As we gear up to our next Blue Goose Briefing on ‘The Third Age of the EVP’, we wanted to share some of the watch-outs and pitfalls to creating EVPs. Some of you may be reviewing your EVP now as the landscape continues to change, so hopefully this is timely for some.
Avoiding these five fails will save you from expensive rebrands, ‘quick quitting’ and a cynical internal audience.
1. Over‑promising and under‑delivering
The fastest way to destroy an EVP is to treat it as marketing copy rather than a lived promise.
- If what you promote externally does not match the day‑to‑day employee experience, people feel misled and leave early, often sharing that experience on review sites.
- In 2026, candidates are researching you and your leaders in depth across all touch-points; any gap between the glossy story and reality is visible and will erode trust and referral power.
Avoid it by: grounding the EVP in evidence (surveys, listening groups, exit data) and committing to change anything you’re not yet ready to promise, instead of airbrushing it. You can read more of our EVP strategy work here.
2. Creating something generic and bland
A “competitive salary, great culture, hybrid working” EVP could belong to almost any employer – which means it belongs to none.
- Generic statements fail to differentiate you in a tight labour market and do not help candidates decide whether they are a genuine fit.
- Modern talent wants specificity: what flexibility actually looks like, how performance is managed, how decisions are made, how people progress.
Avoid it by: forcing sharp choices. Name the few things you truly do differently (e.g. pace, autonomy, learning, social impact) and be honest about the trade‑offs that come with them.
3. Treating EVP as a one‑size‑fits‑all promise
An EVP that speaks only to head‑office professionals or one dominant demographic will feel tone‑deaf to everyone else.
- Different segments value different things: early‑career talent may prioritise growth and learning, while experienced hires may care more about autonomy, stability or impact.
- If you push a single, monolithic story, you risk alienating critical groups such as frontline workers, carers, neurodivergent employees or international teams.
Avoid it by: defining a small set of non‑negotiable core promises, then flexing the emphasis by audience (role, location, life stage) without contradicting yourself.
4. Designing EVP in isolation from strategy and culture
Some organisations craft an attractive EVP that bears little relationship to their business model, leadership style or culture.
- When the “people promise” is disconnected from the actual pressures and priorities of the business, managers cannot deliver it consistently.
- This misalignment shows up as confusion (“we say we empower people, but all decisions are centralised”) and increases friction between HR, leaders and employees.
Avoid it by: co‑creating the EVP with business leaders and employees, explicitly linking each element to how you win in your market, how you lead and how you serve customers.
5. Focusing on the statement, not the system
Many organisations spend months word‑smithing an EVP line and little time wiring it into policies, leadership behaviours and internal communications.
- Without changes to things like performance management, manager capability, wellbeing support and progression routes, the EVP becomes a poster, not a proposition.
- Over time, that gap fuels disengagement: people hear the words but see no evidence that decisions are made differently.
Avoid it by: treating EVP as an operating lens, not just a slogan. Build a clear implementation plan (what changes, who owns it, how it’s measured) and use internal communications to keep showing how decisions, programmes and stories tie back to the EVP.
These are the watch-outs. But what are the frameworks for success? Managing Director and strategist at Blue Goose, adds: ‘Your EVP should be distinct, compelling and memorable to act as both a carrot to those on the outside and the glue for those on the inside.
‘It must be consistent and coherent across the whole lifecycle for employees on the journey all the way from attraction – onboarding – development – and departure.’
You can contact Ben and the Blue Goose team to find out how we’ve delivered successful EVP strategies for the likes of Royal Mail, Co-op and BEIS.
You can also register for our next Blue Goose Briefing on ‘The Third Age of the EVP’ on February 26th. We’ll be hosting an expert panel discussion with EVP leaders plus an audience of senior HR, culture and communications professionals. Free event with drinks and canapés.
