What is an Employer Value Proposition?
Let’s pretend for a second that the brand positioning of your company doesn’t matter. Then what will be your strategy to attract quality talent? As a talent acquisition specialist, what values and principles will you present to the candidates? And how do you know how you would like to be perceived by the prospective employees, or even current ones?
So, you see, it’s not even possible to pretend that the company’s brand positioning is not important. It’s one of the most critical starting points in the talent acquisition space.
Then what is an employer value proposition, and what does it have to do with brand positioning?
The employer value proposition is the artifact that represents the understanding you want the prospective employee to have of your organization. It presents a compelling case for the candidates to apply, and what you are offering them in return for their skills and service (and yes, commitment).
Unless you define your company’s strategic direction and showcase it in a simple manner, attracting top talent will be extremely tough.
As a TA superhero, you already know how tough ‘tough’ can get, right!
Things to Consider When you Start Building the EVP
This really depends on what position you are hiring for. It needs to be the kind of statement that can be tweaked to suit the role for which you are looking to attract the best of the lot.
For instance, if you are hiring interns, your proposition should focus on growth prospects and exposure, and learning from accomplished veterans. And your EVP for an intern’s role might say, “We offer great learning and development opportunities for you to quickly grow in exposure and become an accomplished professional.”
If you are hiring a manager, you should focus on freedom of decision-making and making a difference. So your EVP would probably be something like, “We offer great ways to make a difference and drive change, while developing into a strategic decision-maker.”
And if you are hiring a CFO, then the focus needs to be somewhat global, and your proposition will probably read as, “We offer great ways to harness your strategizing skills and take the organization to the top of the niche.”
But it’s not just one statement that makes a complete EVP. There are multiple things to consider when you start building one. Let’s explore the top factors.
Competitors’ offers
This does not mean that you simply copy what the competitors have to offer, but rather it means that you understand the pros and cons of your competitor’s offerings – and then develop an employer value proposition that is more attractive to the candidates in contrast.
For example, if your top competitor is focusing on offering excellent growth prospects but not presenting flexibility as a strength, you can present flexibility of timings and even telecommuting as an attraction in your EVP.
Remuneration structure
This is a super attractive candidate-magnet. And it is not sufficient just to present an attractive salary in the Job Advertisement. You need to also present it in your EVP in such a way that the candidate feels that the payout will be fair and prospects of increment will be healthy as well.
Work environment, including the physical office space
Even though remote work culture has been the norm for well over a year now, things are gradually returning to being in favor of working from the office, and presenting the prospect of working in an office space that is comfortable with good amenities and facilities in your EVP will only improve the prospects of getting great candidates.
Ethics, values, and policies
Stating the company’s ethics, value system, and policies will set expectations at the outset and this will help the recruiter identify the right prospective employee much faster. And it will also help you shortlist the candidates that are the best culture fit. So don’t forget to keep this aspect in mind while building your EVP.
Career roadmap
Especially while hiring interns, and lower-level employees (and sometimes even mid-level managers), the career roadmap you have to offer needs to be presented in the EVP. Don’t skip this if you want hardworking and ambitious candidates to apply. Your EVP should make it easy for candidates to visualize themselves doing great things in collaboration with great people, and well, be great!
How Does an Employer Value Proposition Affect the Hiring Process?
As a recruiter, you also need to be acutely aware of the way it affects the hiring process so that you make the best use of it. Here are the most common ways an employer value proposition would affect the hiring process:
1) It projects clarity about your company’s values, work ethics, and philosophy from the very beginning.
2) Makes your company stand out from all the competition. Because you have already researched what are the benefits that your company is offering, which your competitors are not offering.
3) Makes it easy to present what you have to offer, since it is already defined in the form of a written statement.
4) Empowers the recruiter to judge the candidate’s cultural fitness quickly. If the candidate’s reaction to your presenting the EVP is nervousness or apprehension, you can be sure that he will not fit well. On the other hand, if he seems encouraged and enthused by it, then you are choosing well.
5) A good TA specialist will find it easy to improvise using the available EVP’s, depending on the type of candidate being interviewed. For instance, even an intern who seems highly ambitious will be a good candidate to whom you can present the manager-level EVP as a future roadmap.
6) Present job security along with fast-paced growth as a major attraction, if you are a startup.
7) Helps explain what the candidate will be getting into, should she get selected and eventually join.
8) Showcases what makes your current employees happy to be working with your company, and what has earned their commitment and loyalty.
9) Enables you to project the big picture: what kind of career progression and fulfilment the candidates can expect if they work well over a period of time.
10) Avoid attracting candidates that won’t belong. For instance, if you project a fast-paced work culture in the EVP, it will automatically keep out those candidates who might be at a stage of their career where they are looking for a laid back work culture.
The Importance of Having a Genuine Employer Value Proposition
Even though people join companies mostly with money on their mind, the bitter truth is that they often leave because of the company’s culture. Because nobody wants to stay stuck in a difficult work environment. And you can easily avert this possibility by starting with a genuine EVP.
A good and realistic employer value proposition is a safe way to get started with the expectation setting for all kinds of candidates. And if you leverage the insights gained from this article, you are well on your way to achieving employee satisfaction, and long term-serving, committed and loyal employees.
Good luck to you, and don’t forget that in all this, the superhero that will make it happen is you, the talent acquisition specialist!
