Founded in 1892, London South Bank University has a mission of improving access to opportunity, student success and real-world impact. It provides education for over 19,000 students through 2,200 staff and is part of a wider group of school, further and higher education institutions which makes it stand out from its competitors. However, the pandemic shook the sense of what it meant to be a part of LSBU, and voluntary staff turnover grew between 2021 and 2023.

The university wanted to address this by clarifying what it stands for, create a compelling EVP built on an understanding of what attracts and retains colleagues, and to bring this to life for current and future staff. To capture this, it held a series of stakeholder interviews and focus groups, which revealed that it has a deep sense of belonging as an employer but there were a number of challenges to be mindful of. It identified an EVP under the banner of “Turning Passion into Purpose”. It built a narrative to support this, articulating what LSBU stands for and what it expects of employees – this appears on job descriptions and the external careers website.

To bring the EVP to life, the team identified key touchpoints in the employee lifecycle, and how the EVP might show up during these moments. It updated HR assets such as recruitment materials and the behavioural framework to reflect this and integrated the new EVP into induction guidance and a new onboarding portal. The rate of attrition has now leveled off, while the quality of hires has increased. LSBU is also attracting a more diverse range of candidates, and engagement with processes such as the staff survey, appraisals and benefits has increased.