What is the Difference Between Employer Brand and EVP?

Feeling a bit lost in the jargon? You’re not alone! Employer brand is difficult enough to explain to a layperson, and EVP sounds like an Executive Vice President. In this post, we try to clarify where the two concepts differ and where they link up.

EVP

An employer value proposition (EVP) is the unique set of benefits that an employee receives in return for the skills, attributes, and experience they bring to a company.

Each new employee brings something unique to the organization, and corporate culture shapes everything from employee motivation to major decisions. Promulgating inspirational values encourages staff to feel a connection with the organization, and letting them help shape the culture ensures they feel valued and involved.

The employer value proposition is what motivates and engages employees, a strong EVP will help to retain top performers and attract talented people. The CIPD characterizes this succinctly: “The value proposition describes what an organization stands for, requires, and offers as an employer.”

Once the research is done, there’s plenty more to do. Check out Developing the Employer Value Proposition by our CEO, Jörgen Sundberg, to get a more in-depth look into building an EVP!

Employer Brand

Employer brand helps organizations differentiate what they offer in the labor market, and recruit, retain and engage the talent they need to succeed.

Well before an applicant becomes aware of the organization as a potential employer, they gather information about your brand from the news, social media, job boards, internet searches, acquaintances, or other touch points. Good employer branding policies provide a differentiation factor that sets the organization apart in the minds of candidates in terms of identity and EVP, what you offer to candidates.

Here at Link Humans, we believe there are 16 Employer Brand Attributes that make up your employer brand. Understanding each and every one of those attributes, and how you fare against competition, is vital.

In our article What is Employer Branding? you will find out that a good starting point when thinking about an employer brand is to articulate the vision and values embraced by the organization.

How do EVP and Employer Brand link up?

The CIPD points out that you have an employer brand whether you consciously develop it or not, it is based on the way the organization is seen as a ‘place to work’ by potential recruits, current employees, leavers, and retirees.

Employer brand is not just about reiterating the organizational mission statement and values, but is predicated on the real, lived experience of the workforce: “People who like the job they do and the place they work to become advocates for it”.

EVP is the articulation of the employer brand, answering the question “why should I work for your company?” as well as “why should I stay at this company?”. Employer brand is the reputation, and EVP is the narrative.