Recruitment companies in growth mode are always on the lookout for high quality talent. And that’s just as important in the back office as it is with sales staff. But in a market where there are so many options for employees to stretch themselves and build rewarding careers, it’s absolutely imperative for recruitment companies to show exactly what they offer, and why they’re a fantastic place to grow.

​Crafting a quality Employee Value Proposition (EVP) is the first step to creating the best offer to bring talent into your company.

​The fact is, unless you’re a household name or global brand, it may very well be that your potential candidates have never heard of you. If you’re up against 5 other recruitment companies (and sometimes even companies outside the recruitment sector too), it’s crucial to have something that helps you to stand out from the crowd. A strong EVP can be exactly that.

An EVP can help to ensure that, even if your candidates have never heard of you, you can grab their attention and show them what your company is all about, why it’s a great place o work, and what they’ll get out of being there.

Your EVP will help you communicate quickly and simply what you’re about as a company – what you stand for, and what your employees can expect from you. It’ll give candidates confidence that they can build a career where they can flourish, that they’ll be appreciated, that they’ll be fulfilled and rewarded.

​But it’s more than that. It’s not just about your immediate candidates. A great EVP gives you the chance to show a wider audience your USPs. It’ll show your values, personality and company culture. It’ll capture the imagination of clients, customers, and passive candidates for the future.

​And your EVP isn’t just for your future employees either – it’s an important statement to your current employees. It enables you to shout about your successes. It lifts and celebrates your people, creates a sense of company pride. Reminds them what makes you special, building loyalty and improving retention.

​So if you want to nail your EVP, here are 5 things you need to get right:

​1)    Find your starting point

First thing’s first, you need to know how much work there is to do. And that means finding out what people think of you now. They might already think you’re an amazing company to work for. They might have heard terrible things. Or they might think nothing at all.  But until you know what the general perception is, you can’t plot a journey to where you want to be. Look into social listening tools, conduct internal surveys, ask for feedback from recruitment rounds. Gather as much data as you can before you start.

​2)    Understand what people want

When you start plotting that journey, do as much research as you can into what people are looking for from their employer. Ask the people who already work for you what they love about working for you, what they don’t like so much, and what you could do to make them happier. Look at what your competitors offer. Look at what the very best on the market are doing and see how much of it you could emulate or tweak for your situation.

​3)    Be authentic

Real talk. There’s no point pretending to be something you’re not. You’ll get found out. Fast. So be authentic in everything that you put out. If you’re a quirky, informal start up, don’t pretend to be a big, shiny, corporate machine. You’ll attract the wrong people, you’ll damage your reputation and integrity. Being honest and authentic will make it easier for the right people to find you and see how they fit with your company.

​4)    Get buy in

From the CEO through to your graduate recruiters, every single person in your organisation needs to input and get behind your EVP. You need to be pulling in the same direction and communicating the same message. All your employees should be confident about what your company stands for, and what it is they get from working there. This is especially important for support and back office staff, where commission and sales target based incentives aren’t usually applied.

​5)    Know your non-negotiables

In order to ensure that you’re building an EVP that resonates and works for the long term, you need to have a really clear picture of who you are as a company and what you stand for. That means knowing what your non-negotiables are. Identify the traits, values and behaviours that, if you removed them, you’d no longer be the same company. That should the core, the beating heart of your EVP. You can build everything else off those things, but those things must remain at the centre.

​Putting a strong EVP in place can be a game changer for recruitment companies who are looking to grow – and it’s increasingly important for attracting the highest quality back office staff, as competition is fierce. You need to identify the things that make you you. Your culture, D&I, the charity work you’re involved in, your environment and sustainability schemes, your development opportunities.

​Millennials and Gen Z are more driven by culture and wellbeing than the generations before them. For them, it isn’t an optional extra. Show them that it’s core to who you are too. Get it right, and you won't just be widening your talent pool - you'll also see your retention rates rise, and you'll likely begin to see your sick days decrease. Win-win!