In today's fiercely competitive employment landscape, larger corporations often have the financial muscle to offer more attractive remuneration packages. Despite this, SMEs possess a distinct advantage that can set them apart in the minds of potential candidates – their Employer Value Proposition (EVP).

The EVP represents the holistic offering that an organisation provides to its employees, encompassing not only compensation, but also a combination of factors such as company culture, growth opportunities, work-life balance, and the chance to make a significant impact. A recent Gartner study emphasises the positive impact a great EVP can have on talent retention and attraction: organisations that effectively deliver on their EVP can decrease annual employee turnover by just under 70% and increase new hire commitment by nearly 30%.

Defining and showcasing your EVP

Defining your EVP and showcasing it during the recruitment process is an important aspect of attracting quality candidates. The five components of a strong EVP are as follows:

• Career path: Candidates are inclined to positions that are both stable and scalable, and that that offer growth prospects.  
• Flexibility: Leave days, including additional “special” leave days, and type of working conditions (flexible or hybrid).  
• Compensation: Salary, annual increases, bonuses, evaluation and promotion protocols, and retirement and insurance cover.  
• Culture & Community: Feeling aligned to a company’s core values and understanding what to expect in terms of how people interact are important considerations for candidates.   
• Working environment: From clearly defined responsibilities to goals and work-life balance, jobseekers want to know what it’s like to work at a company.   

Your EVP helps you build the internal and external perception of your brand and attract and retain talent for your organisation. It’s also a way to differentiate your business from larger companies by appealing to candidates’ values, beliefs, needs and wants. Ultimately, creating and following a great EVP can help you grow your business and boost your company’s bottom line. 

Using your EVP to promote authenticity during the recruitment process

SMEs stand to gain a lot out of partnering with Pnet, South Africa’s leading online recruitment platform. Regardless of the size of your business you can use employer branding to actively position your business, communicate the key features that make your offering unique and showcase your employer benefits and services. From an SEO perspective, employer branding also contributes to your company ranking better on Google.

You can convey the five components of your EVP to jobseekers using Pnet’s Personalised Listings and Company Hub solutions to: ​

• ​Create a sense of excitement about your brand, using engaging and relevant content and visuals.​
• Highlight your company’s solutions and services.​
• Provide clear and compelling reasons to work at your company.​
• Feature positive testimonials from your current employees.​
• Company Hubs are a great way to improve brand presence during the recruitment process, while also providing instant access to Pnet’s database of 6 million jobseekers.

Essentially a microsite on Pnet’s landing page, a personalised Company Hub allows you to actively position your business, communicating the key features that make your offering unique, while showcasing your benefits and services. It gives jobseekers a glimpse of what your organisation offers that others don’t. Our video feature allows you to authentically share your working vibe and company culture to give potential candidates an insight into what they can expect from working for you.

"We've seen clients who have an interesting, attractive and detailed Company Hub on the Pnet platform get better quality candidates and higher applications than those who don't”, says Leandré van der Merwe, Customer Success Manager at Pnet. “In a competitive employment landscape, having the right employer branding in place enables you to set your SME business apart from the competition.” 

Keen to give your recruitment efforts a boost?

Click here  to get in touch with Pnet today.