Snagging top talent isn’t getting any easier for tech companies. According to our research, as of January 2018, there were a whopping 74,000 roles unfilled across the industry. A strong Employer Value Proposition (EVP) can be the difference between finding the right candidates and an expensive recruitment flop.
An EVP should be like a strong sales pitch; positioning your company in a way that appeals to potential employees and defines why they should work (and stay working) for you. It goes beyond the list of job responsibilities, ping pong tournaments, and Friday night drinks. For small and mid sized tech companies, a strong EVP has a big impact on how well they attract and keep top talent.
Today with social media and review sites like Glassdoor, an employee can voice their opinion and share their workplace experience. Your company’s EVP, or at least what employees think of it, is more visible than ever. According to a 2016 Glassdoor US Site Survey, 70% of people now look to reviews before they make career decisions. Articulating and delivering on what makes your company unique to others and why people would want to work for you is critical to building and keeping all-star teams.
So how can tech companies create an authentic EVP that holds true in the real world? Here are our three tips.
Start with your employees
Formulating an authentic Employee Value Proposition should start with your most important audience: your employees. Measuring the tangible and intangibles benefits or desired rewards provided by the company will help you define your value as an employer and what future employees are likely to see as attractive about working at your company. Ideally, surveys should be conducted once or twice a year. Online tools like Survey Monkey make it easy for companies to create and collect feedback from staff. Uncovering what employees truly value about working at your company, why they choose you and what makes them stay will not only help your retention efforts, but will also help leverage your company’s selling points to attract new employees.
Put advocacy tools in their hands
Word of mouth is one of the most powerful tools to attract the best talent - but the most authentic advocacy comes from within. Once you understand what it is employees value in your company, bring it to life through your people. With the right tools, your employees can be your brand’s voice and best storytellers. For example, a video on what it’s like working at your company can be a powerful way to articulate and corroborate your EVP. People buy from people they trust. This is why stories based on personal experiences are always going to be far more compelling than a lengthy job description. In fact, candidates trust a company’s employees 3 times more than the company itself to provide credible information on their workplace experience.
Provide more than just a job
With more than 61% of tech professionals reporting being more than satisfied with their current employer, tech workplaces tend to be sticky. So when it comes to your EVP, make sure it is credible and can be backed up with proof points. Work is no longer just about showing up for 8 hours a day; it’s now about feeling heard, included and valued as part of a collaborative team. Our research found 70% of tech professionals valued financial considerations in their top 5 factors for choosing a new role, but they rarely came out on top. Rather, flexibility, career progression, leadership, and culture were cited as having a bigger impact on tech professional’s willingness to pursue and stay in a new opportunity. So if these are attractive benefits your company offers and employees value, be sure to showcase them in a way that demonstrates you do walk what you talk.
Need help crafting an effective Employer Value Proposition for your company? A Halcyon Knights consultant can partner with you to create and promote an authentic EVP that resonates with your current and future employees.
