Look around your sector for a few minutes and you’ll see it everywhere. Just like love, employer branding really is all around.
You’ll see competitors launching polished careers sites, and leaders building followings on LinkedIn. Employees talking about their companies, companies talking about their employees, recruiters and comms teams singing from one central hymn book like a well-oiled machine.
Employer branding isn’t niche anymore. In fact, it’s seriously hot right now. Get with the programme! But don’t panic if you still don’t really get it. If you’re asking yourself: what even is employer branding? What the hell do any of those terms actually mean? Does it really matter? And where do I even begin? Look no further: we’ve put together a handy guide to understanding all things employer brand.
What actually is employer branding?
Employer branding is the story you tell people about what it would feel like to work for you.
Humans aren’t emotionless, rational machines. We’re meaning-seeking beings with egos and anxieties, and we just want to make the ‘right choice’. When someone is thinking about joining your company, they aren’t solely looking at the facts, evaluating salary against commute time, workload against health insurance. They’re imagining a future version of themselves. And if they don’t feel excited by that vision, it’s pretty rare for head to win over heart.
That perception influences who applies, who accepts, and how long they stay. It shapes whether candidates feel confident choosing you over someone else. It even impacts how much you need to pay to attract them, as LinkedIn reports that organisations with strong employer brands see up to a 50% reduction in cost per hire and attract twice as many applicants.
It’s amazing when you think about it. You can materially improve hiring costs without changing the role itself. That’s the power of good employer branding.
OK, but what’s an EVP?
EVP stands for Employer Value Proposition.
Let’s break it down. If a value proposition is a summary of why a customer should choose your product over competitors, then an employer value proposition is a summary of why a potential employee should choose to work for you over competitors.
In other words, it’s the clear explanation of why someone should build part of their life with you rather than elsewhere. They will look at your company and ask ‘what’s in it for me?’. Your EVP is your answer to that question. And like all good value propositions, it should be in specific, differentiated terms.
Functionally, that typically looks like a narrative that captures the feeling of working for you, and 3-4 messaging pillars acting as key themes that structure how you talk about your EVP.
Is an EVP important to have?
Gartner has found that organisations that effectively communicate their EVP can significantly reduce employee turnover and increase new hire commitment. And that’s the keyword: communication. Hopefully, you already offer a meaningful experience for your employees (and if not, maybe now’s a good time to start changing things). The EVP is all about articulating that, clearly and in a connected way, and then communicating it far and wide.
When candidates are looking at a company, it can be really difficult to get a sense of what it’s actually like to work there. If your messaging is jumbled and inconsistent, that only makes things harder. Defining your EVP, it gives candidates a stable narrative to hold onto. In behavioural terms, it lowers perceived risk. And when talented people have numerous options, reducing risk often matters more than marginal gains in salary.
Plus, once you’ve done the hard work to define what makes you special, it’ll be far easier for all your employees to spread the good word. Teach a man your EVP, and you’ll feed him for a lifetime, or something like that.
But is it important to have right now?
Listen, like I mentioned earlier, employer branding is hotter than ever. It’s probably not really a surprise to you; we’re all inundated with comms of every kind, left right and centre in our day-to-day life.
Employer brand is something your audiences are conscious of, and they genuinely care about it. According to LinkedIn’s Global Talent Trends research, 75% of job seekers consider an employer’s brand before even applying for a job. And Glassdoor reports that 86% of job seekers research company reviews and ratings before applying.
At the same time, your competitors are deliberately investing in shaping that view. Universum’s global employer branding research has consistently shown that the majority of large organisations now have a defined employer branding strategy and dedicated budget, with employer branding increasingly sitting at the intersection of HR and marketing rather than being owned by recruitment alone.
If you’re starting from scratch, and need a good employer brand like, yesterday, take a look at our handy guide on where to begin. If you’re already pretty established and want to prepare for what’s coming next, our top employer brand trends of 2026 might be more up your street.
How do you create an EVP?
Insight
It’s so important to start with research. How can you be specific about what you offer without actually doing the work to understand it? Through surveys, workshops, focus groups, and external perception research, uncover what employees genuinely value and identify what truly differentiates you.
EVP creation
Then hand the reins over to the strategy and creative teams, and start cooking with gas. Translate those insights into a distinctive proposition that’s affirmed by key stakeholders, with a crafted narrative that brings it to life in a way that makes those stakeholders really feel something.
Activation
It’s time to release it to the world! Apply that proposition consistently across:
Measurement
Finally, it’s time to pat yourself on the back. Track the changes to cost per hire, time to fill, offer acceptance and retention, and feel smug about how much money you’ve just saved your company.
Hopefully, you’re now feeling a whole lot wiser about all things employer branding. Ready to start building your own? Let’s chat.
