The Employee Value Proposition Drives Outsized Company Performance
Authored By Eric Walczykowski
The “value proposition” is a common concept in marketing. It describes the benefit you will receive if you purchase and use a company’s product or service.
Apply the same concept to People and Talent management, and you have the “Employee Value Proposition” or EVP. If you choose to work for a given company, what benefits can you expect to receive in exchange for your time and talent?
Bespoke carefully considers its EVP because we see it as central to our success. While most search firms serving private equity are down 25% to 30% this year, we are up 30%, dramatically outperforming the norm.
I recently sat down with Julie Catalano, Bespoke’s Chief People Officer, to discuss how our EVP has enabled us to grow and thrive in a market where others are struggling just to stay afloat.
Below is a summarized Q&A of my conversation with Julie.
Eric: Julie, what is an EVP or an employee value proposition?
Julie: An EVP is essentially the set of offerings an employer provides in exchange for the skills, capabilities, and experiences an employee brings. At Bespoke, we view our EVP as not just a tool for attracting talent but also for retaining our exceptional team.
Our aim is to make this the best job they’ve ever had—not necessarily the easiest—but one where they’re challenged, supported, and can achieve remarkable things personally and professionally.
In today’s competitive talent market, our EVP goes beyond immediate benefits, focusing on long-term career development. We ensure every team member feels valued and supported, offering world-class health benefits and opportunities for professional growth, such as our pod model, to help them succeed and grow with us.
Eric: No doubt. You and I both come from larger, world-class organizations When I think about Deloitte, we were constantly in the top ten places to work. We’ve mirrored that here at Bespoke and taken a big company approach to development of our employees and really invested them. And it’s definitely paying off in spades.
Julie:
So Eric, what I think is so unique about Bespoke, frankly, is you and our ELT and how much you deeply care about the employee experience. I think that’s a huge differentiator for us. Could you elaborate on how we empower our employees’ career journeys?
Eric: Absolutely. At the heart of it, we’re committed to disrupting an industry, and that means deeply valuing the holistic well-being of each employee, both professionally and personally.
We spend considerable time discussing where each team member is on their journey, ensuring they’re supported in both areas. It’s crucial they prioritize their “big rocks”—family, health, wellness, travel, passions—because a strong foundation at home enables them to excel at work. You’ve excelled in establishing programs that set clear expectations, guide success, and offer support when challenges arise. Your vision for employee engagement at Bespoke has truly become a competitive advantage. I genuinely believe that those who don’t choose to work at Bespoke are missing out on an environment where we deeply invest in their personal and professional growth.Julie:
If someone observed our one-on-ones, they’d see our genuine, holistic care for our employees. Reflecting on research around corporate culture, Wharton defines culture as what you reward and punish. At Bespoke, we’re a reward culture, and our earnings surpass industry benchmarks because we truly invest in our employees’ success. I believe we offer more support than anyone else in our industry, with dedicated resources like search coordinators and advanced research tools, making us truly unique in our offerings.
Eric: I’m so proud that I get to boast a little about our engagement scores mid-year, it was very cool to be able to get extremely high scores as a smaller company, but still be able to provide the level of resources, engagement and development. Julie, as we think about sustainability in the future, how do our values play into that?
Julie:
Our values are really the backbone of our culture. Things like diversity and inclusion, investing in other people’s success, having a growth mindset. So those are all values that we call out to our employees. But they’re really not just words. We live by these principles. Also, when you mentioned sustainability, We have a commitment to sustainability that really ensures that all of our operations have a positive impact on society and also on environmental health. So it’s really so critical that we view ourselves in that way.
Eric: I could not be prouder of the hard work that you and your team have done and the investment that we’ve made in our people, because people are really at the core of our business.
And as we go through the selection process and recruitment process, I think we consistently look for people who could be as we continue to recruit great people. Julie, I am so thankful that you’re on the journey with me to help our employees be able to say when we’re done this was the best job they ever had.Unlock Your Potential
To learn more about job opportunities with Bespoke Partners please visit: Unlock Your Potential at Bespoke: Your Best Career Awaits (bespokepartners.com)
Bespoke Partners Named in Top 10 of the “Top 49 Retained Executive Search” 2-Years Running by C-Suite CV Secure.
Author:
Eric Walczykowski
Chief Executive Officer
Eric is passionate about building high-performing teams that value doing their best, working together, overcoming adversity and learning.
As a proven growth executive, Eric has served as CEO, President, Board Member, Investor and Advisor for technology companies that achieved over $4.5B in successful exits.
Eric brings to Bespoke Partners significant professional services experience from Deloitte and Andersen, as well as the high-growth client executive perspective for private equity-backed technology companies.
Eric earned an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and a BS in Business from Fresno State University.
Outside of work, Eric enjoys spending time with family, coaching baseball, travel, attending live events and sipping good wine.
Featuring:
Julie Catalano
Chief People Officer
Julie brings more than 20 years of senior leadership in human resources, organizational culture, and business strategy. Prior to Bespoke, she served as Vice President, Global Human Resources at Vertex Inc. and has held multiple key leadership roles across the HR disciplines at Vanguard.
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