If we’ve heard it once, we’ve heard it a thousand times – potential employees are increasingly developing a consumer mindset when it comes for shopping for jobs.
Personalization in the employee experience is becoming an expectation – much like how consumers expect tailored ads.
But why this all sounds good in theory, what do these words really mean in practice?
CHROs might well be told that the workforce increasingly mirrors the consumer experience – and that HR and marketing teams to collaborate to enhance the employee experience – but do marketing departments actually want to work with HR?
Or…does HR want to work with marketing?
Who actually benefits most out of such collaborations, and if it’s one-sided, does this explain why partnership aren’t often really formed?
To look at these (and other questions in a bit more detail), TLNT spoke to Amy Mosher, chief people officer at isolved:
Q: As employee expectations for personalized experiences at work rise, how are you seeing their mindset more closely mirror the consumer mindset? Why do you think we’re seeing this shift?
A: “After the pandemic, personalization across digital experiences significantly improved, and marketers found new and better ways to leverage data and tailor experiences to consumers in retail environments. Now with the introduction of AI, people expect personalization and convenience regardless of the situation. This mindset transcends all industries, and we’re seeing it come through in the workplace as well.”
Q: How are we seeing this play out?
A: “There are a few different ways we’ve seen this shift affect organizations and HR teams. Similar to Yelp, platforms like Glassdoor pull back the curtain on organizations and allow employees to read reviews about prospective employers and filter by things like benefits or pay. This very closely mimics the way a consumer makes a retail decision, conducting research before making a purchase. When 58% of employees state that they’re looking for new job opportunities within the next year, showing up on these platforms and showcasing a positive company culture and work environment is crucial to CHROs’ recruiting efforts. In the same way that consumers expect deals and offers to be personalized to them based on their past behaviors, employees expect things like opt-in benefits from employers to tailor their workplace experience.”
Q: What will organizations get from increased collaboration between marketing and HR professionals?
A: “There are many instances where collaborative efforts between marketing and HR departments are fruitful for an organization. Marketing and HR can collaborate to ensure company messaging is aligned across recruitment and hiring efforts. This includes confirming job descriptions align with actual role responsibilities, an issue that’s very evident. By working with the marketing team, HR can ensure that both current and prospective employees fully understand their job responsibilities, increasing transparency across the organization and building trust with employees. Marketing teams also have an intimate understanding of how and where to amplify content to reach the right audience, which can be key for HR teams who are constantly looking for top talent that’s the right fit for an organization.”
Q: Anything else?
A: “At a time when employees are increasingly seeking better internal communications, marketing teams can work alongside HR to develop cohesive and streamlined communications for both internal and external audiences that reinforce a brand’s values. Overall, increased collaboration between the two departments develops a knowledge-share loop that drives efficiencies for marketing and HR teams on best practices and overall company messaging.”
Q: Why is it important for organizations to develop a strong brand? How can marketers help HR teams create and enforce this brand?
A: “Some 75% of consumers say they have severed ties with a brand due to conflicting values. We’re seeing this trend among employees as well, with 87% of employees saying they want their company’s values to align with their own. Branding is a vital way for organizations to develop the values that are most important to them, and marketers use external communication strategies to ensure that all communication efforts align with those values. If marketers can help draft job and company descriptions, its HR’s job to then ensure that all policies align with the stated brand values to drive retention and employee engagement at work. So while marketing teams help nail down company branding and ensure written communication is consistent, HR teams are responsible for translating that into the everyday employee experience.”
Q: “How can marketing and HR teams work together to create a more personalized employee experience?
A: “By working alongside marketers who specialize and excel in driving personalized experiences, HR can leverage their insights and tactics to apply them directly to improve the employee experience. HR teams can learn how marketers leverage data efficiently in campaigns to drive results and apply those learnings to data from employee surveys, engagement rates, and turnover rates. With the advent of AI technologies like predictive analytics, HR teams can easily analyze data and identify specific HR challenges, including individuals at risk for attrition, gaps in career growth or areas of dissatisfaction to drive change in the workplace. Our Predictive People Analytics offering gives CHROs data to improve their culture. Lisa Johnson, CHRO at QC Supply, a wholesale agricultural business, it has helped her organization gain insights on time to staff, diversity, turnover, new hires, onboarding stats and even revenue per employee. We know this data provides HR leaders with tangible data to demonstrate the true cost of turnover and proactively articulate their needs to executives.”
Q: Do marketing departments genuinely want to work with HR though – is there still reluctance for collaboration?
A: “The partnership between marketing and HR is a fairly new concept, so it may take some education and work-shopping for smooth collaboration, but everyone should adopt a Win as One motto. Marketing teams are employees of the company as well, so by working with HR to develop a strong company brand that lives its values, they’ll also enjoy a better employee experience. Organizational leaders can help facilitate this collaboration by injecting the ‘Win as One’ mindset into their organizations and educating employees on how working together improves the experience for everyone.”
Q: Who has to make the first move – HR or marketing?
A: “Either HR or marketing teams can initiate the partnership, but HR should ideally make the first move. HR can gain the most from insights from marketing teams and learn from their expertise developing compelling messaging that resonates with current and potential employees. But marketing can also make the first move, especially if they identify any inconsistencies within an organization’s brand or if they see an opportunity to strengthen company messaging.”
Q: What’s in marketing’s interest to help HR – what do they get in return?
A: “A partnership between marketing and HR is symbiotic and helpful for both teams and the business. When marketing partners with HR teams to improve the employee experience, they’re helping create a loyal workforce that act as organizational promoters. When employees speak positively about their company, they’re strengthening the organization’s brand to external audiences or key decision makers that could equate to new business. Positive reviews on sites like Glassdoor are impactful for overall brand presence, image, and exposure, so marketing teams benefit from collaborating with HR teams.”
Q: “Should HR professionals increasingly come from a marketing background – would this serve the profession better?A: “While a marketing background can serve HR professionals well with skills in effective and consistent communication and working with data, it isn’t necessary. HR requires a strong understanding of labor laws, employee relations, empathetic leadership and soft skills. While a marketing background can augment HR capabilities, it cannot replace core HR skills.”