Your employer brand and employer value proposition (EVP) are key parts of your recruitment marketing strategy, but they serve different purposes. Your employer brand is how your organization is perceived in the market. It's your reputation and visual identity.
On the other hand, your EVP highlights what makes your workplace unique: the value you offer employees and what you expect in return. While these concepts may seem similar, they play distinct roles in attracting the right candidates to your organization. Continue reading to learn more about their distinction.
What is an employer brand?
An employer brand reflects an organization’s reputation as a place to work. It shapes how candidates and employees perceive what it’s like to work there. Unlike something teams can simply “invest” in or control, an employer brand is a reputation that can be actively managed and influenced.
A strong employer brand lays the foundation for successful recruitment marketing. When an organization has a positive reputation, it enjoys several benefits, such as:
- Attracting high-quality, right-fit candidates to strengthen its talent network.
- Lowering employee turnover as team members feel more connected to the brand.
- Faster hiring processes as candidates are more inclined to join an organization they know and trust.
Building a positive employer brand
Your employer brand is influenced by multiple stakeholders, including existing employees, candidates (successful and unsuccessful), clients, prospects, and others. Creating memorable moments for each of these cohorts is essential to driving a positive reputation as an employer of choice. Keep in mind, these stakeholders have the power to enhance and amplify your employer brand, or detract and damage your reputation.
Think of your employer brand as the curb appeal on a house. What impressions are you giving about what it would be like to live (work) there? Are you attracting talent or turning them away?
What is an employer value proposition (EVP)?
An employer value proposition (EVP) is the unique value an organization offers its employees in exchange for their contributions.
An EVP may highlight the employer's credibility, relevance and differentiation from the competition, and ambition or growth expectations for the employee and the organization. It also clearly articulates what the employer expects in return from its employees.
The importance of authenticity in your EVP
To be effective, an EVP must align with reality. There can’t be a disconnect between what you promise and what you deliver. Your credibility and reputation depend on presenting an honest and authentic picture of who you are as an employer.
Transparency about what employees can expect and what is expected of them is critical for attracting, hiring, and retaining the right talent.
The measurable impact of a strong EVP
A well-defined EVP can make a significant difference. According to Gartner, 65% of candidates have abandoned a hiring process due to an unattractive EVP. On the flip side, organizations with a clear and compelling EVP can boost new hire commitment by 29%.
Using our same analogy, if the employer brand is the curb appeal, the EVP is the layout, furniture, and features of the house. It helps candidates and employees understand how to move throughout the house, what’s included (or not), and truly helps them visualize themselves in that space.
What forces are shaping the 2025 TA industry?
Every touchpoint matters: Creating an emotional connection
Every touchpoint impacts your employer brand, whether good, bad, or indifferent. And, with a well-defined employer value proposition supported by the employer brand, teams can more effectively create and manage experiences from initial candidate interaction to employee retention.
Never underestimate the importance of having an emotional connection with a brand. In the consumer world, people fall in love with brands, buy products, and become loyal advocates of those brands. An employer brand is similar in that people fall in love with the brand and "buy" jobs with that brand.
Being emotionally connected to an employer and a career drives commitment, discretionary effort, and ultimately, business performance. In short, brand connection,, is driven by emotion, so make sure it counts.
Make your employer brand and EVP shine
Establishing a strong employer value proposition and employer brand isn’t always easy — especially in today’s talent acquisition landscape, where resource constraints, fierce competition for talent, and countless other challenges constantly demand attention. This often leads to the question:
“Should we partner with an outside organization (like Symphony Talent) to manage our employer brand or define our EVP?”
The short answer? It certainly helps.
Many organizations that attempt to develop their employer value proposition in-house struggle to gain the big-picture perspective an external partner can provide. Internal teams often lack neutrality and tend to focus inward, missing the valuable insights that come from an external, objective viewpoint.
To create a truly impactful EVP, it’s not enough to believe you’re delivering on your promises as an employer—you need to live, breathe, and embody those values consistently every day. An outside partner can help ensure your EVP reflects both your internal aspirations and the external realities of the talent market.
Why Symphony Talent
At Symphony Talent, we have an award-winning team of brand and creative professionals who live and breathe employer branding, EVP, and recruitment marketing with campaigns, content marketing, and social media. Curious to see what we could do for your organization? We’d love to show you! Schedule some time with one of our experts to get the conversation started.
