You did it. You’ve defined your EVP. Discovery sessions? Check. Strategy decks? Check. A shiny new toolkit that made the People team swoon? Double check. You even teamed up with Brand to co-create a bold creative platform.

But here’s the part no one likes to say out loud: Now what?

If your playbook hasn’t been touched since launch, you’ve basically bought the corporate version of a Peloton you never ride. It looks great, but does it deliver value? Not so much.

Why activation matters

You didn’t invest all that time and budget to spruce up a few slides. Your EVP should clarify culture, attract top talent, and give your business a competitive edge in a market that’s more crowded and cynical than ever.

But most companies fall short:

  • Only 21% of employees say their organisation communicates about their EVP enough
  • Just 16% reported knowing what their employer’s EVP entailed
  • 75% of HR leaders admitted they’re not doing a great job communicating it internally

Data from Gartner’s 2024 survey of 1,300 employees and HR leaders)

An EVP no one sees or understands isn’t an asset – it’s wallpaper. Activation turns it into something real. Something powerful. And the numbers don’t lie; most employees don’t know what their EVP is, let alone believe in it. If you’re not actively bringing it to life, you’re leaving value (and talent) on the table.

The three pillars of employer brand activation

An EVP is potential. Activation unlocks it – building trust, boosting retention, and shaping reputation from the inside out. These three activation pillars ensure your employer brand shows up consistently and credibly throughout the employee journey.

1. Internal engagement: start where it matters

Your EVP has to land inside before it can live outside.

  • Embed EVP messaging across the employee journey – from onboarding to internal comms.
  • Run regular training sessions for hiring managers and leaders so that they can talk about it with confidence. Give them the tools and examples to make it easy.
  • Empower employer brand ambassadors to share lived experiences – platforms like Real Links can help gamify and scale this.

Don’t just tell employees what your EVP is. Show them.

2. Leadership and manager enablement

Change starts at the top. If leaders don’t walk the talk, no one else will.

  • Get exec buy-in by showing the business case for looking and feeling like a great place to work. Need some supporting stats? Check out this blog.
  • Coach leaders on how to communicate the EVP authentically – arm them with FAQs and examples.
  • Align EVP with leadership comms so it doesn’t feel like yet another HR initiative.

When leaders live it, teams believe it.

3. External storytelling: show, don’t tell

Your employer brand doesn’t stop at your firewall. It shows up in your careers site, job ads, social media – and most powerfully, in what your employees share.

  • Create authentic employee-generated content – polished is great, but lo-fi native content can be just as effective.
  • Share real behind-the-scenes stories that bring your EVP to life.
  • Optimise your careers site with the keywords candidates are searching for (great for SEO).
  • Encourage and reward employee advocacy.

In an era of radical transparency (hello, Glassdoor and TikTok), the raw, real stuff builds the most trust.

TL;DR: activation cheat sheet

Want real ROI when activating your employer brand?

  • Educate your teams on the EVP (don’t assume they know it)
  • Train leaders and hiring managers to use it fluently
  • Activate it internally first, then tell authentic stories externally
  • Track the business impact(!)

To wrap things up

Employer branding isn’t a one-off campaign – it’s how you hire, communicate, and grow. Not sure where to start? That’s where BrandPointZero comes in. We help turn EVPs into business results – clear, credible, and championed by your people.

Need a hand? Get in touch. Want to see activation in action? Check out our AND-E case study.