North star
EVP – the people playbook
In the last article, I talked about continuous improvement in recruitment, and how a recruiter will improve over time with the right effort and intent.
The information we learn can become a compelling proposition as we fine-tune who we approach and what we tell them. As we fine-tune how we advertise and assess applicants.
This isn’t a coincidence, it’s a consequence.
You may recall I also talked about we can reverse engineer our learnings and retrofit them according to the purpose, as I try to do in these newsletters.
The culmination of what the examples above might be is the Employment Value Proposition (EVP).
It’s a common document in HR, yet its purpose and application are widely misunderstood.
EVP may be an as dull as dishwater name, but it can be the centrepiece of how you attract, engage and retain your people.
If any good plan starts with a document, the EVP can and should be at the top of the pile.
If you don't know what one is, the EVP describes all the experiences and benefits your people will have as it relates to employment.
It's a document unique to your business that provides every answer to 'what's in it for us' and is both a goal and keystone for your people's success.
It's the business of your people in words.
Covering these points:
Vision
Values
Culture
Mission
Balance
Context
Benefits
Diversity
Trajectory
Innovation
Challenges
Working life
Collaboration
Compensation
Social responsibility
Career development
Health and wellbeing
The built environment
Every way in which your business interacts with your people's lives.
You may have other elements that are important for your people.
More than that it's the litmus test for what good is in the people you want to hire, giving them a good reason to start a conversation with you.
It should answer any question the readers have about why am I here, and why should I be here.
It's quite rare that the employers I partner with have a good EVP in place, so for recruitment, I write a Vacancy Value Proposition, which sells the opportunity truthfully to the ideal candidate - I call this the Executive Summary, in agreement with the employer.
This VVP shows the context, culture, team structure, challenges, workflows, interview process, compensation and any other information a candidate will typically ask about when considering a move. It’s a powerful document that has helped me achieve my fill rate and retention.
It’s a mini EVP in its own right.
When representing those ideal candidates, I include a Candidate Value Proposition, a cover sheet that shows how they align with your EVP.
This CVP shows the context of candidacy, the structure in which candidates have worked, their situation and aspirations. Anything that an employer will typically ask about when reviewing a candidate.
It’s the mirror of an EVP (sorry, so many TLA’s) that answers the question, is this person right?
It may come as no surprise that many clients treat me as their first interview stage. Not because I demand it, but because it’s a natural efficiency.
These are the words that prove the point.
With an EVP in place, these additional documents become easier to define, helping everyone reach a fair assessment quicker.
Additionally, it creates the content for no end of output, whether a website, careers page, LinkedIn content or outreach.
If you don't have an EVP, and you want to optimise how you recruit and retain your people, you should put this on your agenda.
It's no simple matter and takes time, collaboration, wherewithal and insight into what makes your people tick.
The EVP is the playbook for your people.
Happy to chat if you need some help.
Regards,
Greg
P.s While you are here, if you like the idea of improving how you recruit, lack capacity or need better candidates, and are curious how I can help, these are my services:
- Go-to-Market, operational and technical key hire recruitment
- manage part or all of your recruitment on an individually designed basis for one client. Get access to an expert recruiter without the cost of a full time hire. Save money, save time, hire better candidates faster. Map the market, build candidate pipelines.
- recruitment coaching and mentoring
- recruitment strategy setting
- outplacement support
Just hit reply to check if my approach is right for you.