An employer value proposition (EVP) serves two main purposes for enterprises today:
- Employers can articulate what makes their organization great to work for. Talent acquisition and human resources teams can build a messaging framework tied to their employer brand strategy. This framework helps company leaders, hiring managers, and recruiters relay the value of joining the business to potential candidates.
- Active and passive candidates can learn what the employer brings to the table. This often includes EVP messaging around the strong work-life balance they offer employees, the inclusive work environment they’ve carefully built, parental leave policies they’ve implemented, and flexible hybrid and/or remote work models they’ve adopted.
The key to making the most of your employer value proposition to better attract and retain top talent is using your EVP messaging consistently in job postings and recruitment marketing collateral.
And that requires the right recruiting technology.
Why your leadership must regularly assess and improve your employer value proposition
A recent Boston Consulting Group (BCG) study found 74% of business professionals are approached by recruiters about open roles multiple times annually. Nearly two in five (39%) respondents said they’re contacted monthly by TA specialists regarding job openings.
Many workers carefully evaluate prospective employers when getting these messages. That’s because they need to know what exactly makes an organization better than others.
“For candidates, choosing a job is a very personal decision,” BCG explained in its report. “It’s the start of an extremely impactful relationship, one that may define several … years of their lives. No wonder candidates are sensitive to ‘moments of truth,’ when employers reveal who they really are.”
The competition for top talent remains fierce today, even with poor macro-economic conditions persisting globally and some employers pausing hiring until the economy picks back up.
Sophisticated companies use hiring downturns to review their employer value proposition. By doing so, they can ensure their EVP resonates with their ideal candidate profile. This, in turn, helps them stand out from the sizable employer crowd.
It also makes it easier for their recruiters to reinforce their talent pools with applicants and sourced candidates who may fit within open roles company-wide.
How your employer value proposition affects your company’s talent attraction and retention efforts
Your HR team likely sends quarterly employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS) surveys to your workforce. These polls provide insight into their feelings about their roles and the company at large.
Adding survey questions about what specific changes employees would like to see made across the company can inform leaders of perceived strengths and areas for improvement.
Findings from these additional survey Qs can then be used to make data-backed changes throughout the company and positively impact C-level leaders, managers, and recruiters.
Leaders can boost employee satisfaction and retention
Companies with strong cultures “communicate their vision with authenticity and simplicity,” business expert and author Jason Randall recently wrote for Forbes. They also “show gratitude and appreciation to employees, and not just by writing checks,” he added.
These traits, along with including employees in daily decision-making and factoring in their feedback into team planning, lead to greater retention rates and workforce satisfaction.
Data that reveals what your employees think about the current state of your company and what improvements can and should be made is an invaluable resource for business leaders.
More to the point, employee insights provide a company culture enhancement roadmap for them.
These leaders can collaborate to strengthen the work environment. They can also work to give employees more chances to grow internally and help transform the business into a force for good.
Here are some popular advancements that can lead to happier, more productive workers who will likely want to stay at your business long term and a stronger employer value proposition:
- Implementation of new diversity and inclusion initiatives to show a commitment to DEI
- A focus on corporate social responsibility, including philanthropic and charitable work
- The creation of employee resource groups to create a safe and welcoming workplace
- Prioritization of career development programs to provide clear internal mobility paths
This last improvement is especially important. Mercer Workforce Sciences Institute Sr. Partner and Founder Haig Nalbantian told HR Executive that a well-planned career mobility program can improve employee output and sentiment, lower workforce turnover, and lead to a better EVP.
“Employees respond more to what I call ‘career rewards’ — the tangible and intangible value that accrues to employees over time — than to the here and now of pay and benefits,” said Haig. “Strengthening motivation can lead to higher productivity and business performance.”
That’s a win-win for your business and workforce — and a great way to augment your EVP.
Talent acquisition can more effectively attract qualified candidates
A clear employer value proposition can elevate your talent acquisition effectiveness just as much as it can increase your retention efforts. You need two things to properly leverage your EVP throughout the recruiting lifecycle and get more qualified candidates into your pipeline:
- A well-coordinated employer brand messaging framework
- An applicant tracking system with candidate relationship management (CRM) capabilities
The top ATS software for large companies acts as a unified, single source of hiring truth. This centralized solution helps recruiters promote your employer brand publicly in a unified, scalable way.
Consider Jobvite.
Talent teams use features like Intelligent Messaging to connect with candidates effortlessly. They also leverage Recruitment Marketing capabilities to set up personalized, automated nurture campaigns to prospects of interest to meet those candidates where they are.
For some job seekers, that means email and text. For other candidates, it means job boards, career sites, and social media.
This targeted candidate engagement approach helps Jobvite customers test different EVP messaging over time. These tests can then help them steadily improve funnel conversions.
“Using smart and integrated recruiting and talent acquisition solutions to nurture relationships will ultimately show candidates that they are valued and appreciated and create a pipeline of talent for current and future hiring needs,” Employ CEO Pete Lamson recently wrote for SmartBrief.
Learn how Jobvite’s leading talent acquisition technology can streamline your recruiting process and help you hire high-quality candidates at scale. Schedule a demo today.
