When Esri Australia began unifying its teams across Australia and Southeast Asia, one challenge stood out: how do you build an EVP that feels consistent across regions but still reflects local identity?
In this episode of the VMJPod’s Employer Brand Series – Brisbane Edition, Tibo Torche, Group Talent Acquisition Manager, shares the journey behind Esri’s first regional EVP, a project built on listening, collaboration and a commitment to reflect the real employee experience.
Esri’s brand was strong among GIS talent, but far less known in broader corporate markets. As Tibo explains:
“When it comes to technical specific GIS related equipment, we never struggled… But when it came to recruiting sales people, marketing people, finance people or HR people… you’ve got very little applications coming through.”
The organisation’s rapid regional growth also meant values, processes and systems varied widely across countries. As he shares:
“Every distributor across Southeast Asia had its own sort of distribution network… but as we kept on growing and we started working better as one, it made sense that we were aligning all the values and the EVP.”
Esri is a data-led business and the EVP project followed that same philosophy.
“We are a data standard company… so we put data in front of the execs. We looked at the number of applications, cost of advertising… the ROI.”
This clarity helped secure executive buy-in and made the case for a unified EVP impossible to ignore.
One of the biggest discoveries wasn’t about talent attraction at all, it was about connection inside the business.
“The engagement piece… that was the eye opener. You don’t necessarily comprehend the engagement it created in the business by doing this.”
The project involved a high volume of interviews across regions and functions, one of the most significant listening efforts in Esri’s history.
“There were consulting sessions, group sessions, one-on-ones, virtual sessions… and playback sessions.”
Playback sessions helped the team hear what was working, what wasn’t, and what employees needed to feel supported and valued.
The research revealed key differences in systems, tools, benefits and workload across countries.
“There was a different level of maturity across the business… I was very surprised.” People were stressed about workload… or not having the right tools to do their jobs. And you can’t really align all the benefits across different countries… so articulating that difference was important.”
These insights shaped improvements beyond the EVP itself, including streamlining processes, reviewing benefits and exploring new internal mobility pathways.
Collaboration wasn’t a phase of the project — it was the project.
“Define your project team and engage them from the very early stages… I’m lucky to be part of a company where we’re heard.”
External partners were also brought in to ensure neutrality and rigour:
“To avoid bias… you’ve got to find your partners and really establish that trustworthy and credible relationship.”
The project took 12–18 months, far longer than Tibo initially expected:
“I thought we’d have a quick fix… definitely wasn’t that.”
When the new regional career sites went live, every region launched on the same day.
“Everybody was kind of shaky… but everything went live. There was no bugs… everybody was like, ‘Wow.’”
Even within the first 11 days, the EVP was already changing behaviour:
“The number of applications went up drastically… the number of followers has gone crazy up.”
Inside the organisation, the effect was even more significant:
“The amount of people wanting to stay is so much better than it’s ever been.”
Tibo sees the EVP not as a finished product, but an engine for ongoing learning.
“It’s an ongoing project… we’ve got more coming through. It’s an evolving beast.”
And at the heart of it is a simple truth:
“The only people that can tell you how it goes in and out are the people that work for you.”