If your company wants to stand out in the 2023 competition for talent, you need to offer something unique—and you have to do in a way that is comprehensible to your (potential) candidates. Building an exceptional employee value proposition is the key to developing a unique edge and standing out in the crowd when competing for top talent in the year ahead. You’ll then have plenty of applicants to evaluate properly through employee selection methods.
Working on building or revamping your employee value proposition? Check out some of the best examples for inspiration!
What’s in?
- What is an employee value proposition?
- Why do you need an employee value proposition?
- Best employee value proposition examples
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What is an employee value proposition?
An employee value proposition (EVP) is the value a company offers to employees in return for the value they bring to the organization. It’s the benefits and rewards offered to employees in return for their commitment, as well as the skills and capabilities they bring to the table. Gartner says five fundamental elements that make up an EVP are compensation, work-life balance, stability, location, and respect.
Wondering how your employee value proposition differs from your employer brand? Your EVP is an internal promise to your employees that defines what people get from working for your company. On the other hand, your employer brand is how you market that value proposition externally to job candidates.
Why do you need an employee value proposition?
Your employee value proposition is essentially a base for your employer brand. It helps you build the internal and external perception of your brand and attract and retain talent for your organization. Your EVP is also a way to differentiate from competitors to appeal to your candidates’ values, beliefs, needs and wants.
Along with establishing perception and attracting talent, creating and following a great EVP can help you grow your business. Simply put, businesses can’t grow without a talented workforce to run the show. When you manage to attract and retain the right talent, they will help boost your business and ultimately your company’s bottom line.
Best employee value proposition examples
1. &pizza
&pizza is an American fast-casual pizza restaurant chain with locations across the Northeast. The restaurant sells unique oblong-shaped pizzas to customers—and a unique “No Ceiling” policy to employees.
Here’s how they explain that policy: “A strict No Ceiling policy means there is no limit to how high you can go. We don’t see &pizza as a job, but a career. And we don’t see a person as a mechanized robot with a set of limitations destined to fill a certain role; we see you as YOU. An individual. Who you are now, and who you want to be. So start your journey today, and see just how far you can go.”
&pizza has a great EVP because it’s so unique for the industry and helps the company stand out next to competitors. Career growth is usually very limited in the restaurant industry, which is understandably a leading cause for high turnover rates many restaurant chains experience. By tackling this head-on and offering employees unlimited opportunities for growth, &pizza can attract and ultimately retain great talent across their locations.
&pizza is dedicated to supporting their employees’ career growth.
2. Chevron
Chevron is a multinational energy corporation that’s active in more than 180 countries. On their careers page, the energy employer states: “At Chevron, you’ll team up with some of the best and brightest in locations around the world to create innovative energy solutions.” They also promise a “truly global and collaborative” work experience to potential and current employees.
A commitment to diversity in a traditionally male-dominated industry is what makes Chevron’s EVP stand out next to competitors. A recent EY report shared that only 11% of the top global oil and gas senior executives are women—and Chevron aims to do something about that. Along with a global staff that’s 25% women, the company has a “Welcome Back” program for women reentering the workforce.
When asked about their impressive, long-standing commitment to diversity and inclusion in the workplace, Chevron’s chief diversity officer replied: “The desire is to create a culture where everyone can be their best and be included. When everyone’s in, everyone wins.”
3. Yelp
Yelp is a business directory service and crowd-sourced review forum. Playing off of their own review system, the company takes a unique approach by highlighting “five-star” career opportunities, perks and offices available to employees. Yelp’s EVP is great because the company clearly has a culture with a strong sense of community. Employees are cared for, well taken care of and provided with the resources they need to succeed.
From the Yelp careers page: “We believe in giving our employees the tools and resources to keep them healthy, wealthy, and wise. Whether it’s a gym subsidy, unlimited snacks, or healthcare benefits, we believe happy employees are successful employees.”
Playing well with others is one of Yelp’s core values, which is key to building the sense of community among its employees.
4. Canva
Canva is a simplified graphic design tool website based in Australia. The company offers a ton of unique benefits to employees, like breakfast and lunch prepared by in-house chefs, free gym memberships and a relocation budget.
However, amazing perks aren’t the only valuable things that Canva has to offer. On their “Why Canva?” page, the company highlights the individual impact each employee has on their mission. They also accentuate that with over 34 million designs created per month, employees have a lot of opportunities to work on unique and exciting projects.
Here’s how they break it down in their own words: “Sometimes the chance comes up to be part of something really special. Canva is making design amazingly simple for everyone, and the potential is limitless. We’re empowering people to design anything, and publish anywhere.”
Canva’s mission to empower people to create is embodied in their key values.
5. Bain & Company
Bain & Company is an American management consulting company and one of the most prestigious in the industry. The consultancy is listed as number one on Glassdoor’s Best Places to Work list and is a known leader in collaboration.
The Bain & Company career page states: “Picture yourself at one of the world’s best places to work, surrounded by teams and people who challenge you, support you, and inspire you to be extraordinary.” They go on to emphasize the opportunities to collaborate with diverse teams across various departments and offices around the world.
They also highlight several other perks that make their EVP memorable, like externship opportunities, global transfers, parental leave, leaves of absence, and flextime. In addition, they tout a unique “take two” perk, which is the chance to take two months off to rejuvenate and fulfill personal goals.
Bain & Company is one of the best places to work worldwide, chosen by the employees.
The state of diversity recruiting in 2020
6. Trader Joe’s
Trader Joe’s is an American chain of grocery stores with more than 500 stores nationwide. They’re widely recognized as one of the best retail employers (with one of the best retail employer brands) thanks to the numerous benefits offered to crew members.
Trader Joe’s has an exceptional EVP, and they’re very transparent about each benefit they offer. For example, they’re committed to providing bi-annual reviews, with the average crew member having the potential to receive a 7%-10% pay increase each year. There is also a strong emphasis on growth opportunity—the company promotes based on performance and prioritized career development.
From the careers page: “We prioritize the development of our crew members. We don’t pigeonhole crew members into “only running the register” or “only stocking the shelves”; our crew engage in a variety of tasks and hold a range of responsibilities—running the register and stocking the shelves, of course; also merchandising, creating signs, accepting deliveries, demoing products, and engaging with customers.”
Building an inclusive culture where every employee can perform to their full potential is in the center of Trader Joe’s employee value proposition.
7. Unilever
Unilever is a British-Dutch transnational consumer goods company and the seventh most valuable organization in all of Europe. The company emphasizes the opportunity to work alongside brilliant, inspiring leaders, with four pillars designed to bring the EVP to life.
Their website breaks it down like this: “Unilever is the place where you can bring your purpose to life through the work that you do, creating a better business and a better world. You will work with brands that are loved and improve the lives of our consumers and the communities around us.”
When asked about their efforts to launch a new EVP, Unilever’s Head of Global Talent Attraction and Employer Brand explained: “At the heart of our value proposition is that we build leaders. We develop leaders for Unilever, and Unilever leaders go on to be leaders elsewhere in the world.”
Unilever wants its employees to become the leaders of the change.
8. Shopify
Shopify is a Canadian multinational e-commerce company with a platform for online stores—not to mention an awesome EVP! The company offers unique benefits designed to help employees and their family members stay healthy, like self-directed learning, growth budgets, and fully catered meals.
But that’s not the only thing that makes Shopify’s employee value proposition great. At Shopify, personal growth is more than just a nice idea—it’s a core value. The Shopify culture is focused on individual growth and the impact each employee has. From their careers page: “We started out as a few people, obsessed with personal growth. Today, that same pursuit of personal growth drives thousands.”
Shopify facilitates their employees’ growth, but they also challenge people to forge their future path.
9. PwC
PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) is a multinational professional services network headquartered in London, United Kingdom. At PwC, it’s all about each employee’s impact and the opportunity to do amazing work with amazing people.
From the PwC careers page: “From developing leaders at every level, to digital training to help you embrace the innovative technology of tomorrow, PwC provides you with support to help you develop your career and build relationships with people from diverse backgrounds and across multiple industries. Are you ready to make an impact?”
PwC offers several unique benefits that demonstrate a commitment to employee wellness. For example, a Student Loan Paydown program is designed to help improve financial wellness. Great parent and caregiver support is also available, with surrogacy and adoption assistance, paid leave, and a Mentor Moms program designed to connect new mothers (or mothers-to-be) with more seasoned PwC moms for guidance on juggling motherhood and career.
Achieving work goals is possible in multiple ways. PwC understands the individuality of their employees and the unique roads they will take to fulfill their ambitions.
10. Merck
Merck is an American multinational pharmaceutical company and another awesome example of an EVP done right. Their EVP tagline “Invest. Impact. Inspire.” encourages a “continuous cycle of invention, making an impact and using that to inspire internally and externally.”
One of four pillars to support this EVP is work that changes things. At Merck, it’s important to have a genuine connection with the work you do. The company takes the stance that not only does each of its 68,000 employees have a significant story, but also that each of those stories serves as an inspiration to do great work and help patients.
Merck works hard on helping their employees move forward, whether it is through comprehensive training and education, or regular performance reviews. They also keep track of how they’re doing.
11. HubSpot
HubSpot is an American software development company with various digital products for inbound marketing and sales. It’s all about culture at HubSpot, a company with a strong focus on work-life balance and building a culture of flexibility, learning, and belonging.
HubSpot’s EVP is a great example to follow. Stating that their goal is “to help you be the best ‘you’ that you can be,” the company offers unlimited vacation, fully remote work, five-year sabbatical, parental leave, “fun stuff” and countless other benefits to their employees.
The company’s careers page highlights that there’s no inner circle—everyone from executives to interns shares information, knowledge, and ideas. There is emphasis on the fact that employees are treated like people, not line items: “Employees are whole people, with families, hobbies, and lives outside of work. We work remotely, keep non-traditional hours, and use unlimited vacation to create work-life fit for us and the people we love.”
Hubspot is dedicated to supporting their employees in various ways and creating working environment that fits diverse lifestyles.
A final thought
Building an attractive employee value proposition takes time and effort. You need to understand your candidates and employees and the motivations that drive them. Then, you need to tailor your EVP to these findings—but also commit to it and stay true to your word. Take the best of these EVP examples and use them as inspiration to improve your own!
The state of diversity recruiting in 2020
