Making sure your employer brand is in safe hands

A magnet that attracts candidates to your company sounds like the dream, right?

Well, whilst there's no such thing as a literal 'candidate attraction magnet', having a solid EVP can get you pretty close. You've probably heard of the term before (so I won't go into great detail here) but basically your EVP is everything you offer to your employees in exchange for their skills and commitment to you. 
 
It's things like your benefits package, progression structure, growth plans, goals for the company, and more. 

Why care about your EVP?

Put simply, it's a crucial talent attraction and retention tool. Done right, and your EVP can work for you in so many ways. 

First off, clarity is really important to candidates. And nothing kills interest in a role for a candidate like not being clear on what's in it for them - according to Cronofy it's the second biggest candidate frustration. Being crystal clear on your benefits package and growth opportunities helps to attract the best people. In fact, according to Flexa, transparent employers are 4x more appealing to prospective candidates than those that keep things under wraps. 

They help with long-term hiring strategies too, so you can make sure you get the best people now and in the future. A strong EVP is more memorable and helps you to engage with prospective candidates even when you're not hiring, so when you are you've got candidates who are already bought in. This can often reduce time to fill, too. With 76% of recruitment pros saying attracting candidates is one of the biggest hiring challenges they have, it can pay to get ahead of the game. 

EVPs are also a great retention tool.  At their core EVPs are all about people, so having a strong one can help current employees to feel valued and see what their future looks like in a company. And you know what they say - retention is also a great attraction tool. 

A strong EVP can even reduce the risk of a counter offer. What often keeps people in roles they were thinking about leaving is the connection they have to their employer. Having a strong EVP can help them build a connection with you, meaning they're bought into the company not just the role. Around 75% of candidates move for the company, not the specific role, so this can often make the decision to move easier, decreasing your chance of them rejecting your offer or taking a counter.

Making sure your recruitment partner understands your EVP

So what if you're not taking your role to market directly? How can you make sure your recruitment partners take your EVP to market in the best way possible?

The best place to start is to think of your recruitment partner as an extension of your own in-house talent team. Whilst it might be a bit more labour intensive at the beginning of a recruitment partnership, it's well worth investing the time to get your recruitment partner fully up to speed with every aspect of your EVP. Setting aside a meeting or two (whether that's with your people team, your brand team, or both) can help make sure your recruitment partner knows your EVP almost as well as you do. 

We've got experience with this. Having a deep understanding of this information from our clients helps us to better pitch your role and company to prospective candidates. In turn, you get candidates who are genuinely bought into the opportunity. All of this gives you a competitive advantage. 

Getting to know your EVP makes such a difference to our ability to not only take a role to market, but also to really accurately figure out whether a candidate is going to be a good fit. Minimal information like a basic job description and a rough salary banding isn't enough anymore - proper insight into things like team dynamics, benefits that are on offer to candidates, and the long term vision of the company are key to making sure you get the best person in your team, every time.
 

Your brand is in safe hands with us.

We get to know our clients properly, so we can take you to market exactly how you'd like. Interested in working with us? Drop me an email on charlotte.ashton@fmctalent.com