TL;DR
- An employee value proposition, or EVP, is what an employer offers people in return for their work, skills and commitment, and the reason a person would choose to join and stay.
- It covers far more than pay. A useful map has six elements: compensation, benefits, work-life effectiveness, recognition, performance management and talent development.
- The EVP is the substance, and the employer brand is how it is communicated. Build it from what current employees say is true, and test every line against their experience.
Every employer already has an employee value proposition. It is the honest answer to a question that candidates and employees ask all the time: “Why should I work here, and not somewhere else?” The only choice is whether you know the answer, and whether it is a good one.
This article explains the employee value proposition, how it differs from the employer brand, the six elements it usually covers, five steps to build one, five tests to apply and examples of wording that employees will believe.
Recognition is one of the elements people feel most directly. See how New Dynamics employee recognition helps colleagues and managers thank each other for specific work.
What is an employee value proposition?
An employee value proposition, usually shortened to EVP, is what an employer offers people in return for their work, skills and commitment. It is the whole deal: pay and benefits, and also the work itself, the people, the chances to grow and the way the place is run.
The phrase is borrowed from marketing. The Cambridge Dictionary defines a value proposition as “a reason given by a seller for buying their particular product or service, based on the value it offers customers”. Replace the customer with an employee, and the product with a job, and you have the idea.
Two points follow.
- It is a two-way exchange. The employee gives time, skill and effort. The EVP is what comes back.
- It exists whether or not you write it down. Employees experience the real one every day. A written EVP is only useful if it matches.
EVP and employer brand: the difference
The two terms are often used as if they were the same. They are related, and distinct.
The CIPD's factsheet on employer brand says: “All organisations have an employer brand. It's the way in which organisations differentiate themselves in the labour market, enabling them to attract, recruit, retain and engage the right people.” It describes employer brand as “how an organisation markets what it has to offer to potential and existing employees”.
| Employee value proposition | Employer brand | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | What you offer | How you are seen, and how you present the offer |
| Audience | Employees and candidates | The labour market, and the public to a lesser degree |
| Owned by | Leadership, HR and every manager | HR, marketing and communications |
| Changes when | Pay, policies, management or the work itself changes | The message, the channels or your reputation changes |
Put simply, the EVP is the substance and the brand is the signal. A strong brand built on a weak EVP may fill vacancies with people who soon leave.
The six elements of an EVP
Pay is the first thing people think of, and rarely the only reason they stay. The open textbook Principles of Management, published by OpenStax, sets out a wider map in its section on influencing employee performance and motivation. It reports WorldatWork's description of a total rewards strategy as six elements that “collectively define an organization's strategy to attract, motivate, retain and engage employees”.
- Compensation. “Pay provided by an employer to its employees for services rendered”, both fixed and variable. Our guide to the definition of compensation covers the parts.
- Benefits. Programmes that supplement cash pay, such as health, income protection, savings and retirement.
- Work-life effectiveness. Practices and policies that help employees to “achieve success at both work and home”: flexibility, leave and predictable hours.
- Recognition. Formal or informal programmes that “acknowledge or give special attention to employee actions, efforts, behavior, or performance”.
- Performance management. Establishing expectations, assessment, feedback and continuous improvement. People value knowing where they stand.
- Talent development. This provides “the opportunity and tools for employees to advance their skills and competencies”.
Many EVP models add a seventh theme, which cuts across the others: purpose and culture, meaning why the organisation exists and what it is like to work there. We treat it as the thread that ties the six together.
How to build an EVP in five steps
- Listen first. Ask current employees why they joined, why they stay and what would make them leave. Use survey comments, stay interviews and exit interviews. Our culture survey questions and exit interview questions give you wording.
- Audit the offer. Against the six elements, write down what you really provide, and how it compares with the employers you compete with for people. Be honest about the weak ones.
- Find the true and distinctive. Look for the two or three things that employees value, that are genuinely true and that not every employer can say.
- Write it plainly, and test it. Draft a short statement and supporting points. Show it to a cross-section of employees, and ask one question: “Is this the place you work?” Rewrite anything that raises an eyebrow.
- Deliver it, and measure it. Put the EVP into adverts, interviews, onboarding and manager training. Then track whether experience matches: new starters' feedback at 90 days, engagement scores, regretted leavers and offer acceptance.
An EVP is never finished. Review it whenever the deal changes, for example after a restructure, a change to working patterns or a pay freeze.
Five tests of a good EVP
- True. Would a typical employee agree with every line?
- Specific. Does it name things that can be checked, such as a review every quarter or a training budget?
- Distinctive. Could a competitor say exactly the same? If so, it will not help anyone to choose you.
- Relevant. Does it speak to what the people you need actually care about?
- Delivered. Do managers know it, and does daily experience support it?
Many EVPs fail the first test. “We invest in our people” on the careers page, next to a cancelled training budget, does more harm than saying nothing.
EVP examples: vague and honest
These lines are illustrations, not quotations from real employers.
| Element | Vague | Honest and specific |
|---|---|---|
| Compensation | “Competitive salary” | “We publish a pay range for every role, and review pay each April” |
| Work-life | “Flexible working” | “Core hours are 10 to 3. Outside those, you choose. Two office days a week” |
| Development | “Great opportunities to grow” | “Every employee has a development goal, reviewed with their manager each quarter” |
| Recognition | “We value our people” | “Anyone can recognise a colleague, and leaders read out examples each month” |
| Performance | “High-performance culture” | “You will know what is expected, and get feedback at least monthly” |
| Trade-offs | None mentioned | “We are a small team. You will have wide responsibility, and less structure than in a large firm” |
The last row matters. An honest EVP names the trade-offs. Doing so puts off people who would have been unhappy, and wins trust from the ones who stay.
Common mistakes
Writing it in a workshop without employees. The result describes the organisation that leaders wish they ran.
Copying another employer's. If the words fit anyone, they describe nobody.
Leading with perks. Free fruit does not make up for an unfair manager.
One message for everyone. A graduate and a parent returning to work care about different things. Keep one core EVP, and emphasise different elements for different groups.
Forgetting managers. For most people, the manager is the employer. If managers do not deliver the promise, no campaign will.
Launching and leaving. An EVP that is not reviewed drifts away from reality.
How to tell whether it is working
- Candidates mention, unprompted, the things you hoped they would notice.
- More of the offers you make are accepted.
- New starters say at 90 days that the job is what they were told it would be.
- Fewer people leave in their first year.
- Employees would recommend you to a friend, and can say why.
For a fuller set of measures, see our workplace engagement survey questions.
Frequently asked questions
What is the meaning of EVP?
EVP stands for employee value proposition. It is what an employer offers people in return for their work, skills and commitment: pay and benefits, and also the work, the culture, recognition, feedback and opportunities to develop.
What is the difference between EVP and employer brand?
The EVP is the substance of what you offer employees. The employer brand is how that offer is seen and communicated in the labour market. A brand built on an EVP that employees do not recognise attracts people who then leave.
What are the elements of an employee value proposition?
A widely used map has six: compensation, benefits, work-life effectiveness, recognition, performance management and talent development. Many organisations add purpose and culture as a theme that runs through all six.
How do you create an employee value proposition?
Listen to current employees, audit what you really offer against competitors, pick the two or three things that are both true and distinctive, write them plainly and test them with employees, then deliver the promise and measure whether experience matches it.
What is an example of an employee value proposition?
A specific example is: “Every employee has a development goal, reviewed with their manager each quarter, and we publish a pay range for every role.” It works because it can be checked. “Great opportunities to grow” cannot.
Who owns the EVP?
Senior leaders own the deal itself, because they decide pay, policies and priorities. HR usually leads the work of defining it, and marketing helps to communicate it. Managers deliver it day to day, so they need to know it and believe it.
Your next step: ask five employees
- Ask five people from different teams why they joined and why they stay.
- Write down the words they use, not your summary of them.
- Compare those words with your careers page. Note what is missing, and what is claimed but never mentioned.
- Fix one gap between the promise and the experience before you change any wording.
For a structured approach to keeping the people you hire, read and download our employee retention guide. The guide is free to read, and the PDF uses our short download form.
Want recognition, feedback and development to be part of what you can honestly promise? Book a New Dynamics demo and bring your current careers page. You can also email contact@new-dynamics.com.
