EMPLOYEE VALUE PROPOSITION RESEARCH
What your employees actually value, in their own words
Engagement surveys tell you satisfaction scores. They cannot explain why three senior engineers left in the same quarter. Depth interviews and focus groups across employee segments reveal the real drivers of attraction, retention, and departure, and build the foundation for an employer brand rooted in evidence rather than assumption. Eligible for Enterprise Development Grant co-funding at 50%.
HOW WE WORK
Four research phases that build an EVP from the inside out
Stakeholder alignment and research design
Assembled is a Singapore market research agency founded in 2016 by Managing Director Felicia Hu, who has personally moderated more than 600 research projects. Published in MRS Research Live and ESOMAR Research World, and quoted in the South China Morning Post, Felicia leads all EVP research engagements directly. With a 100,000-member proprietary panel and bilingual moderation in English and Mandarin, Assembled brings structured qualitative methodology to understanding what employees value.
Every EVP program begins with a briefing workshop where we align with your HR and leadership team on research objectives, workforce segments, and the business questions the research must answer. We design the discussion guide collaboratively, ensuring it captures the specific tensions your organization faces, whether that is retention in technical roles, attraction of mid-career professionals, or alignment between stated culture and lived experience.
Employee depth interviews across segments
We conduct 30-50 one-on-one depth interviews lasting 45-60 minutes each, segmented by seniority level, tenure band, functional area, and demographic background. Each conversation follows a semi-structured guide that moves from open-ended exploration (tell me about your first week here) to specific probes (what would make you consider leaving in the next 12 months). We interview employees who are thriving and employees who are struggling. We interview recent hires to understand the gap between what they were promised and what they found. Where accessible, we interview voluntary leavers to understand what finally tipped the decision.
Singapore's workforce composition demands cultural sensitivity in research design. An EVP study with Malay employees in operational roles produces different insight than one with PRC professionals on employment passes. Felicia's bilingual moderation in English and Mandarin, supplemented by Hokkien, Cantonese, and Singlish, captures nuances that English-only moderators miss entirely. This is the same cross-cultural moderation capability that distinguishes our healthcare patient research and financial services interviews.
Focus groups by workforce segment
Following the individual interviews, we run 4-6 focus group sessions organized by segment. Groups of 6-8 employees from similar levels or functions explore collective themes that emerged from the IDIs. The group dynamic provokes reactions that individual interviews cannot capture. When one manager says "the culture changed after the merger" and five others nod, that carries different weight than a single data point in a survey.
Focus groups are particularly valuable for EVP research because they surface the informal vocabulary employees use to describe their workplace. The words people choose when talking with peers reveal brand meaning more honestly than survey responses crafted for HR audiences. We capture these natural expressions as raw material for EVP messaging.
EVP architecture and reporting
We synthesize all interview and focus group data into an EVP Architecture Report. This is a structured analysis, not a transcript summary. It maps value drivers by segment (what senior leaders care about differs from what early-career hires prioritize), identifies perception gaps between your employer brand promise and employees' lived experience, benchmarks your offering against talent competitors mentioned in interviews, and flags retention risk signals by segment.
The report includes a recommended EVP pillar structure with supporting verbatim evidence from research. These pillars become the foundation for employer branding campaigns, careers page messaging, recruitment materials, and internal communications. Our clients use them directly or pass them to employer branding agencies like Brandcore, Radancy, or Kariera Group for creative activation. The research serves as the evidence base that makes creative work defensible.
FROM BRIEF TO BOARDROOM
6-8 weeks from kickoff to actionable EVP architecture
Stakeholder briefing, segment definition, discussion guide development, respondent scheduling
30-50 individual interviews across employee segments, recorded, transcribed, with concurrent analysis
4-6 segment-based group sessions exploring collective themes, validating individual findings
Full report with value driver mapping, perception gap analysis, EVP pillar recommendations, and board-ready presentation
GOVERNMENT CO-FUNDING
50% of your EVP research costs can be covered by the Enterprise Development Grant
EVP research qualifies for Enterprise Development Grant (EDG) co-funding under the "Strategic Brand and Marketing Development" or "Human Capital Development" pillars. SMEs receive up to 50% support on qualifying project costs. Enterprise Singapore explicitly exempts market research and fieldwork professionals from the TR 43/SS 680 consultant certification requirement, meaning Assembled can serve as the research partner within grant-funded projects.
From 2H2026, EDG merges into the new EDGE grant (supporting up to SGD 100,000 per year). Stacking with the SkillsFuture Enterprise Credit (SGD 10,000 at 90%) reduces client costs further.
With EDG at 50% co-funding plus SFEC stacking, your effective investment can be significantly reduced. Request a quote for a detailed cost breakdown including grant eligibility assessment.
Grant rates and eligibility subject to Enterprise Singapore assessment. Assembled assists with scoping grant-eligible project proposals.
INVESTMENT
Scope-dependent pricing with government grant support
EVP research programs are scoped to your organization's size, complexity, and research questions. Every engagement includes research design, senior moderation by Felicia Hu, transcription, analysis, and a board-ready EVP Architecture Report. All pricing is fixed-fee with no hidden costs.
Most programs qualify for Enterprise Development Grant (EDG) co-funding at 50%, significantly reducing effective cost. Stacking with the SkillsFuture Enterprise Credit (SFEC) provides additional offset. Request a quote for a detailed proposal.
WHO THIS IS FOR
Organizations that need to hear what employees actually think
MNCs establishing APAC headquarters
Singapore hosts nearly half of all APAC regional headquarters. Each needs to localize its global EVP for a market where work-life balance has overtaken salary as the top talent motivator, according to Randstad's 2025 Singapore employer brand study.
Companies facing retention challenges
When attrition spikes in specific teams or roles, engagement surveys identify the symptom. Qualitative research identifies the compounding frustrations that drive departure decisions. EVP research conducted before the crisis hardens saves the cost of replacing the people you lose.
Employer branding agencies needing research
Agencies like Brandcore, Radancy, and Kariera Group build campaigns on top of EVP insights. Assembled serves as the research layer that produces the evidence base for creative activation, either as a subcontractor or as a co-pitched partner.
HR teams applying for EDG grants
If your company qualifies for the Enterprise Development Grant, EVP research fits under at least two funded pillars. We help scope the project proposal and connect you with certified management consultants where needed for the strategy layer.
COMMON QUESTIONS
About EVP research with Assembled
Is EVP research eligible for government grants in Singapore?
How is EVP research different from an employee engagement survey?
How long does an EVP research program take?
What segments should we include in an EVP study?
Can you work alongside our employer branding agency?
How do you protect employee confidentiality?
How much does EVP research cost in Singapore?
START YOUR EVP RESEARCH
Your next great hire and the employee about to leave are both trying to tell you something
Engagement scores describe symptoms. Qualitative EVP research explains the underlying condition. Let us design a program that gives your leadership team the employee insight they need to act.
Request a quote →felicia@assembled.sg · WhatsApp +65 8118 1048
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