The EVP Problem: Smoke, Mirrors and the Emperor's New Clothes

In many cases, more so in larger corporates than smaller scale-ups (where leaders are closer to the action) the traditional EVP process has become a masterclass in organisational theatre. 🎭

We gather execs (who often haven't done the actual work in yonks), run workshops with carefully selected 'representative' employees, and emerge with statements like, "we empower innovative thinking through collaborative excellence." 🤢

Meanwhile, your newest hire is discovering that "flexible working" means "you can choose which 9 hours between 8am-7pm," "fast-paced" translates to "chronically under-resourced with unrealistic deadlines" and "we're collaborative" means "it's decision by committee" so "you'll probably want to run face-first into a wall with a pencil up your nostril before we decide anything!" 😱

Your real employee proposition already exists. It's what people experience daily. It's the unwritten rules about who gets promoted. It's whether leaders actually listen. It's how quickly IT responds to tickets and whether expenses get untrustingly queried. It's a thousand small interactions that either validate or contradict whatever's on your careers page and happy-clappy, “everything is awesome” social posts. 🤙🏼

You can't create an EVP through word-smithing. You can only discover and articulate the one you've already got.

Start with brutal honesty. Interview people who left recently - they'll tell you truths that current employees won't / are afraid to for reasons of self-preservation. Look at your review sites without defensiveness. Ask new joiners at 30, 60, 90 days what surprised them (good and bad). These conversations reveal your actual EVP, stripped of the corporate BS. 🤥

Then decide, “do we articulate what's genuinely true, or do we commit to closing the gaps between promise and reality?” ⚖️

Both paths are valid, but pick one. The worst option is pretending everything's brilliant whilst quietly knowing it's not. That's how you end up with beautiful EVP frameworks that employees openly mock on Slack channels and Reddit. 🤭

The companies with the strongest employer brands aren't necessarily the ones with the slickest EVPs. They're the ones where what you're told in the interview process matches what you experience on day one, month six, and year three.

Consistency builds credibility. Credibility builds reputation. Reputation becomes your actual competitive advantage.

Your EVP should be uncomfortably honest. Include the trade-offs. "We move fast, which means it's often chaotic." "We pay fairly but not top-of-market because we invest heavily in development." "We're genuinely flexible, but that requires strong self-management." Real humans appreciate transparency far more than perfection. ☯️

The emperor's new clothes looked magnificent until someone stated the obvious. Your EVP might sound impressive in the boardroom, but your employees - and candidates - can see right through it with their rolling eyes. 🙄