What Is an Employee Value Proposition (EVP)?

An Employee Value Proposition is the set of tangible and intangible benefits an organisation offers in exchange for the capabilities and commitment of its employees. In essence, it answers the question:

“Why would someone choose to work here?”

A well-defined EVP includes:

• Tangible elements: Salary, salary packaging, leave entitlements, superannuation, and other financial benefits
• Intangible elements: Organisational culture, leadership style, mission alignment, professional development, flexibility, and recognition

While compensation is of course important, particularly in an economic climate of rising cost-of-living pressures, our 2025 market research shows that professional development, values alignment and flexibility continue to rank among the top priorities for job seekers across the HR, administrative and corporate support space.



Where Non-Profits Hold a Competitive Advantage

We love recruiting for non-profit organisations, because it's easy to speak to candidates on the unique benefits and alues that mission-driven workplaces offer that private organisations often can’t replicate.

Some of the key value drivers we see include:

• A strong and visible mission
• Ethical operations and leadership
• Opportunities to create real impact
• Supportive, values-aligned team environments
• Access to salary packaging, improving take-home pay
• Flexible work arrangements

Six Practical Ways to Build a Strong EVP Without a Big Budget

1. Lead with your purpose

Purpose-led work is a key driver for many candidates, particularly in functions like HR, administration, customer service and business operations.

• Clearly articulate your organisation’s impact
• Showcase success stories from employees or service recipients
• Align job advertisements and interview messaging with your mission

When candidates see how their role contributes to something bigger, it becomes easier to choose purpose over perks.

2. Promote your culture, not just your policies

A positive, inclusive culture often outweighs formal policy in candidate decision-making.

• Demonstrate leadership accessibility, integrity and openness
• Emphasise psychological safety and inclusive communication
• Focus on values alignment and ethical behaviour

Culture is one of the most important aspects of retention, and yet it's often under-communicated in hiring messaging.

3. Redefine the meaning of flexibility

Flexibility doesn't need to mean fully remote work or four-day weeks. Many of the non-profits we work with are finding success by taking a more individualised and empathetic approach to flexibility. This can look like:

• Offering staggered start or finish times to accommodate personal needs
• Providing additional WFH days during school holidays or for carers
• Empowering managers to lead with trust and focus on outcomes over hours

Flexibility is most impactful when employees feel seen as people, not just workers.

4. Invest in learning & development

Our 2025 research shows that learning and upskilling are the top career priorities for professionals in HR, admin and support roles. And development doesn’t need to be expensive to be effective. Some examples of ways this can be done:

• Introduce internal mentorship programs
• Provide access to online learning platforms or webinars
• Map out clear development and progressions pathways for employees, so they can work towards their career goals

When people see a future at your organisation, they’re more likely to stay and grow with you.

5. Highlight the value of salary-packaging

For professionals coming from the private sector, they often don't fully understand the financial benefit of salary packaging before they join and this is often skipped over in hiring processes.

• Include salary packaging in job advertisements
• Communicate its value early in the hiring process
• Ensure hiring managers are equipped to explain it clearly

It’s a key differentiator that many candidates don’t fully understand until it’s explained.

6. Make your EVP visible and consistent

An EVP doesn’t need to be a lengthy document or 30-page slide deck that involves a huge project to create. What matters is that it’s clear and understood by all employees,  from executive leadership to front-line hiring managers to entry-level employees.

• Include it on your company careers page
• Integrate key EVP messages into job ads, interviews, onboarding and internal comms
• Empower every level of your organisation to onfidently articulate what makes the organisation a great place to work

For non-profit organiations, having a strong value proposition to offer doesn't mean a need to compete with corporates on perks. It's about clearly communicating to employees and candidates what your organisation uniquely offers: purpose, impact, community and growth, and using this to position your organisation as best as possible to retain and attract great talent.

Non-profits have always attracted professionals seeking meaningful work and contribution. A well-articulated EVP ensures that those people find you and stay.

At Lotus People, we support non-profit organisations across Australia to attract and retain talent in HR, administration, customer service, operations and other key business support functions. As a recruitment partner, we regularly share insights with our clients around EVP messaging and employer brand positioning, helping them strengthen how they present their value to candidates in the market.

If you’d like support to explore how your organisation can better define and communicate your EVP, we’d be happy to assist.



Contact us for a confidential discussion.