How L’Oreal Developed a New Employer Value Proposition (EVP)

We recently wrote a case study about how beauty giant L’Oréal uses social recruiting which brought attention to that company’s new EVP (Employer Value Proposition).

In my mind, L’Oréal is one of those companies that consistently rate as one of the best companies to work for in France and internationally, so you can be forgiven for thinking ‘why do they need to work on their employer brand?’.

Turns out one challenge they are faced with is attracting the best people in emerging markets such as Asia-Pacific, when L’Oréal is less established. Another challenge is to attract high potential candidates in all functions, including sales, operations, research and IT.

I had the pleasure of asking this and a few other questions to Marie-Dominique Jacquet, the Employer Branding Director of L’Oréal. See what she had to say in this video:

I like the fact that this was bottom-up exercise, where the company listened to its employees and let them decide what’s great about working for L’Oréal. As with any branding, it should come from a healthy discourse involving all stakeholders to really hit home.

Apart from being the number one beauty group worldwide, with 27 international brands, sales in excess of €20 billion and nearly 70,000 employees, the company has done a good job defining other elements such as:

What is L’Oréal?

Here’s what candidates and employees are informed about the business model:

• Universal – globalizing brands, but localizing the formulas to adapt to cultures, traditions, lifestyles and purchasing power in every part of the world
• Nimble – beauty moves fast, L’Oréal adapts to change and stays proactive in all fields
• Innovative – innovation is in the corporate DNA, every single functions aim to innovate in their sectors
• Entrepreneurial – the various brands are organized like a flotilla of speed boats benefitting from the means of a giant cruiser.

Furthermore, the rich scientific heritage is highlighted:

• The company was founded by a scientist
• Research is at the heart of L’Oréals growth; almost 4,000 scientists on the payroll, over 600 patents over 12 months, 100 active research cooperation agreements with leading academics
• Responsible innovation strands include predictive evaluation, green chemistry and eco-design.

The mission of the business is clearly spelled out too:

• Offering beauty to all
• Beauty is universal
• Beauty is a science
• Beauty is a language
• Beauty is a commitment.

The ambition, or vision, is as follows:

• 1 billion L’Oréal consumers worldwide today
• 2 billion L’Oréal consumers in the 10 coming years.

In terms of CSR, the company offers the following engagement:

• Responsible growth – safe, effective high quality products, a commitment to reducing environmental impact and a responsible relationship with suppliers
• Sustainable growth – a strategy for universalizing beauty that respects the diversity of the world
• Solidarity sourcing – working with new types of suppliers like companies supportive of disabled workers, promoting social integration, minority-owned businesses and fair trade producers.

The EVP pillars

The main tagline of the new EVP is: A thrilling experience, a culture of excellence.

This employer value proposition is broken down into three pillars:

1. A thrilling experience – a truly global business with a clear purpose and vision will ensure that candidates can see how they would fit this into their own trajectory
2. An environment that will inspire you – with the amount of science, corporate social responsibility and sustainable business practices, there will be something to inspire most employees
3. A school of excellence – world leading brands and products would attract the best people and skills, as a candidate you could be attracted to that environment for your career growth.

Here is an overview of L’Oréal and its employer branding strategy (thanks to Dennis de Munck):

Are you looking to define or update your company’s EVP? Get in touch for a chat!