Top 10 Takeaways from the EVP Summit 2024

This month I attended the EVPSummit24, and it was an incredible experience to hear so many talented employer branding leaders discuss how challenges like quiet quitting, cost of living, and the clash over remote work policies are affecting their roles.

Throughout the event, a resounding message echoed: in today's competitive landscape, cultivating and showcasing a compelling employer value proposition (EVP) is vital to securing top-tier talent.

For those who couldn't attend, I've put together my top 10 pivotal takeaways and some key slides from the leading EVP and employer branding expert panels that deeply resonated with me.

1. Prioritize your Employer Brand:

‍Robin O Connell emphasized the growing complexity of hiring, noting that as recruitment becomes increasingly challenging, 57% of recruiters are poised to elevate their employer brand investment in the coming year.

To make the most of your employer brand investment, Robin stated “being creative is the most important factor in building brand awareness” so leverage your creativity wherever you can.

2. Don't Underestimate the Importance of Employee Reviews:

To address hiring challenges, Ryan Montgomery underscored that having a higher number of reviews can instill more confidence in your brand than having a perfect rating.

‍“Investing in your Glassdoor reviews is just as important as a company’s consumer reviews, 70% of consumers read reviews (and 45% see them as a central factor in their purchase) before they buy a product, so why wouldn’t they with your employer brand?”

‍

3. Be Consistent and Make Small Incremental Changes:

Michael Oliverio shared how to developing benefits and engagement across an organization with a lot of scale and complexity by making small, incremental changes.

‍"You can change the 1% because you can make a difference everyday."

‍4. Education and Personalization:

Tegan Oakley stressed the of connecting with employees, stating "94% of employees surveyed stated that feel more productive at work when they feel connected to their colleagues."

A key way to build this connection is to educate managers to co-design and personalize onboarding experiences.

‍“Equip managers with an understanding of what good onboarding looks like and enable managers to focus on personalizing by centralizing where possible,” she suggested.

5. Invest in Your Managers:

Aubrey Blanche-Sarellano reiterated this need to “invest in your managers, this helps to attract and retain top performers so we must enable them."

‍As we all know employees stay for the right leadership so enabling your managers has ripple effects beyond hiring.

‍

6. NEMO – Never Ever Miss a Moment:  

‍

Fiona Murphy showed us that capturing important moments is crucial for both the employee experience and translating that into a compelling Employer Brand.

She coined the memorable phrase, “NEMO – Never ever miss a moment” to describe how she "intentionally creates moments for team members that elevate, are insightful, are a source of pride, and build connection."

Her key advice was to "build an inclusive, emotionally intelligent organization that values diversity and creates an environment where everyone has a chance to shine."

‍

7. Build Your EVP from the Inside-Out:

Sean Withford emphasized "Build your EVP from the inside out. Understand what makes working in your organisation special, and where the opportunities to improve your employee experience are. Continuously work on improving your employee experience, and sharing the impact of that with the world." ‍

Hiring is harder than it’s ever been. We need to make the mindset shift from “buyer of talent” to “seller of opportunities”

8. Designing an Award-Winning EVP:

Quila Cervelli shared deep insights into implementing the "Green Tick Feeling" as part of her Ambassador Program (powered by The Martec). She describes the feeling as "all the little and big things that make you feel like you're a winner for working at Sportsbet. It's different for everyone, yet unifies us all."

To create an EVP that resonates with your employees she recommends "conducting research with 10% of your workforce to understand employee sentiment."

9. Culture Amp’s Belonging Badges:

Culture Amp has created Belonging Badges, which are a crucial part of their identity and EVP, designed to celebrate individualities and foster a genuine sense of belonging at work.

Unfortunately Liliana Kellett was unable to make it but a representative for Culture Amp highlighted that “Fostering a greater sense of belonging starts with the courage to be vulnerable.” She advised, “The badges purpose is to connect everyone and celebrate their individualities, how can you truly belong if you can’t be your genuine and authentic self at work?”

‍

10. You Don't Have to Build Your EVP Alone

If you're trying to figure out where to get started on designing your EVP the key advice from Gabrielle Spinks was “Don’t do it alone, start with the data and look at the reality of the internal experience before you begin.” ‍

You have a wealth of knowledge and skills within your company and there is no shame in reaching out for support.

‍

Final Thoughts

The #EVPSummit24 was a reminder of the dynamic nature of employer branding and the importance of continually evolving our strategies to attract and retain talent. I left the event feeling inspired and equipped with new ideas to implement. Looking forward to the next one!