Whether you’re a start-up or scale-up, you need to focus on your employee value proposition in order to attract and retain the right people. And yet, most hiring execs struggle to define – in a truly differentiated way – why anyone would want to work in their business. Even if they can articulate this, it will tend to be without the necessary consistency and detail required in order to truly define your employer proposition.

This makes recruitment difficult. If you can’t describe – in detail – why the top talent would want to join your team, then how on earth can you successfully market yourself to prospective employees?

The remedy for this is the Employee Value Proposition (EVP). Developed and used correctly, it will become one of the most powerful tools in your armoury to attract, retain and build engagement with prospective and existing talent.

The EVP is a psychological contract of sorts between your business, and your people. It describes the detailed benefits that each employee would receive by working for you, in return for their performance, capabilities, experience and skills. It needs to be clear, written down, meaningful and owned by everyone in the business. This ensures that the messaging behind it can be used consistently across all touchpoints of the employee experience; from the talent attraction stage through to on-going performance review and development.

By getting this right, your start-up or scale-up business has the opportunity to gain an edge in your market place. Interestingly, it can put you ahead of the big players. Research shows that 74 percent of employees at Amazon would consider looking for a job elsewhere and even 45 percent of staff at Google would jump ship to join a start-up.

Because competition is so intense in today’s markets, slick product offerings aren’t sufficient to guarantee sustainable competitive advantage. The right EVP can help you to secure talent retention in the longer term, with the productivity gains that come with this.

Where to start

The starting point is typically the employee opinion survey which can give you deep insight into what your employees really value about your business and where gaps currently exist. You may also want to consider working with an employee engagement consultant or HR specialist who can help you to create a development roadmap that will take your EVP in the right direction and in a way that derives maximum benefit for your business.

Focus areas

From this point, key areas to focus on include:

A culture of ownership and autonomous working wherein employees are given control over their activities and the trust to work in the best possible way. Think about your current working practices and processes, remembering that the most talented workers will seek out cultures that encourage innovation, autonomy and creative flow. This is because they will see opportunities for personal development, growth and advancement.

Opportunities for leadership and management, offering ambitious employees the chance to get ahead in a culture that invests heavily in its own people and which promotes from within.

Employer branding, focusing on your reputation in the market, that sense as to how you are seen by your own employees and the value proposition that you offer to your own people. Remember, your employer brand is far more than just words, images and a logo. It is a fundamental set of values and tangible benefits that you offer your people in return for their own effort and input.

So, focus on your EVP as part of a broader employee attraction and engagement strategy, take it seriously, involve your own people in the process – and see your business gain that all-important competitive advantage.

This article was written by Gary Reeman, MD, AlpinaSearch. If you’d welcome advice on attracting and retaining A-Players for your TMT venture, head over to www.alpinasearch.com/clients