Branding has become an increasingly important focus for employers in hospitality as they recruit and seek out the best candidates for their teams, not only for specific positions but also to ensure cultural fits and ultimately employee retention. For an industry-specific perspective around defining your Employer Value Proposition (EVP), our Founder and CEO, Alice Cheng, shares her expertise on the topic.
Key Takeaways:
- Employer Value Proposition (EVP) is what the employer brings to the table for its employees.
- Your EVP can attract candidates who align with your values and priorities, which overtime can also increase employee morale and retention.
- Your Employer Brand is an extension of your brand and your company’s perceived reputation through the lens of how you treat your employees. Your EVP can help control the narrative of your employer brand.
- Be consistent and transparent with your messaging.
- Schedule regular “reality checks” at different levels to see if your words match your actions according to others (i.e., employees).
- Culinary Agents offers free business profiles and other tools to help companies showcase their EVPs to job seekers and the hospitality community.
What is Employer Value Proposition (EVP)?
Employer Value Proposition (EVP) is what an employer brings to the table for the team in exchange for their hard work, commitment and expertise. This includes both tangible (e.g., compensation, benefits) and intangible (e.g., work-life balance, respect) components.
Why is an EVP important to have?
Spending the time to define and curate your EVP will not only attract potential candidates but also help to ensure the employees you do have are aligned with your values and priorities. Establishing your EVP will allow you to target the type of workers you are seeking as well as increase employee morale and retention, strengthening your employer brand.
What’s the difference between your EVP and your employer brand?
Your EVP is essentially what you are promising your employees in exchange for their services – a promise based on your company’s culture, values and mission. Your Employer Brand is an extension of your brand and your company’s perceived reputation through the lens of how you treat your employees. And so, your EVP is a critical way for you to help control the narrative of your employer brand.
What EVP details should you focus on when defining your company culture?
Here are some pro-tips for creating an effective EVP:
- Pinpoint your company’s core values and what is important when it comes to your culture.
- Define who your ideal employee is and then consider what would make your company an attractive place for them to want to work.
- Keep it simple and consistent. Articulate what you are able to offer, using clear language and provide transparency by using real examples of how your EVP translates to what the employee will get.
What EVP details should you focus on if you already have an established company culture?
Take the time to answer these questions to help assess the area(s) you might need to work on:
- Check yourself. Would your newest employee describe your culture and EVP the same way as one of your longer standing employees?
- Are your marketing efforts aligned with your recruiting efforts? (e.g., employer branding messages, job ads, social media activity, etc.)
- If you already have an established company culture, the focus should be on putting into practice, folding it into all inward and outward facing promotional efforts and ensuring consistency and clarity across all mediums.
How do you measure the effectiveness of your EVP?
- Schedule regular “reality checks” to see if your words match your actions according to others:
- Seek out employee feedback through surveys.
- Monitor your reputation with social listening exercises (e.g., read your reviews, see what people are saying when they tag you on social media, etc.).
- Incorporate questions into your interviewing process to help gauge what resonates with potential new hires and what attracted them to your team.
- Carry out exit interviews to get a better understanding of the perspective a former employee has of your company and what led them to leave.
How does Culinary Agents help a business showcase its EVP?
- We offer free business profiles where you can share your messaging and take control of how you wish to showcase your company (e.g., images, information, website, social links, etc.). By doing so, your Culinary Agents profile acts as an extension of your own website and helps establish consistency in your branding efforts.
- We make it easy for talent to discover your employer brand and job opportunities.
- We offer tools to allow for talent to proactively reach out and share their interest with your team (e.g., Matches, I Want To Work Here)
- Our suite of business tools and reporting can help you measure and manage your employer brand and messaging.
About Alice Cheng
Alice Cheng is the Founder & CEO of Culinary Agents, a professional networking and job marketing website designed for the hospitality industry.
Having spent 13 years working at IBM helping companies apply technology to solve business problems, Alice brings her experience into the hospitality industry to solve inefficiencies and gaps around talent sourcing and career development.
Passionate about helping people build careers, Alice takes leadership roles in mentoring across all industries with a focus on helping talent succeed in their careers. She currently is a member of the Society of Fellows for the Culinary Institute of America and a Strategic Advisor for Hot Bread Kitchen's Kitchen Cabinet.
