How Getting Along Builds the Talent Brand
HR and Marketing may seem like an odd couple, but contrary to popular belief, these two key groups don’t have to be mere business acquaintances. The truth is, the whole company can benefit immensely when these two departments play nice and join forces to collaboratively build a brilliant Talent Brand. In fact, it turns out that attracting and retaining the very best and brightest talent in an extremely competitive employee marketplace requires it.
Sure, HR and Marketing may come from different planets and operate with unique mindsets, but they actually have quite a few common goals and functions. For example, both departments are focused on selling. For HR that means selling the culture and the company to potential new talent, and for Marketing, it means selling products to attract new customers and build brand awareness.
Where do these two companies meet in the middle? In a word: “brand.” A company’s employees are its brand’s greatest asset, and HR builds the company brand with the talent they attract and hire. When HR hires people that promote the employer brand well, Marketing is better able to do their job selling a fantastic brand to customers. When Marketing effectively sells and markets the organization’s master brand, it, in turn, helps HR recruit better talent. It’s quite a collaborative, cyclical, and mutually beneficial relationship when you really think about it!
Why HR and Marketing Are Meant to Be
In short, HR and Marketing need each other. There is an overload of information available to job seekers, making it difficult for them to know if they align with the employer brand without a little help from HR. HR must create a recruitment and employment experience that attractively markets the company to potential and current employees, all while aligning with the organizational mission, values, and goals. That’s no small undertaking.
Unfortunately, HR has the stereotype of being trouble makers, rule sticklers, and being a little hard to work with at times. As a result, getting the resources needed from upper management who may not see the value these efforts might be an uphill battle. This is where partnering with the Marketing department becomes imperative.
The Marketing department has the resources and skills to make HR’s vision a reality. We’re talking about a team of storytellers and sellers that can keep an audience engaged over a long period of time. While HR understands what employees want and need, Marketing knows exactly how to create enriching, purposeful experiences that win over audiences, increase retention, and enable satisfaction.
Setting This Love Story Up for Success
Here are a few principles HR and Marketing must put in place to create a stellar brand that attracts top talent:
- Acknowledgment of the other department – recognizing the fact that you have the same purpose and end goal is crucial. This makes it easier to see that both HR and Marketing have a defined function and can be used to measure decision making for the brand.
- Clarification of roles – make sure each department knows what they are responsible for and what part they play in this new effort. When everyone knows their role strategy can be executed seamlessly.
- Discussion of current issues – set the scene for this new relationship by allowing each department to talk through what they believe the biggest Talent Brand issues are and how they think change should be implemented.
What does it look like when HR and Marketing work together to build a workplace culture that drives a higher caliber of talent? Something like this:
- The company lives up to the hype HR preaches to potential employees during the recruiting process, resulting in more satisfied employees.
- The company builds trust between corporate, management, and lower-level staff members.
- The company attracts diverse talent that believes in and actively works towards the vision and culture of the organization.
- The company experiences higher employee retention rate, ultimately spending less on recruiting and training new employees.
Ultimately, collaboration wins. When HR and Marketing can join forces to create a strong, stellar Talent Brand, the company gains a higher caliber of employees, a loyal and dedicated staff, and a more profitable, efficient business model for many years to come.
