What is an EVP audit?

An EVP audit is structured research carried out before you make any promises, designed to uncover what is genuinely true, distinctive and motivating about working for you. It typically combines employee listening and interviews, analysis of review-site and survey data, and a look at how you compare with competitors. The output is an evidence base of real themes, not aspirations, that a credible EVP can be built on. It comes first because promises made without it tend to be generic or, worse, untrue and undeliverable. The pitfall is skipping straight to defining the EVP from leadership opinion or a workshop; without grounded research you risk articulating what you wish were true rather than what employees would actually recognise.