In this op-ed, Melissa Gilson, director, consumer and brand strategy at 5D, argues that the disconnect between external brand messaging and internal employee experience is no longer just a cultural oversight; it’s a strategic blind spot that companies can’t afford to ignore.
Look around and you will see there’s no shortage of companies these days promising empowerment, inclusivity and flexibility in their external advertising. But take a second to step inside the company, and it doesn’t take long to realise that often the culture tells a completely different story. In too many cases, EVPs (employee value propositions) and CVPs (customer value propositions) are out of sync. Some companies’ internal promise no longer matches their external persona. It’s not just a branding problem, it’s a trust problem. And it’s a business risk.
Most organisations today are well-practised in customer-centric thinking. This is good. It means they can define their audience segments, they can map out their customer journeys, and they know exactly what messaging to dial up to appeal to the likes of Gen Z, working parents, or any values-driven consumers. But when it comes to understanding their own people – what motivates them, what they value, and what they need – the picture gets murkier. Many EVPs are still little more than a bundle of benefits: salary, leave, perks, and the vague promise of a good “culture”.
That might have been enough once. It’s not anymore.
These days, employees expect alignment between what the organisation says and what it does. That includes how it treats its people, how it shows up internally, and whether it walks the talk on issues like flexibility, equity, wellbeing and opportunity. One of the sharpest examples of this disconnect is playing out in the hybrid work debate (yes, this again).
Across many sectors, we’re seeing a slow walk-back from flexibility, despite compelling evidence that hybrid models benefit productivity, inclusivity and, notably, gender equity. IWG’s 2023 study, Advancing Equality: Women in the Hybrid Workplace, found that more than 70% of women would actively look for a new job if hybrid work was taken off the table. Why then, are return-to-office mandates rolling out with increasing force? Even progressive employers, once celebrated for flexible policies, are reverting to traditional structures.
This creates a very real conflict. Externally, many companies continue to position themselves as modern, progressive employers. Internally, the reality is regressing, and the group that is being disproportionately impacted the most are women, in particular working mothers. This is all happening at a time where we’ve never seen higher levels of female participation in the workforce, driven in part by hybrid working. To backtrack on that isn’t just an operational decision; it’s also a reputational one.
At its core, an EVP isn’t just a recruitment or retention tool. It’s a mirror. It reflects what a business values, what it prioritises and how it views its employees – not just in theory, but in lived experience. Just as a CVP is shaped by customer sentiment and market context, an EVP must be shaped by cultural insight, qualitative depth, and an understanding of how employees are actually feeling. Especially in 2025. Especially now.
This is where most EVPs fall down. Too often, they are drafted in boardrooms based on leadership assumptions rather than built from employee insight. Without research, EVPs risk reflecting what executives think employees want rather than what employees actually value. Real research captures the nuance: the trade-offs people are willing to make, the hidden tensions between life stage and career priorities, and the emotional drivers that can’t be guessed or generalised. They’re promotional, not grounded. We invest time and resources in
deeply understanding our consumers by mapping their needs, behaviours and aspirations with precision. Why wouldn’t we apply the same rigour to understanding our own people?
It’s time to stop treating EVP as one-size-fits-all. The best companies and brands in 2025 aren’t just the ones with the most powerful CVP. They’re the ones with a cohesive value system, where what’s said externally matches what’s experienced internally. It’s easier said than done, but to start, it recognises that different groups within the workforce (across life stage, gender, background) value different things. For some, it’s flexibility. For others, it’s development, purpose or psychological safety. The hierarchy of values has shifted and will continue to shift. What employees value isn’t static; it flexes with life stage, cultural context, economic pressures, and social change. Brands that treat EVP as a one-time exercise risk quickly falling out of sync with their own people.
Companies need to always look at what trade-offs people are willing to make, and how hybrid work stacks up against other priorities like pay, learning, leadership and belonging. It’s not just broad trends but finding the deep nuance within them, particularly around gender and life stage.
It’s this alignment between EVP and CVP that builds credibility, fosters advocacy and, ultimately, strengthens brand equity. Customers notice how companies treat their people. And in a world of social media, Google reviews., and rising consumer activism, holding brands to account has never been easier. Delivering on EVP isn’t just about good HR, it’s essential to building trust and loyalty in the market.
It’s simple: employees are customers too. Candidates are audiences. And people are watching.
