What's an EVP & What Does it Include?

What's an employer value proposition (EVP) and what does it include?

I've covered this in varying levels of detail in the past but wanted to share a quick, simple summary as I appreciate there are always people starting out in this space. This is primarily for the newbies. For the more experienced amongst you, it might be a helpful reminder or validation of existing knowledge.

For some, employee 𝘖𝘙 employer value proposition (you say ‘tomato’...) is the ‘give’ and the ‘get’. I.e., "X is the value you need to bring to the organisation and, for your efforts, Y is the value you get in return".

For others, it's believed an EVP should just focus on the 'get', with the 'give' covered elsewhere ad nauseam - job ads, interviews, competency frameworks etc.

Whatever camp you sit in (I tend to be in the latter), it includes all the logical, objective things that go into the decision-making process of whether someone wants to start and/or stay with your organisation.

If done 𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙡𝙮 authentically, it'll help a person make an eyes-wide-open decision as to whether the 'pleasure' of joining/staying with you will be worth the 'pain' they're prepared to tolerate.

I say, "If done 𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙡𝙮 authentically," because a big problem our profession has is that, in the main, it only communicates the pleasure-side of the equation, which you may have read me ranting about a few times recently (probably with more rants to come, but that's for another time 😬).

For me, an EVP is typically made up of five core ingredients, each one communicating the logical ‘get’. All will then have either an explicit or implicit communication of what’s expected in return. For example: "Budget? HA! What budget?!" or "Patience will be a virtue. Decisions will be made by committee." Or, "Please keep arms and legs inside the carriages at all times, and scream if you wanna to go faster!!!"

Whatever your 'give' is, I'd strongly advise you're honest and own it. There will always be people attracted to some things and not others, and part of an EVP's role is to help attract your version of the former. The best way to do this is share the rough 𝙖𝙣𝙙 the smooth of your company's people experience.

An easy way to remember what these ingredients are is to use what I call the 5 Ps, which I've brought to life in all its Technicolor glory with the graphic below 👇🏼

Bon appétit.

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