What do you offer your employees? As in, really offer them?
We’re talking more than just perks—to attract and retain the best employees businesses need to offer an Employee Value Proposition, or EVP, that goes above and beyond.
Keep in mind that an EVP isn’t a sales pitch; it’s an intrinsic part of your branding and business reputation that tells prospective candidates, employees and the wider world about the kind of company you are. While an employment contract might detail employee benefits like healthcare and gym memberships, an Employee Value Proposition is different, making an extra statement about how much your employee will be valued, and what they can expect to take away from working within your business.
In this article, you’ll learn more about EVPs, how to write an Employee Value Proposition that goes deeper than surface-level, as well as EVP examples to refer to.
With Day 1 hiring around the corner, an EVP is an essential building block for making sure you and your employees are matched with each other for the long-term.
Alongside an EVP, you can get to know your candidates on an even deeper level with intelligent background screening. With a YOONO search, research your candidate’s employment history, education, credentials, connections and more, building a complete picture before you even meet them.
Is that a hard ‘no’?
With more roles available at people’s fingertips on LinkedIn and online job boards, it can be difficult to clinch the deal when you find the perfect employee. Add to the mix an easily accessible mix of FOMO and ‘grass is greener’ via social media, and it’s perhaps no surprise that employees are becoming pickier about where they work.
Recent research by investment firm Castleforge found that 1 in 4 people have turned down a job after seeing the office environment, but the reasons behind rejecting an offer are sometimes even more complex.
Worryingly, a 2024 report by the Prince’s Trust found that up to a third of younger UK job candidates are turning down jobs based on concerns about affording clothing and transportation to fulfil roles.
So whether it’s envy of a social media follower’s new job elsewhere or something more economic, there are now plenty of reasons for an employee to look elsewhere, even following a successful interview and job offer.
For employers, this makes finding and keeping employees even more difficult, which is why it’s increasingly important to position your business as an attractive proposition for employees who may have multiple choices.
What is an EVP…and why do I need one?
An Employee Value Proposition, or EVP, outlines the benefits and rewards a company can offer to an employee, in exchange for their skills and work, and can help to attract top talent to a business.
How to attract talent that will help your company develop and thrive? An EVP is nothing new, but these simple written propositions have taken on fresh relevance in an increasingly digitised job market. One of the most creative ways to attract employees, an EVP not only outlines materials benefits, but also presents an opportunity for a business to entice exactly the type of employee they are looking to hire.
An EVP channels all your intentions for your workforce into a single proposition, giving both the employer and employee a strong idea of what each party would want from the partnership, helping you to target and attract the best culture fit for your organisation.
Attract and retain talent
How to attract and retain top talent? Employers need to be mindful that today’s job market is as much as an interview of your own company as it is of a potential employee. Companies that fail to foster a healthy work culture, with happy employees, a good life-work balance and multiple benefits, can swiftly fall foul of viral videos or Glassdoor exposés.
More than that, businesses who simply expect great talent to show up at their door will be disappointed. Even the largest and most aspirational companies to work for still need to put the work in themselves to attract the very best candidates.
Build your brand
Successful companies are built on successful brands, and successful brands are built on (the ultimate cliche) people. The people who engage with your business are not just customers—they are current, former and prospective employees, as well as ALL the people these individuals talk to.
A great EVP helps to solidify your brand with employees, past and present, and shapes your brand reputation. It’s also a good way of ensuring that you remain consistent in your hiring ethos and values, keeping on the right track with the type of people you want to attract and hire.
Boost morale, engagement…and productivity, too
When employees know they are valued by the organisation they work for, they not only show up, they engage. Employee engagement is boosted by benefits that improve community interaction and skills development, which equates to higher team morale and overall better productivity within the business.
As you will see in some of the example EVP statements below from leading global companies, an effective EVP often hones in on the type of employee a company wants to attract and how they can collaborate with others with similar goals and outlooks, meaning that everyone the company hires also feels part of something bigger that they are invested in from the outset.
What to include in an EVP
An EVP can be a short statement or a more comprehensive proposition document or webpage, aimed at prospective employees and jobseekers. Either way, a good EVP will normally include the following elements:
1. The proposal
This is a core and concise statement that sits at the top of your EVP, and is super important. See it as a brand proposition or offer summary you want to give to candidates at first glance. It can be helpful to consider this statement as an elevator pitch—what can you offer to an employee in one sentence that will persuade them to work for you?
The sum-up statement can be relatively abstract (you’ll go into the meat of the offer later in your EVP), but it must be enticing, and focus specifically on appealing to the type of candidate you want to attract. As an EVP summary example, Netflix state that: A great workplace combines exceptional colleagues and hard problems.
A little on the serious side? Perhaps, but the subtext is that Netflix want to work with only the best, and those who are up for the challenge. The result? They attract only the top-tier candidates.
Meanwhile, CRM platform Hubspot takes a different approach in their EVP summary: Let’s grow together. We’re building a culture at HubSpot where amazing people (like you) can do their best work. If you’re ready to grow your career and help millions of organisations grow better, you’ve come to the right place.
The emphasis here is on collaboration and working together towards goals, so the company are really appealing to people who enjoy working collectively as part of a strong team.
As another example, streaming app Spotify goes for an EVP angle that appeals directly to hard-working music lovers: We believe in maintaining that relentlessly resourceful start-up spirit. Complacency is our enemy. We take smart risks and set the bar high as we continually think, build, ship, and tweak. We strive to stay receptive and flexible, adapting and acting on what we observe. We work hard to find the best way to get things done, even if it’s not the most obvious way. And then we do it again and again.
Spotify’s emphasis is on finding employees who are creative with tackling problems, and resilient in face of setbacks. Words and phrases like ‘smart risks’, ‘start-up spirit’ and ‘complacency is our enemy’ position the company as looking for employees that perhaps don’t fit a typical corporate model.
2. Outline of benefits
Material benefits can include the usual perks but you may also want to highlight benefits that are unusual or particularly enticing, such as commuting and meal subsidies, included equipment, flexible working and schedules, memberships, and other perks.
3. Opportunities for development
How can an employee grow and develop within your company? Training days aside, are there opportunities for deeper development you can offer, such as qualification study, language courses, or travel opportunities? This is the place to detail them, and show how these skills will not only benefit their place within your business, but within the wider job market too.
4. Emphasis on community and collaboration
The traditional 9-to-5 corporate culture is on the out. Today, employees want to feel like they are contributing to and personally investing in something bigger, rather than simply a cog in the wheel.
Building a sense of connection and community into your EVP is invaluable for attracting team-workers and younger employees. It can be as simple as advertising an open, honest culture, in which all employees have a say on company topics, but could also extend to social clubs, collaboration ‘labs’ or shared skills development.
5. A sense of purpose
This part of the EVP connects directly with your business ethos, but it should be tailored to align specifically with a careers audience in mind. A sense of purpose and meaning should underpin everything your company does, and this is a great opportunity to convey what that is to employees, and how they will directly contribute to it if they choose to work for you.
Without a sense of purpose, an EVP (and company!) can fall flat, so try to connect with readers on an emotional level with meaningful, conversational language.
Employee Value Proposition: 2 stand-out examples
One of the world’s Big Four accounting firms and tech giant Google might not appear to have much in common at first glance, but these companies both know the value of an effective Employee Value Proposition in attracting the best global talent. Read a sample of their EVPs below, to find inspiration for creating your own.
1. PwC’s EVP
PricewaterhouseCoopers are a professional services company based in London and globally. Their impactful and human-centric EVP is underpinned by the companies values of respect and inclusion. Read some of the company’s EVP example below, and you can find the PwC EVP in full here.
We come from many places and perspectives, but we’re united by our values. They reflect what we believe, how we behave and how we treat each other. We lead with care, champion inclusion, and act with empathy and respect—so everyone feels they belong.
Shaping tomorrow
Solve important problems for today and tomorrow, impacting people and society.
Gain hands-on expertise and diverse experience, working alongside our clients.
Innovate with leading technology.
Committing to growth
Fuel your development with coaching and constructive feedback.
Shape your career with the support to build your unique path.
Grow through challenging, meaningful work.
Bringing your best, every day
Develop a critical lens and manage risks to drive quality and excellence.
Learn from the best.
Stretch yourself and reimagine what’s possible.
Embracing inclusion, driving impact
Collaborate with a trusted, inclusive team.
Never go it alone.
Discover your community with purpose-drive people.
Explore our benefits
We offer a comprehensive, flexible and competitive benefits program. It provides access to programs that can be tailored to meet the personal health and financial well-being needs of our partners, staff and their families. It also provides resources and programs to help staff pursue their professional goals and support their personal and family needs.
Key takeaways from PwC’s EVP
The company’s core values underpin every section of the EVP, with inclusivity emphasised throughout.
Material benefits are balanced with meaningful promises, such as commitments to individual employees’ personal development, and a wider-reaching commitment to solving world-relevant problems.
2. Google’s EVP
Google have a thorough Employee Value Proposition that covers numerous benefits for ‘Googlers’. See some of the copy below, and read the full Google EVP here.
We strive to provide Googlers and their loved ones with a world-class benefits experience, focused on supporting their physical, financial, and emotional wellbeing. Our benefits are based on data, and centered around our users: Googlers and their families. They’re thoughtfully designed to enhance your health and wellbeing, and generous enough to make it easy for you to take good care of yourself (now, and in the future). So we can build for everyone, together. *
Flexibility and time off
The time you need to recharge, and the flexibility to get your best work done.
Paid time off, including vacation, bereavement, jury duty, sick leave, parental leave, disability, and holidays.
Hybrid work model with remote work opportunities also available.
Four “work from anywhere” weeks per year.
Part-time work and job-sharing options.
Community and personal development
Providing room and opportunities to grow — on your own and with your teammates.
Educational reimbursement.
Googler-to-Googler peer learning and coaching platform.
Donation matching and time off to volunteer.
Employee resource groups.
Internal Googler community groups and local culture clubs.
Googley extras
Programming, spaces, and resources to support your growth, productivity, and wellbeing.
Inspiring spaces to work, recharge, and collaborate with fellow Googlers.
On-site meals and snacks.
Fitness centers, massage programs, and ergonomic support.
On-demand fitness, wellbeing, and cooking classes.
Art programs, Talks @ Google, legal services… and of course, Dooglers.
Key takeaways from Google’s EVP
Google chooses to focus on health and wellbeing as the foundation of their EVP, with self-care and life-work balance being a key part of what they can offer to employees.
Community is also prioritised, but phrased in a balanced way to show readers that they can benefit from both collective and individual opportunities.
Your business, your brand…your EVP
If a business is built on the people who work there, then it makes complete sense that an EVP should be a central part of your branding and hiring strategy.
This is your opportunity to really show prospective employees what they can benefit from and achieve working within your organisation, and hopefully the EVP examples above will help you to make a start on crafting an effective EVP that attracts the top-tier talent that will help your business thrive.
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