The EVP: It’s not just for recruitment anymore.

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Jared Pritz, Senior Consultant, Brand Strategy

8/24/2011

I often marvel at how easily some of our most recent decades can be summed-up through a simple word or phrase. Whether global event, Cultural Revolution or economic trend, it's clear that certain decades have become synonymous with the experiences they bore witness to.

50s? Birth of rock-n-roll.
60s? Counter-culture.
70s? Disco.
80s? War on Drugs.
90s? Boom.
00s? Great Recession.

Of course, one can also take a more optimistic look at this last complete decade. At TMP, we see the 00s as the period when employer brand came into its own. No longer mistaken for a logo, no more just a clever headline used across all media, today, employer brand is all grown up. It has become a pillar supporting the most comprehensive talent attraction plans. Yet it is clear there is so much more that organizations can do to maximize their talent management strategies beyond recruitment.

In fact, just as employer brand spent the past decade redefining how employers position themselves to the market, we're anticipating the next 10 years as the period when the true power of the Employee Value Proposition (EVP) is realized.

An EVP is not a new concept by any means, but the way in which it's being used is changing dramatically. A recent benchmark survey conducted by People in Business (a wholly-owned subsidiary of TMP Worldwide and the birthplace of employer brand) shows that over the past four years, the reason companies are developing their EVP has shifted significantly – today, overall people management is the primary focus, surpassing external recruitment.

A company's EVP is the beating heart of its employer brand, boasting the ability to pump core employment values, experiences and promises into every area of the organization. By fully developing an EVP as part of an employer brand effort, organizations have in their possession the blueprint for improving the very experience they're marketing to candidates.

At TMP, we assist our clients in examining just how strongly and deeply their EVP permeates their employment experience, from internal communications, to employee development programs, to retention activities, all the way to leadership behaviors. All of these organizational channels can be placed under the lens of the EVP to ensure they're speaking, developing, satisfying and acting in a manner that upholds the values and promises of the company.

We believe the power of the EVP is limited only by its support, understanding and application. And, whether you want to transform your employment culture or simply maximize the degree in which your employees experience a core value, establishing and leveraging your EVP is the key.

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