HR leaders from Lindt and Sprungli Canada, Nokia and more discussed EVP at HRFutureFest in Toronto
In a hiring environment that feels more like a battlefield than a marketplace, the stakes have never been higher for getting the employee value proposition (EVP) right.
When HR leaders gathered at HRFutureFest in Toronto on June 3 to connect and share ideas, it was one of the key issues discussed in a panel discussion titled ‘Brand or be Bland: Crafting an EVP to attract top talent.’
The discussion featured Alexandra Tillo, senior talent marketing consultant at Indeed; Erin Gordon, VP of HR at Lindt and Sprungli Canada; Linda Krebs, global head of talent acquisition at Nokia; and Carina Vassilieva CHRO at Apotex.
The key takeaway? A competitive EVP is a strategic approach, and companies that miss the mark will feel the ripple effect in hiring, engagement and overall performance.
That kind of pressure isn’t lost on Krebs. According to her, if you say you prioritize diversity and innovation, then those values better be real, not just marketing noise.
“When you're being authentic, you're thinking about what you are offering these external candidates now and the potential for the future and making sure that they are aligned,” she said during the panel.
Authenticity, for Krebs, also means storytelling that comes from inside the organization, not manufactured narratives from a comms team. Employees are the credible voice of a brand—and without their buy-in, any EVP is just empty rhetoric.
“What you want is real, authentic stories from individuals that are working at your organization, not from communication, not from marketing,” she said.
Tillo backed her up, noting that “job seekers will build more trust into your current employees than whatever marketing says.” That kind of peer validation carries weight—just like reading product reviews before making a purchase.
But what about ambition? Gordon argued there’s room for both transparency and vision.
“It's also okay to plan for the future,” she said. “If you're equally transparent and intentional about where you want to go, and you take your team members with you on that journey, it makes a really compelling, meaningful connection.”
Current employees, however, aren’t the only voices that matter. Alumni and even rejected candidates factor into a company’s EVP. Whether someone works for a company, used to or simply applied, their impression of the brand matters.
Gordon agreed. At Lindt, storytelling and peer-to-peer recognition are key pillars of their EVP activation strategy.
“We’ve created a recognition program around some of the key pillars in our EVP,” she explained. “It's peers recognizing peers, and it really does help to bring that to life for us.”
She also pointed to mentorship programs and employee referrals as proof that a strong EVP doesn’t just stay on paper—it shows up in behavior.
“When you have your employees reaching out to their network and saying, ‘Hey, here's this great opportunity at Lindt,’ that tells us that we're doing the right things.,” she said.
And when companies get it wrong? The consequences go far beyond a few disgruntled employees.
“If you don't get it right, and it doesn't feel authentic for your teams, you ultimately erode trust, and then you reduce engagement,” Gordon said.
Combined with stress from external market conditions, the cost of inauthenticity becomes steep—retention issues, cultural erosion and damaged employer branding.
For Krebs, listening to employees is the most powerful tool for boosting engagement and retention. In a recent initiative, employees were invited to voice concerns without executives present.
“We created focus groups and listened. That's all we did, and sometimes it's just that to boost engagement,” she said. “Our employees had that opportunity in a smaller setting to speak, and they were able to voice their opinions.”
That feedback loop led to action—not dictated by leadership but shaped by employee voices. The result? Targeted development programs and engagement activities that employees actually wanted, and according to Tillo trust builds through those interactions.
Gordon added that listening alone isn’t enough. Employers need to check their interpretation of what employees said, not just cherry-picking the bits that align with a pre-existing agenda.
“I think it is super important to listen and have a very thorough listening strategy to ensure employees have voice,” she said. “But I think it's equally as important to validate.”
