A strong employee value proposition (EVP) is not so much what companies say they do but rather what employees, prospective candidates and customers think about them. Today this is amplified with all the social media tools used on a daily basis. Employees and customers alike have a strong say today on which organisation is good or not.

In order to create a great EVP, leaders and HR executives need to embed their EVP strategy in the job descriptions’ KPIs, in their onboarding process, performance review and exit interviews. This will involve a lot of internal and external research the organisation both inside and outside.  A good EVP is very much linked to the employer brand / image of the organisation. Therefore in trying to attract great talent, the organisation needs to use more sophisticated tools and processes and less workplace gimmicks (such as, work-life balance initiatives, and company tokens). Employees must feel proud that they are part of the organisation and future candidates aspire to join your organisation because of what the company stands for and its reputation. Attracting and retaining top talent is a critical part of global organisations’ competitive advantage – as important as capital and innovation, without which a company cannot create sustainability.

According to the Harvard Business Review, “As the global economy picks up, there is growing concern among CEOs about finding and keeping the best talent to achieve their growth ambitions. Different surveys show that in 2014, 36% of global employers reported talent shortage. The highest percentage since 2007, and in a more recent 2015 survey, 73% of CEOs reported being concerned about the availability of key skills”.

The time is ripe to define and execute a strong EVP strategy linked with your Employer Brand. Once you have established a strong EVP, you will need to live up to the expectations set and deliver a consistent experience both inside and outside the organization. Universum Global, a brand research company found that 61% of the 2000 global companies studied in 2015, stated they had an EVP in place. However when the same CEOs of those companies were asked if they had an EVP strategy, only 44% of CEOs knew that it existed. The message is clear here. If we want to embark on creating a great EVP strategy, whoever is driving it must ensure that everyone in the organisation is involved and gets buy-in.