Congrats! I know that even just securing approval to kick-off an EVP project is no small feat, so I hope you’ve celebrated that win.
Now the real fun begins!
Of course, every EVP project is different, and full of surprises, but after leading the delivery of more than 20 EVPs from both the agency and client sides, I’ve learnt (sometimes the hard way) these 5 actions you can take to get it done on time, within budget, and have the tangible ROI to show for it.
1
Be clear who you’re building an EVP for. Especially if you are a group of brands.
A single, all-encompassing, all-brands applicable, geographically flexible Group EVP – the stuff dreams are made of. But, in reality, not always the easiest to achieve.
For our readers who find themselves working at Group level for a house of brands, creating a single EVP for very distinctly different brands can cause some headaches. Here are some things to consider during project set-up and your insights phase.
- Understand your audience: Begin by understanding the commonalities and differences in your target audience across the various brands within your group. What are their demographics, psychographics, motivations, and aspirations?
- Identify common themes: The brands may be starkly different, but there will be overarching themes or values that resonate with employees across all brands.
- Define the EVP: Based on all the above, articulate a compelling EVP that reflects shared values and ‘why people love working here’ across all your brands.
- Tailored messaging for each brand: While the EVP should be consistent across all brands, tailor the messaging and communication style to reflect the unique characteristics and culture of each brand. This ensures employees feel a sense of belonging to their specific brand while still being part of a larger group.
Some of you will have teams big enough to take this on but for those who don’t, we’re here to help with the heavy lifting.
2
Decide how you’re going to measure (and market) success
What are the hard measures you’re going to attach to this? Before you do anything, define these, and record your baseline measures.
- The project – demonstrating efficient, effective delivery and capability built in the team
- The launch – demonstrating awareness and understanding
- Sustained success – demonstrating contribution to business strategy
It’s going to help you sense-check your decisions throughout (wait, what is it we’re really trying to move the dial on again?). It will indicate where to focus efforts, and you might even find it highlights some things that aren’t currently being measured but ought to be.
Most importantly, it’s going to help demonstrate the commercial value of the work which, in my opinion, isn’t marketed internally near as much as it should be to better position HR teams for the next investment conversation.
3
Stop calling it an EVP
Not everyone knows what an EVP is. Referring to ‘the EVP project’ will make your life harder engaging stakeholders along the way, and more broadly when you launch it.
Instead, try and give it a name which speaks to what it will be for your people. @KFC have a People Promise, @Cover-More have The Deal.
4
Join forces with Marketing
Remember candidates and employees are customers or potential customers too. The employee experience you’re offering, needs to align (not match) with the customer experience Marketing are promising.
The best EVPs are delivered as a HR and Marketing joint-lead project. As much as you can, link arms.
5
Work with what you’ve got
Don’t spend so much of your money developing your EVP that you don’t have enough left to launch it. Whether you choose to go big-bang, or badge something which is already in the calendar, you’re going to need some budget.
Bear in mind, you might not need to pay an agency to do absolutely everything. Especially if Marketing is co-leading the project with you, they might have the capability you need for a fraction of the cost (be prepared to wait in the queue though).
A good agency partner will be able to help you navigate which parts of the project you could flex scope or deliver internally, versus where you really need to engage an external specialist to deliver for you.
It’s an exciting time for you. An EVP project doesn’t come around very often in one business so make sure you make the most of it, learn and enjoy the ride.
