3 ways employers can avoid a ‘simplicity fail’ when it comes to their EVP

In principle, the notion of defining an employee value proposition (EVP) is pretty straightforward. You just ask people why they joined and stayed at your company and not somewhere else, right?

Over the years, I’ve become pretty obsessed with keeping things simple, but if only they were that simple. The reality is that developing a compelling EVP takes a rigour of thinking and practice, underpinned by the right data at the right time.

In recent months I’ve seen oversimplification bite organisations in the behind, so here are three ways organisations can avoid a “simplicity fail” when it comes to their EVP.

1. Run from poor data.

TQ’s recently released Talent Maturity Model shows that since the pandemic and the subsequent “talent war”, Australian employers have matured when it comes to the importance they place on their EVP: organisations ranked at a mature 59 per cent in response to the statement, “Employer branding has direct, or indirect, internal or external access to the specialist skills required to deliver talent engagement and employer branding services”.

Where employers are failing is their lack of data and insights on which they build their EVP, with the research showing an (im)mature ranking of 38 per cent in relation to the statement, “Employer branding is appropriately enabled (e.g. tech) to effectively capture and measure feedback on the performance of our talent engagement and employer brand initiatives.”

When it comes to building an EVP, decisions without data are akin to driving with the handbrake on or, worse, without a map. Decisions are simplified, and without data to support why you made those decisions then track whether those decisions were right or not, means it’s near impossible to prove whether your EVP is on track. Pinpoint the metrics and data you need, plan out the processes and tech, and then make your case to your organisation for the investment you need to build out your plan.

2. Our mainstream agency has “done the EVP” as part of their brand refresh.

I must caveat this by saying that my most recent experience with a renowned brand strategy agency was fantastic. However! The people dimension of an organisation’s brand is often oversimplified in these scenarios because data and insights aren’t gathered across the career spectrum, and – dare I say it – marketing doesn’t involve the people who understand the people of the business best – HR.

The most common mistake when it comes to an oversimplified EVP is to focus on values and culture. This narrow lens leads to EVPs that lack depth, and they fall into the trap of cliché messaging. What do you mean “make a difference” has been done before? See what I mean? This scenario is particularly acute for larger enterprises or Australian operations that are part of a global business.

Rather than hitting the panic button, what can you do when you hear the EVPs getting a refresh, and it’s not by you and your team? If you’re blindsided by this, it’s a signal that you need to work on your relationship with marketing. Then fight to get someone on the steering committee, ask to vet the research and check on the deliverables early so you can build a case for deeper analysis if need be.

3. Will your data help make your EVP more human, and what does that even mean?

Gartner’s “human deal” EVP framework is great (TQ’s model is stronger, I think, but that’s for another article!). At its core, it’s simple of course: it’s about putting people first and focusing on their wants, needs, motives, and feelings. But the reality is that humans are not simple, and neither is good EVP research.

The famous quote from the advertising master David Ogilvy still rings true today: “The problem with market research is that people don’t think how they feel, they don’t say what they think, and they don’t do what they say.”

An example in our world would be the danger of using employee engagement data as the main building block for your EVP, since it falls into the trap of oversimplifying the data. If you ask people why they joined your business, you get typical answers (from a rational part of their brain) – money, career opportunities, purpose and so on.

But just as Ogilvy states, people don’t think how they (actually) feel. Without getting into the science behind it all, humans are basically way more fluid than these rational-led approaches.

A simple tip to guide your EVP research into a more “human” dimension is to shift your questions from a “what” focus to a “how”. For example, from “What are the benefits like here?” to “How do you feel about the company’s approach to supporting your mental health?”. This helps cut through some of the more rational responses and taps into the emotions of your people.

Whether you’re adapting your EVP from a global rebrand or validating hypotheses you’ve started to build from engagement and exit survey data, making your EVP more human means accessing the deeper, more meaningful and more human reasons people do what they do. That’s not easy, and not simple. But we all reap the benefits if we try and make sense of what’s complex. That’s what keeps it interesting, right?

Will Innes is a general manager at TQSolutions.