# Employer Brand and Employee Value Proposition: practice workbook
Talent Engineering Academy | An education initiative by Vitae
Edition 2026.09 | Updated 2026-09-24
Course: https://talentengineering.org/courses/employer-brand-evp

Turn real employee experience into an accurate, differentiated proposition and consistent candidate journey.

## Your deliverable
An evidence-based employee value proposition and candidate communication audit.

Use fictional information. Keep your completed work in your own secure notes. Exercises and capstone work are self-directed, not independently assessed.

## 1. Audience and decision needs

Your notes:



## 2. Employee experience evidence

Your notes:



## 3. Promise, proof and limitations

Your notes:



## 4. Role-specific proposition

Your notes:



## 5. Candidate journey consistency

Your notes:



## 6. Feedback and review ownership

Your notes:



## Lesson exercises

### 1. Discover the experience behind the promise

Interview fictional employee personas with three different roles and list shared and differing experiences.

Your response:


Worked example: A company says everyone has flexible working, but production roles follow fixed shifts. The research identifies different forms of flexibility by role and replaces the universal claim with specific, accurate descriptions.

Self-review guidance: Separate confirmed practices from aspirations and exceptions. A credible proposition can acknowledge constraints, such as shift coverage, while explaining the benefits that actually apply.

### 2. Build a proposition with proof

Write three proposition pillars, each with proof, scope and a limitation.

Your response:


Worked example: Instead of unlimited growth, a fictional employer describes a quarterly development discussion and examples of supported internal moves. It states that moves depend on available roles and assessed readiness.

Self-review guidance: A pillar should survive the question: what would a new starter actually experience? Remove unsupported superlatives. Include at least one practical working condition rather than relying entirely on brand language.

### 3. Align the candidate journey with the promise

Audit five fictional touchpoints against your three proposition pillars.

Your response:


Worked example: An employer promotes respectful communication but leaves unsuccessful finalists without an update. The improvement assigns closure ownership and an achievable feedback process rather than launching another reputation campaign.

Self-review guidance: For each mismatch, identify an operational owner and action. Separate a wording correction from a service change. Include the rejection journey, where employer promises are often tested most clearly.

### 4. Learn from attraction and retention feedback

Design a candidate and new-starter feedback loop with three questions and an action owner.

Your response:


Worked example: A campaign increases applications but new starters report unexpected travel. The team corrects the role message and tracks whether future candidates understand the travel pattern before accepting.

Self-review guidance: Ask about understood expectations and observed experience, not only satisfaction scores. Record confounding changes and avoid claiming that one campaign caused a retention improvement.

## Portfolio review
Check that your work is internally consistent, distinguishes facts from assumptions, names decision owners and explains its limitations. Revise gaps before using the method in real work.

## Further reading
- [CIPD: Employer brand](https://www.cipd.org/en/knowledge/factsheets/recruitment-brand-factsheet/): Further reading on employer reputation and employee experience.
- [CIPD: Recruitment](https://www.cipd.org/uk/knowledge/factsheets/recruitment-factsheet/): Professional context for the recruitment lifecycle.

Original educational scenarios. References provide further reading and do not imply endorsement. Check current official rules and appropriate professional advice for real legal, financial or regulated decisions.