With labour shortages causing productivity challenges in the local economy, operations managers and business owners alike are bemoaning the difficulty of finding and keeping workers. Consequently, it becomes more important than ever to be competitive when it comes to attracting employees and becoming a trustworthy employer of choice in your industry. 

Employers that once had their pick of the best workers find themselves in the reverse position — where employees have the power to choose from multiple job offers on the table. When all things are relatively equal — rates of pay, types of job and working conditions, it’s those additional elements that make your employer brand stronger and help swing the decision in your favour. It’s time to consider your employee value proposition (EVP). 

Maintaining a strong culture, championing authentic values and offering a desirable combination of rewards, training and development and career opportunities makes your company more appealing to potential employees, as well as help keep existing employees engaged, productive and loyal to your business. 

The core elements of a strong EVP 

It’s important to define your employee value proposition and clarify what you do well. Understanding why a potential employee would choose to work for your organisation is key. There’s likely to be plenty of strong elements in place already — it’s simply about naming and claiming those strengths, and communicating them well to future candidates. 

Factors to consider when defining your EVP include: 

• recognition — how you reward employees, with incentive programs, birthdays, anniversaries and other ways of and acknowledging of a job well done 

• career opportunities — how you create pathways for employees to advance their career with your company, through mentoring, training, development and promotions 

• culture — the values, leadership, norms, behaviours, teamwork and attitudes of the business — including your company vision, what you stand for and whether you’re a fun place to work 

• community — how your organisation participate in and  supports the wider industry and its local in the form of events charity, fundraising, grants and other support 

• diversity — a welcoming cross section of employees from a diverse range of backgrounds, and a culture that understands the benefits of a diverse workforce

• benefits — extras that employees can access, such as discounts, gym memberships, automotive benefits, days off

• salary — the wages, super and bonuses you pay can strongly influence how appealing you are as an employee — undoubtedly, generous wages will help you attract and retain quality candidates.

Communicating your EVP 

Building a strong employer brand in order to attract and retain quality employees is a long-term strategy. There’s likely to be plenty of advantages that your organisation already offers — but do prospective employees know about it? 

PR campaigns

Using external communications to position your brand as an employer of choice may be a useful tactic. Releasing company stories to relevant media including local and trade media can generate valuable column inches and communicate to the broader public who you are and what you stand for as an organisation. Thought leadership via opinion pieces, research and white papers can also help position your company leaders as experts who can guide the future career of prospective employees. If your executive team are visible as thought leaders via regular media appearances, podcast guest interviews and speaker engagements, this can bring numerous benefits of raising the profile of the company overall, as well as building the appeal as an employer brand. 

Social media 

Social media is a cost effective way to communicate what you stand for to the world, and prospective employees are certain to check out your social media pages to see what you’re about. So make sure your content reflects your position as an employer. Content that appeals to prospective employees may include 

• sharing team events and celebrations 

• recognising staff achievements - both at work and personally 

• supporting local charities and community groups

• showcasing the diversity in your employee base 

• posting videos showing a typical day for your workers 

• focusing on the social channels where your ideal candidates are hanging out 

Appealing job advertisements

Your vacancy listings should be as appealing as possible to potential candidates. Just as a sales page is cleverly written to encourage a conversion, so should your job ad be written to appeal to potential candidates and encourage as many applications as possible. Crafting your job ads to highlight your EVP will evoke interest and enthusiasm about potentially submitting an application. Precisely listing your selection criteria will help reduce irrelevant applications, and make it easier to choose a shortlist according to your preferences. 

Employees are the embodiment of your EVP 

The most powerful spokespersons for you as an employer are your current workforce. They are the most qualified to answer questions about what it’s like to work for you. The more you look after your employees, the more they’ll be happy to recommend you as an employer of choice. 

So, taking the time to understand how employees feel about working for you via regular engagement and culture surveys can give you valuable insights. 

Your internal comms can be crucial in fostering a strong workplace environment. if you encourage employees to share your social media content to their friends and followers, it can help showcase your message. You can also offer incentives to employees who help introduce potential candidates to your team. 

Using a recruiter to attract quality candidates 

Professional recruiters have the skills and expertise to help you find the right candidates. Particularly when quality candidates are in short supply, professional recruiters can access a network of jobseekers that may be difficult for employers to locate directly. Using highly refined skills as interviewers, will help us recruiters find you candidates that fit your culture, personality and skills requirements. Plus, recruiters save your internal team from the bulk of the legwork, so your productivity impact is reduced. 

Looking for help finding the right candidates? We can help build your team of champions. Contact us today to find out how we can help your recruitment efforts. 

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