There Are Two Camps in Employer Branding: Those Who Live and Breathe EVP—and Those Who Ditched It. Which Are You?

There Are Two Camps in Employer Branding: Those Who Live and Breathe EVP—and Those Who Ditched It. Which Are You?

Remember when companies were hiring without even knowing what an EVP was. No fancy systems. No employer brand playbooks. Just a short, straightforward newspaper ad and a hope that someone halfway decent applied. Yeah, those were the good old days.

Then came The Great Resignation. The CHRO and HR teams hit the panic button. They scrambled to assemble an employer branding squad. And their first big move? Slap together an EVP! With big budgets and outside agencies leading the charge, slides were made with snappy phrases.

And then... 

It sat. Unused. Forgotten. Tucked away in some shared drive folder labeled “final_final_FINAL_F-I-N-A-L!!-evp.pptx.”

Now we’re back in a cycle. Job seekers are constantly frustrated by being ghosted, only to receive an “inspirational” newsletter that pushes EVP messaging. What do they do? Unsubscribe. Report it as spam. And, can you blame them? They didn’t get the job. And besides, who wants to read a “newsletter” with overly used and recycled EVP buzzwords?

Come on, man!

It’s no surprise that more and more employer branding pros are asking: Is the EVP dead?

Besides...

After rounds of layoffs, leadership changes, and talent pullbacks, shouting your EVP from the rooftops can feel out of touch. Why brag about your EVP when your own churn rate is off the charts?

Why nurture talent pools that never panned out? “EVP is dead,” they say. “It was just another expensive exercise in buzzword bingo.” Not to mention trying to get recruiters to use the EVP feels like pushing a rope up a hill.

But here’s the deal.

The companies that actually leverage their EVP are seeing real results:

  • Companies with a strong EVP see up to 69% lower turnover.

  • They get 30% more commitment from new hires.
  • They’re twice as likely to have high-performing employees, and four times more likely to have highly engaged teams.

So, yeah. The EVP can work—when it’s actually used.

It’s not about checking a box. It’s about weaving it into your messaging, your candidate experience, your culture, and how your people talk about their work every day.

So... Which Camp Are You In?

  1. The “we-don’t-have-time-for-this” camp, where the EVP is just another slide in a dead presentation.

  2. Or the “this-is-our-foundation” camp, where the EVP fuels content, strategy, hiring, and retention.

At Employer Branding EXP, we bring in the experts who don’t just help you define your EVP, but they show you how to activate it. Because an EVP that just sits there isn’t just a waste of money—it’s a missed opportunity to build real talent momentum.

So again… Which camp are you in?

And more importantly, are you ready to switch sides?