Most organisations that have an Employee Value Proposition developed it at least two or three years ago. And most have not reviewed it since. Given how dramatically the employment landscape has shifted since 2022 – through hybrid working, the AI revolution, cost-of-living pressures, and significant cultural change – there is a real question about whether the EVPs developed in that period still reflect either what candidates want or what organisations genuinely offer.

Here is how to assess whether your EVP is still fit for purpose.

What a Good EVP Should Do

An EVP is not a marketing slogan. It is a clear articulation of what an organisation genuinely offers employees in exchange for their time, skills and commitment. A strong EVP should do three things simultaneously: attract candidates who are genuinely likely to thrive in your environment, retain employees by reinforcing why they made the right choice, and give recruiters and hiring managers something specific and honest to say.

If your EVP is doing none of these things effectively, it is not your messaging that is the problem – it is usually the EVP itself.

Signs Your EVP Needs Reviewing

There are five clear signals that an EVP has passed its usefulness.

Your application volumes have declined without a corresponding change in advertising spend or job board activity. If fewer people are applying, something has changed either in what you are offering, how you are communicating it, or how it compares to competitors.

Your offer acceptance rate has dropped. Candidates reaching offer stage who then decline are often telling you something about the gap between your promise and what they discovered during the recruitment process.

Your employee surveys show declining engagement on the dimensions your EVP claims to be strong on. If you claim career development as a pillar of your EVP but your employee surveys show development scoring consistently below benchmark, your EVP is actively misleading candidates.

Your competitors have significantly updated their employer positioning. If your sector has moved and you have not, your EVP may simply sound old and generic by comparison.

Your recruiter messaging is inconsistent. If you ask three different recruiters to describe what it is like to work at your organisation and get three different answers, your EVP is not landing internally – which means it certainly is not landing externally.

How to Run an EVP Review

A thorough EVP review involves five stages.

First, employee listening: structured conversations and surveys with current employees across levels, functions and tenure to understand what they genuinely value about working for you – and what they do not.

Second, leaver analysis: exit interview data and, ideally, conversations with people who left in the last 12 to 18 months. Leavers are significantly more candid than current employees.

Third, candidate research: understanding why candidates chose you over alternatives, and why some declined offers or withdrew from processes.

Fourth, competitor benchmarking: a structured review of how your key talent competitors are positioning themselves as employers.

Fifth, gap analysis: identifying where your actual employee experience matches your current EVP, where it exceeds it, and where it falls short.

The output is a revised EVP that is grounded in truth, differentiated from competitors, and genuinely useful as a tool for attraction and retention.

RMG’s Employer Brand Review Service

RMG offers independent employer brand and EVP reviews for employers across the UK. Our approach is objective, evidence-based and built on real experience of what works in recruitment marketing.

Get in touch at our contact page to discuss a review.