In terms of business investment, strategic thinking and forward planning, so much has gone on hold of late. UK consumers and businesses alike are perching on fences, hedging bets and generally waiting and seeing until after the much trumpeted, much anticipated, much feared budget. The retail sector aside, Christmas itself, the broader festive season and the first few days in January tend to be fairly moribund for business. So, there’s a sense that we’re already looking at 2026 and what it might have up its sleeves.
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So, let’s view next year through the lens of EVP.
Where is it going, how will it evolve? How relevant will it remain.
Current EVP Questions and Trends
Of late, we’ve seen a number of interesting and important questions asked of EVP.
We’ve been debating the pace at which one should be researched and developed. We’re seeing a healthy reaction against lengthy EVP projects, ones gestating for a year and more, in favour of a more agile, nimble approach.
We’re seeing greater internal collaboration between teams such as internal communications and talent acquisition teams, creating more messaging alignment.
There’s more debate about greater harnessing of the people experience in consumer and institutional advertising.
We’re starting to understand where AI can help with EVP (in terms of doing some of the heavy lifting around competitor analysis, survey summarising and thematic clusters) and where it still falls short as regards finesse and contextualisation.
The Challenge of Demonstrating EVP Impact
I’d suggest that one of the areas the profession still has work to do is around the demonstration and evidencing of EVP success and impact. How and in what ways does EVP and employer branding justify its existence? What metrics demonstrate return on investment? What does your CFO want to see in terms of numbers?
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Simply put, that answer will vary from one organisation to another, influenced, amongst other things, by competitor activity, talent scarcity and the vagaries of the labour market.
But there’s another means of demonstrating what your EVP is delivering.
Workplace Themes and the Evidence Gap
EVPs are predicated around some important workplace themes, referencing, inexhaustibly and in no particular order, important constructs such as empowerment, psychological safety, nurture, autonomy and professional space.
All fine, decent and honourable positions, but how best can we exemplify such statements?
Too much of employer branding is about making broad, positive, but ultimately hollow, claims about what an organisation and its workplace can do to develop, hone and create a platform for a candidate’s skill set.
But what are the outputs of this for your organisation, your strategy, your customers? What does your EVP facilitate across your business? What real difference has it made? What does your EVP, in the hands of your people, help build and construct? What is its tangible contribution?
Career Site Observations
I took the opportunity this morning of looking at the careers sites of some major employers. In doing so, it became abundantly clear that we continue to push out well-meaning but, bluntly, vacuous statements around making a difference, going further and shaping your career. There’s little to argue about such messages but equally little that inspires, little that differentiates, little that excites.
More to the point, there’s no evidence to suggest what such difference might be or lead to. What does going further mean, what does it mean for an organisation’s client base? By shaping your career, what impact on your employer’s strategy and trajectory are you having?
It all feels very nebulous. Very limited, very compartmentalised. What’s missing is the clear link between EVP and the impact its successful deployment should be having.
A Call for Tangible Examples
I’d love to see in 2026 far more connectivity between EVP and what it is actually delivering on behalf of an organisation. If, for example, an EVP is all about empowerment, then great. But let’s evidence this by telling stories and pushing out case studies about how the empowerment of employees is actually driving specific outcomes – the winning of new contracts, the delivery of new products, achieving exceptional customer service scores. Our people take this empowerment, for example, and run with it, creating specific outcomes.
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These too are stories which can be built on as a new EVP takes root across an organisation, as more and more employees feel empowered or accountable or invested in, they should be making use of such empowerment, accountability or investment to make concrete progress.
Tangibility Over Authenticity
We should be thinking more in terms of an EVP being tangible rather than authentic. Whilst the latter can feel obvious and passive, the EVP as a tangible driver of behaviours, of outcomes, of progress, feels so much stronger. So much more impactful.
The Role of Storytelling
What’s stopping this? I think our ability to tell stories. For psychologist, Jerome Bruner, (and there is debate about how apocryphal this is) humans find facts 22x more memorable when presented within a story, rather than a simple statistic. For too many organisations, their EVP stories are no more than 30 second videos or a simple paragraph. There’s so much more we could do in terms of evolving our storytelling.
Making the Business Case Clear
Making the business case for EVP via spreadsheets is unlikely to go away. But for audiences which include not only your CFO but also candidates, employees and customers, make the clear link between the successful deployment of and engagement with your EVP and the impact this has on productivity, profitability, customer service and/or strategy.
Making a difference on its own doesn’t make much of a difference. But making it clear how the tangible application of your EVP, through your people, across your business through interesting, believable stories and case studies, can be the difference.
Final Thoughts
By making the link between EVP and what tangible impact it can have across a business, we create greater connectivity. EVP is a positive influence right across an organisation. It’s not in the background, it’s not incidental, it’s not simply a TA tool.
Rather your EVP is present. And present throughout your organisation.
Takeaways
1. Why does EVP need to evolve for 2026?
Because broad, generic promises are no longer enough. Leaders, candidates and employees want to see how the EVP actually influences business outcomes, not just how it sounds on a slide or careers page.
2. What is wrong with most EVP messaging today?
Many career sites still default to vague lines about “making a difference” and “shaping your career.” The intent is positive, but the claims are hollow, undifferentiated and rarely backed up with evidence of what really happens.
3. What do leaders and CFOs want from EVP now?
They want to know how EVP and employer branding contribute to measurable outcomes such as attraction, retention, productivity, customer experience and strategic progress. The numbers matter, but so does a clear line of sight between EVP and results.
4. What does “tangible EVP” actually look like?
A tangible EVP links themes like empowerment, autonomy and psychological safety to real stories. For example, empowered teams winning new contracts, launching products faster or driving higher service scores. It shows what people do with the promise, not just the promise itself.
5. How can organisations close the evidence gap?
By collecting and sharing concrete examples where the EVP shows up in practice: case studies, project wins, client feedback, innovation stories and team achievements that only happened because people felt trusted, supported or given space to grow.
6. Why is storytelling so important in the next wave of EVP?
Data alone rarely moves people. Rich, believable stories make the EVP memorable and credible, especially when they feature real employees, specific situations and outcomes. They turn abstract values into something people can see, feel and repeat.
7. What is the core mindset shift for EVP teams?
Move from “Is our EVP authentic?” to “Can we show its impact?” EVP should be visible across the whole business, not just in talent attraction. When the people experience is clearly connected to strategy, performance and customer outcomes, EVP stops being background noise and becomes a driver of progress.
This article was originally posted on https://employerbrandingadvantage.co.uk/ by author, Neil Harrison.
With more than 25 years in employer branding, Neil has delivered EVP and employee insight projects for organisations including Unilever, Virgin Media, Dyson and Sainsbury’s. He now works independently, helping companies create clarity and connection through their people experience.
