Every company has an Employer Brand, whether they like it or not, whether they are working with it or not, or whether they even know it or not. That said, a company can only partly control their Employer Brand. What they do have full control of is the Employer Value Proposition, which is the tool used to influence the Employer Brand in a desired direction.
The list of qualities that employees look for in a company goes on and on, however work-life balance, hybrid work models, diversity and inclusion, training and development, salary, and benefits usually sit at the top of the list. Nonetheless, a quality that is important to one employee might not be too another. To ensure companies offer what both existing talent and potential job seekers want in exchange for their work, a company must continuously modify and grow its Employer/Employee Value Proposition.
The bottom line - any business that wants to succeed in the never-ending war for talent attraction, recruitment, and retention needs to have a strong EVP.
What’s the difference between Employer Value Proposition and Employee Value Proposition?
EVP stands for Employer Value Proposition or Employee Value Proposition. Simply put, an EVP is the ‘perks’ of working at a job. It is the value that an employer gives their employees in exchange for their time and the work they do. This could be the very reason an employee would choose you to work for rather than one of your competitors.
So, what distinguishes an Employer Value Proposition from an Employee Value Proposition? The simple answer would be that they can be used synonymously. Here, naming practises are the root of the problem. Imagine two people—an American and a British person—describing the identical area of a car—the former would say "trunk," while the later would say "boot." Both, however, are referring to the exact same component of their vehicle.
Regarding the above, recent search engine analytics show that when describing what the letter "E" stands for in EVP, some markets and geographical regions prefer the phrase "Employer," while others prefer the word "Employee." They could be used interchangeably to denote the same concept. Yet, one does fit better than the other, and that is detailed below, in order to make it more clear and even technically correct.
Why Universum uses the term ‘Employer Value Proposition’
Employees are hired because they fill a specific need the company is searching for. The value an employee gives to a company is best summed up in a CV or resume. Education, a unique skill-set, previous experience, additional training or certificates, and even volunteerism & board memberships are all things that employees give to an employer and are such perceived as valuable to the company looking to hire them.
However, what do the employees get in return for giving their valuable skillset to the company? This is where the Employer Value Proposition comes into play. The value an employer gives to their talent to make sure they not only get them in the company but keep them there.
Many candidates seek new job offers because they are not being compensated correctly for their skill set. Compensation in this sense does not mean only financially, it also refers to the several attributes listed above – work-life balance, hybrid work models, diversity and inclusion, training and development, and benefits and more.
Here, we see that EVP means just that – the value an employer is putting forward to potential candidates to come and work for them. In this case, it makes more sense to title it the ‘Employer Value Proposition’.
Would you like to develop or strengthen your own Employer Value Proposition?
We have developed most EVPs around the world, setting the standard for how companies develop their Employer Branding strategy. Through our annual surveys which gain over one-million respondents across 40+ markets, we know what talent’s hopes and dreams are and deliver key insights about what talent values in your company as an employer.
There are a lot of half-truths in research in the current climate, but we help our customers to unite around one truth and increase the focus of effective Employer Branding. Our data gives you the ability to steer your strategies and actions in the right direction. Our periodic research – distributed on a yearly basis – allows your company to build and measure KPIs based on our data. You can then take the data and turn insights into action.
Learn more about developing your Employer Value Proposition.