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Employee Value Propositions, part 1

This is a great example of how the wonder of the world wide interweb shapes itself.
Upon looking at the analytics for my site, I discovered that most of my search traffic came from the search term “Employer Value Proposition.” In fact, it was well over half, meaning that people are hungry to learn more about this intricate subject matter. So allow me to share.

First of all, the value proposition is a concept that’s been all but jargoned out of the marketing industry. It’s been replaced by far better buzzwords and concepts that people can charge way more money for and sound way smarter when they use them. But in reality, a value proposition is rooted in the concept of the unique selling point: what is it that your brand does exceptionally well that no other brand can claim superiority. This, foundationally, is also rooted in the Jim Collins Three Circles/Hedgehog Concept of “what can you be the best in the world at?” And while this seems like a no-brainer, theoretically, the truth is that the day to day grind of marketing any element of a brand often beats this purity out of you.

But for the employer, the overall value proposition is rooted in these ideas:
1. What is the product (the job) being offered?
2. How does it benefit me individually, both rationally and emotionally?
3. How is it differentiated/superior?
4. What is the proof?

Healthy amounts of research are required to fully understand these perceptions, because an employer or a brand cannot intrinsically understand these points. As the person spinning the plates of day to day brand management, it’s impossible to fully grasp what your publics and your candidates believe about your brand. Because, in truth, a brand is never what you say it is: it’s what your publics and your consumers say it is. Therefore, to fully grasp what your value proposition is, you have to start by identifying the real benefit a job has for a candidate, understanding the internal perceptions of working for your company and discovering the external perceptions as well. A solid EVP and employment brand are fundamentally rooted in realism. We’ll get into that later.

That’s the initial necessity for understanding your EVP, and therefore the foundational element companies need to build a successful, real employment brand.