to attract new talent? Why?
• Where is your audience? What matters to them?
• Has your organisation recently gone through major change? Where are your people ‘at’? What will candidates be thinking?
• What journey is your organisation on? Do your people feel positive and involved? How?

2. Engage your people - ask, listen and understand

This is the secret sauce of our EVP process. You’ll never develop a robust, authentic EVP if you don’t deeply engage with your people. We consider other data during this process, like industry benchmarking, exit surveys, and pulse surveys. But this is just the starting point. If anyone tells you they can develop an EVP with just an online HR report and a chat with your leaders, run a mile.

We’ve found the most effective method to be a combination of desk research, group discovery sessions and one-to-one interviews. Working to a proven structure and always ready to break it in order to follow the insights, we ask questions, listen openly to the answers, probe further, and make sure we truly understand how your people feel - and what it means for you. Importantly, people involved in the Employer Branding Australia discovery experience consistently give wonderful feedback - you’ve given them a chance to feel heard, valued, and brought on the journey. Don’t underestimate the impact this can have on your people and culture.

3. Build a narrative and craft the messaging

Once all the information is out on the table, we conduct deep analysis and interpretation. Then we distil it into a narrative, a strategic EVP framework, and a brand device that can be deployed across conversations and channels.

What is the story of your organisation? Where have you come from, who are you today and where are you headed? No two businesses are the same, and understanding the good and the not-so-good - from the major pain points to the reasons why people choose to work for you every day - will help frame your EVP device and messaging.

Critically, your messaging should be targeted towards the people you’re trying to attract and engage. What matters to them? What will attract them to you and compel them to apply, or to stay with you and perform? What are they looking for in their next / current role? This is where you need to combine tangible benefits, with social and cultural elements and a connection to purpose.

4. Share your EVP - then live, breathe and deliver!

Once your EVP is articulated, it is VITAL that you keep going! Plonking it in your job ads and on your site will not convert to sustainable results. Our approach sees us partner with you to cascade, embed and amplify your EVP across all talent platforms, channels and assets, and at all key touchpoints of the candidate and employee experience - all the way to the moment when employees leave and, hopefully (if they’re good), return!

It’s important to remember that an EVP isn’t just a project you can tick off your to-do list. Once it’s out there, you need to maintain it and live it, and not just through your marketing, recruitment or people and culture team. In fact, we’ve found that ownership from your senior leaders and your managers on the ground is pivotal.

Want to develop a great EVP that delivers results? Have one already but want to refresh it or bring it to life? We’d love to give you a hand. Check out our EBArticulate services , or get in touch and we’ll show you how.