Creating a winning EVP

It is currently a candidates market, the world is their oyster and those executives who have sought after experience, knowledge and a can do attitude are looking for companies that align with their values and provide a forward thinking culture and benefits package to match.

If you don’t have a winning EVP, you might be left behind in the fight to secure the top talent, which could prove detrimental to your business achieving it’s growth plans.

In Part 2 of a 5-Part Series on SMEs, King Recruit explores six steps businesses need to consider when trying to create a winning EVP.

Click the link to view part 1 of the series: Building a Resilient and Effective Management Team

Click the link to view part 3 of the series: How to Break the Geographical Barrier when Recruiting

Click the link to view part 4 of the series: Is it Time to Replace Yourself?

Click the link to view part 5 of the series: Scaling up and preparing for investment or exit

Watch the video below to hear Helen explore six steps businesses need to consider when trying to create a winning EVP

Creating a first class employee value proposition

It is a candidates market, when it comes to recruitment and retention of talent, candidates have the upper hand. Those executives with experience, knowledge, valuable attributes and a self-motivated attitude are looking for companies that align with their values, provide an inclusive and forward thinking culture and that rewards them appropriately.

An employee value proposition (EVP) should not be an isolated one off bonus organised by the HR department, everybody in a business is responsible for EVP. It is a set of monetary and non-monetary benefits and encompasses all the benefits and rewards you give employees in return for their hard work and commitment.

What makes your business a great place to work? Whatever it is, should form part of your EVP package.

Having a strong EVP can be a huge benefit to your business in helping you to not only attract top talent, but retain top talent and also keep them driven on their journey with you. Your EVP should be unique to your company, captivating and relevant to your team and their motivators. It also needs to integrate into all areas of your business. An EVP communicates to people why your company is an employer of choice. It must be employee centred and kept up to date via regular ongoing external market research and engagement with employees.

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To create a first class and competitive employee value proposition package, consider these six steps:

1. Define your goals

Do you have specific goals that you want to achieve by creating an EVP? When developing your EVP, it helps to identify why your business needs one, whether that is to motivate your staff, increase staff retention, attract new talent, or all of these. By determining your goals you can tailor your EVP and help to build your employer brand. It will help to give a clear sense of what your company represents and should feed into your company’s strategic objectives. Then you can assess whether it also aligns with your employee’s values.

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2. Culture

Famous management guru Peter Drucker said, “Culture eats strategy for breakfast”. So whether you have an effective strategic plan in place or not, culture will determine your company’s success.

Culture is the personality of a business. It helps to define the environment in which employees work and includes a number of elements comprising of goals, attitudes, ethos, values and the people that make up the business. If you and your employees are dealing confidently with tight deadlines and client pressures all whilst treating each other with respect and integrity, this helps to create a strong culture. Attracting talent that aligns with your company culture is an essential part of strategic hiring.

Working as a team to solve the challenges that arise, celebrating the successes and your team having a purpose, aid the culture by injecting positivity and flexibility.

Think about what your culture says about your company. Do you offer an inspiring and collaborative work space where ideas and input are encouraged?

Once you have defined your EVP, you need to embed it into your company culture.

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3. Financial rewards

Historically this was one of the main contributing motivators, but now it is just one part of the overall bigger picture. This area covers the employee’s financial rewards including salary and the frequency of salary reviews, bonus structures and stock options.

You will need to ensure that your salary structure is competitive but also flexible, and bonus schemes must be clear and uniformed across the business.

It is worth bearing in mind that annual salary reviews based on performance appraisals are old school. If you want to build a dynamic and loyal team, you should carry out regular and ongoing staff appraisals and celebrate team members that are going above and beyond plus those who are furthering their qualifications.

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4. Benefits

This component of your proposition covers the additional benefits you provide alongside an employee’s salary. These could include private health insurance, dental plan, gym membership or exercise classes, wellbeing program, paid time off, remote or hybrid working, flexible working. The options are endless and your EVP will work better if you have tailored it to your industry. But it is also essential to consider your company culture and your team. Review what makes your business and your employees unique, because that could help to drive the benefits you put in place.

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5. Career development

Many individuals join a company to grow their career. They aren’t necessarily looking at just the job you are currently employing them to do, but the job they could potentially grow into. They want to build a clear career path and know how to achieve the goals required to get there, so you will need to consider in-house training, external training, sponsored courses, mentoring and supervision guidance, promotion opportunities and performance management. A company that offers career progression opportunities backed up by growth plans and training, can be very attractive to potential candidates.

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6. Communication

Communicating your EVP will be a crucial step in promoting you as an employer of choice to your current work force but also your future work force. Think about the current methods you use to communicate news and updates to your team, whether it is in face to face meetings, newsletters, emails, video’s, or a combination of all. Consider the most effective method to promote your EVP to your team that will encourage interaction and engagement.

Use your marketing tools to promote your message to the outside world, including your website, social media channels, any advertising or promotions that you place, public relations and videos.

And remember, the most powerful source of promotion will come via your existing employees. They will play a vital role in helping you to attract new talent, so ensure that you use creative and fun ways to communicate your EVP. It should be an ongoing dialogue with your employees, continuously working with them to get their buy in and involvement.

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About Us

King helps businesses to expand by finding game-changing leadership talent. With our partner-led approach and expertise in all aspects of talent strategy and hiring – across the South West.

King joined forces with James Caan CBE and award-winning investment firm Recruitment Entrepreneur in July 2021. Recruitment Entrepreneur is one of the most successful private equity investors in start-up to scale up recruitment businesses.

If you’d like to get in contact with our Founder and Managing Director, Helen Plumridge – you can contact Helen at helen@kingrecruit.com | 07808 537696